Joeshinners.com Week 9

MATSIDE
Dieringer, Meins Win at Pulaski Port Washington juniors Alex Dieringer (31-1) and Justin Meins (26-5) won individual titles at the Pulaski Invitational to lead the Pirates as the only area team in the tournament.
Dieringer, a two-time state finalist and one-time state champion, picked up two pins and then defeated Luxemburg-Casco sophomore Mitch Berceau (35-5) by a 10-1 major decision in the final at 140 pounds. Dieringer entered as the No. 1-ranked wrestler at 140 after bumping up class after The Cheesehead. Berceau is ranked No. 2 in D2. Both rankings are from WiWrestling.com.
Meins had a tougher road to the title. Meins defeated Shawano junior Jared Kust (34-2) by a 3-2 decision in the semifinals before stopping Coleman sophomore Mitch Champagne (28-3) by a 9-2 decision in the final at 125 pounds. Meins entered the tournament ranked No. 4 at 125 in D1. Kust is ranked No. 6 in D1. Champagne is ranked No. 2 in D2.
Coleman won the team title with 211 points, followed by Kaukauna (192), Oconto Falls (182.5) and Luxemburg-Casco (171) in the top four at the 14-team tournament. Port Washington finished in seventh place with 110 points. Bradley Tech 2nd at Deerfield Milwaukee Bradley Tech finished second at the Deerfield Scramble as 10 of its wrestlers placed in fifth place or higher at the 18-team tournament. Tech’s lone champion was 135-pound senior Brandin Thomas was the only Tech wrestler to go 5-0 at the 18-team tournament and win a championship. Four other Tech wrestlers finished in second place.
Random Lake won the team title with 697 points, followed by Tech (689) and Michicot (637) in the top three. Kiel pinned at Sorenson Classic In another example of how tight the competition is in the state, Mitch Keil, a junior 140-pound defending Division 3 state champion, dropped from the undefeated ranks when he was pinned in 1:54 by Oshkosh West senior Jeremy Schumann in the 145 final at the Dirk Sorenson Door County Classic, held in Sturgeon Bay.
Keil fell to 27-1. Schumann improved to 33-1.
Union Grove senior Guy Keeku (28-1) defeated Green Bay Preble/East senior Mark VandenAvond (32-6) by a 6-0 decision in the final at 189 pounds. McFarland Earns Dells Title Watertown senior Justin McFarland ran his record to 33-2 by defeating Wisconsin Dells junior Skylar Liebzeit (18-8) by a 13-4 major decision to win the 152-pound final at the Wisconsin Dells Invite.
Viroqua finished first at the eight-team tournament with 177.5 points, followed by Wisconsin Dells (166.5), Omro (162) and Watertown (150.5) at the eight-team tournament.
Sueflohn Continues Recent Roll Arrowhead junior Jake Sueflohn defeated his fifth nationally ranked wrestler of the year over the weekend at the Huskie Invitational held at Oak Park/River Forest (Ill.). In the 135 final, Sueflohn held off OP/RF senior Chris Dardanes by a 7-5 overtime decision. The victory lifted Sueflohn’s record to 33-1 this year. Dardanes was ranked No. 7 at the time by The Open Mat. Sueflohn’s victory lifted him to No. 11 in the TOM national rankings. Arrowhead coach John Mesenbrink credited Sueflohn’s improved defense to his increasing success this year. “I think it was a matter of his leg-attack defense that’s been the difference,” Mesenbrink said. “He’s not getting taken down. That’s the biggest difference this year.” Undefeated Ranks Thinning Out The list of undefeated wrestlers in the area shrank to three over the weekend when Milwaukee Lutheran senior Taylor Witty suffered his first loss of the year at the Raider Invitational at Sbeboygan North. Witty (25-1) lost to Seymour senior Andy Coenen (17-5) by a 5-4 decision in the semifinals. Witty finished third. Coenen finished second. Witty’s loss leaves West Allis Central senior Joe Immekus (31-0 at 152), Milwaukee Bay View senior Davion Willis (33-0 at 171) and Germantown junior Jesse Thielke (31-0) as the area’s lone undefeated wrestlers with at least 20 matches. Burlington Rolls at Homestead Burlington’s lightweights again carried it to a strong performance over the weekend