There are legendary upsets in wrestling, and there will be more. The St. Michael-Albertville Knights – who have had their fair share of upsets in the past, including state championship tie with Apple Valley in 2013 – a team that featured Olympian Mark Hall for the Eagles – were stung by the upset bug this year, in thrilling fashion.
Next to no one in the Xcel Energy Center expected what happened Friday to happen, as Hastings – behind five wins in the last five matches of a state title dual against the Knights, including three wins by fall – pulled off the unthinkable, defeating STMA 33-32 for the team championship. Those who know the sport also know strange things can happen – even when they’re unexpected. Especially, it seems, at “state.”
“Anything can happen in wrestling. Anything,” said former STMA coach and legend Gregg Greeno. “And, down here, this weekend, it usually does. Hats off to Hastings – they did what they had to do. They didn’t get pinned early, and they got their wins by fall late.”
Per usual, the old coach was spot on during his analysis from the X. Hastings, who had lost to the Knights head-to-head earlier in the year, figured out the formula: Win early with your top seeds at 106 and 113; then, keep your shoulders up against the Knights’ murderers row of Mason Mills, Ian Schultz, Landon Robideau, Parker Janssen and Jarrett Wadesen – and then cruise with your “big guys.”
It played out better than hoped. Hastings got two decisions from Blake Beissel and brother Trey. And though Mason Mills won with a pin, Schultz was held to a major decision and Janssen, who had a 15-0 lead, walked off the mat with five points instead of six as Jack Bainbridge avoided a pin. Jed Wester, too – an eventual state champ (we’ll get to that) – had a 15 point lead byut couldn’t pin down Aiden Erickson at 160.
The tide turned at 170 pounds. Ian Pepple got two points for a takedown and one penalty point when Noah Togerson was flagged for stalling, and got Hastings rolling with a 3-0 decision. Jericho Cooper got a decision for the Raiders – and then it was a series of pins at 195, 220 and 285 that staked the underdogs to history, and put the X into a tizzy.
Landon Robideau – undefeated state champion at 132 pounds.
On Saturday – in the individual tournament – the Knights came through with the steadiest of rebounds. Landon Robideau put his name into the ledger of undefeated state champions, finishing 47-0 with a tech fall in the 132 pound final. It’s his second straight championship.
Jed Wester shook of last year’s heartbreak of his own – a 10-3 loss under the spotlight – to take the 160 pound title with an 8-3 win this year, adding a gold to his silver.
Earning silver in 2023 were two Knights – Mason Mills and Janssen. For Mason, it was another night of heartache. He lost 4-3 in an ultimate tiebreaker, the only one of the Class AAA finals, to Zytavius Williams of Eden Prairie. Mills will be back next year with a sizeable chip on his shoulder. Meanwhile, Janssen closed out his career with a great effort against another of Class AAA’s undefeated champions – Alex Braun of Woodbury.
Togererson, who fought hard all week – battled his way back to third place with one of the more exciting medal matches of the night. So, too, did Eli Davis, who joined the 40-win club with a win over Jaden Haueter, a junior from Apple Valley.
Also placing were Lincoln Robidea (4th at 106), Chase Mills (6th at 112), Ian Schutlz (5th at 126), Jarrett Wadsen (who “spun” his way to 4th at 152), and Miles Dehmer (6th at 220).
STMA Girls Make History
The Knights’ girls’ wrestling program found the podium in their trip to the X – with Claire Kvant earning the highest medal in school history with a pin at 126 pounds, finishing third. She was joined by Mylin Lemke on the podium, who earned fifth place at 165 pounds, also with a pin in her final match.
Photo gallery here, courtesy of The Guillotine online.
