WAUNAKEE - Monroe seniors Sam Kind and Dempzy Foley both captured Badger Conference titles Saturday. Foley set a school record for most pins in a single season en route to the championship.
"For those two kids, they have put in a lot of time the last four years," Monroe coach Tom Witt said. "They stayed patient, stuck to the plan and grinded it out really well and they were rewarded. It was well deserved."
Monroe finished seventh in the Badger Conference tournament (133 points), but the Cheesemakers took second in the final Badger South standings. Stoughton, the Division 2 state runner-up the past two years, won the conference tournament and the Badger South Conference title for the third straight year with 348 points, well ahead of runner-up Waunakee (265). Seven Cheesemaker wrestlers placed and nine scored points.
"That adds up," Witt said of all the wrestlers who scored points and placed. "We were able to win enough matches in our dual meets. That's half of the way the final standings are determined."
After a first-round bye, Kind at 170 pounds pinned DeForest's Alex Peart in 1 minute, 2 seconds. He then defeated Stoughton's Luke Geister-Jones 8-2 in a semifinal match. In the championship match, Kind defeated Mount Horeb's Ky Kalscheur 5-1.
Foley (182) pinned Portage's Brandon Andrews in 2 minutes in a quarterfinal match. In a semifinal match, he beat Stoughton's Brooks Empey 8-2. Foley then edged Baraboo's Aiden Estes 12-8 in the title match.
Monroe senior Tyson Welsch (heavyweight) went 4-1 and finished third, and sophomore Patrick Rielly (160) went 3-2 and took fifth. Senior teammate Travis Wolf (152) went 2-3 and took sixth, while sophomore Alex Witt (145) went 4-1 to finish seventh.
After a first-round bye, Welsch edged Baraboo's Joseph Schick 1-0. Waunakee's Alan Olkowski then edged him 3-1 in a semifinal match. Welsch bounced back to knock off Monona Grove-McFarland's Kristian Schlicht 7-0. In a third-place match, Welsch edged Beaver Dam's Matt Piekarski 4-2.
Witt said Welsch wrestled well.
Rielly also started with a pin after a first-round bye. He pinned Sauk Prairie's Simon Patterson in 49 seconds. Waunakee's Ben Statz edged Rielly 2-0 in a semifinal match. DeForest's Jared Stuttgen edged Rielly 5-4 in a consolation match. Rielly bounced back to knock off Beaver Dam's James Brown 12-2 in a fifth-place match.
"Pat had an up-and-down tournament," Witt said. "He made a mistake in a wrestleback, but he was still able to score points for us."
Wolf opened the tournament with a 14-8 win over Fort Atkinson's Brent Torrenga. Stoughton's Cade Spilde, ranked No. 4 in Division 1, then beat him in an ultimate tiebreaker 9-6. Wolf came back and slipped by Baraboo's Carlos Chavez 6-4. He then lost his second ultimate tiebreaker of the tournament 3-2 to Sauk Prairie's Bryant Schaaf. In a fifth-place match, Mount Horeb's Miles Steinhoff edged him 3-0.
"One of the toughest weight classes was Travis'," Witt said. "He showed that he can wrestle with the top wrestlers in the state. He stayed in good position. He was just trying to grind out matches and keep them close. I think this is probably the best he has wrestled. Hopefully, what he did Saturday will carry over to the regional."
Witt said Wolf's match against Schaaf came down to the final two seconds where Schaaf won it on an escape.
Alex Witt lost a first-round match to Sauk Prairie's Adam Pape in overtime 3-1. After a bye, he edged Watertown's Kolten Blome 4-1 and beat Baraboo's Adam Ringelstetter 7-1. In a seventh-place match, he avenged the earlier loss to Pape and beat him 3-1.
Monroe will be preparing for the WIAA Division 2 Belleville regional Saturday. The top two wrestlers in each weight class will qualify for the sectional.
Witt said Evansville-Albany is the favorite to win the regional title and Edgerton also will be a contender for the championship. The Cheesemakers are focused on getting as many wrestlers through to the sectional as possible.