as the Demons won the Highlander Invitational at Homestead on a rare Friday tournament. Burlington crowned three champions – Matt Ehlen (103), Derek Gill (112) and Nathan Gill (119) – early and added another title from Zak Verbunker (189) to score 271 points and run away with the team title. Milwaukee Bradley Tech finished second with 216 points, followed by Oconomowoc (215) at the 13-team tournament. New Berlin Eisenhower/West had two champions in Zach Brucker (135) and Nick Binder (171). Oconomowoc had a pair of titlists in Zach Mommaerts (135) and Jake Morrison (140). Greenfield’s lone titlist was Patrick Bruyette (215) and Menomonee Falls’s Tyler Bross was his team’s only champion at 285. Two-time defending D3 state champion Mitch Kiel of Manitowoc Roncalli won the title at 145. More Team Losses, But Heritage Alive The Red Knight Invitational at Milwaukee Lutheran brought more news of lost wrestling teams as two teams cut programs, and Milwaukee Heritage Christian remains on the brink closing. Shoreland Lutheran and Manitowoc Lutheran both shut down their programs, leaving the tournament with 18 teams. Heritage Christian has struggled financially the past year, but coach Paul Havel is hopeful that the team and the school will be around next year. Heritage Christian had won five consecutive Midwest Classic Conference tournaments before Delafield St. John’s Northwestern Military took the dual and tournament titles a year ago. SJNM is favored to win the league titles again this year “Right now we’re still teaching and coaching,” said Havel, who has coached two D3 state champions. “The kids I have and the families have been really supportive and want to keep going. We’ll know a lot more in February if we will be here in the future.” Brookfield East wins Raider Invite Brookfield East didn’t come away with any individual champions, but it did send four wrestlers to the finals and win the Division 1 title at the Raider Invitational at Sheboygan North. East finished with 156 points, followed by Random Lake (146.5), Sheboygan Falls (145) and Oostburg (144) in the overall standings. East won the Division 1 title. Random Lake won the Division 2 title. Brookfield East saw senior Joey Woppert (145), junior Larry Watson (160), senior Joe Wahhab (189) and junior Tyler Lecher (215) all advance to the finals in their respective weight classes. Of note, Woppert lost to Sheboygan South sophomore Branden Capetillo, 4-3, in the final at 145. Waukesha West Trio Goes Undefeated The Wauksha West Wolverines saw three wrestlers go undefeated at the Portage Duals, an eight team tournament last weekend. Senior Tyler Semrad (119), junior Seth Ganz, and senior Beryon Cosey all went 5-0 at the tournament as West finished 1-4 at the tournament, which was won by Wausau West (5-0).
Max Askren Ranked No. 3 Former Arrowhead wrestler Max Askren is currently ranked No. 3 at 184 pounds in the latest Amateur Wrestling News College Rankings. The Wisconsin Badgers have three wrestlers ranked in the listings. At 133, Tyler Graff is ranked No. 7. At 165, Andrew Howe is ranked No. 1 and at 197, Trevor Brandvold is ranked No 6. Wisconsin is ranked No. 22. In Division 3, UW-LaCrosse continued to hold down the No. 1 national ranking. UW-Stevens Point is ranked No. 7. Andy Moore of LaCrosse is ranked No. 3 at 197. Moore is from Milwaukee Heritage Christian. In Division II, UW-Parkside is ranked No. 11. Cody Zimmerman is ranked No. 8 at 125 and Craig Becker is ranked No. 2 at 149 for Parkside. Both wrestled at Hartford. Streaking along Port Washington is closing in on a major milestone in the North Shore Conference. Port has won 59 consecutive dual meets in the league, and can hit 60 when the Pirates host Cedarburg at 7 p.m. Thursday. Pewaukee has gone 30-0 since it entered the Woodland Conference in the 2006-’07 season. Hartford has won 24 straight dual meets in the Wisconsin Little Ten Conference, dating to the 2006-’07 season. Muskego has won 30 consecutive dual meets in the Southeast Conference, dating back to the 2005-’06 season.

