Rally completes a perfect season

Joey Munos fell behind early in his Class 2A 125-pound championship match Saturday. But the junior from South St. Paul never panicked.

"It's happened before," he said nonchalantly.

Perhaps that reflection of calm was because he knew something no one else did. In Munos' eyes, he had his match with Zimmerman's Zach Stepan all along.

Munos, the champion last year at 119 pounds, turned a 3-2 deficit into a 5-2 advantage with one swift second-period move to put Stepan on his back. Munos pressed for over 25 seconds but couldn't get the pin.

"That whole time I knew I needed to keep inching it and inching it," Munos said.

The next time, Munos made it count.

He pinned Stepan with 32 seconds left in their match to cap his undefeated season.

"I wanted to make it count," said Munos, who has been a team captain since he was a freshman. "You have to finish off your opportunities, and that second time I made sure I did."

Munos is the Packers' only individual state champion. His brother nearly made it a Munos Daily Double, but Jesse settled for second place in the 140-pound bracket to end his senior year. He lost 5-2 to Monticello's Tyler Mergen.

Still, the Munos family tradition lives strong. Before this year's accomplishments, their brother, Mike, wrestled at state and their father and uncles wrestled for St. Paul Humboldt.

"I've been coming here since I was in fifth grade. There is nothing else like it."

Scary sceneSimley 130-pound freshman Mack Short was knocked unconscious during his Class 2A consolation round match when he hit his head on the mat. Paramedics were called and took Short off on a stretcher after he came to.

Will Short, Mack's uncle and Simley's head coach, said later that Mack was fine and wanted to walk off but trainers would not allow him to get up.

Jake Short, Mack's cousin, won his second consecutive championship Friday night by claiming the 140-pound crown. He was working out in the Xcel Energy Center corridor when Mack was injured.

"I heard him get called [to the mat] so I knew he was out there and when I saw the stretcher I worried right away," Jake Short said. "My bigger concern was him more than another state championship."

Perfect endingsTwo wrestlers in Class 1A -- Clint Poster of Pierz at 140 pounds and Medford's Curt Maas at 145 pounds -- finished the season undefeated.

Munos, Mergen, Scott West 215-pounder Michael Kroells and Caledonia/Houston heavyweight Austin Goergen were undefeated in Class 2A.