RICHLAND CENTER - Monroe junior Traiten Gorr won the championship at the Richland Center Invitational Saturday.
Gorr (17-0), ranked No. 10 at 220 pounds in the Wisconsin Wrestling Online Division 2 poll, rolled through the competition in the 16-team tournament. After a first-round bye, Gorr pinned Riverdale's Jared Schneider in 2 minutes, 16 seconds. Gorr, who entered the tournament as the No. 1 seed, then pinned Baraboo's Nicholas Pierce in the semifinals in 3:44. In the title match, Gorr pinned Weston-Ithaca's Ossian Sharp in 1:31.
"He dominated his weight class," Monroe coach Tom Witt said. "He pinned his way through to the championship. You never know about seeds this early in the season.
"Now, I think his goal is to get to the second day of the Bi-State Classic and get on the podium. When he does that, he will move on to his next goal."
The Monroe wrestling team had five of the nine wrestlers they took finish in the top five. The Cheesemakers took eighth place as a team (133.5 points) out of 16 teams. Baraboo outdueled Marshfield for the team title 307.5-279.5. Sugar River took ninth place (126.5) and Black Hawk-Darlington was last (16.5).
"It's kind of what I expected," Witt said of the middle-of-the-pack finish. "Going in based on their seeds they ended up where they should have. You want to maintain or improve your seed."
Monroe freshman Travis Wolf (132) and sophomore Kyle Walter (heavyweight) each took fourth place. In the first-round, Wolf pinned Weston-Ithaca's Cade Rosenow in 2 minutes. He then pinned Riverdale's Colt Pechan in the quarterfinals in 1:40. In the semifinals, Wolf had a 3-0 lead on Boscobel's Zach Mindham before he lost by a pin in 31 seconds. River Ridge's Marty Fischer came back to pin Wolf in the third place match in 3:50. Wolf had a 6-2 lead in the third-place match before being caught in a tough position after Fischer's reversal.
"He's still green," Witt said of Wolf, who is wrestling for just his second year and first on varsity. "It really takes a lot of matches to learn those situations. He probably should have finished third place."
After a first-round bye, Walter pinned Sugar River's Jonah Thompson in 1:54. In the semifinals, Marshfield's Nick Humphrey pinned Walter in 2:41.
Sophomore teammate Hayden Arneson (182) went 3-1. Arneson (10-7) was seeded No. 7 and finished fifth place. After losing by a pin in the quarterfinals to Baraboo's Ben Goodreau, Arneson rebounded posting three straight wins. He pinned Hillsboro's Reece Hammere in 51 seconds in a consolation match. In the consolation semifinals, Arneson beat Boscobel's Casey Frey 4-0. Arneson pinned Riverdale's Andrew Poskitt to win a fifth-place match.
"I told him (Arneson) after the day that Traiten took fifth place at that weight class last year," Witt said. "Hopefully, that is some reinforcement for him."
Monroe sophomore Cole Murray (14-3) at 126 also took fifth place. Mautson's Colton Winders edged Murray 7-4 in a quarterfinal match. Murray came back in a consolation semifinal match, and defeated Baraboo's Alex Statz in a technical fall in 3:14. Murray then pinned Cochrane-Founatin City's Christian Repinski in 1:35 to seal fifth place.
The top wrestler for Sugar River was senior Jacob Larson (15-2) at 195 who took third place. Larson defeated Boscobel's Austin Wilcox 9-1 in a quarterfinal match. In the semifinals, Baraboo's David Gale beat Larson in a nail-biter 3-2. Larson bounced back by pinning Richland Center's Silas Coleman for third place in 3:46.
Senior teammate Kody Popenfus finished fourth place (138) by finishing the day 2-1. Popenfus (14-2) was pinned by Mauston's Teegan Miller in a third-place match.
Sugar River's Josh Chenoweth (120) and Trent Siegenthaler (220) also posted fourth-place finishes.