Burlington Bruises Indians, Pointers
The Burlington Demons defeat of the Mukwonago Indians at the Burlington Duals drew some stares over the weekend. Burlington coach Jade Gribble has been quietly building a team for six years, and he really showed the Demons have arrived with the Burlington’s defeat of Mineral Point, the three-time defending D3 state champion that is currently ranked No. 2 in the state. Burlington won nine of 14 matches against Mukwonago and picked up two pins by Matt Ehlen (103) and Derek Gill (112) and another victory by Nathan Gill (119) to close out Mukwonago in the dual that began at 125. Against Mineral Point, solid performances in losses were the difference for Burlington. Nathan Gill lost to Mineral Point’s Garrett Smart, 3-1, in double overtime at 119 and Cody Elsbury denied a pin when he lost to Mineral Point’s Todd Tibbits in a 17-2 technical fall for Tibbits. “We wrestled well that day,” Gribble said. Mukwonago coach Jon Wierzbicki praised Burlington for its effort. “They’re pretty solid,” he said. “They outwrestled us right from the get go. They have a nice team.” Still Alive: During this period of time when the state can ill afford to lose a or a school or a wrestling team, all looks good at Milwaukee Heritage Christian, a D3 team struggling financially to stay alive. Coach Paul Havel, who has churned out several top wrestlers during his 14 years at the school, is happy to be teaching and coaching at the small school in Milwaukee. Earlier this year, it appeared the school would close due to financial considerations. “I came here a while ago and thought it would only be for a few years,” Havel said. “But I like it. It’s a good school. We’ve built something.” Heritage Christian is struggling with budget issues, and is in need of raising more than $1.4 million after raising $400,000 to keep the school alive this year. As for now, Havel isn’t planning on moving unless it is necessary. “The kids I have and the families here are really supportive,” he said. “We want to keep going as a school. Last I heard, we’ll make it through the year. We’ll know a lot more in February and where we will be in the future.” Havel has two individual state champions under his belt at the small school. The first was Andy Moore, who won the 189 D3 title in 2005. The second was William McCormick, who won the 275 title in 2006. “We’re teaching and we’re coaching,” said Havel. “We have a new school board and they are doing a good job from what I gather. We’re just hoping right now.”

Cheesehead’s Impact Remains Solid
Some coaches think the Cheesehead Invitational, the 24-team mega tournament with several nationally ranked teams and many nationally ranked individuals that is held at Kaukauna each year, is good for the state wrestlers. Others think it is not. Some are concerned about how tough the competition is. For two area coaches who attended, there’s no argument. “It’s the best thing you can do, going to a tournament like that,” said Port Washington coach Angelo LaRosa. “I just can’t explain how good it is. It is the third toughest tournament in the country. I think it’s the best thing going on in the state. What you need to work on stands out like a sore thumb at a tournament like that.” Arrowhead coach John Mesenbrink agreed. “We need that competition (in the state) to see where we are at,” he said. “It’s an opportunity to be seen by others around the nation. It’s a good opportunity. It’s huge.”
Sueflohn’s Fortunes Rise on Mat
The ability of Arrowhead junior Jake Sueflohn to successfully wrestle on the mat was highlighted again against Port Washington junior Alex Dieringer in the. Dieringer went out and scored six points off three takedowns to build a 6-2 lead. But Sueflohn used a four-point move off a scramble to take the lead, a key takedown and went on to a 10-6 victory in the 135-pound final against Dieringer. Sueflohn’s mat skills also allowed him to defeat eventual state champion Jesse Thielke, a Germantown junior believed to be the best wrestler in the state, a year ago in the sectional finals. Sueflohn , Dieringer and Thielke are nationally ranked this year.
“(Sueflohn) is beginning to close the gap on takedowns against those guys,” said Mesenbrink of his star wrestler’s performance against top wrestlers. “He’s getting better on his feet.”
LaRosa looked toward a potential rematch.
“Hopefully, Alex gets another shot at Jake,” said LaRosa. “Jake was a snake out there. He’s such a great scrambler. Jake wrestled really well.”
Central stumbles at Merrill
West Allis Central suffered its first two losses of the season at the 24-team Northern Exposure in Merrill. Central finished fourth at the tournament with a 5-2 record to fall to 15-2 this year. Central lost to Luxemburg-Casco, 37-35, and Merrill, 42-25.
Veling Undefeated
Brookfield Central senior Tyler Veling remained undefeated this year by winning the 152-pound title at the Badger State Invitational in Madison. Veling (23-9) defeated Sparta junior Morgan Leis (14-6) by a pin in 1:52 in the final to improve to 23-0 this year.

