Foley finds its way to final

Pick a motivational ploy. For the Foley wrestling team, there are plenty.

Perhaps it's the fact that, until last year, the Falcons had finished second in their section nine years in a row. Or perhaps it's a close late-season loss to St. Michael-Albertville. Or maybe the fact that, of their nine individual state qualifiers, only one advanced as far as the Class 2A semifinals.

And let's not forget that the Falcons, despite losing only two matches this season, were not among the top four seeds when the tournament seedings took place Sunday.

Whatever the reason, the Falcons have shown little mercy on opponents in the first two rounds of the Class 2A team tournament. One day after rolling over No. 2 seed Perham in the quarterfinals, Foley routed No. 3-seeded Plainview-Elgin-Millville 45-15 to advance to today's championship match.

Things don't get any easier for Foley. The Falcons will face top-ranked Simley, which beat St. Michael-Albertville 31-15 in the other Class 2A semifinal, for the championship.

"When the seedings came out, we were upset," Foley coach Lyle Freudenberg said. "But it's amazing how quickly your forget those things when you win. And we're wrestling the best we have all season."

Simley had little trouble in its semifinal victory. The defending Class 2A champions won seven of the first nine matches and cruised to victory, sending coach Jim Short to the state finals for the eighth time. Short is in his second go-around as the Spartans coach, having led the team to four state titles before retiring in 1998. His son Will took over as head coach until this year, when athletic director duties forced Will to give up the head coaching job.

Jim, who had been coaching the Simley middle-schoolers, was more than happy to step back in.

"I'm old-school, so it took the team a while to get used to me," Jim Short said. "But I think the kids are having fun. And I know I am."

Top-seeded Apple Valley beat Lake Conference rival Bloomington Jefferson/Kennedy 44-27 and No. 2 seed Albert Lea methodically beat Cambridge-Isanti 30-21 in the semifinals. Apple Valley and Albert Lea have met in the finals two of the three previous seasons, in 2006 and 2008, with Apple Valley winning both.

"Our goal is just to make it to the finals. We're little Albert Lea, one of the smallest schools in [Class 3A]," Tigers coach Larry Goodnature said. "Realistically, we're not going to beat them. But we're not going to back down, either."

The Killer Quartet came through for top-seeded Kerkhoven-Murdock-Sunburg, boosting the Fighting Saints past Medford 33-26 and into today's championship match against No. 2 seed Kenyon-Wanamingo.

Medford held a 23-15 lead with five weights to go, but Kevin Steinhaus (160 pounds), Mitchell Hagen (171), Joel Bauman (189) and Brad Kneisl (215) -- who all are ranked No. 1 in 2A -- triumphed for the Saints.

Kenyon-Wanamingo rolled to a big early lead, winning seven of the opening eight matches to secure a 42-17 victory over Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City. Drew Lexvold (130), Josh Jacobson (189) and Luke Hainka (heavyweight) got pins for Kenyon-Wanamingo.