Prep roundup: Apple Valley, STMA wrestling win over top 2A teams

WRESTLING

Apple Valley, SMA win over top 2A teamsIn the end, it turned out that the rankings, both statewide and nationally, proved to be spot-on Friday.

Apple Valley and St. Michael-Albertville, Nos. 1 and 2 in Class 3A and Nos. 4 and 5, respectively, in the nation, according to InterMat.com, flexed their respective muscles by beating the top two teams in Class 2A in separate dual meets.

Host Apple Valley broke open a tight match against Kasson-Mantorville, winning six weights in a row, starting with a victory by Dayton Racer at 152 pounds, to beat the KoMets 39-20. Kasson-Mantorville went into the match ranked No. 2 in Class 2A and No. 17 in the InterMat national rankings.

St. Michael-Albertville supporters hope that this might be the year the Knights can give eight-time champion Apple Valley a run for the Class 3A title. And their team showed why they might be right with a convincing 41-21 victory over five-time Class 2A champion Simley, which sported a No. 9-national ranking by InterMat.

JIM PAULSEN

GIRLS' BASKETBALL

• EAST RIDGE 64, IRONDALE 43: Jamie Swanson powered the unbeaten Raptors past the Knights with 22 points, including 18 on six three-pointers. Hannah Pignato was the only other scorer in double figures for East Ridge with 10 points. Stephanie Meyer had 13 points and Brooke Degelau 12 for Irondale.

• FRIDLEY 62, ST. PAUL HARDING 28: A 38-point first half proved to be all the firepower Fridley needed to defeat St. Paul Harding. Sarah Couwenhoven and Brooke Teff had 14 points apiece for the Tigers, while Ebony Wilson-Sinkfield paced the Knights with 12.

• HASTINGS 57, NEW LIFE ACADEMY 51: The Raiders didn't permit the Eagles to rebound from a rough 19-point first half, and held on to win behind Hanna Norman's 27 points. Emily Bolduan had 17 points for the Eagles.

• HOPKINS 64, NEW PRAGUE 46: The Royals took a 15-point halftime lead and didn't relinquish it. Nia Coffey led three Hopkins players in double figures with 19 points. Annie Dittberner had 17 for the Trojans.

• LAKEVILLE NORTH 54, EDEN PRAIRIE 34: Not a single player registered in double digits for Lakeville North. Instead, Erika Rozell, Lindsey Malecha and Simone Kolander each had nine as the Panthers defeated the Eagles. Samantha Trammel lead the Eagles with nine points.

BOYS' BASKETBALL

Hawks win a squeaker• CHASKA 67, HOLY FAMILY 65: Chaska reversed a two-point halftime deficit to defeat Holy Family. Jacob Hansen poured in 20 for the Hawks, and was aided by 14 from Gavin Bjorklund and 11 from Justin Arnold. Colton Stenerson had 19 points for the Fire.

• CHAMPLIN PARK 92, WHITE BEAR LAKE 74: J.T. Gibson paced six Rebels in double figures with 14 points in a victory over the Bears. He was joined by Ian Smith with 13 points, Trevor Garrison, Matt Juneau, and Brendan Witt each with 12, and Zach Johnson with 11. White Bear Lake had four scorers in double figures, led by Tanner Hinck's 17 points.

• LAKEVILLE NORTH 71, EDINA 59: The Panthers rode the hot shooting of J.P. Macura, who tallied 30 points, to the win over the Hornets. Graham Woodward had 26 points, bringing his career total to over 1,000.

• MINNEAPOLIS SOUTH 63, ST. ANTHONY 49: The Tigers spread the scoring around quite evenly, led by Kenley Farrow's 16 points, while Nick Kampa had 25 for the Huskies.

• NEW LIFE ACADEMY 74, BRECK 72: Conrad Engstrom paced the unbeaten Eagles with 23 points, and teammate Zach Prefer added 13 as New Life survived blowing a 72-63 lead with under four minutes to play. All but two of Breck's points came from the quartet of Kevin Linehan, Mohammad Lawal, Michael Marzec, and William Culliton, who led the team with 22.

• ROCHESTER JOHN MARSHALL 75, ST. THOMAS ACADEMY 44: Four Rockets registered double-digit points in John Marshall's win, with Deonte Moore leading the way with 13. Ngor Barnaba and Kyle Dahlstrom each chipped in 12 points, and John Mattison was good for 11 points as the Rockets moved to 2-0 this season. Jalen Patterson topped the scoring for the Cadets with nine points.

• SPRING LAKE PARK 77, ROGERS 68: Robert Ben and Gary Cook had 27 and 21 points, respectively, as the Panthers defeated the Royals. Sam Spilles and Cullen Loughlin combined for 40 points for Rogers.

• ZIMMERMAN 80, CLOQUET 79 (4 OTs): Zimmerman overcame an eight-point deficit late to force overtime, then outlasted the Lumberjacks to secure a grueling victory between a pair of teams seeking their first victory. Jake Wilson led the Thunder with 27 points. Adam Lain had a double-double for Cloquet with 32 points and 15 boards.