Simley lands its sixth consecutive wrestling state championship

Simley’s result Thursday was familiar, but the Spartans took a far different path than usual to their sixth straight state wrestling team championship, coach Will Short said.

Simley defeated longtime rival Kasson-Mantorville 32-26 in the Class 2A finals at Xcel Energy Center.

In recent years, the Spartans bludgeoned opponents, winning matches that contained very little drama.

This season, the road was a littler rockier. Simley lost three starters to injury and rarely wrestled with the outcome determined.

“This has been a hard year for us, with three kids going down to season-ending injuries,” Short said. “So for these guys to rally behind each other and do the work, and it’s not just one kid. It’s the coaches, the parents, our community of wrestling. I’m just really, really happy today.”

Short’s nephew, junior 189-pounder Vristol Short, sealed the victory for the Spartans. The younger Short threw down Jacob Duitsman of Kasson-Mantorville for a 7-5 victory that bumped Simley’s lead to an insurmountable 32-17 with two weight classes remaining.

“This year we were short a few people, so we knew we should put in the work and we did,” Vristol Short said. “When I figured out the winning match was going to be me, I got a little nervous, but I just pulled through.”

“My nephew’s got game,” Will Short said. “He’s got character and game, and it was a great moment for him.”

Chatfield, ranked No. 1 from the start, capped the season with a convincing 47-7 victory over Staples-Motley in the finals. The Cardinals got out to a 7-3 lead, then were shut down by the Gophers (21-1), who won the final nine matches.