The top finishes for Black Hawk-Darlington were Caleb Novak (138) and Paul King (113), both took seventh place.
Gorr (17-0), ranked No. 10 at 220 pounds in the Wisconsin Wrestling Online Division 2 poll, rolled through the competition in the 16-team tournament. After a first-round bye, Gorr pinned Riverdale's Jared Schneider in 2 minutes, 16 seconds. Gorr, who entered the tournament as the No. 1 seed, then pinned Baraboo's Nicholas Pierce in the semifinals in 3:44. In the title match, Gorr pinned Weston-Ithaca's Ossian Sharp in 1:31.
"He dominated his weight class," Monroe coach Tom Witt said. "He pinned his way through to the championship. You never know about seeds this early in the season.
"Now, I think his goal is to get to the second day of the Bi-State Classic and get on the podium. When he does that, he will move on to his next goal."
The Monroe wrestling team had five of the nine wrestlers they took finish in the top five. The Cheesemakers took eighth place as a team (133.5 points) out of 16 teams. Baraboo outdueled Marshfield for the team title 307.5-279.5. Sugar River took ninth place (126.5) and Black Hawk-Darlington was last (16.5).
"It's kind of what I expected," Witt said of the middle-of-the-pack finish. "Going in based on their seeds they ended up where they should have. You want to maintain or improve your seed."
Monroe freshman Travis Wolf (132) and sophomore Kyle Walter (heavyweight) each took fourth place. In the first-round, Wolf pinned Weston-Ithaca's Cade Rosenow in 2 minutes. He then pinned Riverdale's Colt Pechan in the quarterfinals in 1:40. In the semifinals, Wolf had a 3-0 lead on Boscobel's Zach Mindham before he lost by a pin in 31 seconds. River Ridge's Marty Fischer came back to pin Wolf in the third place match in 3:50. Wolf had a 6-2 lead in the third-place match before being caught in a tough position after Fischer's reversal.
"He's still green," Witt said of Wolf, who is wrestling for just his second year and first on varsity. "It really takes a lot of matches to learn those situations. He probably should have finished third place."
After a first-round bye, Walter pinned Sugar River's Jonah Thompson in 1:54. In the semifinals, Marshfield's Nick Humphrey pinned Walter in 2:41.
Sophomore teammate Hayden Arneson (182) went 3-1. Arneson (10-7) was seeded No. 7 and finished fifth place. After losing by a pin in the quarterfinals to Baraboo's Ben Goodreau, Arneson rebounded posting three straight wins. He pinned Hillsboro's Reece Hammere in 51 seconds in a consolation match. In the consolation semifinals, Arneson beat Boscobel's Casey Frey 4-0. Arneson pinned Riverdale's Andrew Poskitt to win a fifth-place match.
"I told him (Arneson) after the day that Traiten took fifth place at that weight class last year," Witt said. "Hopefully, that is some reinforcement for him."
Monroe sophomore Cole Murray (14-3) at 126 also took fifth place. Mautson's Colton Winders edged Murray 7-4 in a quarterfinal match. Murray came back in a consolation semifinal match, and defeated Baraboo's Alex Statz in a technical fall in 3:14. Murray then pinned Cochrane-Founatin City's Christian Repinski in 1:35 to seal fifth place.
The top wrestler for Sugar River was senior Jacob Larson (15-2) at 195 who took third place. Larson defeated Boscobel's Austin Wilcox 9-1 in a quarterfinal match. In the semifinals, Baraboo's David Gale beat Larson in a nail-biter 3-2. Larson bounced back by pinning Richland Center's Silas Coleman for third place in 3:46.
Senior teammate Kody Popenfus finished fourth place (138) by finishing the day 2-1. Popenfus (14-2) was pinned by Mauston's Teegan Miller in a third-place match.
Sugar River's Josh Chenoweth (120) and Trent Siegenthaler (220) also posted fourth-place finishes.
The top finishes for Black Hawk-Darlington were Caleb Novak (138) and Paul King (113), both took seventh place.
