BELMONT - After being thwarted by Delavan-Darien and Mineral Point in their last two duals, Darlington's wrestling team went into the Belmont Duals Invitational on Saturday looking to prosper. And they did.
The Redbirds finished in second place behind Cuba City.
"It was to our advantage to have a full team," Redbird head coach Tom Mathias said. "We were able to win some big matches and avoided giving up some extra team points to forfeits."
Darlington beat Dodgeville 45-31, with Sean Cronin (171), Bo Brunkow (103), and Dylan McGuire (152) all winning by pin.
In a 71-12 blowout of Wisconsin Heights, Matt McDaniel (140), Colton Hackett (189), Brandon Heins (215), McGuire and Cronin all won with pins.
"Our upper weights had a great day. Brandon Heins filled in at 215 and had four wins," Mathias said.
Against Belmont-Platteville, the Redbirds continued to roll, winning 66-16. Coty Lange (140), Seth Endres (125), Mitchell Long (135), Devin Malott (119), Mark Brugger (285), Hackett, Heins and Brunkow all collected pins.
"Mark Brugger had a really good day," Mathias said of his heavyweight's four-win performance.
In a tight 42-39 win against Mount Horeb-Barneveld, Heins, Malott, Hackett and Brugger all collected pins.
Darlington's only loss came to Cuba City, 52-20. Hackett and McGuire both had pins in the match. Eli Humphrey (171) and Heins each picked up major decision wins. However, the Cubans had six pins and won the meet.
Four Redbirds won four matches, with six others winning three matches.
"Our young freshmen did really well filling in spots and avoided getting pinned all day. This is a good follow-up after the Delavan-Darien and Mineral Point losses. Those teams are so solid, its depressing when you get beat so bad," Mathias said.
Mineral Point, the No. 1-rated team in the state, beat the Redbirds 74-4 Friday in a dual at Darlington. Malott picked up the Redbirds' only win with a 16-2 major decision over Todd Tibbits in the 119 match.
ITHACA-WESTON INVITATIONAL
CAZENOVIA - Black Hawk finished in fifth place and Pecatonica-Argyle came in eighth place at the nine-team Ithaca-Weston Invite on Saturday.
The Warriors' Dusty Weber (125) and Jordan Luhman (160) each finished in second place. Weber lost to Richland Center's Jake Doudna after a 7-5 decision and Luhman fell 6-3 to La Crosse Logan's Matt Schleifer.
Isaac Sigafus (112) took third place for Black Hawk. Pec-Argyle's Eli Davis (145) also placed third.
In the 140 division, Black Hawk's Kyle Stauffacher took fourth place and Pec-Argyle's Tyler Francois finished in fifth place.
The Vikings' Ross Gilbertson topped the Warriors' Tyler Quinn in the first round of the 189 division. Gilbertson went on to finish in fourth place, while Quinn took sixth place.
In the heavyweight division, Pec-Argyle's Dave Cuevas finished in fourth place and Black Hawk's Blake Wand took sixth.
The Vikings' Ian Sigg topped the Warriors' Carl Ruegsegger in the fifth-place matchup at 215.
Riley Sigg topped the Warriors' Bryant Luhman in the first round of the 171 bracket. Sigg would finish in fifth place for the Vikings. Luhman fell in the second round, knocking him out of contention.
Black Hawk's A.J. Meligan took home fifth place in the 130 weight class and Pec-Argyle's Chris James topped the Warriors' Crystal Novak in the second round on his way to a fifth-place finish in the 119 division.
NEKOOSA INVITATIONAL
NEKOOSA - Brodhead-Juda took fifth place out of 13 teams at the Nekoosa Invite on Jan. 17, collecting 94 points.
Mitchell Wiesenberg took second place in the 119 weight class, falling to Tomah's Ian Duncan in the championship. Duncan has a 17-2 record.
Cody Spooner (215), Brandon Hart (171), Devon Seitz (140), and Josh Mchoes (103) each took home fourth-place honors.
Dan Douglas (189), and Jeremy Rosheisen (125) each finished in fifth place. Jimmy Lewis (152), Ethan Voights (160) and Aaron Pratt (130) each finished in sixth place for the Cardinals.
