MONROE - Monroe junior Traiten Gorr has been in the stands at the Kohl Center cheering on his older brother at the state wrestling tournament. Their shoes and roles will be reversed this year.
Gorr will be wrestling in his first WIAA Division 2 state tournament. Gorr (44-2), ranked No. 2 at 220 pounds in the Wisconsin Wrestling Online Division 2 state poll, has a first-round bye and as a sectional champion won't wrestle until the quarterfinals on Friday at the Kohl Center in Madison. When he does wrestle Friday, his older brother Trevor will be in the stands to cheer him on. The Gorr brothers remain close and having Trevor, a two-time state qualifier, in his corner is inspiration and motivation.
"It means a lot," Traiten Gorr said. "I have looked up to him for years. He has coached me from the stands a lot of other times. I can't hear him. He's always been there when I get down on a match. It means a lot that I have people there to support me."
Gorr is one of seven area wrestlers who will compete at state. Brodhead-Juda senior Gavin Baade (182), Black Hawk-Darlington junior Taylor Evenstad (220), and Sugar River senior Jacob Larson (195) will wrestle in the preliminaries Thursday night. Gorr along with three other sectional champions including Brodhead-Juda senior Brady Colden (170), Brodhead-Juda senior Logan Maurer (heavyweight) and Black Hawk-Darlington senior Zach Wolf (heavyweight) will wrestle Friday. It also will be a farewell to wrestling by Brodhead-Juda coach Tim Colden, who will retire from coaching after the state tournament.
"It's definitely brought us closer," Brady Colden said of having his father as a head coach. "He has been like a father-figure for everyone on the team."
Maurer (46-0), ranked No. 2, is looking to cap an unbeaten season with a gold medal for a state championship.
"Rankings are good to look at to see where you are," Maurer said. "In reality, it's state and anything can happen. It's a tournament with all of the best wrestlers. I feel like the bigger the stage gets it gives me more motivation to wrestle my best. It doesn't bother me being at the Kohl Center. I wrestle better there."
Larson (40-8) will wrestleLomira sophomore Collin Feucht (35-15) in a preliminary match Thursday.
Finding a way to cope with the adrenaline rush of getting jacked up for a potential six-minute match can create butterflies. Gorr hasn't received any advice from Trevor about preparing to wrestle on a bigger stage.
"It will be a lot different than any other tournament we have been in," Gorr said. "There will be a couple thousand people there watching. I just have to focus on getting mentally prepared. I think I have done enough physically."
Gorr will wrestle the winner of Freedom junior Evan Philibeck and Big Foot-Williams Bay senior Will Utesch, who face each other in a preliminary match today. Philibeck (37-10) is ranked fourth. Gorr defeated Utesh 2-0 in a match at the Monroe Invitational earlier this season. If Gorr wins his quarterfinal match, he can assure himself of a medal.
"I expect to be in the semifinals," he said. "That is my goal right now. I'm going to wrestle hard and make that goal happen."
Monroe coach Tom Witt won't doubt that Gorr can make a run to the podium. To Witt, Gorr's sectional championship was key in setting up an opportunity to medal.
"That bye is huge," Witt said. "He's one step closer to placing."
Like Trevor before him, Traiten Gorr is renowned as an instinctive and defensive wrestler who doesn't take a lot of risks shooting for a takedown to put himself in a bad position.
"He (Gorr) has good mat savvy and has good instincts," Witt said. "He's deceptively strong. No one has held him down yet this year."
Baade has been hard to contain on the mat the past two years. The Brodhead-Juda 182-pound wrestler, finished fifth at state last year. He looks to add a second straight medal. Baade's quest to medal for the second straight year will begin with a preliminary match against Wrightstown junior Stetson Burmeister (37-8). If Baade wins, he would face Sheboygan Falls junior Dustin Setzer (40-9) in the quarterfinals Friday.
In another preliminary match set for Thursday, Evenstad (32-8) at 220 will wrestle Spring Valley/Ellsworth's Ethan Hofacker (37-5). Teammate Wolf (42-3) at heavyweight will wrestle the winner of Marksean senior Matt Stensrud (42-4) and Ladysmith senior Michael Jansen (15-12) Friday.
Brady Colden (45-2), ranked third at 170, will wrestle the winner of Wrightstown senior Brandon Buechler (35-11) and Ootsburg senior Ryan Ebeling (30-5) Friday. He hasn't worried about his prep career coming to an end at state.
"I really don't think about that," he said. "You don't think like it's your last one."
Maurer will wrestle the winner of Wisconsin Lutheran's junior Quinton Reid (47-1) and Black River Falls junior Gary Garvin (26-10) Friday. Maurer beat Reid last year 4-2 for third place at state.
"I got bucked off last year," he said. "I feel like I have got stronger with my on-top wrestling. I will be better suited to beat him this year.
