JULIA STEDMAN

North St. Paul, gymnastics

The thing that sets Julia Stedman apart from other gymnasts is exactly what carried her to the Class 2A all-around championship Saturday.

Stedman wants to win and she's not afraid to show it. Where other gymnasts smile and hug each other after good routines, the North St. Paul senior has been known to jab the air with an exclamatory fist-pump, punctuated by a wrinkled nose and a fervent "Yes!" uttered through gritted teeth.

So it was no surprise that Stedman still was bubbling with energy 15 minutes after hearing that she had held off a strong individual field to win the meet's highest-profile title.

"They just kept reading names off and I didn't hear mine," she said. "I started thinking 'Did I win?'"

While Stedman's best finish was third in the floor exercise, the all-around requires overall excellence.

"This is so big," said Stedman, whose season was disrupted by a mid-January ankle injury. "The other ones are nice, but the all-around is the one everyone wants."

MIKE DYER

Richfield, wrestling

The senior made short work of the rest of the field en route to the heavyweight championship of the Class 2A, Section 5 meet, pinning each of his four opponents in less than 30 seconds.

CLAYTON JENNISSEN

Cambridge-Isanti, wrestling

The senior qualified for the state meet for the third year in a row by winning the 182-pound title at the Class 3A, Section 7 meet. He improved to 39-3 this season and is ranked No. 2 by www.theguillotine.com at 182.

MATT KOKEN

East Ridge, swimming

Koken was the lone four-event champion at the Class 2A, Section 4 meet. He won the 200-yard freestyle and the 100-yard butterfly and swam on the winning 200-yard medley and 400-yard freestyle relay teams.

TAYLOR MONTERO

Cretin-Derham Hall, basketball

The senior guard had 29 points, six rebounds and four assists in an 89-68 victory over White Bear Lake and 32 points, five rebounds and five assists in beating East Ridge 86-71. He made 13 three-pointers in the two games.

SYDNEY ROSSMAN

Minnetonka, hockey

A championship team needs a hot goalie and Rossman filled that role perfectly, giving up only two goals in three games and stopping 77 shots as the Skippers won their second consecutive Class 2A championship.

KATE SCHIPPER

Breck, hockey

Schipper was the leading goal-scorer in the Class 1A tournament, scoring seven times -- including a tournament-record-tying four goals in a single period -- to lead the Mustangs to their first state championship in the sport.

JIM PAULSEN