Individual
Medal Matches
126 Girls
1st Cassandra Gonzales (Shakopee) 13-0, Fr. over Chloe Berg (Chatfield) 11-4, Jr. (Fall 3:31)
3rd Claire Kvant (St. Michael-Albertville) 13-7, So. over Jovanna Volker (Nash-Kee- Greenway) 15-3, 8th. (Fall 5:02)
5th Mackenzie Armagost (GMLOS) 23-8, Sr. over Amelia Converse (St. Croix Lutheran) 13-8, Fr. (Dec 9-8)
165 Girls
1st Ella Pagel (Northfield) 6-0, So. over Elizabeth Oster (Bemidji) 12-5, Sr. (Fall 0:38)
3rd Esperanza Calvillo (Apple Valley) 24-10, Fr. over Esther Say (Marshall) 8-5, 8th. (Dec 4-1)
5th Mylin Lemke (St. Michael-Albertville) 15-6, Sr. over Savana Stans (Forest Lake) 6-8, Fr. (Fall 1:09)
Boys
106AAA
1st Trey Beissel (Hastings) 51-1, Fr. over Brett Swenson (Mounds View) 47-3, So. (Dec 6-4)
3rd Nolan Enderlein (Eastview) 41-5, Sr. over Lincoln Robideau (St. Michael-Albertville) 43-6, 7th. (Fall 2:40)
5th Noah Nicholson (Stillwater) 39-14, 8th. over Dylan St. Germain (Eagan) 35-12, So. (MD 17-5)
113AAA
1st Blake Beissel (Hastings) 52-1, Jr. over Leo Edblad (Cambridge-Isanti) 39-3, Jr. (Dec 5-1)
3rd Luke Koenen (Wayzata) 44-5, Jr. over Brandon Board (Andover) 45-3, Jr. (Dec 3-2)
5th Austin Laudenbach (Apple Valley) 39-8, Sr. over Chase Mills (St. Michael-Albertville) 39-10, Fr. (Dec 5-2)
120AAA
1st Zytavius Williams (Eden Prairie) 35-9, So. over Mason Mills (St. Michael-Albertville) 39-6, Sr. (UTB 4-3)
3rd AJ Smith (Shakopee) 37-8, Sr. over Zack Carr (Park) 47-6, Fr. (Dec 11-5)
5th Connor Peterson (Maple Grove) 37-8, Fr. over Jacob Aho (Forest Lake) 34-7, Sr. (M. For.)
126AAA
1st Alan Koehler (Prior Lake) 17-0, Sr. over Logan Swensen (Wayzata) 42-4, Jr. (UTB 2-1)
3rd Davis Parrow (Farmington) 46-9, Fr. over Grant Marr (Forest Lake) 40-12, So. (Fall 5:01)
5th Ian Schultz (St. Michael-Albertville) 38-9, Jr. over Maverick Mueller (Waconia) 35-8, Jr. (Dec 12-5)
132AAA
1st Landon Robideau (St. Michael-Albertville) 46-0, So. over Lincoln Vick (Waconia) 42-7, Sr. (TF-1.5 4:58 (23-8))
3rd Parker Lyden (Forest Lake) 47-5, Jr. over Landon Nebel (Edina) 43-7, Sr. (Fall 4:41)
5th Easton Dircks (Brainerd) 44-5, Fr. over Sulley Anez (Willmar) 33-12, So. (Dec 6-3)
138AAA
1st Alex Braun (Woodbury) 48-0, Jr. over Parker Janssen (St. Michael-Albertville) 37-5, Sr. (Dec 6-1)
3rd Conlan Carlson (Willmar) 41-5, So. over Connor Warren (Shakopee) 31-8, Jr. (TF-1.5 5:25 (19-4))
5th Logan Henningson (Winona-Winona Cotter) 45-7, Sr. over Ty Saulter (Rosemount) 36-11, So. (Dec 7-2)
145AAA
1st Elijah Paulson (Anoka) 44-2, Sr. over Terae Dunn (Eden Prairie) 35-5, Jr. (Dec 10-3)
3rd Eli Davis (St. Michael-Albertville) 40-8, Jr. over Jayden Haueter (Apple Valley) 44-5, Jr. (Dec 9-4)
5th Calder Sheehan (Rochester Mayo) 37-5, So. over Josh Route (Hastings) 36-17, Sr. (Dec 5-4)
152AAA
1st Zach Hanson (Lakeville North) 34-0, Sr. over Cael Robb (Owatonna) 32-3, Sr. (MD 13-3)
3rd Charles Petit (Wayzata) 45-9, Jr. over Jarrett Wadsen (St. Michael-Albertville) 37-11, So. (Dec 7-4)
5th Brad Little (Woodbury) 47-5, So. over Dane Jorgensen (Bemidji) 48-4, Sr. (Dec 5-3)
160AAA
1st Jed Wester (St. Michael-Albertville) 40-2, Jr. over Leo Tukhlynovych (Shakopee) 26-3, Sr. (Dec 8-1)
3rd Jacory Bates (Eden Prairie) 26-4, Sr. over Apollo Ashby (Mounds View) 46-5, Jr. (Dec 10-4)
5th Aiden Erickson (Hastings) 41-8, Sr. over Patrick Kubisa (Hopkins) 35-8, Jr. (Dec 9-8)
170AAA
1st Marco Christiansen (Minnetonka) 47-7, Jr. over Adam Cherne (Wayzata) 43-6, Sr. (SV-1 4-2)
