By Joe Shinners Oconomowoc - Muskego wrestling coach Ted Price never could have predicted his team would fall so hard to fast early in the year. But that's what happened at the Cooney 10-Team Tournament to open the year as Muskego lost in convincing fashion to two nationally ranked teams - Wisconsin Rapids and Apple Valley (Minn.) - and was upset by the upstart Arrowhead Warhawks in a key early season area dual meet. Muskego, ranked No. 2 among Division 1 teams at the time, lost to Wisconsin Rapids, 52-19, and the Apple Valley (Minn.), 55-20, in the opening rounds. Rapids and Apple Valley entered as the No. 8- and No. 3-ranked teams in the nation, respectively, according to WIN Magazine. The loss to Rapids was a tough pill for Muskego and its coach Ted Price to swallow. Rapids defeated Muskego, 55-12, in the first round of the state team tournament last year, and Price was hoping for an improvement. It didn't happen. "They did come out and take it to us," said Price of the loss to Rapids. "We knew they were good. One thing I told our kids is it's a big mountain to climb (beating Rapids). They are by far and away the frontrunners to (win state) this year." Still, Price did not throw in the towel on the rest of the year. "Can we close the gap?" Price said after the loss to Rapids. "Maybe. It's early. We have to rebound from this. But we have some individual goals that we still want to achieve this year." Little did price know that his worst loss of the day was yet to come, a 40-27 setback to the unranked Arrowhead Warhawks, who won eight of the 14 matches. Arrowhead wrestling coach John Mesenbrink didn't know what to expect of his young wrestling team this year, but now he knows he has a solid foundation upon which to build this year. Arrowhead finished with a 3-2 record with its losses to Wisconsin Rapids and Apple Valley (Minn.). "I knew we'd be solid fundamentally and that we'd be tough," said Mesenbrink. "I just like the fight we have. We still have a long way to go. It's early." Arrowhead's Mark Lansgaard pinned Muskego's Tyler Dotzler in 1 minute 7 seconds at 112 pounds to seal the victory for the Warhawks, and send Muskego's record at the tournament to 2-3 with its other losses to Rapids and Apple Valley. Muskego was hurt by the absence of Roland Dunlap, the sophomore 171-pounder who separated a shoulder and probably won't be back until early January. But Arrowhead took the match to Muskego and would have won even if Dunlap was in the lineup. "I give all the credit to Arrowhead," Price said. "Arrowhead matched up well with us. Arrowhead's kids are tough. It's certainly not the end of the world. We'll get back to work." Arrowhead also had a big week in the Classic 8 as well as the Warhawks knocked off Mukwonago, 32-27, when Micth Berenz defeated Mukwonago's Nick Benn by a 7-5 overtime decision at 130 pounds in the final match of the dual this week. It was quite a week for the Warhawks, but Mesenbrink wasn't celebrating after being defeated by Rapids, 61-9, and Apple Valley, 50-19. "It's a long season," he said. "We're young. We have six or guys who are freshman or sophomores in the lineup." Muskego lost to Rapids, 52-19, in a much-hyped showdown between the top teams in Division 1 and to Apple Valley, 55-20. Everyone wanted to set the championship and all the mats were cleared and the center mat put in place for the dual between Rapids and Apple Valley. Rapids never really got untracked as Apple Valley won 10 of the 14 matches and went on to post a 40-17 victory over the defending Division 1 state team champions. Rapids finished 4-1 and Apple Valley went 5-0 to win the team title. The loss was Rapids first ever at the tournament. Go Back to the Home Page Read More Articles by Joe../../../../07-08_Article_Archive/Archive.htmlshapeimage_3_link_0shapeimage_3_link_1