By most accounts, St. Michael-Albertville's showing at the recently completed wrestling state tournament would be considered wildly successful. For a program with such high standards, however, it wasn't without a tinge or two of regret.

St. Michael-Albertville came within a final match pin of upsetting Apple Valley in the Class 3A team finals.

Jake Briggs' 5-2 victory at 220 pounds tied the match 30-30, but Apple Valley's Gable Steveson pinned the Knights' Randy Anderson at heavyweight, relegating St. Michael-Albertville to second place.

"It takes a good team just to get this far, so I'm happy about that," Knights coach Dan LeFebvre said. "This is an athletic competition and sometimes you don't always perform like you want to. But you can't fault the kids for their effort. It's disappointing, sure, but we have a lot of good kids who worked hard and we're excited about next year."

In individual competition, the Knights had three Class 3A state champions, tying Apple Valley for the most of any team in the tournament. Mitchell McKee won at 126-pounds, Lucas Jeske at 152 and Jordan Joseph at 182.

For Joseph, it was a validation of his decision to return to wrestling after a one-year hiatus to concentrate on his future as a baseball player. "It was a really fun season," Joseph said. "No regrets."

Davis' legacy grows

When Eden Prairie's Ben Brancale won the Class 3A 138-pound championship, it also was a milestone for Scot Davis. In his second year at Eden Prairie, Davis has coached individual state champions at four schools in his career: Belcourt (N.D.), Bird Island-Lake Lillian, Owatonna and Eden Prairie.

Girls' basketball conference champs

• Chanhassen had its undefeated conference season spoiled in an unexpected 60-56 loss to Cooper on Feb. 24, but the Storm still cruised to the Metro West Conference championship with a 13-1 league record. Chaska was second with a 9-5 league record.

• Minneapolis Washburn won its third consecutive Minneapolis Conference title. The Millers are 35-1 in league play over the last three seasons.

• Hopkins ran away with Lake with a 8-0 conference record. The Royals have won the championship in all five seasons of the conference's current alignment.

• Orono completed an undefeated Wright County Conference season with a 10-0 league record.

Jim Paulsen • 612-673-7737