Team of the week

Week 9: Pewaukee. The Pirates, ranked No. 3 in the area, placed six wrestlers in the finals and came away with a pair of champions to win the Pirate Invitational at Pewaukee with 195.5 points. Wilmot finished second with 177.5 points, followed by Oconomowoc (171) and No. 6- ranked Muskego (167.5). Pewaukee’s champions were junior Nathan Moore (112 pounds) and senior Mitch Teeters (130), both of whom won in the finals by a pin. Pewaukee had all 14 of its wrestlers place 6th or higher and went 7-7 in the final round.

Wrestler of the Week

Zach Mommaerts, Oconomowoc. The senior won the 125-pound title by defeating Pewaukee sophomore Josh Berg (26-15) by a 6-0 decision at the Pirate Invitational at Pewaukee and improved his overall record to 32-2. It was one of several matches between top-ranked wrestlers at the tournament. Mommaerts, a two time state qualifier, entered the match ranked No. 4 in Division 1. Berg, a state qualifier a year ago, entered the match ranked No. 4 in Division 2. Mommaerts is a two-time Wisconsin Little Ten Conference champion.

Joe’s Week 9 Team Rankings

Team Rankings Area (Records through Monday) 1, Arrowhead, 10-2. 2, Burlington, 15-0. 3, Pewaukee, 17-2. 4, West Allis Central, 25-5 5, Kenosha Tremper, 32-4 6, Muskego, 14-3 7, Mukwonago, 14-3 8, Hartford, 23-3 9, Franklin, 14-4 10, Kewaskum, 12-5

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Quote of the Week

“I know they think I’m just another City kid. I hear what people say. But this is my medal. Someone’s going to have to take it from me,” Milwaukee Custer senior 171-pound wrestler Davion Willis, on his quest for a D1 state individual title this year.

Tremper Stops Tech
By Joe Shinners Kenosha Tremper Trojans wrestling coach Joel Dutton was looking forward to getting his full lineup back on the mat in a big tournament. He came away impressed as the full Tremper team completed its dismantling of the Holiday Duals Wednesday afternoon at Milwaukee Hamilton by compiling a 10-0 record in the state's largest two-day dual tournament. Tremper finished with a 10-0 record at the tournament, followed by Marshall (9-1), Kenosha Bradford (8-2) and Wauwatosa (7-3) in the top four of the 12-team tournament. "I'm proud of the guys," said Dutton, whose team improved to 19-4 overall this year. "We've come a long way. We wrestled pretty dog gone good."
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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.
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Week 9
Week 1 Week 2 Week 3 Week 4 Week 5 Week 6 Week 7 Week 8 Week 9 Regionals Week Sectional Week
State Individual-Day 1 State Individual- Day 2 State Individual-Day 3 State Team Preview State Team Results All Area Team

Kurth’s Concern Groundless at Zelinski
By Joe Shinners
Greenfield – Pewaukee wrestling coach Ed Kurth was worried sick about how the Pirates would perform at the 23rd Zelinski Memorial Duals.
A long break in action that the Pirates took before the 16-team tournament was giving him fits.
As it turned out, all of Kurth’s worries were unfounded.
Pewaukee turned in the best area performance at the tournament and knocked off two ranked area teams in the process at finish second Saturday at Whitnall in the area’s toughest late-season dual tournament.
“I didn’t know what to expect,” said Kurth. “I didn’t think we would be ready. We never have a long break like we had this year.”

