Max McEnelly stood in the tunnel underneath the stands at the Xcel Energy Center on Saturday, pacing back and forth, shifting from foot to foot.
Waconia wrestler Max McEnelly wins state grudge match vs. Stillwater's Ryder Rogotzke
Rogotzke moved up in weight class to take on McEnelly, pitting two of the nation's best.
March 5, 2023 at 5:10AM
The Waconia senior was preparing to take the mat for the most highly anticipated match of the wrestling state meet. His opponent? Stillwater's Ryder Rogotzke, who had set a state record during the meet when he reached 45 pins for the season.
Rogotzke, who began the season at 182 pounds, moved up to 195 early in the season with the goal of facing McEnelly in the state finals. McEnelly had won a close match between the two earlier. Rogotzke wanted the chance to get a little payback, and he was overt about his intentions.
"I want to beat him," Rogotzke said earlier. "I'm always looking to challenge myself."
McEnelly, a three-time state champion heading into the match who has signed to wrestle at Minnesota, said his intent before the match was to stay calm: "I just wanted to be as relaxed as possible, know what I have to do and go out there and win."
He did exactly that. He executed a single-leg takedown in the third period to take a late advantage and pulled out a 3-2 victory.
McEnelly, referencing three previous victories over the Ohio State-bound Rogotzke, said this victory was a little sweeter than past ones.
"I felt the way he called me out was a little disresprectful to me, so yeah, this feels better," he said.
Beissel brothers both win
Ever since they began in wrestling, Hastings' Beissel brothers — Trey, a 106-pound freshman and Blake, a 113-pound junior — had dreamed about winning state titles together.
That dream came true Saturday when Trey outlasted Mounds View's Logan Swenson for a 6-4 victory at 106 pounds. Moments later, Blake jogged off the Class 3A mat with a 5-1 victory over Leo Edblad of Cambridge-Isanti in the 113 final.
It was not a surprise. Both Beissels went into the tournament ranked No. 1 at their weights.
The Beissels come from a wrestling family. The idea of both Beissels winning a state championship together has been a family dream.
"It's been the goal since we started wrestling," Blake said. "I started wrestling when I was 3. Trey started two year later. We're a third-generation wrestling family. My grandpa always wanted my dad to win one. And my dad wanted the same for us."
Paulson succeeds this time
Anoka senior Eli Paulson finished third as a sophomore and runner-up last year.
"I've come up short in the past," Paulson said after Friday's opening rounds of competition. "It would be amazing to finish my high school career with a W."
He did that Saturday, completing the climb to No. 1 with a 10-3 victory over Eden Prairie's Terae Dunn in the 145-pound final.
Other champs
- Zytavius Williams of Eden Prairie beat defending state champion Mason Mills of St. Michael-Albertville 4-3 in overtime to win at 120.
- Prior Lake's Alan Koehler won his third state championship when he got an escape in overtime to defeat Logan Swenson of Wayzata 2-1.
- St. Michael-Albertville's Landon Robideau won his second state championship with a 23-8 technical fall over Waconia's Lincoln Vick at 132.
- Woodbury's Alex Braun capped off an undefeated season (48-0) with a 6-1 victory over Parker Janssen of St. Michael-Albertville at 138.
- Lakeville North's Zach Hanson also finished undefeated (34-0) after beating Owatonna's Cael Robb 13-3 at 152.
- Vincent Mueller of St. Thomas Academy pinned defending champion Will Sather of Eden Prairie at 2:47 to take the heavyweight title.
- Jed Wester of St. Michael-Albertville won at 160; Minnetonka's Marco Christianson won at 170; Cole Han-Lindemyer's third-period pin gave him the 182 crown; and Mark Rendl of Forest Lake won at 220.
Six players plus head coach Garrett Raboin and assistant coach Ben Gordon are from Minnesota. The tournament’s games will be televised starting Monday.
