PHOTOS: Thorn Rises, Briggs Surprises for St. Michael-Albertville Wrestlers

In a year that provided vastly different paths for two young men on the same team, both Ricky Briggs and Tommy Thorn found themselves under the spotlight on Saturday night, center stage at high school wrestling's biggest event.

sophomore Tommy Thorn has been "Mr. Automatic" for the Knights in 2012, winning night in night out to the tune of a 44-1 record. His only slip was a narrow decision more than three months ago.

Thorn rolled his way into the State 3A Individual semifinals Friday, rolling to a pair of pins. In the semis, he gave up his first point of the tournament, letting Hastings' Luke Rowh free on an escape.

He would win in a shutout on Saturday, dominating Prior Lake's Tanner Johnshoy in the final for a 5-0 decision. Though the score was close, Thorn was never out of control, picking up a couple of takedowns and an escape to get the win, his second state title, and the ninth individual crown for the Thorn family.

"He's technically sound, he's focused," said head coach Dan Lefebvre of his latest Thorn standout. "He's come from a pretty good background."

For Ricky Briggs, the story has been much different. The junior has had to watch other wrestlers fill in at 182 pounds often this season as he's battled his way back from shoulder injuries.

At the Section 7-3A meet, it looked like he was putting it all together, as he moved his way through two matches before defaulting to Clayton Jennisen in the final. His win in the semis had actually punched him through to state.

He made the most of the opportunity. Briggs opened with an upset of Hopkins senior Trey Goeman, winning by fall. The next two wrestlers he would face, Uthman Rabiu of Sibley and Richard Carlson of Mounds View were also more experienced on the season, but Briggs gutted his way to close decisions, including a 3-1 match vs. Carlson, and wound up in the final.

He would lose a good match to Moorhead's Chase Morlock, a beast with 41 wins heading into the indiviudal tournament. Morlock was the Spuds' only hope for a title, and he delivered. But Briggs was the talk of the town.

For Mark Voss, it was another trip to the tournament medal stand, but his first appearance in a final at 132 pounds, one of the toughest classes in Class 3A. In the final, he met his Section 7-3A rival, Ben Morgan, a former state champion back when he was an eighth grader.

As he did in the Section Championship, Morgan got the early edge on Voss and held off any shots from the Knights' junior. As time ran down in the final period, Voss salted away an 11-2 lead, and let a scream out when he got the win that could be heard around the Xcel Energy Center.

For Nick Edling, it was one final chance to appear at the "X." The team's lone senior got a second chance, too. He lost his opening round match, and his season might have been over, had his first round opponent, Mitch Johnson of Eagan, lost his next match.

Instead, Johnson won, and Edling fought his way back through the wrestlebacks, winning two close decisions and advancing to the consolation semifinals. He would lose, by decision to Owatonna's Coyte Kuefner, the eventual third place winner. In the fifth-place match, Edling gutted out a 3-2 decision over David Johnson of Roseville for a win in his final high school match.

Edling wrestled the entire postseason with a broken bone in his hand.

Lincoln Mallinger picked up a bronze at 138 pounds, his highest ever finish. He lived on the edge the entire way. After winning his opening match with a pin, he lost a 1-0 decision, then won three straight decisions by a single point to make the third place match. He topped Wayzata's Weston Droegemueller for the bronze, the same opponent that had beaten him in the quarterfinals.

Mitchell Eull also picked up a third palce medal for his efforts. In his bronze medal match, he picked up a bit of revenge over Jake Swenson of Hastings, who beat Eull in the team tournament. Eull picked up a 3-2 decision in an exciting match.

Finale, Cole Sladek picked up a fourth place medal, to go with his silver from last year. Wrestling at 120 pounds, Sladek lost a 3-0 decision to Apple Valley's Seth Gross (who has family in St. Michael) in the semis. Gross won the title, while Sladek won a decision in the consolation round before falling to Eden Prairie's Ben Brancale in the third place match.

Michael Kessler and Aaron Dick, both state qualifiers, did not place for the Knights, who return everyone but Edling to the roster next season. Kessler lost a tough, overtime match to get beat out of wrestlebacks. Dick, who won his first match, lost to Brian Maas of Woodbury in the consolation bracket.