The second-seeded Lakers won their fifth straight title Feb. 14 at Lakeville South, pinning top-seeded Shakopee 34-22 in the title match. It was the fifth straight year Prior Lake has beaten the Sabers for the right to go to state.

The four other times the Lakers were the No. 1 seed and the favorite. And each time they dominated, winning by an average margin of 26.5 points. But back in early December, Shakopee pinned Prior Lake 42-18 in South Suburban Conference action.

So many thought the pendulum had swung. But not the Lakers.

"We knew this was going to be a tough dual, but we believed we could win," said junior Sam Brunkow, who earned a huge fall at 170 pounds. "We were confident. We were ready.

"It's great to be section champs again," added Brunkow.

Prior Lake earned its way to the final with a 67-8 victory over seventh-seeded Chanhassen in the quarterfinals Feb. 12 and a 57-18 win over third-seeded Lakeville South in the semifinals right before the title match.

The Class 3A state tournament is Feb. 26 at the Xcel Energy in St. Paul. The Lakers (21-9 overall) were a program-best second last year after taking third the previous three years.

Top-ranked Apple Valley will be the favorite to win its 10th straight crown. Other teams in the field: No. 2 St. Michael-Albertville, No. 3 Willmar, No. 8 Farmington, Centennal, Moorhead and White Bear Lake.

Meanwhile, in the section title match, No. 10 Prior Lake and No. 4 Shakopee each won seven matches. But the Lakers had four wins by fall and won major decision, while the Sabers had six wins be decision and a technical fall.

So bonus points were 13-2 in favor the Lakers.

And big upsets were 1-0 in favor of the champs.

Senior Dylan Sogge pulled off a 6-5 upset at 132 over Alex Lloyd, ranked No. 2 at that weight. That cut the Sabers lead to 9-7.

"I was confident I could win and my teammates were confident in me," said Sogge, who earned his 100th-career win with the upset. "We needed that win. I knew if I was close in the third period, I could get it."

Lloyd had knee surgery Jan. 30 and missed much of the month, so he looked a little fatigued in the third period and Sogge took advantage.

Prior Lake's Wyatt Benson lost a tough 3-0 decision at 138 pounds, but Shakopee also lost a team point for an unsportsmanlike conduct gesture following the match. So instead of a 12-7 lead, it was 11-7.

And the one-point penalty was more like two points. It also gave the Lakers the tiebreaker if the dual ended in a tie. The Lakers were hoping to be down 11 going into their final two weights to get to their closers - seniors Rylee Streifel and Alex Hart, ranked No. 2 and 220 and No. 1 at heavyweight, respectively.

It was no secret if the Lakers could get to them down 11, two pins would likely follow. After that penalty point, that margin was 12.

But it didn't come down to back-to-back pins. Ninth-grader Kenny O'Neil (ranked No. 8 at 145), earned a fall for the Lakers at 145 to put his team up 13-11. Shakopee won the next two matches by decision to lead 17-13.

That set up Brunkow at 170. He was down 4-2 in the second period, but recovered - and recovered with authority. He earned a fall with two seconds left in the period, which sent the Lakers' bench into a wild celebration. Prior Lake was up 19-17.

"I got off to a slow start," said Brunkow. "I made some mistakes early, but I was confident I could win. It was huge to get the pin. That was awesome."

Shakopee's Owen Webster, ranked No. 1 at 160, moved down to 182 where he won by technical fall to put Shakopee up 22-19.

Tenth-grader Lucas Pumper earned a tough 7-4 decision at 195 pounds for the Lakers to tie the match at 22-22. And yes, Streifel and Hart finished off the Sabers off with back-to-back pins.

Sophomore Gunner Charboneau also had a big win for the Lakers, earning a 15-2 major decision at 126 to cut the Lakers' early deficit to 9-4. Shakopee won the first three matches, but each were very close.

Ninth-grader Curtis LeMair lost 2-1 to No. 6 Sam Webster at 106. Ninth-grader Zach Smith (No. 9 at at 113) lost 8-6 in overtime to No. 4 Alex Crowe at 113. Crowe was down 5-2 in the third period.

Ninth-grader Theo Smith lost a 7-6 decision at 120 to No. 1 Brent Jones, last year's state champion at 106.

Meanwhile, in beating Lakeville South, falls for the Lakers went to: Zach Smith (113), Theo Smith (120), Charbonneau (126), senior Tyler Hanson (152), junior Collin O'Brien (195), Striefel (220) and Hart (heavyweight).

Other wins: LeMair at 106 (13-5), Sogge at 132 (3-0), O'Neil at 145 (11-6) and sophomore Keaton Kaisersatt (15-0).

Wins against Chanhassen: LeMair at 106 (forfeit), sophomore Devin Noer at 113 (forfeit), Zach Smith at 120 (fall), Theo Smith at 126 (4-2), Charbonneau at 132 (fall), Sogge at 138 (fall), O'Neil at 145 (fall), Brunkow at 170 (fall), senior Jesse Miller at 182 (13-4), Pumper at 195 (fall), Streifel at 220 (forfeit) and Hart at heavyweight (forfeit).

The Section 2AAA individual tournament is next and is Feb. 20-21 at Bloomington Kennedy. Last year, the Lakers had a program-best 10 state qualifiers.

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