LA CROSSE - The Monroe wrestling team had five wrestlers medal at the Bi-State Classic Saturday.
Monroe senior Kevin Klopfenstein at 138 pounds finished fourth place and senior Trevor Gorr (220) took fifth. Senior Dusty Burkhalter (182) finished sixth, junior Brett Zimmerman (heavyweight) took sixth and senior Aaron Hesgard (132) was eleventh.
"If you would have told me before the tournament we would have five guys that medal and four in the top six, I would have taken that for sure," Monroe coach Jeriamy Jackson said of the 54-team Bi-State Classic. "Sometimes it's even harder than the state tournament because it's all three divisions and schools from Minnesota."
Klopfenstein lost a semifinal match to Wausau West's Joe Umlauf 13-5. He rebounded and pulled out a win, scoring on a takedown in the final 10 seconds to defeat Holmen's Ryan Stalsberg 2-1. Middleton's Jake Cain knocked him off in a fourth-place match 8-3.
"He (Klopfenstein) was seeded fourth and that is where he finished," Jackson said. "I don't know if he could have done any better. It was a stacked weight class."
Gorr finished 4-1 on Saturday. He defeated Eastview's Nick Pegelow 7-3 and edged La Crosse Logan's Calvin Wright 9-8. Gorr then defeated Belmont-Platteville's Lucas Stoney 3-0. Luexemburg-Casco's Luke Destiche then pinned him in 27 seconds. Destiche beat Gorr at the state tournament last year. Gorr bounced back and defeated Hudson's Elliot Motu 3-2 to seal fifth place. With the win, he avenged a loss to Motu from Friday.
"It was a little bit of revenge for him," Jackson said of Gorr. "A lot of the fans don't stick it out for the consolation matches. He had to grind it out. He wrestled his way back up."
Burkhalter was pinned by Hudson's Derek Schinder in 3:12 in the semis. Luxemburg-Casco's Ethan Peters then knocked him off 7-4. In a fifth-place match, Belmont-Platteville's Vincent Anderson defeated Burkhalter in overtime.
The highlight for Burkhalter was when he threw Tomah's Jason Reisinger, who was the No. 3 seed and beat him 5-4 in the quarterfinals.
"Dusty had one of the best tournaments I have seen him have," Jackson said. "I think Dusty surprised some people with the way he wrestled. With that win in the quarterfinals, he assured himself of a medal."
Zimmerman, who is in his second year on the varsity, pinned Nekoosa-Port Edwards' Tristin Holden in 2:06 and knocked off Richland Center's Mark Doudna 7-2. Wausau West's Ryan Fay then pinned Zimmerman in 2:27 and Marshfield's Tristan Wilson pinned him in 2:43.
"He has learned a lot from last year," Jackson said of Zimmerman. "He has learned that he can't get underneath these guys. He has to use his speed and strength."
Hesgard defeated Prairie du Chien's Ronnie Hebel 8-1 and then lost to Ellsworth's Brad Cain 14-3. Arcadia's Alex Goodwin pinned Hesgard in 2:10. Hesgard rebounded to defeat D.C. Everest's Tou Young 10-4.
"He had a good tournament," Jackson said. "He has been battling some illness. He just didn't have anything left. I think he could have placed a little better."
Monroe senior Kevin Klopfenstein at 138 pounds finished fourth place and senior Trevor Gorr (220) took fifth. Senior Dusty Burkhalter (182) finished sixth, junior Brett Zimmerman (heavyweight) took sixth and senior Aaron Hesgard (132) was eleventh.
"If you would have told me before the tournament we would have five guys that medal and four in the top six, I would have taken that for sure," Monroe coach Jeriamy Jackson said of the 54-team Bi-State Classic. "Sometimes it's even harder than the state tournament because it's all three divisions and schools from Minnesota."
Klopfenstein lost a semifinal match to Wausau West's Joe Umlauf 13-5. He rebounded and pulled out a win, scoring on a takedown in the final 10 seconds to defeat Holmen's Ryan Stalsberg 2-1. Middleton's Jake Cain knocked him off in a fourth-place match 8-3.
"He (Klopfenstein) was seeded fourth and that is where he finished," Jackson said. "I don't know if he could have done any better. It was a stacked weight class."
Gorr finished 4-1 on Saturday. He defeated Eastview's Nick Pegelow 7-3 and edged La Crosse Logan's Calvin Wright 9-8. Gorr then defeated Belmont-Platteville's Lucas Stoney 3-0. Luexemburg-Casco's Luke Destiche then pinned him in 27 seconds. Destiche beat Gorr at the state tournament last year. Gorr bounced back and defeated Hudson's Elliot Motu 3-2 to seal fifth place. With the win, he avenged a loss to Motu from Friday.
"It was a little bit of revenge for him," Jackson said of Gorr. "A lot of the fans don't stick it out for the consolation matches. He had to grind it out. He wrestled his way back up."
Burkhalter was pinned by Hudson's Derek Schinder in 3:12 in the semis. Luxemburg-Casco's Ethan Peters then knocked him off 7-4. In a fifth-place match, Belmont-Platteville's Vincent Anderson defeated Burkhalter in overtime.
The highlight for Burkhalter was when he threw Tomah's Jason Reisinger, who was the No. 3 seed and beat him 5-4 in the quarterfinals.
"Dusty had one of the best tournaments I have seen him have," Jackson said. "I think Dusty surprised some people with the way he wrestled. With that win in the quarterfinals, he assured himself of a medal."
Zimmerman, who is in his second year on the varsity, pinned Nekoosa-Port Edwards' Tristin Holden in 2:06 and knocked off Richland Center's Mark Doudna 7-2. Wausau West's Ryan Fay then pinned Zimmerman in 2:27 and Marshfield's Tristan Wilson pinned him in 2:43.
"He has learned a lot from last year," Jackson said of Zimmerman. "He has learned that he can't get underneath these guys. He has to use his speed and strength."
Hesgard defeated Prairie du Chien's Ronnie Hebel 8-1 and then lost to Ellsworth's Brad Cain 14-3. Arcadia's Alex Goodwin pinned Hesgard in 2:10. Hesgard rebounded to defeat D.C. Everest's Tou Young 10-4.
"He had a good tournament," Jackson said. "He has been battling some illness. He just didn't have anything left. I think he could have placed a little better."
