After so many years of coming so close, including a tie for the championship with foe and rival Apple Valley, the St. Michael-Albertville Knights wrestling team wasn’t letting this one slip out of their grasp. The Knights knocked off No. 2 Anoka in the state team semifinals, 31-29, and then held off Shakopee in the final, 30-25, to capture their first outright “big school” championship.
Faced up with their familiar rivals Anoka, and then the Shakopee Sabres in the State AAA Team Championship – the team that knocked off the perennial state champion Apple Valley Eagles – coaches Dan Lefebvre and Joe Grygelko placed the season’s final duals in the capable hands of Carl Leuer, Wyatt Lidberg and Nolan Schmitz. And all three delivered when it mattered most.
No, the trio wasn’t STMA’s “go-to” for the season. The Knights have others – such as Patrick McKee, Nathan Nygaard and Brandon Psyk who have been setting to the tone. But the trio of Leuer, Lidberg and Schmitz would be key in tight matches that determined Thursday’s golden outcome.
For Leuer, it was a 4-3 decision over Scott Springer in the semifinal, a dramatic match that staked the Knights to a 24-8 lead and three points they would desperately need to advance to the championship tilt. Leuer was controlled, calculating and even calm in his upset bid over Springer, one of Anoka’s hopefuls for an individual state championship.
Lidberg did it twice – the 170-pounder had a huge technical fall against the Tornadoes after Anoka had closed the gap to 24-14. Then, against Shakopee, Lidberg had one of the most intense matches of the day on Thursday night at the Xcel, outlasting Jack Casey for a 1-0 lead that gave STMA a 24-17 lead.
All Schmitz did was come back from a heartbreaking 9-8 loss in his Anoka match to move up to 220 pounds in the state championship dual. The senior used his experience and strength to hold off Shakopee’s Tommy Johnson in a 6-3 decision that wasn’t even that close – Schmitz let Johnson escape twice in the final seconds for two points as time ran out on the Sabres. The win, a three-point decision, gave the Knights an eight point lead with one match left, clinching the championship before senior Allen Winters took the match in the 285 pound final.
St. Michael-Albertville has certainly come to St. Paul with stronger teams than this one, including in 2015 or 2016 when the Knights wrestled in the tougher section and sent a dozen or so (11 once, 12 another time) to state for the individual tournament.
But this team came together when it had to. Seeded third, STMA knew it would face Anoka in the semifinals, which was no easy task. The key was to get ahead in the early going, and the Knights did, opening up a 21-0 lead on a pair of technical falls, a pin for 126-pound stud Nathan Nygaard, and two more big decisions.
Shakopee would storm back, but it was Leuer, Lidberg and Gabe Anderson who slammed the door, each getting tougher at the end of their matches to seal up wins.
In the evening session, Patrick McKee – a state title hopeful and defending champ – moved in on his 46th win of the season in the early going of his match, getting a pin in just 38 seconds. Nygaard also got his fall in the first period, and the Knights looked strong early.
But Shakopee pulled an upset at 132 pounds, knocking off STMA’s Dylan Hanson. Kyle Elkie, though, cmae up big for the Knights with a 7-3 decision, and the rest was history.
The squad now moves to the individual tournament on Friday. There will be a reception, TBD, at the high school for the Knights.
