3A wrestling: St. Michael's McKee keeps mind on winning

St. Michael-Albertville's Mitchell McKee won twice in the Class 3A wrestling state meet Friday, moving on to Saturday's 120-pound individual semifinals. That may have been the easy part.

For the first two days of the tournament, Mitchell's mother and father, Nina and Steve McKee, have been right there in the Xcel Energy Center stands, cheering on his every shot, turn and escape. Not unusual except for the fact that Steve climbed out of a hospital bed that he'd been in, getting treatment for cancer, to be there.

"So far, I feel good," Mitchell said. "I survived to wrestle another day and keep it going for my dad."

McKee said he had a bout of jitters before taking on Apple Valley's Gannon Volk in the quarterfinals. He won 7-0, but it didn't come easily.

"I was thinking too much," he said. "I told myself just to relax and take deep breaths."

Win or lose, McKee said he knew his father was pleased just to watch him wrestle.

"We didn't talk today, but we did before the meet," he said. "He told me he was proud of me."

Older brothers Michael and David combined to win seven championships. If Tommy wins Saturday, he will have four state titles, matching David and setting a state record for championships among family members. Currently, the Thorn family is tied with the Sanders family of Wabasha-Kellogg with 10.

"I've been coming down here since I was in fourth or fifth grade," said Tommy, who will follow his brothers and wrestle for the Gophers next year. "It would be kind of cool to get the record and show how strong our family has been."

All eyes followed as Apple Valley sophomore Mark Hall walked off the mat after pinning Prior Lake's Robby Schultz in the 170-pound semifinals. No surprise, given Hall's reputation as a wrestling wunderkind. The victory improved his record to 46-0 and kept him on track to a fourth state championship.

His continued excellence brought about a comparison to another high-profile Apple Valley athlete: Tyus Jones.

"That's funny," Hall said. "When I see him in the halls at school, I think that he's one of the best at what he does. And I like to think I'm one of the best at what I do."

"I think about those kinds of things before the season or before the postseason," Hall said. "Once the postseason starts, I'm just focused on what I need to do."