Wrestling 2025: Key things to know

More than 1,000 matches are scheduled over the course of three days as wrestlers fill the spotlight during the Minnesota State High School League’s Wrestling State Tournament.

The single-day team tournament is Thursday, Feb. 27 at the Xcel Energy Center followed by two days of an individual tournament when dozens of champions will be crowned. 

Here are some key things to know: 

The Schedule:

Team Tournament

Thursday, Feb. 27

Class A quarterfinals, 9 a.m.

• United North Central (19-3) vs. No. 2 Staples-Motley (21-3)
• LeSueur-Henderson (18-12) vs. No. 3 Jackson County Central (16-2)
• West Central Area/Ashby/Brandon-Evansville (16-5) vs. No. 1 Chatfield (18-2)
• No. 5 Canby (16-8) vs. No. 4 Lake Crystal Wellcome Memorial Area (18-11)

Class AAA quarterfinals, 9 a.m.

• Elk River (19-6) vs. No. 2 Shakopee (26-1)
• Prior Lake (18-4) vs. No. 3 Stillwater Area (26-6)
• Hastings (25-8) vs. No. 1 St. Michael-Albertville (24-0)
• No. 5 Bemidji (13-10) vs. No. 4 Albert Lea Area (23-3) 

Class AA quarterfinals, 11 a.m.

• Perham (18-9) vs. No. 2 Kasson-Mantorville (20-5)
• Grand Rapids (20-1) vs. No. 3 Simley (19-6) 
• Totino-Grace (15-7) vs. No. 1 Watertown-Mayer (19-1) 
• No. 5 Marshall (28-4) vs. No. 4 Becker (25-6)

11 a.m.

• Class A consolation semifinals
• Class AAA consolation semifinals

1 p.m.

• Class A championship semifinals
• Class AA championship semifinals
• Class AAA championship semifinals
• Class AA consolation semifinals

5 p.m.

• Class A consolation final
• Class A third place
• Class AA consolation final
• Class AA third place
• Class AAA consolation final
• Class AAA third place

7 p.m.

• Class A championship
• Class AA championship
• Class AAA championship

Friday, Feb. 28

Session 3: 9 a.m. -- 3 p.m.

• Class A Individual first round
• Class AA Individual first round
• Class AAA Individual first round

Session 4: 4 p.m. --- 9:30 p.m.

• Class A Individual quarterfinals
• Class AA Individual quarterfinals
• Class AAA Individual quarterfinals
• Class A, Class AA, Class AAA wrestlebacks

Saturday, March 1

Session 5: 9 a.m. – 2:30 p.m.

• Class A, Class AA, Class AAA Individual consolation quarterfinals, Girls quarterfinals
• Class A, Class AA, Class AAA semifinals, Girls semifinals
• Class A, Class AA, Class AAA consolation semifinals, Girls consolation semifinals.

Session 6: 4 p.m. – 8:30 p.m.

• Class A, Class AA, Class AAA third- and fifth-place, Girls third- and fifth-place.
• Class A, Class AA, Class AAA championships, Girls championships.

Things to know

Team

Class A

• Chatfield, the defending small-school champion, has not lost to a Minnesota team this season. The Gophers’ two losses came during the Clash Duals in early January in La Crosse, WI.
• Lake Crystal Wellcome Memorial Area, the Section 2A champion, won the consolation final a year ago. 
• Jackson County Central, a nine-time state champion, is on a seven-dual winning streak. 
• LeSueur-Henderson is the Section 4A champion for the second consecutive year. The Giants are powered by junior 215-pounder George Doherty.
• Canby, a Class A power over a span of three decades returns as a team for the first time since 2008. 
• West Central Area/Ashby/Brandon-Evansville returns after a one-year hiatus. The Knights have power up top with junior 189-pounder Ezekiel Sieckert and senior Jeremy Blascyk at 215. 
• Staples-Motley is on a 12-dual winning streak, a span that includes two victories over powerful, Holdingford. The Cardinals’ have three losses, all at the Clash. Two were to St. Michael-Albertville and Shakopee, both in the Class A field, and to Bettendorf, IA. A rematch showdown from a year ago between Chatfield and Staples-Motley may be looming. 
• United North Central placed sixth in Class AA a season ago. The Warriors are on an eight-dual winning streak.