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WiWrestling.com Rankings
Individual Area Individuals in Top 10
Divison 1
103: 3, Bobby Nacheriner, fr., Hartford; 9, Tyler Rice, fr., Kenosha Tremper; 10, Gabe Grahek, fr., Milwaukee Marquette. 112: 1, Justin Scherkenbach, so., Muskego. 119: 2, Dominic Garcia, so., Kenosha Tremper; 4, Sam Kortes, jr., Franklin; 10, Tyler Semrad, sr., Waukesha West. 125: 1, Jesse Thielke, jr., Germantown; 3, Justin Meins, jr., Port Washington; 4, Zach Mommaerts, sr., Oconomowoc; 10, Demetrius Mensah, sr., Wauwatosa. 130: 5, Nick Becker, so., Hartford; 6, Tyler Quartullo, jr., Muskego; 10, Mitch Berenz, fr., Arrowhead. 135: 1, Jake Sueflohn, jr., Arrowhead; 2, Alex Dieringer, jr., Port Washington; 6, Kyle Welzen, sr., Wilmot; 7, David Cabral, jr., Franklin; 8, Jarid Baumgartner, sr., Hartford. 140: 4, Jake Machtle, jr., Port Washington; 6, Matt Gray, so., Wilmot; 8, Jake Morrison, sr., Oconomowoc. 145: 2, Jordan Sowinski, sr., Muskego; 9, Cody Sigler, sr., Cedarburg. 152: 2, Derek Olson, sr., Muskego; 9, Joey Immekus, sr., West Allis Central. 160: 3, Al Yde, sr., Arrowhead; 4, Justin McFarland, sr., Watertown; 5, Ryan Aprahamian, jr., Mukwonago; 6, Matt Pawlowski, sr., West Allis Central; 9, Tyler French, sr., Elkhorn. 171: 3, Davion Willis, sr., Milwaukee Custer; 4, Roland Dunlap, so., Muskego; 7, Shane Hughes, jr., Arrohwead; 8, Dan Diebitz, West Allis Central; 189: 6, Jordan Gruettner, so., Muskego; 9, Kyle Wey, sr., Oak Creek. 215: 3, Jacob Laux, sr., Kettle Moraine; 6, Patrick Bruyette, sr., Greenfield; 7, Alex Kehoe, sr., Muskego; 9, Steven Sizer, jr., West Bend West; 10, Cody Ybarra, sr., Waukesha North. 285: 4, Billy Mitchell, sr., South Milwaukee; 6, Joe Cychner, Lake Geneva Badger; 7, Najee Parker, sr., Kenosha Tremper; 10, Lucas Gritzmacher, jr., West Allis Central.
Division 2
103: 9, Brett Scoles, fr., Kewaskum. 119: 10, Max Nonnamaker, sr., Pewaukee. 125: 10. Josh Berg, so., Pewaukee. 130: 6, Mitch Teeters, sr., Pewaukee. 135: 4, Jake Zess, sr., East Troy. 140: 6, Kyndle Bennett, sr., Delavan-Darien; 7, Rob Maertz, jr., Kewaskum. 145: 1,Brad Bentz, jr., Kewaskum; 8, Mike Dusel, sr., Pewaukee. 152: 1, Justin Naber, sr., Brown Deer; 8, David Figueroa, so., Delavan-Darien. 171: 3, Bo Seibel, jr., Kewaskum; 4, Travis Decker, sr., Pewaukee. 189: 5, Brennan Price, sr., East Troy; 9, Guy Keeku, sr., Union Grove. 215: 4, Cody Seibel, sr., Kewaskum; 5, Brandon Schweitzer, sr., Grafton; 6, Kent Grimscheid, sr., Pewaukee. 285: 6, Taylor Witty, sr., Milwaukee Lutheran.
Division 3
135: 8, Zach Fischer, jr., Kenosha St. Joseph. 140: 7, Spencer Lemens, sr., Kenosha St. Joseph. 160: 3, Tyler Garcia, jr., Cedar Grove/Belgium. 215: 6, Jacob Mundstock, sr., Shoreland Lutheran. 285: 6, Dylan Lange, sr., Heritage Christian.
Team Division 1: 1, Wisconsin Rapids; 2, Kaukauna; 3, Milton; 4, Pulaski; 5, Hudson; 6, Arrowhead; 7, Wausau West; 8, Muskego. Honorable mention: Stoughton, Green Bay Preble/East, Hortonville; West Allis Central, Burlington, Neenah, Hartford.
Division 2: 1, Luxemburg-Casco; 2, Ellsworth; 3, Oconto Falls; 4, Lodi; 5, Tomahawk; 6, Pewaukee; 7, Sparta; 8, Campbellsport. Honorable mention: Sheboygan Falls, Kewaskum, Amery, Freedom, Wrightstown, Seymour, Nekoosa/Port Edwards, Marshall, Delavan-Darien.
Division 3: 1, Coleman; 2, Mineral Point; 3, Boyceville; 4, Edgar; 5, Cadott; 6, Reedsville; 7. DeSoto; 8, (tie) Clear Lake and Glenwood City. Honorable mention: New Lisbon, Stratford, Brillion, Random Lake, Oostburg, Arcadia, Shell Lake, Shiocton, Iowa-Grant.
State Rankings
Crossface Team

