Waconia senior Max McEnelly won his fourth individual championship with a 3-2 victory over Stillwater's Ryder Rogotzke in a highly-anticipated match at 195 pounds in Class AAA during the Minnesota State High School League's Wrestling State Tournament at the Xcel Energy Center.
In the Class AA team competition, Eden Prairie improved on last year’s runner-up showing and sent the four-time defending champions from Edina to a second-place finish. Eden Prairie finished with 263.5 points to Edina’s 219 this year.
The co-op of Breck/Blake won its seventh consecutive team title with 408 points. It was the ninth title overall for Breck/Blake. In addition to the past seven years, the team also won in 2009 and 2010.
Multi-sport athletes are nothing new, but Faith Koning took that phrase to another level this week, in two very different activities. One is wrestling and the other involves horses. Frenzied air and highway travel are also part of the story.
Breck/Blake (Class A) and Edina (Class AA) both look poised to defend their respective team titles after turning in stellar performances in Friday’s preliminary swim races. Breck/Blake won eight races while the Edina won four.
Wrestling is now a girls sport, with female coaches. The next logical step is seeing female wrestling officials. That may not be far off, based on the experiences of the only two women certified as wrestling officials by the MSHSL.
Simley staked its claim as Minnesota's best wrestling team this season regardless of enrollment size following a powerful run to the Class AA championship.
Chisago Lakes senior Jimmy Nord (Class A) and Rosemount senior Lucas Gerten (Class AA) sit atop the standings after the diving preliminaries. Gerten is defending his title while Nord is in the hunt for his first championship.
No. 3-seeded Hastings staged a stunning rally that included pins in the final three weights to upset No. 1 St. Michael-Albertville 33-32 for the Class AAA championship.
Longtime defending team champions will look to add to their rich tradition of success when the Minnesota State High School League’s Boys Swimming and Diving State Meet this week. Breck/Blake returns as the six-time defending champion in Class A while Edina is looking for its fifth consecutive crown in Class AA.
