Wrestling State Tournament: 2024 Class AAA Team Recap

A season ago, St. Michael-Albertville was cruising along in its Class AAA championship match against Hastings. The Knights held a 32-9 lead, but could only watch helplessly as Hastings staged one of the most storied comebacks in the history of the Minnesota State High School League’s Wrestling State Tournament.

Perhaps buoyed by that memory, the Knights were in no mood for déjà vu on Thursday, Feb. 29 at the Xcel Energy Center.

The No. 2-seeded Knights built a large lead again, but this time surrendered little in recording a dominating 47-10 victory over top-seeded Mounds View in the Class AAA championship. It was the 15^th consecutive victory for the Knights (30-1) since its only loss to Stillwater on Jan. 19. Conversely, it was Mounds View’s first loss, one that soured what has been a fantastic season.

St. Michael-Albertville, the Class AAA champion in 2022, has eight championships spread over Class AAA and Class AA.

In a match that figured to be close and full of nail-biting moments, St. Michael-Albertville decided things early. Grant Bergeron started things off with a victory over Owen LaRose at 107 and then Lincoln Robideau pulled off an upset victory over Mounds View’s Brett Swenson in overtime. The victory spree continued with Brody Bergeron’s 6-2 win over Will Schneider. Pretty soon, it was 15-0 in favor of St. Michael-Albertville following a pin by Chase Mills at 127 pounds.

There was still optimism for Mounds View, which has been strong throughout the middle and upper weights. But the Knights are just as dominant.

Mounds View, making its third state tournament appearance and first since 2007, advanced to the title dual with a 40-20 victory over Albert Lea Area in the semifinals earlier Thursday. The Mustangs won the final six matches and finished on a 31-0 run. In that spree, Mounds View had pins from Apollo Ashby at 152, Colton Loween at 160, and later by Joseph Muhlstein (189) and Quin Morgan (215).

In the upper bracket, St. Michael-Albertville, a longtime Class AAA power, raced past No. 3 Shakopee in a 45-14 victory by winning nine matches, including five by way of a pin.

Third place

Shakopee ended the season on a high note with a 44-11 victory over Albert Lea Area in the third-place dual. The Sabers, who opened with a victory over Apple Valley in the quarterfinals and then lost to St. Michael-Albertville in the semifinals, erased an 11-7 deficit with a 37-point spree over the final eight weights. Four of those victories came via pins by Jackson Barron (172), Landon Rouse (189), Dominic Heim (215) and heavyweight Marcus Dortch-Staten.

Consolation

Willmar, making its fourth consecutive state tournament appearance as the Section 8AAA champion, rallied from an early 15-point deficit with seven consecutive victories through the middle weights to build what would be a 35-27 victory over Hastings, which entered the state tournament as the reigning big-school champion. Cavin Carlson started the run with a win at 133 and Lawson Anez ended it with a pin at 189.