(Through Saturday)
Division 1: 1, Wisconsin Rapids; 2, Kaukauna; 3, Milton, 4, Wausau West; 5, Hudson; 6, Pulaski; 7, Arrowhead; 8, Muskego. Honrable mention: Stoughton, West Allis Central, Neenah, DeForest, Fond du Lac, Burlington, Marshfield, Merrill, Hortonville, Green Bay Preble/East, Ashwaubenon, Hartford.
Division 2: 1, Luxemburg-Casco; 2, Oconto Falls; 3, Ellsworth; 4, Lodi; 5, Tomahawk; 6, Pewaukee; 7, Sparta; 8, Kewaskum. Honorable mention: Seymour, Wrightstown, Freendom, Amergy, Sheboygan Falls, Campbellsport, Neekosa/Port Edwards, Marshall, Delavan-Darien, Mosinee.
Division 3: 1, Coleman; 2, Mineral Point; 3, Boyceville; 4, Edgar; 5, Clear Lake; 6, Reedsville; 7, Cadott; 8, DeSoto. Honorable mention: Glenwood City, Random Lake, Brillion, Westby, New Lisbon, Iowa-Grant, Shiocton, Ladysmith, Ozaukee.

Crossface Individual
(Note: Rankings of all three divisions combined, top five individuals in state; area wrestlers ranked, through Thursday.)

Crossface All-State Team

Division 1  103 pounds 1. Joe Umlauf, Wausau West 2. John Wells, Milton 3. Wyatt Booth, Merrill 4. Jason Munoz, Wisconsin Rapids 5. Quinn Miracle Chippewa Falls 6. Austin Heitpas, Kaukauna 7. Zach Bruley, Oshkosh North 8. Bobby Nachreiner, Hartford  Honorable mention: Kris Neumann, Madison Edgewood; Tanner Dworak, Tomah; Tyler Rice, Tenosha Tremper; Alex Valentine, Lacrosse Central; Mitchell Gundrum, West Bend East  112 1. Justin Scherkenbach, Muskego 2. Izzy Balsiger, Chippewa Falls 3. Tony Perl, Sheboygan North 4. Jon Schuster, Wausau West 5. Derek Gil, Burlington 6. James Bennett, Holmen 7. Gordan Johnson, Hudson 8. Steve VanWychen, Kaukauna  Honorable mention: Jake Jaborek, Wisconsin Rapids; Nick Urso, Stoughton; Ian Johnson, DeForest Austin Christensen, Waterford 
Click for Complete All-State Crossface Rankings

Tyler Quartullo (Muskego) Beats Nick Becker (Hartford) 3-0.

