Apple

Records are nothing new for the Apple Valley wrestling team. The Eagles began the state tournament already holding state standards for dual-meet state titles (15), appearances in team championship matches (21) and consecutive trips to state (27). The record book got a little thicker Saturday, however, as five Eagles won individual state championships. That tied the mark set by Forest Lake in 1993 and set a record for all-time state champs by one team.

Apple Valley now has 52, eclipsing the mark of 50 held by Blue Earth and Robbinsdale. And as if that wasn’t enough, later in the day the top-ranked Eagles rolled past No. 4 Albert Lea 57-6 to capture their ninth team title in 10 years. In three team duals at state, the Eagles won by a total of 154-31. It was a great day for Apple Valley wrestling, said Eagles coach Jim Jackson, who extended his state record for coaching the most individual champions to 37.

Apple Valley’s previous high was four champions in 2002. The Eagles went 5-2 in Saturday’s title round. Eric Devos won at 103 pounds, Destin McCauley did the same at 119, Justin LaValle won at 130, Matt Mincey was the champ at 135 and Tyler Lehmann won at 171. McCauley, a freshman, and Mincey, a senior, are now three-time champs; Devos is already a two-time winner and he won’t become a high school student until next fall … he’s an eighth-grader.

The second-place finishers for the Eagles were freshman Matt Kelliher, who lost to eighth-grader Ben Morgan of Forest Lake 3-1 at 112, and senior Tom Kelliher, who was defeated by Bloomington Kennedy junior Robby Fisher 6-4 at 125. It was Kelliher’s fourth consecutive silver medal. Also capturing their third championships were Anoka’s Jake Deitchler at 152 and Champlin Park’s Sam Maresh at 285. Both will attend the University of Minnesota; Deitchler will wrestle and Maresh will play football.