MATSIDE Bad Date Selection Mars Cheesehead The Cheesehead, the best invitational tournament in the state since almost its inception, is to be contested on quite possibly the worst dates in the history of the tournament. Going straight up against college football bowl games and New Year's Day, the Cheesehead will take place, as it always does, at Kaukauna High School. This time around, the tournament is scheduled on Jan. 1 and Jan. 2. Among the 25 teams scheduled to compete are several national, state and regional powers, including Simley (Minn.), Apple Valley (Minn.), Walsh Jesuit (Ohio), Brandon (Fla.), Montini (Ill.), Kenyon Wanamingo (Minn.), Lockport (Ill.), New Trier (Ill.), Plainfield Central (Ill.), Wyoming Seminary (Pa.) and Yorkville (Ill.). The state teams scheduled to compete include DeForest, Hartford, Arrowhead, Kaukauna, Luxemburg-Casco, Milton, Musekgo, New Lisbon, Pewaukee, Port Washington, Sheboygan Falls, Stoughton, Wausau West and Wrightstowm. As one longtime wrestling editor and writer observer said, "We ask a lot of our fans, but to go out on New Year's Day and the day after is asking a little much. And against football, that's a lot to ask of our fans.." Quinlan hits 400 Whitnall coach Whitnall coach John Quinlan celebrated his 400th dual meet victory at the season-opening Tom Manley Duals at East Troy on Dec. 5. Whitnall defeated Green Bay Southwest, 58-18, to allow Quinlan, now in his 26th year, to reach the mark. Whitnall finished at 3-2 in the second division of the tournament. Pewaukee Battles To Fifth Place The Pewaukee Pirates finished fifth at the Battle on the Bay at Bay Port, a 15-team tournament that featured Wisconsin Rapids, the No. 1-ranked team in Division 1 and the top team in the state. The Pirates had three finalists and had all of their wrestlers score points in the tournament. Pewaukee, ranked No. 5 in the area, finished ahead of No. 3 Mukwonago and No. 6 Franklin at the tournament. "I was very pleased with that," said Pewaukee coach Ed Kurth. "We really weren't in shape. We had a few guys in the semifinals who lost leads, but overall it was OK." Mukwonago, ranked No. 3 in the area, finished in sixth place with 366.5 points. Franklin, ranked No. 7 in the area, finished seventh with 358 points. Wisconsin Rapids, the top-ranked team in the state in Division 1 and the overall No. 1 team in the state in all three divisions, finished first with 536.5 points with five individual champions, followed by a surprising showing by Oconto Falls in second place with 460.5 points. Luxmeburg-Casco finished third with 412 points. Oconto Falls had two individual champions and L-C had one individual champion. East Troy crowned one individual champion in Brennan Price at 189 pounds.. Schedule Ed Stech Invitational, Friday and Saturday, at West Allis Central: Area's toughest individual tournament begins at 5:30 p.m. Friday with preliminaries and quarterfinals to follow. Competition begins at 10 a.m. Saturday with the finals to be held at 5:30 p.m. Germantown, Hartford, Janesville Craig, Menisci, Milwaukee Hamilton, Milwaukee Lutheran, Mukwonago, Oak Creek, Pewaukee, Racine Case, Racine Park, Sheboygan South, South Milwaukee, Waterford, Wautoma, Wauwatosa, West Allis Central and Whitnall to compete. Hamilton Holiday Duals, Tuesday and Wednesday, at Milwaukee Hamilton: Milwaukee City Conference dual title to be decided on Tuesday, beginning at 1 p.m. City Conference teams include Milwaukee Bradley Tech, Milwaukee Custer, Milwaukee King, Milwaukee Hamilton, Milwaukee Bay View and Milwaukee Riverside. In opposite group, Kenosha Bradford, Kenosha St. Joseph, Kenosha Tremper, Marshall, Madison East, and Wauwatosa. Crossover matches to decide tournament champion scheduled to begin at 10:30 a.m. Wednesday. This is a rare chance to see Germantown junior sensation Jesse Thielke in action. Thielke is a two-time defending Division 1 state champion and the top high school wrestler in the state. Matside.htmlshapeimage_2_link_0
Team of the week Milwaukee Marquette The Hilltoppers have jumped out to their best start in so long no one can remember. Marquette won its first two tournaments of the year and has posted an 8-1 overall dual meet record and 2-0 mark in the Greater Metro Conference. Marquette went 5-0 to win the Milwaukee Hamilton Duals and won its own Tom Burns Memorial Invitational last week with 194 points. Greenfield was second with 171.5 points, followed by Union Grove (161) at the 10-team event. Marquette had two champions last week in freshman Gabe Grahek (103) and junior Dan Erato (171). Marquette's only loss this year was a 45-30 loss to Waukesha South at the season-opening West Allis Central Double Duals. "We had to get the fooball players back in the lineup," said Marquette coach Ralph DeNisco. "We had three or four guys out and they only had two practices once the football season ended, and that put us behind the eight ball." Team_of_the_Week.htmlshapeimage_3_link_0
Wrestler of the Week Sam Kortes, Franklin The junior stunned many by defeating Wisconsin Rapids sophomore Keegan Einerson by a 6-5 decision to win the 119-pound individual championship last weekend at the Battle on the Bay Invitational at Bay Port. Kortes, a state qualifier at 103 pounds in Division 1 but not a state place winner, found a way to hold off Einerson, the Division 2 103 state champion a year ago when he was at Lodi, in the final. Einerson transferred to Rapids this year with his brother, Kasey, also a sophomore. Kortes improved to 11-1 this year. Wrestler_of_the_Week_2009-1010.htmlshapeimage_4_link_0

