MOUNT HOREB - Bret "The Hitman" Hart used to bust out the sharpshooter. Brutus "The Barber" Beefcake had his signature sleeper hold.
Friday night, Kyle Klopfenstein seamlessly executed his signature move to give the Cheesemakers a necessary shot in the arm at the first day of the Badger Conference Tournament at Mount Horeb.
Monroe's senior captain linked a fireman's carry with a half nelson before Portage's Kory Heaps unbeknownestly rolled into Klop's wheelhouse mere seconds into their 140-pound bout.
"He kind of rolled through so I got my signature double-arm bar in and ran it and sat all the way through," Klopfenstein said. "It very rarely happens like that though."
The end result was Heaps' shoulders being pinned to the crimson mat in just 52 seconds. With a long career of wrestling in tow, Klop is still shocked when opponents set him up so well.
"We haven't met up, but with other guys, they should know it's coming sooner or later," Klopfenstein said with a laugh.
He and junior Gavin Wels, ranked sixth in the state among 103-pound grapplers in Division 2, will be the only Cheesemakers vying for Badger Conference titles today as the duo couldn't have been more convincing in their quarterfinal victories following preliminary byes. Three Cheesemakers will battle through the consolation ranks.
Wels was fended off for nearly two full periods by Sauk Prairie junior Amber Mefford before finally achieving his pin.
Despite only winning a bout apiece, Wels and Klopfenstein amassed 28 of their squad's 45 points, good for 11th place, just two points ahead of last place Madison Edgewood-Monona Grove. DeForest leads the meet after day one with 143.5 team points.
Dillon Weckerly was the only other pinfall contributor as he resisted the urge to prematurely hit the accelerator and open Pandora's box in the first period per his coaches' advice.
"You just wanna pin 'em so badly, but coach told me before to get the points and win the match before you pin 'em," Weckerly said. "I stayed pretty calm."
Weckerly was pinned in the quarters by Joe Stetzer of Oregon. Cory Kundert also won his prelim match convincingly with a 12-0 major decision before falling in the quarters and again in the second consolation round.
Weckerly bounced back with an 11-4 decision over Verona's Peter Hairgrove. Monroe heavyweight Lucas Leu, still battling back from a recurring knee injury, came back from a 7-4 quarters loss to DeForest's Richard Skaife to pin Verona's Brian Esterrich in the consolation bracket.
Dylan Schwitz, whose return was anything but certain after an appendectomy, didn't initially have his usual burst as he was blanked by Justin Karls of Waunkee, 4-0.
"A couple of guys just have to regroup and get through that first loss," Klopfenstein said after his quarterfinals win. "Kudos to Dylan for just being out there. The first thing he said when he got off the mat was, 'I'm out of shape'."
Evidently not satisfied with said realization, the freshman rebounded with a sound victory over Randall Anderson by injury default.
Already leading by double-digits, Anderson tapped out when he came down hard on his elbow, leading to a victory that Schwitz locked down from the opening bell.
"He got his energy up and that's what we needed to see, is that he's not afraid of his injury," Monroe coach Jeriamy Jackson said.
Klopfenstein (5-0 Badger) draws Reedsburg junior Brent Landon (6-1) in the semis, a standout who Monroe admittedly avoided in recent matchups.
"It's going to be a good match, it should be a showdown," Klopfenstein said.
Wels, never afraid to kick off a second day of competition, faces Cole Engeldinger of DeForest in a semifinal bout first thing in the morning.
Friday night, Kyle Klopfenstein seamlessly executed his signature move to give the Cheesemakers a necessary shot in the arm at the first day of the Badger Conference Tournament at Mount Horeb.
Monroe's senior captain linked a fireman's carry with a half nelson before Portage's Kory Heaps unbeknownestly rolled into Klop's wheelhouse mere seconds into their 140-pound bout.
"He kind of rolled through so I got my signature double-arm bar in and ran it and sat all the way through," Klopfenstein said. "It very rarely happens like that though."
The end result was Heaps' shoulders being pinned to the crimson mat in just 52 seconds. With a long career of wrestling in tow, Klop is still shocked when opponents set him up so well.
"We haven't met up, but with other guys, they should know it's coming sooner or later," Klopfenstein said with a laugh.
He and junior Gavin Wels, ranked sixth in the state among 103-pound grapplers in Division 2, will be the only Cheesemakers vying for Badger Conference titles today as the duo couldn't have been more convincing in their quarterfinal victories following preliminary byes. Three Cheesemakers will battle through the consolation ranks.
Wels was fended off for nearly two full periods by Sauk Prairie junior Amber Mefford before finally achieving his pin.
Despite only winning a bout apiece, Wels and Klopfenstein amassed 28 of their squad's 45 points, good for 11th place, just two points ahead of last place Madison Edgewood-Monona Grove. DeForest leads the meet after day one with 143.5 team points.
Dillon Weckerly was the only other pinfall contributor as he resisted the urge to prematurely hit the accelerator and open Pandora's box in the first period per his coaches' advice.
"You just wanna pin 'em so badly, but coach told me before to get the points and win the match before you pin 'em," Weckerly said. "I stayed pretty calm."
Weckerly was pinned in the quarters by Joe Stetzer of Oregon. Cory Kundert also won his prelim match convincingly with a 12-0 major decision before falling in the quarters and again in the second consolation round.
Weckerly bounced back with an 11-4 decision over Verona's Peter Hairgrove. Monroe heavyweight Lucas Leu, still battling back from a recurring knee injury, came back from a 7-4 quarters loss to DeForest's Richard Skaife to pin Verona's Brian Esterrich in the consolation bracket.
Dylan Schwitz, whose return was anything but certain after an appendectomy, didn't initially have his usual burst as he was blanked by Justin Karls of Waunkee, 4-0.
"A couple of guys just have to regroup and get through that first loss," Klopfenstein said after his quarterfinals win. "Kudos to Dylan for just being out there. The first thing he said when he got off the mat was, 'I'm out of shape'."
Evidently not satisfied with said realization, the freshman rebounded with a sound victory over Randall Anderson by injury default.
Already leading by double-digits, Anderson tapped out when he came down hard on his elbow, leading to a victory that Schwitz locked down from the opening bell.
"He got his energy up and that's what we needed to see, is that he's not afraid of his injury," Monroe coach Jeriamy Jackson said.
Klopfenstein (5-0 Badger) draws Reedsburg junior Brent Landon (6-1) in the semis, a standout who Monroe admittedly avoided in recent matchups.
"It's going to be a good match, it should be a showdown," Klopfenstein said.
Wels, never afraid to kick off a second day of competition, faces Cole Engeldinger of DeForest in a semifinal bout first thing in the morning.
