A rivalry's drama gives title match extra punch

The event watched by the most eyeballs during Saturday's state wrestling championships at Xcel Energy Center consisted of 270 pounds of determination squaring off for six minutes.

And after it was over, the winner thrust two fingers into the air. That settled the pre-match question: would it be two or four fingers going up?

The digits belonged to Bloomington Kennedy senior Robby Fisher, who earned his second title by outscoring Apple Valley sophomore Destin McCauley 10-5 to win the Class 3A gold medal at 135 pounds. Rarely does a clash of smallish titans carry so much weight.

McCauley came into the match as the best-known wrestler in the state, having won three titles in three years and with the possibility of becoming the state's first six-time champion. He took a career record of 188-6 into the match with Fisher, a senior who won the state title at 125 last season and placed fourth at 119 as a sophomore in his first state appearance.

They had met three times this season, splitting two regular-seaosn matches. Fisher had beaten McCauley 4-2 in Friday's team semifinals.

Drama? Yes, this was drama. There were two other bouts going on at the same time -- as the 135-pound contestants in 1A and 2A battled alongside the 3A center ring on the floor of the big dance hall -- but nearly all faces were aimed at Fisher and McCauley.

Fisher was the aggressor from the get-go, getting the initial takedown and leading 3-2 after one period. A takedown by Fisher in the final second of period two was huge, giving him a 7-4 lead.

As the match ended and the fingers went airborne, the fans stood and cheered. Apple Valley wrestlers had already won four titles before McCauley's defeat, so a questioner posed this to Fisher: Was the crowd cheering for you or were they cheering for anybody who beat a Valley kid? (Ignoring the possibility that they cheered for two great wrestlers.)

"It was very cool. It was exciting," Fisher said. "I think it was more the beating Destin McCauley part. He's just so nearly untouchable. I think it was more the fact that somebody's finally overcome it. It was pretty cool."

McCauley said, "I just wanted to attack the whole time. I just got frustrated, I guess, just lost my head a little bit."

McCauley beat Fisher in their first meeting this year, but Friday's contest set the stage for the title battle.

"There's been no pressure on me from the start," Fisher said. "There's been nothing pushing against me. All the pressure was on him, just like me beating him yesterday kind of sticks in his mind. You could tell, he just wasn't mentally in it. It just wasn't there."

Fisher has not settled on his college plans. He said he was waiting for the state tournament to end, hopefully with a first-place medal -- over a first-rate opponent -- that would attract some attention.

"There's going to be a few more heads turned now," he said.

The head turning began Saturday, just as those fingers went up.

John Millea • jmillea@startribune.com