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Quote of the Week "He did a nice job up there. That's a tough tournament," said Franklin coach Louis Brown on Sam Kortes' victory over Wisconsin Rapids Keegan Einerson. "No one would have expected that. It was a a really tough weight class and he wrestled really smart." Quote_of_the_Week.htmlshapeimage_6_link_0
Thielke Returns From Broken Jaw By Joe Shinners Much to the surprise of many, Jesse Thielke's broken jaw has healed and he will continue to train with former Olympian Dennis Hall.08-09_Articles/Entries/2009/12/14_Thielke_Returns_From_Broken_Jaw.htmlshapeimage_7_link_0
Massoglia Transplant a Success By Joe Shinners Mark Massoglia, the long-time Wisconsin wrestling reporter, underwent successful a heart transplant over the summer and has resumed his reporting duties at the Wisconsin Rapids Daily Tribune.08-09_Articles/Entries/2009/12/14_MASSOGIAL_SIDE_Massoglia_Transplant_a_Success.html08-09_Articles/Entries/2009/12/14_MASSOGIAL_SIDE_Massoglia_Transplant_a_Success.html08-09_Articles/Entries/2009/12/14_MASSOGIAL_SIDE_Massoglia_Transplant_a_Success.htmlshapeimage_8_link_0shapeimage_8_link_1shapeimage_8_link_2

Photo by Jeff Thelke

Jesse Thielke shows off the Gold Medal he won at the Pan Am Games in Nicaragua

Warriors Bounce Back By Joe Shinners Hartford - Much to the chagrin of many, you just can't count the Muskego Warriors wrestling team out just yet. They proved that and more as the Warriors completed a difficult two-week stretch to begin the season Saturday afternoon by winning the team title at the 34th annual Hartford Team Tournament. More08-09_Articles/Entries/2009/12/17_Warriors_Bounce_Back.html08-09_Articles/Entries/2009/12/14_MUSKEGO_FALTERS_EARLY.htmlshapeimage_9_link_0shapeimage_9_link_1
Click for more Ed Stech Videos 2009_Ed_Stech_Invitational_Videos.htmlshapeimage_10_link_0

Jesse Thielke (Germantown) 13-0 won by pin over Mitch Teeters (Pewaukee) 10-2 (Pin 2:47)  

Thielke at Ed Stech Invitational 2009_Ed_Stech_Invitational_Videos.htmlshapeimage_11_link_0
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