2001

It's remembered now as the year of 9-11. Aside from getting on to an airplane, my life didn't change as much as I thought it would.

In Minnesota sports, 2001 was a big year for baseball, though Major League Baseball tried to abolish the Minnesota Twins with the connivance of owner Carl Pohlad. Minnesota fought back, and the courts forced the Twins to honor their Metrodome lease and MLB and Pohland gave up their dastardly scheme. Meanwhile, the Twins had their first winning record in nine years. Cretin-Derham Hall (26-1) won its tenth state title, led by catcher Joe Mauer. Mauer was named national high school player of the year in both baseball and football. The Minnesota Gophers (39-21) won the Big 10 title, and St. Thomas (39-10) won in NCAA D3 under former Cretin coach Dennis Denning. 

• It was also a huge year for wrestling in Minnesota. The Minnesota Gophers under coach J Robinson won their first national championship ever. Augsburg wrestlers won their seventh NCAA Division 3 title in eleven years, and Marcus LeVesseur of Bloomington Kennedy completed his high school wrestling career with four state titles and a 141-match winning streak. 

#11 (tie) Leader

#15 Season

Minnesota Gopher Wrestlers and Coach J Robinson Win NCAA Title at Carver-Hawkeye Arena

The Minnesota Gopher wrestling team under coach J Robinson faced daunting odds in the 2001 NCAA meet. The Iowa Hawkeyes had won six straight NCAA titles, nine out of ten, and 20 altogether, and the meet would be held on their home mats at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. The Gophers failed to win a single individual title while Iowa won two. But, the Gophers outpointed the Haweyes 138.5 to 125.5 to claim their first national title ever. 

In fact, the Gophers best finish was third place, but their secret weapon was their depth, as they picked up points in each of the ten weight classes. Leroy Vega (the #3 seed) finished third at 125 pounds, Owen Elzen (#5) took third at 197, and heavyweight Garrett Lowney (#1) also took third place. Luke Becker (the #6 seed at 157), Brad Pike (#6, 165) and Jacob Volkmann (#10, 174) all took fourth place. Damian Hahn (#5, 184) took fifth. Jared Lawrence (#2, 149) took sixth, and Brett Lawrence (#10, 133) and Chad Erickson (7, 141) each finished eighth. It was the first time that a team had ever won the NCAA title without having a wrestler in a championship final. 

The Gophers won two of three head-to-head matches against the Hawkeyes. At 125, Vega lost to Joey Strittmatter in the championship semis 4-0. At 165, Pike defeated Ben Shirk 10-2 in a quarter-final match. And, at 184, Hahn defeated Jessman Smith 3-1 in the wrestlebacks. 

• The Fosston girls basketball team repeated as Class A champions. They would win 78 straight games before losing in 2002.

Year	Athlete of the Year	Team of the Year	Coach of the Year	Event of the Year
2001	1. Joe Mauer, Cretin baseball and football (state baseball champion) 2. Marcus LeVesseur, Bloomington Kennedy wrestling (state individual champion) 3. Jack Hanahan, Minnesota Gopher baseball (Big 10 champion)	1. Minnesota Gopher wrestling (NCAA champion) 2 (tie). Augsburg wrestling (16-1) St. Thomas baseball (39-10) (both NCAA Division 3 champions) 3. Fosston girls basketball   (29-0, state champion)	1. J. Robinson, Gopher wrestling 2 (tie). John Anderson, Gopher baseball Dennis Denning, St. Thomas baseball Joe O’Neill, Cretin baseball 3. Swenson	1. The Minnesota Gophers won their first NCAA wrestling title. 2. Major League Baseball and Twins owner Carl Pohlad agreed to liquidate the Minnesota Twins, but Minnesota fought back. 3. Marcus LeVesseur ended his high school wrestling career on a 141-match win streak.