Andrew Youngblom became just the third Mustang in school history to win an individual state wrestling title on Saturday. In what he knew would be his final match as a high school grappler, Youngblom was on the winning side of a 4-0 decision in the 140-pound Class AA championship match at the Xcel Energy Center.

Less than 48 hours after bringing a state championship home from St. Paul, Youngblom sat inside a deserted wrestling room in the basement of Mora High School and reflected on what it means to win State and join such an exclusive club of Mustang wrestlers.

“It’s an honor,” Youngblom said. “There’s been a lot of great wrestlers to come through here, and it’s just an honor to be considered with them.”

The academic and athletic stand out said the response from family and friends has been overwhelming since word filtered through the community that the well known hometown kid was now among the best in his sport.

“I turned my phone on after the match and had like 15 texts and missed calls,” he said. “It was pretty crazy.”

While conceding it’s the most satisfying, Youngblom’s state title is far from his first entry in Mora High School’s record books. Youngblom tied and then surpassed Jeff Ollestad as the career all-time wins leader with his 174th and 175th wins at the Mora Invitational earlier in the season. He also passed Chris Sawatzky on the career all-time pins leader with his 86th pin in first weeks of the season.

Youngblom ended his prep career with 201 wins and 105 pins (36th in both categories in Minnesota history). Youngblom has beaten old records over the years while wrestling for Mora. He has the season record for both wins and pins (among other career and season records).

“He isn’t the first and hopefully not the last to win a state title for the Mustangs, but it is still very special for him,” Tom Youngblom, Andrew’s dad and head coach of Mora’s varsity wrestling team, said.

Like virtually all of his matches, the elder Youngblom was mat side on Saturday for Andrew’s championship match. For both father and son, the road to a state title has been a long one but one they have traveled together.

“It’s been really special - special to me and special to him,” Andrew said. “We’re just trying to soak it up.”

Andrew has difficulty even estimating how many hours he’s spent in the wrestling and weight rooms over the years, saying he lost track long ago.

“You have to be 100 percent committed because there’s no time that you can really slack off,” Youngblom said.

This was Youngblom’s third appearance as an individual at the state wrestling tournament. Last year he held the No. 1 rating throughout the season only to fall short in the semifinals by one point.

“I’ve placed twice, but beaten the champion in the regular season both times and wanted to get that monkey off my back this year,” said Youngblom about his goal of a state title this year.

Youngblom took out some of his frustration last year at the National High School Coaches Association (NHSCA) junior Nationals. Youngblom and his dad drove out to Virginia Beach to test the waters at the national level. To their surprise Youngblom found himself winning four matches and missing being an All-Amercian by one point.

“I decided I wanted to wrestle in college after that trip,” said Youngblom.

There are 262 high schools in Minnesota with wrestling, but only 10 colleges in the state with a wrestling program. Most college wrestling programs, according to Andrew’s dad, are filled with state champions, so there is pressure to win a state title.

Youngblom’s performance at Nationals turned some heads - one of those heads was coach Jason Lilies at South Dakota State University. Youngblom made a few campus visits to colleges and after visiting South Dakota State, a Division 1 wrestling program out of Brookings, S.D., and decided SDSU was the place for him.

“We are excited to have Andrew join the Jackrabbit wrestling family,” SDSU head coach Jason Lilies said of his new recruit. “He is a true example of a student-athlete, an excellent wrestler and an outstanding student. Andrew is a great athlete, and we feel that once he focuses on one sport he will thrive in our program.”

Youngblom was the starting varsity quarterback on a Mora High School football team that made it to the state tournament last fall. He’s also an excellent golfer but plans to do spring track this season to “stay in shape.”

So what does a standout athlete like Andrew Youngblom have to say to a youngster just getting started in wrestling and with dreams of a state title?

“Hard work and a lot of practice,” he said. “You have to really want it. You have to set your goals. I wrote ‘win a state title’ on a piece of paper as one of my goals when I was in seventh or eighth grade. I knew what I wanted and worked for it.”

Goal accomplished.