Class AA

• Kasson-Mantorville opened its season with a loss to Chatfield. The KoMets then rattled off a 10-1 run before back-to-back losses to Stillwater and St. Michael-Albertville. 
• Watertown-Mayer, which finished sixth a season ago, is the top seed in Class AA. The Royals’ only loss is to St. Michael-Albertville in early January. Since seeding began in 2014, Watertown-Mayer is the only team other than Simley and Kasson-Mantorville to be the top seed in Class AA.
• Marshall was the Class AA runner-up in 2019 in its only other state tournament trip. 
• Simley is the six-time defending Class AA champion. To make it a lucky seven, the Spartans must do so as the No. 3 seed. While Simley lost 10 starters from last season’s squad, don’t be surprised if the tradition-rich Spartans find a way to make a run at another crown. 
• Totino-Grace, the Section 5AA champion, is making its fifth consecutive trip to the state tournament and 21^st overall. Junior Joe Kruse is 33-6 at 189.
• Becker is on a nine-dual winning streak that includes a victory over Totino-Grace on Jan. 30.
• Grand Rapids, the Section 7AA champion, returns for the first time since 2018. They were the Class AA runner-up in 1977 and 1987, respectively. 
• Perham, the Class AA runner-up in 2007 and 2008 respectively, is making its 13^th state tournament appearance. 

Class AAA

• Albert Lea Area, representing the Big 9 Conference, is on a late-season tear with a 12-dual winning streak.   
• Prior Lake is one of two schools from the South Suburban (Shakopee is the other) that is competing in the big-school field. Sophomore Liam Collins is 32-2 at 114. 
• In 2023, Hastings stunned the Minnesota high school wrestling community by upsetting St. Michael-Albertville in the Class AAA championship match. Do the Raiders have another upset special in them? Junior Trey Beissel touts a 45-2 record at 133.
• Stillwater raced past Mounds View in the Section 4AAA championship to earn a state tournament trip for the eighth time since 2017. In that span, the Ponies were the Class AAA runner-up three times. 
• All eyes are on St. Michael-Albertville to see if it can complete and undefeated run toward a Class AAA repeat and 12^th overall. The Knights’ closest margin of victory this season is a 30-21 victory over Watertown-Mayer on Jan. 10.
• Shakopee won three consecutive Class AAA championships from 2019-2021. The Sabers return with an eye on another. Their only loss? A 51-16 setback to St. Michael-Albertville on Jan. 4. 
• Elk River’s last loss during the season was to Cambridge-Isanti on Feb. 1. Nearly two weeks later, the Elks reversed that result in a 34-31 victory over the Bluejackets in the Section 7AAA championship. It is Elk River’s first state tournament appearance as a team since 2003. 
• Bemidji, the Section 8AAA champion, is seeking its first state title in nine trips. Junior Nick Strand is 40-4 at 139. 

Individuals

• Simley sophomore Charli Raymond remains on course to continue making history. Already the first girl to win a Minnesota State High School League wrestling crown three years ago, she has added two more. The 118-pounder is 34-0 this season. If she completes her career with six individual titles, it will match the mark of six crowns captured by Apple Valley’s Mark Hall from 2011-2016.
• Northfield junior Caley Graber is ranked No. 2 nationally at 118. She is 7-0 this season. 
• Pine Island junior Lauren Elsmore, the state champion at 112 a year ago, is 30-3 this season at 130. 
• Staples-Motley ninth-grader Gage Bjerga, the 107-pound champion in 2024, is 42-3 at 121. 
• St. Michael-Albertville’s Landon Robideau, a senior 160-pounder, has not lost since his ninth-grade season. This season, he is 40-0 and could become a four-time state champion. He is an Oklahoma State recruit. 
• St. Michael-Albertville has the most individual qualifiers of any of the 24 teams across the three enrollment classifications with 12. Stillwater Area has 11 and Mounds View and Shakopee have 10 each.