Vikings’ bid for State Duals falls just short

 SLOAN -- Wrestling without two varsity regulars Tuesday night and facing two teams ranked above them, AHSTW was still just one match away from a first-ever trip to the State Dual Tournament.
 It’s been that kind of history-making season for Coach Evan McCarthy’s surging Viking program, which last Saturday earned the school’s first sectional tournament championship at Treynor and qualified eight individuals for this week’s district meet in Underwood.
 The team title secured the Vikings’ second straight trip to the Class 1-A regional duals and a trip to Sloan to compete in Tuesday’s four-team bracket. AHSTW opened the meet with a 53-27 semifinal win over 16th-ranked OA-BCIG, then gave 7th-ranked Westwood all it could handle before losing the championship final, 42-33.