So far so good for Minnesota teams at The Clash VII National High School Wrestling Duals.

There will be two Minnesota teams wrestling for The Clash championship today at UCR Regional Sports Center.

As expected, top-seeded Apple Valley coasted through three duals Friday to earn its spot in the championship bracket. But the second Minnesota team had to pull off an upset to wrestle for The Clash title.

Simley, ranked No. 1 in Minnesota’s Class AA, stunned No. 1 seed St. Edward of Ohio 33-28 in Friday’s Bracket B finals.

St. Edward entered the tournament ranked No. 9 in the nation, and many picked it to be one of the few contenders who could push Apple Valley. But Simley ran off four consecutive victories from 152 pounds to 189. The dual came down to the final match with Simley leading 30-28, and Charlie Gelhaye clinched the Spartans’ place in the finals with his 6-3 decision at heavyweight.

Upset central

The morning session of wrestling was host to several upsets. Three nationally ranked teams were bumped into the loser’s bracket with first-round setbacks — Iowa City West and Waverly-Shell Rock of Iowa and Sturgis Brown of South Dakota.

The morning session also provided plenty of drama with close duals. Two duals ended in a tie that had to be broken by criteria and nine duals were decided by six points or fewer.

Matches during the first round began at 215 pounds. In each round, the starting match moves up one weight class. Today matches will start at 112 pounds.

Top individuals

In addition to the top-notch dual action, there also were some outstanding individul matchups with nationally ranked kids matching up on Day 1. David Thorn of St. Michael-Albertville bumped up a weight class to wrestle Tony Ramos of Glenbard North, Ill. Thorn is ranked No. 7 in the nation at 125 pounds and is a three-time state champion in Minnesota, while Ramos is ranked No. 4 in the nation at 130 and is a two-time state champion in Illinois.

Thorn was unable to generate much offense against Ramos, who was much stronger. Ramos’ strength allowed him to keep Thorn away from his legs and he pulled out an impressive 8-4 victory.

Ramos has committed to the University of Iowa for next season, while Thorn will wrestle at the University of Minnesota.

Match of the day

While it didn’t feature two nationally ranked wrestlers, the 145-pounders from Don Bosco of Iowa and Hastings put on a show for Clash fans. Tyler Rohr of Hastings and Vance Ortner of Don Bosco are both ranked at their weight in their home states. And they put on a scramble exhibition. As soon as one wrestler would secure two points, it seemed like the other was getting into position to secure a reversal.

Despite a torrid pace, the action didn’t slow in the final period. Rohr secured one final reversal as the horn sounded to tie the match at 13-all and send it to overtime. And with 30 seconds left in OT, Rohr got the final takedown to earn a thrilling 15-13 victory.

Last-second wins

Two big duals came down to the final match in the afternoon session. After upsetting Don Bosco in the Brack C semifinals, Hastings was attempting to become the third Minnesota team to qualify for the championship bracket. But Christiansburg of Virginia won at heavyweight to earn a 28-27 come-from-behind victory and secure its spot among the championship teams.

In the Bracket D finals, Ballard-Huxley of Iowa and Montini Catholic of Illinois also battled to the final match. Ballard-Huxley led by a point heading into the heavyweight match and earned a decision victory there to lock up a 34-30 win and a spot in the finals along with Simley, Apple Valley and Christiansburg.