"That's the first step," Witt said. "You can't get to state unless you get to sectionals first. You have to find a way to get first or second."
"For those two kids, they have put in a lot of time the last four years," Monroe coach Tom Witt said. "They stayed patient, stuck to the plan and grinded it out really well and they were rewarded. It was well deserved."
Monroe finished seventh in the Badger Conference tournament (133 points), but the Cheesemakers took second in the final Badger South standings. Stoughton, the Division 2 state runner-up the past two years, won the conference tournament and the Badger South Conference title for the third straight year with 348 points, well ahead of runner-up Waunakee (265). Seven Cheesemaker wrestlers placed and nine scored points.
"That adds up," Witt said of all the wrestlers who scored points and placed. "We were able to win enough matches in our dual meets. That's half of the way the final standings are determined."
After a first-round bye, Kind at 170 pounds pinned DeForest's Alex Peart in 1 minute, 2 seconds. He then defeated Stoughton's Luke Geister-Jones 8-2 in a semifinal match. In the championship match, Kind defeated Mount Horeb's Ky Kalscheur 5-1.
Foley (182) pinned Portage's Brandon Andrews in 2 minutes in a quarterfinal match. In a semifinal match, he beat Stoughton's Brooks Empey 8-2. Foley then edged Baraboo's Aiden Estes 12-8 in the title match.
Monroe senior Tyson Welsch (heavyweight) went 4-1 and finished third, and sophomore Patrick Rielly (160) went 3-2 and took fifth. Senior teammate Travis Wolf (152) went 2-3 and took sixth, while sophomore Alex Witt (145) went 4-1 to finish seventh.
After a first-round bye, Welsch edged Baraboo's Joseph Schick 1-0. Waunakee's Alan Olkowski then edged him 3-1 in a semifinal match. Welsch bounced back to knock off Monona Grove-McFarland's Kristian Schlicht 7-0. In a third-place match, Welsch edged Beaver Dam's Matt Piekarski 4-2.
Witt said Welsch wrestled well.
Rielly also started with a pin after a first-round bye. He pinned Sauk Prairie's Simon Patterson in 49 seconds. Waunakee's Ben Statz edged Rielly 2-0 in a semifinal match. DeForest's Jared Stuttgen edged Rielly 5-4 in a consolation match. Rielly bounced back to knock off Beaver Dam's James Brown 12-2 in a fifth-place match.
"Pat had an up-and-down tournament," Witt said. "He made a mistake in a wrestleback, but he was still able to score points for us."
Wolf opened the tournament with a 14-8 win over Fort Atkinson's Brent Torrenga. Stoughton's Cade Spilde, ranked No. 4 in Division 1, then beat him in an ultimate tiebreaker 9-6. Wolf came back and slipped by Baraboo's Carlos Chavez 6-4. He then lost his second ultimate tiebreaker of the tournament 3-2 to Sauk Prairie's Bryant Schaaf. In a fifth-place match, Mount Horeb's Miles Steinhoff edged him 3-0.
"One of the toughest weight classes was Travis'," Witt said. "He showed that he can wrestle with the top wrestlers in the state. He stayed in good position. He was just trying to grind out matches and keep them close. I think this is probably the best he has wrestled. Hopefully, what he did Saturday will carry over to the regional."
Witt said Wolf's match against Schaaf came down to the final two seconds where Schaaf won it on an escape.
Alex Witt lost a first-round match to Sauk Prairie's Adam Pape in overtime 3-1. After a bye, he edged Watertown's Kolten Blome 4-1 and beat Baraboo's Adam Ringelstetter 7-1. In a seventh-place match, he avenged the earlier loss to Pape and beat him 3-1.
Monroe will be preparing for the WIAA Division 2 Belleville regional Saturday. The top two wrestlers in each weight class will qualify for the sectional.
Witt said Evansville-Albany is the favorite to win the regional title and Edgerton also will be a contender for the championship. The Cheesemakers are focused on getting as many wrestlers through to the sectional as possible.
"That's the first step," Witt said. "You can't get to state unless you get to sectionals first. You have to find a way to get first or second."
