Photo by Ari Selvey Marshall’s Lincoln Christenson’s hand is raised by an official after Christenson defeated Zumbrota-Mazeppa’s Samuel Moore in the Class AA 114 individual state championship at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul on Saturday.

MARSHALL — Coming off a finish as the state runner-up in 107, expectations for Lincoln Christenson were high heading into his junior season with the Marshall Tigers. Yet, he still managed to exceed them all, putting together a dominant 49-2 record on the season and capping off the year as Marshall’s first individual state champion since 1999.

“It feels good, nice to represent Marshall like that because we haven’t had a state champ in a little while,” Christenson said. “Just all the hard work, it makes it feel better.”

Lincoln first got interested in wrestling as a young kid, taking after his father, Travis Christensen, who was also a high school wrestler. It wasn’t long before Lincoln realized he had a knack for the sport, he said, saying that his placement in youth tournaments and the work he put in gave him optimism for his future in the sport.

Christenson started his time with Marshall wrestling back in middle school, but he became a varsity regular his freshman season. He showed promise from the jump, placing fifth in the Big South Conference tournament in 106 as a freshman and fourth in the Section 3AA meet in the same weight class, finishing his season at 28-14. Yet, it was his sophomore year that he made the jump to take things to the next level.

“He’s a kid that’s been around forever and he’s put in a ton of work and a ton of mat time,” Marshall head coach Ethan Hoppe said of Christenson after the state tournament. “To see that work get rewarded is special to see.”

As a sophomore, Christenson entered the 107AA individual tournament at 42-6 after making dominant postseason runs for first-place finishes in the Big South and Section 3AA championships.

At the state meet, he opened his run with a pin of Tucker Gould in 3:06 and eked out a 4-3 decision over Boston Kuschel to get to the individual semifinals. Another 5-0 win over Logan Refsnider sent him to the state championship in his state tournament debut, but there, he lost to Simley freshman Turner Ross 5-0 to end his season as a state runner-up. Still, the performance raised the bar for him heading into this season.

“I knew we could make it to state as a team, and then as an individual, I knew I could get one place higher, so I knew I could win it,” Christenson said. 

Heading into his junior season this year, Christenson continued to build muscle as he moved up to the 114-pound weight class. While he was wrestling at a new weight, he looked comfortable in it from the jump, as shown by his 49-2 record on the year and dominant performances in the conference and section tournaments to nab another pair of first-place finishes.

An ability to avoid takedowns with his head-hands defense was a key component of Christenson’s success on the mat this year, Christenson said, adding that he also felt he improved his snap down go behind technique.

While Christenson had previously made the state tournament as an individual, a new component for him at the state tournament was the team aspect. The Tigers defeated Dawson-Boyd/Lac qui Parle Valley/Montevideo United in the team Section 3AA tournament, giving Marshall its second-ever state tournament berth as a team. It also made for three straight days of wrestling at the state meet for Christenson, with three matches for the team component on the first day and two more in the individual tournament each of the next two days.

“Going up as a team makes it a lot more fun because instead of taking a van, you take a coach bus with all of your teammates and you get to stay in the hotel,” Christenson said. “Going into sections, I think we knew we were going to make it because we knew that we’re the best team in the section.”

On the first day of the state tournament, Christenson went 3-0, though Marshall finished sixth in the Class AA team tournament. Still, Christenson was named to the All-Tournament team after earning a pin and two technical falls. He was one of two Tigers named to the team, along with Gavin Schaefer.

Day 2 of the tournament continued to show Christenson’s hard work paying off. He earned a 19-3 technical fall over Carter Kremer in the first round and a 21-5 technical fall over Shane Kramer to end the day in the tournament semifinals.

While he had a rest disadvantage heading into day 3 of the tournament after having already wrestled five matches in two days, it didn’t show on the mat. He pinned Orono’s Brett Kiecker to return to the final, where he took on Zumbrota-Mazeppa’s Samuel Moore. Again, Christenson dominated to the tune of an 18-2 victory to earn Marshall’s first state title of the 21st century.

Even from the start of the match, Christenson looked in control. He said that being up 11-0 in the first period was among the highlights of his season.

Just finishing off his junior year, Christenson still has another season as a Marshall Tiger to add to his trophy case. Even in the face of even loftier expectations, Christenson is ready for the task.

“Just being there and wrestling gives you more confidence to go into the tournament,” Christenson said after the state tournament. “[The state title win] gives me a lot more confidence going into next season.”