It was supposed to be the year Apple Valley wrestling took a step back. A new coach, Dalen Wasmund, and the strength of St. Michael-Albertville had the wrestling experts thinking the empire might fall.

Not quite. The Eagles battled St. Michael-Albertville to a 28-28 tie in the Class 3A team finals of the state tournament on Thursday at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul. The co-championship marked the eighth consecutive time the Eagles won the title.

"They weren't going to go down without a fight," Wasmund said. "They proved what they had to at the end of the year."

They also won seven championships in the individual portion of the tournament. Three of those were first-time champions — sophomore Dayton Racer (145 pounds), senior David Johnson (182 pounds) and junior Paul Cheney (220 pounds).

Three wrestlers won their second titles — sophomore Maolu Woiwor (113 pounds), junior Seth Gross (132 pounds) and senior Danny Woiwor (160 pounds). Freshman Mark Hall (152 pounds) won his third title.

"I'm happy and proud with both aspects, as a team and the individuals," Wasmund said. "The entire year as a whole was very satisfying."

Lightning strikes

Eastview's boys' hockey program was looking for a signature victory during the regular season. It got just that with a 4-1 victory over South Suburban Conference champion Eagan.

The confidence gained carried over into the Class 2A, Section 3 finals, where rival Eagan stood in its way of a state tournament trip.

Eastview scored the first four goals and posted a 4-1 victory over the Wildcats Thursday at the State Fairgrounds Coliseum. The Lightning earned their second state tournament appearance and first since 2001.

Junior forward John Snodgrass had two goals and one assist. Sophomore goaltender Zachary Driscoll was brilliant, making 37 saves.

The Lightning roster includes players from last spring's state championship baseball and lacrosse teams as well as last fall's soccer squad.

Top performances

• Lakeville South senior Tommy Petersen won the battle of defending champions in the Class 3A individual wrestling state tournament Saturday at the Xcel Energy Center. Petersen successfully defended his 195-pound weight division state championship with a thrilling 3-2 victory over Chase Morlock of Moorhead. Morlock won the 182-pound title in 2012.

• Rosemount junior Daniel Monaghan won the Class 2A diving title at the state swimming meet Saturday at the University of Minnesota Aquatic Center. He won the 1-meter diving title with an overall score of 413.10. Monaghan's performance led the Irish team to a seventh-place finish.

Ron Haggstrom • 612-673-4498