"I'm not going to settle for just getting back to state. My goal is to win it. I came up a little short last year and I'm not going to let that happen this year."
Gorr will be wrestling in his first WIAA Division 2 state tournament. Gorr (44-2), ranked No. 2 at 220 pounds in the Wisconsin Wrestling Online Division 2 state poll, has a first-round bye and as a sectional champion won't wrestle until the quarterfinals on Friday at the Kohl Center in Madison. When he does wrestle Friday, his older brother Trevor will be in the stands to cheer him on. The Gorr brothers remain close and having Trevor, a two-time state qualifier, in his corner is inspiration and motivation.
"It means a lot," Traiten Gorr said. "I have looked up to him for years. He has coached me from the stands a lot of other times. I can't hear him. He's always been there when I get down on a match. It means a lot that I have people there to support me."
Gorr is one of seven area wrestlers who will compete at state. Brodhead-Juda senior Gavin Baade (182), Black Hawk-Darlington junior Taylor Evenstad (220), and Sugar River senior Jacob Larson (195) will wrestle in the preliminaries Thursday night. Gorr along with three other sectional champions including Brodhead-Juda senior Brady Colden (170), Brodhead-Juda senior Logan Maurer (heavyweight) and Black Hawk-Darlington senior Zach Wolf (heavyweight) will wrestle Friday. It also will be a farewell to wrestling by Brodhead-Juda coach Tim Colden, who will retire from coaching after the state tournament.
"It's definitely brought us closer," Brady Colden said of having his father as a head coach. "He has been like a father-figure for everyone on the team."
Maurer (46-0), ranked No. 2, is looking to cap an unbeaten season with a gold medal for a state championship.
"Rankings are good to look at to see where you are," Maurer said. "In reality, it's state and anything can happen. It's a tournament with all of the best wrestlers. I feel like the bigger the stage gets it gives me more motivation to wrestle my best. It doesn't bother me being at the Kohl Center. I wrestle better there."
Larson (40-8) will wrestleLomira sophomore Collin Feucht (35-15) in a preliminary match Thursday.
Finding a way to cope with the adrenaline rush of getting jacked up for a potential six-minute match can create butterflies. Gorr hasn't received any advice from Trevor about preparing to wrestle on a bigger stage.
"It will be a lot different than any other tournament we have been in," Gorr said. "There will be a couple thousand people there watching. I just have to focus on getting mentally prepared. I think I have done enough physically."
Gorr will wrestle the winner of Freedom junior Evan Philibeck and Big Foot-Williams Bay senior Will Utesch, who face each other in a preliminary match today. Philibeck (37-10) is ranked fourth. Gorr defeated Utesh 2-0 in a match at the Monroe Invitational earlier this season. If Gorr wins his quarterfinal match, he can assure himself of a medal.
"I expect to be in the semifinals," he said. "That is my goal right now. I'm going to wrestle hard and make that goal happen."
Monroe coach Tom Witt won't doubt that Gorr can make a run to the podium. To Witt, Gorr's sectional championship was key in setting up an opportunity to medal.
"That bye is huge," Witt said. "He's one step closer to placing."
Like Trevor before him, Traiten Gorr is renowned as an instinctive and defensive wrestler who doesn't take a lot of risks shooting for a takedown to put himself in a bad position.
"He (Gorr) has good mat savvy and has good instincts," Witt said. "He's deceptively strong. No one has held him down yet this year."
Baade has been hard to contain on the mat the past two years. The Brodhead-Juda 182-pound wrestler, finished fifth at state last year. He looks to add a second straight medal. Baade's quest to medal for the second straight year will begin with a preliminary match against Wrightstown junior Stetson Burmeister (37-8). If Baade wins, he would face Sheboygan Falls junior Dustin Setzer (40-9) in the quarterfinals Friday.
In another preliminary match set for Thursday, Evenstad (32-8) at 220 will wrestle Spring Valley/Ellsworth's Ethan Hofacker (37-5). Teammate Wolf (42-3) at heavyweight will wrestle the winner of Marksean senior Matt Stensrud (42-4) and Ladysmith senior Michael Jansen (15-12) Friday.
Brady Colden (45-2), ranked third at 170, will wrestle the winner of Wrightstown senior Brandon Buechler (35-11) and Ootsburg senior Ryan Ebeling (30-5) Friday. He hasn't worried about his prep career coming to an end at state.
"I really don't think about that," he said. "You don't think like it's your last one."
Maurer will wrestle the winner of Wisconsin Lutheran's junior Quinton Reid (47-1) and Black River Falls junior Gary Garvin (26-10) Friday. Maurer beat Reid last year 4-2 for third place at state.
"I got bucked off last year," he said. "I feel like I have got stronger with my on-top wrestling. I will be better suited to beat him this year.
"I'm not going to settle for just getting back to state. My goal is to win it. I came up a little short last year and I'm not going to let that happen this year."
