Minnetonka’s Marco Christiansen is a high school wrestling champ who didn’t see it coming

It was a rocky journey from youth wrestler who spent his early years getting lessons in humility to reaching his lifelong goal of winning a state championship for Minnetonka senior 189-pounder Marco Christiansen.

Tough, maybe, but a journey Christiansen says he would not change a bit.

Longer and lankier than your traditional wrestler — Christiansen stands 6-4 — he defeated longtime rival Adam Cherne of Wayzata in overtime of the Class 3A 170-pound final last March. It was a victory over a foe who’d had his number going all the way back to sixth grade.

“Growing up, I wasn’t that good. He pinned me in 20 seconds flat then,” Christiansen said. “He beat me my sophomore year, and we wrestled two more times last year. But I won the match that counted.”

The moment he won the match, Christiansen said, was so unexpected that he didn’t know how to react.

“It’s my No. 1 and No. 2 greatest accomplishments,” he said. “It was almost surreal. I didn’t know what to do. I didn’t even jump up and down. I just ran into the stands.

“It confirmed for me that I’d finally gotten to be a pretty good wrestler.”

It was the first individual state championship in a quarter-century for a Minnetonka wrestler. That made it a significant point of pride for Christiansen.

“We’re a big hockey school. The community doesn’t pay too much attention to us,” he said. “I’ve been asked why I don’t go to another school where you have a better chance of winning. But winning at Minnetonka meant so much more.”

It also solidified his wrestling future. Not long after winning the title, he committed to No. 6-ranked Nebraska. He had previously visited the school and was wowed by the support the team received.

With his next stop set, he has two immediate objectives: Shoot for another state title. And never forget to have fun.

“A lot of younger guys take it way too seriously,” said Christiansen, who is 17-2 and ranked No. 3 at 189 this year. “But you should never forget the reason we do this: Because we enjoy it.”