60 feet to heartbroken

º Photo by Kyndell Harkness

Hopkins experienced the both the highest of highs and the lowest of lows in the Class 4A state tournament. Sophomore Amir Coffey made a 60-foot basket as time expired to give the Royals' a 49-46 quadruple-overtime victory over Shakopee in the semifinals. Two days later, the Royals gave up a four-point lead in the final 22 seconds of play, falling to Lakeville North 84-82 in the championship game.

this one's for you, dad

º Photo by Marlin Levison

After a rough finish to the 2013 season, in which he was upset in the state tournament semifinals and found out a few days later that his father, Steve, was battling a cancerous tumor, St. Michael-Albertville sophomore Mitchell McKee dedicated his season to winning a state championship for his father. With Steve sitting matside after having spent the week in extensive chemotherapy just to get the chance to watch his son compete, Mitchell reached his goal, winning the Class 3A 120-pound state championship.

family of champions

º Photo by Marlin Levison

Another St. Michael-Albertville wrestler, senior Tommy Thorn, concluded a stellar career by making history. Thorn won the Class 3A 126-pound championship, his fourth career individual championship. Combined with the individual titles won by older brothers Mike (three) and David (four), the Thorns' 11 individual championships made them most successful wrestling family in state history.

power through powder

ø Photo by Jeff Wheeler

Minnesota has proven to be fertile territory for cross-country skiing talent. Bloomington Jefferson sophomore Zak Ketterson has been heralded as the next potential nationally prominent skier, and he showed why at the boys' Nordic ski racing meet at Giants Ridge. Despite skiing through 6 inches of new powder, Ketterson blew away the rest of the field in the freestyle portion of the race and cruised through the classic portion to win his first state championship.

class masters, by far

º Photo by Marlin Levison

With a talent-stuffed roster and a history of postseason excellence, Edina proved itself to be far and away the best boys' hockey team in the state, winning its second consecutive Class 2A state championship. The Hornets outscored their three opponents by a combined score of 17-4. Including the championships won by Edina East in the 1970s and '80s, Edina has won a state-record nine championships.

Skippers repeat

º Photo by Jeff Wheeler

Chanhassen freshman Louis Nguyen and Minnetonka senior Megan Greiner, above, owned the hills at Giants Ridge Ski Area in Biwabik, each taking home championship medals in the individual races. Greiner and senior teammate Erin Olejnik, who finished second overall, led the Skippers' girls to their second consecutive team championship.

blake leaves no doubt

º Photo by David Joles

Blake officially became the most successful girls' hockey program in Minnesota by winning a record-setting fifth state championship. Sylvie Wallin scored two goals in the third period to lift the Bears to a 3-2 come-from-behind victory over top-seeded East Grand Forks in the Class 1A championship game. It was Blake's second consecutive state title.