A week after cruising over some of the top AAA teams in the state, the St. Michael-Albertville wrestling squad, ranked No. 2 in Class AAA and in the top 25 nationally, put on a dominating performance at home Saturday night in St. Michael.
STMA cruised to a 50-12 win over the top-ranked team in Class AA, Simley High, thanks to a strong performance from its ranked wrestlers, while pulling some upsets over Simley’s ranked individuals.
Case in point, at 138 pounds, Jake Allar picked up a win in one of the more exciting matches of the vening, as he topped Kyle Nordstrom, who is ranked No. 3 in Class AA, with an 8-3 win.
Meanwhile, it was Evan Foster, at 195 pounds, who probably picked up the biggest win of the night for STMA, upsetting fourth-ranked Chris Baumann 8-4 in overtime, giving the home crowd something big to cheer about.
Jake Briggs was also bringing on the cheers, as he tried to upset No. 1 Jack Ryan of Simley at 220 pounds. Briggs was able to force an overtime period when he tied the match at 1-1, but Ryan was able to get four points in the OT for a 5-1 win.
STMA’s top wrestlers, however, were just too strong for Simley’s lineup. Patrick McKee cruised to a major win, Mitch McKee got a pin in less than 45 seconds, and Jordan Joseph crept closer to his 180th win via a pin in the third period.
On the prior night, Friday, the Knights also sewed up a conference championship in team (dual) action, again beating St. Francis handily. Seven Knights won by fall or technical fall.
STMA will hit the road for the Elk River Triangular, where they’ll see another top AA team in Totino Grace, and Section 7 rival Elk River on the mat.
Then, they’ll head to the Conference Individual Tournament on Saturday where more than 20 ranked wrestlers will compete for conference championships.
RESULTS
St. Michael-Albertville 50 Simley 12
106 McKee, Patrick (STMA) def. Dawson, Anthony (SIM) === {Maj Dec 13-5} (Score: 4-0)
113 Gliva, Jake (SIM) def. Nygaard, Zach (STMA) === {Dec 10 – 5} (Score: 4-3)
120 Hingst, Aaron (SIM) def. Dehmer, Zach (STMA) === {Dec 5 – 3} (Score: 4-6)
126 McKee, Mitchell (STMA) def. Jackson, Ravin (SIM) === {Fall 0:42} (Score: 10-6)
132 Jackson, Anthony (SIM) def. Schoen, Cody (STMA) === {Dec 9 – 5} (Score: 10-9)
138 Allar, Jake (STMA) def. Nordstrom, Kyle (SIM) === {Dec 8 – 3} (Score: 13-9)
145 Leuer, Donnie (STMA) def. DeLao, Rudy (SIM) === {Fall 2:02} (Score: 19-9)
152 Jeske, Lucas (STMA) def. Kerkvliet, Greg (SIM) === {Fall 4:16} (Score: 25-9)
160 Zachman, Mitchell (STMA) def. Matthews, Joe (SIM) === {Fall 1:41} (Score: 31-9)
170 Ronsen, Evan (STMA) def. Moon, Zach (SIM) === {Maj Dec 10-1} (Score: 35-9)
182 Joseph, Jordan (STMA) def. Gilberg, Mason (SIM) === {Fall 4:30} (Score: 41-9)
195 Foster, Evan (STMA) def. Baumann, Chris (SIM) === {Dec 8 – 4 (OT)} (Score: 44-9)
220 Ryan, Jack (SIM) def. Briggs, Jake (STMA) === {Dec 5 – 1 (OT)} (Score: 44-12)
285 Anderson, Randy (STMA) def. Hayes, Tyler (SIM) === {Fall 3:55} (Score: 50-12)
St. Michael-Albertville 62 St. Francis 6
106 McKee, Patrick (STMA) def. Petrucci, Coleton (SF) === {Fall 3:07} (Score: 6-0)
113 Nygaard, Zach (STMA) def. Wilson, Mitchell (SF) === {Maj Dec 16-6} (Score: 10-0)
120 Dehmer, Zach (STMA) def. Worthingon, Daniel (SF) === {Dec 4 – 0} (Score: 13-0)
126 McKee, Mitchell (STMA) def. Hall, Mason (SF) === {Fall 2:01} (Score: 19-0)
132 Schoen, Cody (STMA) def. Wasche, Andrew (SF) === {Fall 6:03} (Score: 25-0)
138 Allar, Jake (STMA) def. Wilson, Aaron (SF) === {Dec 4 – 2} (Score: 28-0)
145 Leuer, Donnie (STMA) def. Wilson, Alex (SF) === {Dec 9 – 7} (Score: 31-0)
152 Jeske, Lucas (STMA) def. Dahlstrom, Tyler (SF) === {Fall 3:45} (Score: 37-0)
160 Zachman, Mitchell (STMA) def. Struntz, Tony (SF) === {Tech Fall 15-0} (Score: 42-0)
170 Ronsen, Evan (STMA) def. Kirpach, Cole (SF) === {Tech Fall 17-2} (Score: 47-0)
182 Joseph, Jordan (STMA) def. Wetenkamp, Tim (SF) === {Fall 1:23} (Score: 53-0)
195 Foster, Evan (STMA) def. Norman, Anthony (SF) === {Dec 9 – 3} (Score: 56-0)
220 Briggs, Jake (STMA) def. Blanske, Bo (SF) === {Fall 3:14} (Score: 62-0)
285 Nordin, Blaine (SF) def. Anderson, Randy (STMA) === {Fall 2:07} (Score: 62-6)