3rd Noah Torgerson (St. Michael-Albertville) 24-4, Jr. over Treytin Byers (Cambridge-Isanti) 40-6, Sr. (Dec 6-5)
5th Braeden Erickson (Willmar) 40-6, Sr. over Marcell Booth (Apple Valley) 43-6, Jr. (SV-1 6-4)
220AAA
1st Mark Rendl (Forest Lake) 41-3, Jr. over Alex Riley (Waconia) 42-2, Sr. (Dec 7-3)
3rd Dominic Heim (Eden Prairie) 29-5, Jr. over Antonio Menard (Lakeville North) 38-9, Jr. (Dec 5-2)
5th Mambu Sonie (Burnsville) 35-6, Sr. over Myles Dehmer (St. Michael-Albertville) 26-12, Sr. (Fall 1:48)
TEAM
Quarterfinal
St. Michael-Albertville defeated Anoka 58-13
106 – Grant Bergeron (STMA) over Gabrielle Bragg (Anoka) Maj 11-2
113 – Chase Mills (STMA) over Owen Rhode (Anoka) TF 16-0
120 – Mason Mills (STMA) over Brock Bottineau (Anoka) Fall 0:50
126 – Ian Schultz (STMA) over Cayden Ban (Anoka) Maj 15-2
132 – Landon Robideau (STMA) over Connor Smith (Anoka) Fall 1:14
138 – Parker Janssen (STMA) over Garrett Wittek (Anoka) Fall 1:48
145 – Elijah Paulson (Anoka) over Tyler Zenga (STMA) Maj 22-8
152 – Jarrett Wadsen (STMA) over Oliver Ollman (Anoka) Fall 1:10
160 – Jed Wester (STMA) over Logan Jungling (Anoka) Fall 3:38
170 – Noah Torgerson (STMA) over Isaiah Gunderson (Anoka) Fall 1:17
182 – Luke DeChene (Anoka) over Max O`Sullivan (STMA) Fall 4:45
195 – Tyson Hentges (STMA) over Logan Raj-Malikowski (Anoka) Dec 3-0
220 – Max Berglund (Anoka) over Evan Becker (STMA) SV-1 8-6
285 – Logan Torkelson (STMA) over Mason Brent (Anoka) Fall 4:42
Semifinals
St. Michael-Albertville defeated Stillwater 56-14
106 – Lincoln Robideau (STMA) over Noah Nicholson (Stillwater) Dec 4-2
113 – Chase Mills (STMA) over Joe Dauffenbach (Stillwater) Maj 14-0
120 – Mason Mills (STMA) over Dylan Dauffenbach (Stillwater) Dec 9-3
126 – Ian Schultz (STMA) over Cohen Lumby (Stillwater) Fall 0:16
132 – Landon Robideau (STMA) over Mikey Jelinek (Stillwater) Fall 2:28
138 – Parker Janssen (STMA) over Lindson Turner (Stillwater) Maj 9-1
145 – Eli Davis (STMA) over Brody Urbanski (Stillwater) Fall 0:34
152 – Jarrett Wadsen (STMA) over Otto Hanlon (Stillwater) Fall 1:16
160 – Jed Wester (STMA) over Isaac Hunter (Stillwater) Fall 0:20
170 – Noah Torgerson (STMA) over Ambrose Spaeth (Stillwater) Fall 1:59
182 – Mack Carlson (Stillwater) over Bryon Sauvy (STMA) Dec 4-3
195 – Cittadino Tuttle (Stillwater) over Max O`Sullivan (STMA) TF 17-1
220 – Ryder Rogotzke (Stillwater) over Evan Becker (STMA) Fall 1:36
285 – Logan Torkelson (STMA) over Andrew Olson (Stillwater) Fall 5:17
Championship
Hastings defeated St. Michael-Albertville 33-32
106 – Trey Beissel (Hastings) over Lincoln Robideau (STMA) Dec 5-1
113 – Blake Beissel (Hastings) over Chase Mills (STMA) Dec 3-0
120 – Mason Mills (STMA) over Gavin Lambert (Hastings) Fall 2:11
126 – Ian Schultz (STMA) over Peyton Erickson (Hastings) Maj 14-6
132 – Landon Robideau (STMA) over Donavin Ward (Hastings) Fall 1:29
138 – Parker Janssen (STMA) over Jack Bainbridge (Hastings) TF 15-0
145 – Josh Route (Hastings) over Eli Davis (STMA) Dec 5-3
152 – Jarrett Wadsen (STMA) over Creed Peterson (Hastings) Fall 0:52
160 – Jed Wester (STMA) over Aiden Erickson (Hastings) TF 19-4
170 – Ian Pepple (Hastings) over Noah Torgerson (STMA) Dec 3-1
182 – Jericho Cooper (Hastings) over Bryon Sauvy (STMA) Dec 14-8
195 – Derrick Steinke (Hastings) over Tyson Hentges (STMA) Fall 2:49
220 – Austin Leflay (Hastings) over Myles Dehmer (STMA) Fall 0:44
285 – Blake Clemons (Hastings) over Logan Torkelson (STMA) Fall 1:04