Sam Brancale's ears probably still are ringing. He might still be speechless.
The Eden Prairie senior was the story of last weekend's state wrestling tournament, using a dramatic last-ditch reverse on St. Cloud Apollo's Mitch Bengtson to win the Class 3A 126-pound championship. Bengtson entered the match as a three-time defending state champion, with a 179-match winning streak and with the piece of mind knowing he had defeated Bengtson a year earlier in the 119-pound quarterfinals.
Brancale entered with nothing to lose.
"I always felt we were kind of evenly matched," Brancale said.
They were Saturday.
Bengston earned a one-point escape in the second period and held it until four seconds remained in the match. That's when Brancale said he briefly panicked and let his instincts take over to record the two-point reverse.
"I've been thinking about this every day since last year," said Brancale, a Gophers recruit who won at 103 pounds as a sophomore.
Sam's brother Ben, a sophomore, took third place at 120 pounds and was among the long line of well-wishers backstage.
