Lakeville South's Tommy Petersen had center mat to prove himself the best in the 195-pound division.
A nationally ranked presence on all three championship class mats battled for attention, but Petersen's ability to hold off Moorhead's Chase Morlock 3-2 in the Class 3A final earned the most cheers Saturday night at Xcel Energy Center.
In arguably the marquee match of the meet, Petersen kept Morlock low to the ground to earn himself a repeat championship and even more national respect.
"Just defense. Strong strategy of defense," Petersen said in describing how he slowed the 2012 182-pound champion. "There are a lot of athletes in that weight class."
Still catching his breath from the victory, Petersen said he thought both wrestlers weren't at their best for all three periods. The nerves and big stage of the event changed the mood, but Petersen kept his focus just long enough. "There were a bunch of nerves going," he said. But "a lot of blood, sweat and tears and broken noses" helped him remain consistent.
Staying putApple Valley's Mark Hall (152 pounds) is still on track to win a record six individual state championships. The freshman collected No. 3 on Saturday night and also confirmed that he has no plans to leave Apple Valley for a full-time spot training with the U.S. wrestling team in Colorado.
"Staying at Apple Valley is the thing that's really important to me," Hall said. "Right now, I love it here in Minnesota. There are no wrestling fans like here."
Though Hall is committed to Apple Valley for at least another year, he said he will seriously consider the move after his junior season. He had hoped to earn a chance to wrestle in the 2020 Olympic Games, but now that sport has been targeted for removal from the Olympic lineup, he has more time to consider a full-time commitment to U.S. wrestling.