by Scott DCamp
Sports Editor
Thief River Falls senior Griffin Lundeen defeated Luke Swanson of Kasson-Mantorville Saturday night in the Class 160-pound championship match at the MSHSL Boys State Wrestling Tournament by a score of 5-0. It was the second consecutive state championship for Lundeen, who became the first two-time state champion in Prowler wrestling history while earning his fourth state medal.
Lundeen had the experience of his first state title to draw on during his second title run this year, but that didn’t necessarily make things easier. The biggest difference this year was the expectations that come from being the defending champion and knowing that he would get each opponent’s absolute best effort. From there, the two title runs were very similar, with Lundeen focusing on the things he could control.
“Just go out there, do my best and let the outcomes take care of themselves,” Lundeen said.
On the surface, Lundeen doesn’t appear to be a wrestler who battles with nerves or match anxiety, but the reality is that he’s human and does get nervous before matches.
“I think they were worse this year, to be honest,” Lundeen said. “It’s that expectations part again. Last year, I thought I could do it. This year, it was ‘I’ve done it, now I have to do it again.’”
“I had the target on my back all year,” Lundeen added. “It was just go wrestle, do my thing and let it come to me.”
Lundeen surrendered just two points total during the 2024 state tournament, both of which were intentional escapes where he let his opponent off the mat. Both occured during the opening round match Friday morning against Nate Berchtold of South St. Paul. Lundeen effectively traded a one-point escape for a two-point takedown each time he intentionally released Berchtold. Lundeen eventually won the match by fall.
Up next was a Friday evening quarterfinal bout against Carter Gmahl Jr. of Mora. Lundeen continued his dominance with a 10-0 major decision over Gmahl to clinch his fourth consecutive state medal and third consecutive trip to the semifinals.
Lundeen recorded another shutout in Saturday morning’s semifinal round, with a 7-0 decision win over Cael Olson of Delano, to secure his second state championship match appearance.
Following a 0-0 first period, Lundeen took control in the second period with a pair of two-point nearfalls in his championship match against Swanson. Lundeen added an escape in the third and kept the pressure on Swanson to secure the 5-0 win.
Lundeen has been a fixture in the Prowlers lineup for the past six sessions, and Head Coach Kenny Geiser has seen Lundeen grow from a talented wrestler with potential to the winningest wrestler in program history.
“Griffin’s training regimen is unparalleled,” Geiser said. “I once heard a coach say practice doesn’t make perfect, but perfect practice makes perfect. Griffin comes close to that. He works hard with every facet of practice.”
Lundeen faced a few tough tests in the finals matches of some regular season tournaments, but he was rarely tested in dual meet matches.
“All season long, he didn’t really get pushed, so it made it easy to prepare,” Geiser said. “Going into the state tournament, you could see the pressure build because he was going to see some unknown opponents and there was a possiblity that he would get pushed more.”
Part of what makes Lundeen so difficult to score on is a rock-solid stance with good footwork. He also maintains good positioning to help set-up shots and/or score off of his opponent’s shot.
“He was amazing at his stance in motion in the state tournament,” Geiser said. “He stalked his opponents and effortlessly got to legs. He literally smothers people. When people are done wrestling him, they can’t wait to get off the mat.”
Lundeen leaves the Prowler wrestling program as its all-time winningest wrestler with a record of 268-33. He went 101-1 over the past two seasons with his only loss coming to LJ Araujo at the Valley City Invitational in December.
Lundeen’s true impact on Prowler Wrestling will be better understood in the coming years, according to Geiser.
“As a role model, a lot of kids look up to him,” Geiser said. “Him winning a second state title added to that. He does so many things right, on and off the mat, in the classroom and as a person.”
State Tournament Results
Griffin Lundeen (52-1) placed 1st and scored 0.0 team points. Champ. Round 1 – Griffin Lundeen (Thief River Falls) 52-1 won by fall over Nate Berchtold (South Saint Paul) 49-5 (Fall 4:54); Quarterfinal – Griffin Lundeen (Thief River Falls) 52-1 won by major decision over Carter Gmahl Jr (Mora) 29-4 (MD 10-0); Semifinal – Griffin Lundeen (Thief River Falls) 52-1 won by decision over Cael Olson (Delano) 48-4 (Dec 7-0); 1st Place Match – Griffin Lundeen (Thief River Falls) 52-1 won by decision over Luke Swanson (Kasson-Mantorville) 40-8 (Dec 5-0).