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Matt Freeman, Kenosha Tremper, pins Justice Parker, Bradley Tech in 1:07.

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Marquette Settles for Large School Title
By Joe Shinners Milwaukee Marquette Hilltoppers wrestling coach Ralph DeNisco chose to look on the bright side of his team’s large school title at the 10th annual Red Knight Invitational Saturday at Milwaukee Lutheran. The Hilltopppers wrestled with only 10 of 14 wrestlers after a spate of injures depleted the squad in recent weeks, but still managed to send five wrestlers to the finals, claim three individual champions, post one of the tournament’s biggest upsets and walked away with a team title trophy at the tournament for the first time.
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Pewaukee Answers Kurth’s Challenge
By Joe Shinners Pewaukee – Pewaukee wrestling coach Ed Kurth was looking for a challenge as his team hosted this year’s Pirate Invitational. He scheduled the talent as a test for is team heading into the tournament season. What Kurth learned from the test was that his team is on the rise in Southeastern Wisconsin and is definitely primed to win the Woodland Conference tournament title on Saturday. Perhaps, a berth in the state team tournament is also in the future. He also learned his team has a lot of work to do to make any real waves in the individual or team state tournaments. Pewaukee picked up a pair of champions and placed six wresters in the finals as the Pirates scored 195.5 points to win the team title at the newly improved tournament of nine teams. Wilmot, a vastly improved team from a year ago, finished second with 177.5 points, followed by Oconomowoc (171.5) and the injury-plagued Muskego Warriors (167.5). Kurth improved the field by adding Muskego and Wilmot, and save for a scheduling error would have had Burlington in the fold as well.

It was all an effort to prepare the Pirates to defend their conference title and begin the peaking process that could lead the Pirates to greater success in the coming weeks. Just off a solid performance at the Zelinski Memorial Duals a week ago, this was the challenge the Pirates needed. More

Photo by Ed Kurth Sr.

Pewaukee wins their home invite for the third year in a row.

Willis’ Road to Redemption
Began on Mat, Classroom
By Joe Shinners
It’s been a long and trying road that Milwaukee Custer senior wrestler Davion Willis has walked.
At times, he’s stumbled.
But as he enters the stretch run of his final wrestling campaign, Willis can say he has straightened up and regained a steady footing in life over four years of effort. He’s excelled on the mat, in the classroom and in the community thanks to his determination and drive. He can thank wrestling, a saving grace for the young man who once never thought of goals or following a path to success that he is now on.

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Franklin Comeback Stops Tremper By Joe Shinners Franklin – Sometimes the buildup doesn’t match the reality when it comes to a highly anticipated dual meet. Normally, it’s a blowout one way or the other.
That was not the case when the Franklin Sabers hosted the Kenosha Tremper Trojans Wednesday night before a packed fieldhouse in a snow-delayed showdown between two of the top teams in Southeast Wisconsin. The dual was delayed by several weeks due to a snow storm, and it was well worth the wait.

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Photo by Ed Kurth Sr.

Pewaukee's Mike Dusel shoots for a takedown against his Oconomowoc opponent in the Pirate’s Invitational.

Photo by Patrick Granger

Davion Willis goes for nearfall points against an opponent at the Hamilton Holiday Duals in December.

Muskego Flexes Muscles
at SEC Tournament By Joe Shinners Racine – Much was made of the demise of the Muskego Warriors wrestling team this season.
After their poor showing at the Pirate Invitational at Pewaukee a week ago, it seemed Muskego was ripe to fall from the top of the Southeast Conference.
The Warriors, however, stepped up and quieted their critics by blowing away the field with a dominating performance that resulted in the team’s seventh consecutive title at the eight-team conference tournament Saturday at Racine Horlick.
By every measure, Muskego proved it’s still a strong tournament team, one that may even have the ability to reach the state team tournament now that most of its wrestlers are healthy again even though it may not be as strong a dual meet team.
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