Mambu Sonie earned a spot on the state medal stand for the Burnsville wrestling team.
Making his first state appearance, the senior finished fifth at 220 pounds for the Blaze in the Class 3A individual competition March 4 at the Xcel Energy Center. He’s the just the third Burnsville wrestler to place a state since 2010.
Andy Underhill was the state runner-up for the Blaze at 120 pounds in 2012, while Yusef Hassan was also second for Burnsville at 215 pounds in 2010.
Sonie finished the season with a 35-6 record. He went into state ranked No. 8 at 220 pounds and faced four other ranked wrestler in his five matches, winning two of them.
In the first two rounds March 3, Sonie opened with a 3-2 win over Eli Wiskow of Brainerd and followed with a 5-3 victory over sixth-ranked Jawahn Cockfield of Stillwater in the quarterfinals.
In the semifinals the next day, Sonie lost by fall to top-ranked Alex Riley of Waconia, who went to finish second.
Sonie lost by fall to fifth-ranked Antonio Menard of Lakeville North in the consolation semifinals, before earning a fall over ninth-ranked Myles Dehmer of St. Michael-Albertville in the match for fifth.
Sonie was the lone Blaze wrestler at state. The program has had at least one individual there the last three seasons.
However, from 2013 to 2020, Burnsville endured a stretch where it had no state qualifiers.
The last Burnsville wrestler to win a state title was Randy Rose, who claimed the 119-pound crown in 1977. Bob Schandle is the school’s only two-time winner, earning the 135-pound title in 1973 and following with the 140-pound crown in 1974.