Mosinee won the meet with 239.5 points. Reedsburg (202.5), Tomah (173.5), and Auburndale (105) all finished ahead of Brodhead.
The Redbirds finished in second place behind Cuba City.
"It was to our advantage to have a full team," Redbird head coach Tom Mathias said. "We were able to win some big matches and avoided giving up some extra team points to forfeits."
Darlington beat Dodgeville 45-31, with Sean Cronin (171), Bo Brunkow (103), and Dylan McGuire (152) all winning by pin.
In a 71-12 blowout of Wisconsin Heights, Matt McDaniel (140), Colton Hackett (189), Brandon Heins (215), McGuire and Cronin all won with pins.
"Our upper weights had a great day. Brandon Heins filled in at 215 and had four wins," Mathias said.
Against Belmont-Platteville, the Redbirds continued to roll, winning 66-16. Coty Lange (140), Seth Endres (125), Mitchell Long (135), Devin Malott (119), Mark Brugger (285), Hackett, Heins and Brunkow all collected pins.
"Mark Brugger had a really good day," Mathias said of his heavyweight's four-win performance.
In a tight 42-39 win against Mount Horeb-Barneveld, Heins, Malott, Hackett and Brugger all collected pins.
Darlington's only loss came to Cuba City, 52-20. Hackett and McGuire both had pins in the match. Eli Humphrey (171) and Heins each picked up major decision wins. However, the Cubans had six pins and won the meet.
Four Redbirds won four matches, with six others winning three matches.
"Our young freshmen did really well filling in spots and avoided getting pinned all day. This is a good follow-up after the Delavan-Darien and Mineral Point losses. Those teams are so solid, its depressing when you get beat so bad," Mathias said.
Mineral Point, the No. 1-rated team in the state, beat the Redbirds 74-4 Friday in a dual at Darlington. Malott picked up the Redbirds' only win with a 16-2 major decision over Todd Tibbits in the 119 match.
ITHACA-WESTON INVITATIONAL
CAZENOVIA - Black Hawk finished in fifth place and Pecatonica-Argyle came in eighth place at the nine-team Ithaca-Weston Invite on Saturday.
The Warriors' Dusty Weber (125) and Jordan Luhman (160) each finished in second place. Weber lost to Richland Center's Jake Doudna after a 7-5 decision and Luhman fell 6-3 to La Crosse Logan's Matt Schleifer.
Isaac Sigafus (112) took third place for Black Hawk. Pec-Argyle's Eli Davis (145) also placed third.
In the 140 division, Black Hawk's Kyle Stauffacher took fourth place and Pec-Argyle's Tyler Francois finished in fifth place.
The Vikings' Ross Gilbertson topped the Warriors' Tyler Quinn in the first round of the 189 division. Gilbertson went on to finish in fourth place, while Quinn took sixth place.
In the heavyweight division, Pec-Argyle's Dave Cuevas finished in fourth place and Black Hawk's Blake Wand took sixth.
The Vikings' Ian Sigg topped the Warriors' Carl Ruegsegger in the fifth-place matchup at 215.
Riley Sigg topped the Warriors' Bryant Luhman in the first round of the 171 bracket. Sigg would finish in fifth place for the Vikings. Luhman fell in the second round, knocking him out of contention.
Black Hawk's A.J. Meligan took home fifth place in the 130 weight class and Pec-Argyle's Chris James topped the Warriors' Crystal Novak in the second round on his way to a fifth-place finish in the 119 division.
NEKOOSA INVITATIONAL
NEKOOSA - Brodhead-Juda took fifth place out of 13 teams at the Nekoosa Invite on Jan. 17, collecting 94 points.
Mitchell Wiesenberg took second place in the 119 weight class, falling to Tomah's Ian Duncan in the championship. Duncan has a 17-2 record.
Cody Spooner (215), Brandon Hart (171), Devon Seitz (140), and Josh Mchoes (103) each took home fourth-place honors.
Dan Douglas (189), and Jeremy Rosheisen (125) each finished in fifth place. Jimmy Lewis (152), Ethan Voights (160) and Aaron Pratt (130) each finished in sixth place for the Cardinals.
Mosinee won the meet with 239.5 points. Reedsburg (202.5), Tomah (173.5), and Auburndale (105) all finished ahead of Brodhead.