Match #1 Championship Bracket
St. Michael-Albertville defeated Stillwater 46-20
- 106 – Isaiah Mlsna (St. Michael-Albertville) over Otto Hanlon (Stillwater) Fall 3:34
- 113 – Brandon Psyk (St. Michael-Albertville) over Javon Taschuk (Stillwater) Dec 5-1
- 120 – Reid Ballantyne (Stillwater) over Cole Becker (St. Michael-Albertville) Fall 3:00
- 126 – Patrick McKee (St. Michael-Albertville) over Corrstian Riesselman (Stillwater) Fall 1:00
- 132 – Trey Kruse (Stillwater) over Dylan Hanson (St. Michael-Albertville) Maj 9-0
- 138 – Kyle Elkie (St. Michael-Albertville) over Jeffrey Robinson (Stillwater) Dec 4-2
- 145 – Hayden LeMonds (St. Michael-Albertville) over Hudson Day (Stillwater) Fall 1:02
- 152 – Carl Leuer (St. Michael-Albertville) over Porter Estenson (Stillwater) TF 16-0
- 160 – Kevin Thole (Stillwater) over Owen Vike (St. Michael-Albertville) Dec 6-2
- 170 – Wyatt Lidberg (St. Michael-Albertville) over Josh Piechowski (Stillwater) Inj 5:13
- 182 – Gabe Anderson (St. Michael-Albertville) over Thomas Reisselman (Stillwater) TF 15-0
- 195 – Will Gleason (Stillwater) over Cole Jann (St. Michael-Albertville) Dec 2-1
- 220 – Nolan Schmitz (St. Michael-Albertville) over Tommy Flores (Stillwater) Fall 2:59
- 285 – Collin McCarthy (Stillwater) over Toby Dehn (St. Michael-Albertville) Maj 10-0
Match #2 Championship Bracket
St. Michael-Albertville defeated Anoka 31-29
- 106 – Isaiah Mlsna (St. Michael-Albertville) over Brendan Howes (Anoka) Dec 7-4
- 113 – Brandon Psyk (St. Michael-Albertville) over Parker Dobrocky (Anoka) Maj 15-2
- 120 – Cole Becker (St. Michael-Albertville) over Jacob Miller (Anoka) Dec 10-4
- 126 – Nathan Nygaard (St. Michael-Albertville) over Riley Emery (Anoka) Fall 2:58
- 132 – Patrick McKee (St. Michael-Albertville) over Jacob Mueller (Anoka) TF 23-8
- 138 – Dylan Droegemueller (Anoka) over Dylan Hanson (St. Michael-Albertville) Maj 14-5
- 145 – Colby Njos (Anoka) over Hayden LeMonds (St. Michael-Albertville) Maj 18-6
- 152 – Carl Leuer (St. Michael-Albertville) over Scott Springer (Anoka) Dec 4-3
- 160 – Tyler Eischens (Anoka) over Owen Vike (St. Michael-Albertville) Fall 1:36
- 170 – Wyatt Lidberg (St. Michael-Albertville) over Bodie Fitzsimonds (Anoka) Maj 9-1
- 182 – Gabe Anderson (St. Michael-Albertville) over Jackson Street (Anoka) Dec 7-2
- 195 – Richie Hammonds (Anoka) over Nolan Schmitz (St. Michael-Albertville) Dec 9-8
- 220 – Evan DeChene (Anoka) over Cole Jann (St. Michael-Albertville) Fall 2:37
- 285 – Brandon Frankfurth (Anoka) over Toby Dehn (St. Michael-Albertville) Fall 0:35
Match #3 1st Place Match
St. Michael-Albertville defeated Shakopee 30-25
- 106 – Paxton Creese (Shakopee) over Isaiah Mlsna (St. Michael-Albertville) Dec 15-8
- 113 – Brandon Psyk (St. Michael-Albertville) over Ben Lunn (Shakopee) Dec 9-5
- 120 – Nathan Nygaard (St. Michael-Albertville) over Seth Bakken (Shakopee) Fall 2:00
- 126 – Patrick McKee (St. Michael-Albertville) over John Kroll (Shakopee) Fall 0:38
- 132 – Tyler Jones (Shakopee) over Dylan Hanson (St. Michael-Albertville) Dec 2-0
- 138 – Kyle Elkie (St. Michael-Albertville) over Sam Treml (Shakopee) Dec 9-3
- 145 – Sam Webster (Shakopee) over Hayden LeMonds (St. Michael-Albertville) TF 19-3
- 152 – Alex Lloyd (Shakopee) over OP Johnson (St. Michael-Albertville) Fall 0:56
- 160 – Carl Leuer (St. Michael-Albertville) over Connor Raines (Shakopee) Dec 5-1
- 170 – Wyatt Lidberg (St. Michael-Albertville) over Joey Johnson (Shakopee) Dec 1-0
- 182 – Gabe Anderson (St. Michael-Albertville) over Jack Casey (Shakopee) Dec 9-5
- 195 – DJ Smith (Shakopee) over Cole Jann (St. Michael-Albertville) TF 17-2
- 220 – Nolan Schmitz (St. Michael-Albertville) over Tommy Johnson (Shakopee) Dec 6-3
- 285 – Tyler Kropiwka (Shakopee) over Allen Winters (St. Michael-Albertville) Dec 2-1