Sports

A Final Look: St. Michael-Albertville Wrestling Coach, Team Responds to Critics

Accused by some as "throwing in the towel," head coach Dan Lefebvre discussed his decision to use wrestlers off the bench in the title dual.

It was the dual many had waited to see in Class AAA. 

With St. Michael-Albertville ranked No. 2 in Minnesota, it was only natural for fans to hope for a showdown with Apple Valley, the top-ranked team in the nation, let alone Minnesota. 

In the end, it was no contest. Apple Valley took the team trophy with a victory, shutting down the Knights until Parker Betts pulled off a pin at 265 pounds that had the crowd in blue roaring. 

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What drew some ire was St. Michael-Albertville coach Dan Lefebvre's decsision to switch his lineup. Standouts like Tommy Thorn (103) and Shaun Little (189), along with three other starters, were not part of the championship. 

"As a team, we're extremely happy with the results from the weekend," Lefebvre said Monday as his team met for the final time this season. "I'm proud of our effort. I thought the guys competed so well for the entire weekend."

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But, Lefebvre said, he's also a "realist."

"You could put an all-star Minnesota team together, have them face Apple Valley,and you'd have a very good dual. Credit them for the type of team they have assembled and the way they've assembled it. They're an amazing team." 

Many kids had wrestled in two matches by the time Thursday's final rolled around, and had at least two more to wrestle starting the next day with the individual tournament. So, he chose to give guys with individual title hopes a rest, Lefebvre said. 

"Those guys had a lot of work left. If the team final is on Saturday, maybe we do things differently. My responsiblity, as a coach, is to help the individuals who have a chance to win a title fulfill that dream of becoming a state champion. This is an individual sport, first and foremost. You only have team scores because they add up the individual results." 

The result? STMA sent six wreslters into the semis. Three reached the finals, with Thorn winning the title and Cole Sladek and Little earning runner-ups. Parker Betts, Ryan Stott and Mark Voss all placed fifth. 

After beating Albert Lea in the team semifinal, Thorn said the Knights were please to make it to the end. 

"We pretty much though, realistically, it was the best we could do," he said. 

Lefebvre objected to the "throwing in the towel" sentiment.

"No one is doing that. We went out and tried to be competitive. You only have five guys on your bench," Lefebvre said. 

In the end, second was a solid accomplishment, Little said, especially for a strong group of seniors.

"Your ultimate goal is to win it, so you're not satisfied with second. But Valley is just really srong. We faced tough competiton all year," he added. "As seniors, our job was something we took very seriously. We wanted to show that if you work hard and do the right thing, you can win. That's what STMA wrestling is all about." 


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