MONROE - Dempzy Foley doesn't always beat his opponents - sometimes he dominates them.
Dominating is something he does more often than not, actually.
The Monroe senior, who wrestles at 182 pounds and is currently ranked ninth in the state in the Wisconsin Wrestling Online Division 2 poll, broke the school record for pins in a season at the conference tournament Feb. 3, and after another pin in the regional final on Saturday, sits at No. 29 on the season.
"I knew I was getting close to it last year," Foley said. "I knew I was one off and I wanted to get it this year. So, I started going hard and trying to get as many as I could to begin with."
Foley (39-4) has wrestled on varsity since his freshman year, and according to head coach Tom Witt, has become more nuanced.
"His freshman - even his sophomore year - he pinned a lot of kids. But his problem when he was younger was it was either pin-or-be-pinned, which isn't good," Witt said. "The last two years that's changed. He's totally dominated his opponents. He's more in control of his movements and getting kids onto their backs. He's worked hard."
Witt also said one of Foley's advantages on the mat has often been his unorthodox style that can catch opponents off guard.
"Up in Sugar River (earlier this season), he was behind in a match. The kid from Dodgeville had taken him down and then all of a sudden, he granby roll so he got a reversal, plus he was getting a near-fall off of it," Witt said. "But instead of staying there and getting the full five-count to get the three (point) near-fall, he just rolled, which was kind of unorthodox, and all of a sudden he's got him locked up and pinned. I was talking to John (Witt, assistant coach), who was coaching him, 'What's he doing? Oh, he's getting something tighter.' So, that's his mentality - get you locked up and then pin you."
Over the course of his four years, Foley has also crept up on the career record for pins.
"Not only this year, but for four years. He's got close to 120 wins, which is pretty good, and he's pushing 90 pins on his career," Witt said, adding that the younger wrestlers on the team look up to Foley "just simply because of how good he is."
Foley said much of his improvement comes from not only experience but from his wrestling partner, Sam Kind.
"I think Sam, my practice partner, helped a lot. We both try to go hard on each other and try to win as many as we can against each other," Foley said.
With sectionals coming up, there is no guarantee the season will extend beyond Saturday.
"They are all going to be good when you get to sectionals, so whoever I get, I get," Foley said. "I'm going to try to get to state and try to get as far as I can on the podium."
Foley said until then, he'll just continue the same routine of "regular practices and come and show up to wrestle."
According to Witt, there have been six individual state champions in Monroe's program history - the last of whom was Corey Binger in 2004. A year ago, Cole Murray finished fourth, and in 2016, Traiten Gorr was second.
"All your hard work has come to fruition. Even getting there (state) has proven that you're one of the best in the state," Witt said.
Foley pinned Emiliano Reyes of Beloit Turner in 2 minutes, 35 seconds in the regional championship on Saturday. This weekend at sectionals, Foley is to pair off against Andrew Henschel (36-4) of Whitewater. The winner will face either Reece Fernholz (9-11) of Arcadia or Kyle Kalscheur (14-3) of Mount Horeb.
"When it comes to sectionals, just find a way to win," Witt said. "Getting (to state) is hard enough. Especially in the sectional we're at, it's hard to get there. For example, Gavin Wels placed as a junior (at state) and didn't make it back his senior year. It's very hard to do. You want to take the opportunity to do the very best you can. Dempzy's planning that it comes through for him."
For Foley, though, sectionals could very well be the end of a solid high school wrestling career. How he'll feel when it's all over is something he hasn't given much thought to yet, however.
"I honestly don't know. We'll see when the time comes, I guess," Foley said.
Dominating is something he does more often than not, actually.
The Monroe senior, who wrestles at 182 pounds and is currently ranked ninth in the state in the Wisconsin Wrestling Online Division 2 poll, broke the school record for pins in a season at the conference tournament Feb. 3, and after another pin in the regional final on Saturday, sits at No. 29 on the season.
"I knew I was getting close to it last year," Foley said. "I knew I was one off and I wanted to get it this year. So, I started going hard and trying to get as many as I could to begin with."
Foley (39-4) has wrestled on varsity since his freshman year, and according to head coach Tom Witt, has become more nuanced.
"His freshman - even his sophomore year - he pinned a lot of kids. But his problem when he was younger was it was either pin-or-be-pinned, which isn't good," Witt said. "The last two years that's changed. He's totally dominated his opponents. He's more in control of his movements and getting kids onto their backs. He's worked hard."
Witt also said one of Foley's advantages on the mat has often been his unorthodox style that can catch opponents off guard.
"Up in Sugar River (earlier this season), he was behind in a match. The kid from Dodgeville had taken him down and then all of a sudden, he granby roll so he got a reversal, plus he was getting a near-fall off of it," Witt said. "But instead of staying there and getting the full five-count to get the three (point) near-fall, he just rolled, which was kind of unorthodox, and all of a sudden he's got him locked up and pinned. I was talking to John (Witt, assistant coach), who was coaching him, 'What's he doing? Oh, he's getting something tighter.' So, that's his mentality - get you locked up and then pin you."
Over the course of his four years, Foley has also crept up on the career record for pins.
"Not only this year, but for four years. He's got close to 120 wins, which is pretty good, and he's pushing 90 pins on his career," Witt said, adding that the younger wrestlers on the team look up to Foley "just simply because of how good he is."
Foley said much of his improvement comes from not only experience but from his wrestling partner, Sam Kind.
"I think Sam, my practice partner, helped a lot. We both try to go hard on each other and try to win as many as we can against each other," Foley said.
With sectionals coming up, there is no guarantee the season will extend beyond Saturday.
"They are all going to be good when you get to sectionals, so whoever I get, I get," Foley said. "I'm going to try to get to state and try to get as far as I can on the podium."
Foley said until then, he'll just continue the same routine of "regular practices and come and show up to wrestle."
According to Witt, there have been six individual state champions in Monroe's program history - the last of whom was Corey Binger in 2004. A year ago, Cole Murray finished fourth, and in 2016, Traiten Gorr was second.
"All your hard work has come to fruition. Even getting there (state) has proven that you're one of the best in the state," Witt said.
Foley pinned Emiliano Reyes of Beloit Turner in 2 minutes, 35 seconds in the regional championship on Saturday. This weekend at sectionals, Foley is to pair off against Andrew Henschel (36-4) of Whitewater. The winner will face either Reece Fernholz (9-11) of Arcadia or Kyle Kalscheur (14-3) of Mount Horeb.
"When it comes to sectionals, just find a way to win," Witt said. "Getting (to state) is hard enough. Especially in the sectional we're at, it's hard to get there. For example, Gavin Wels placed as a junior (at state) and didn't make it back his senior year. It's very hard to do. You want to take the opportunity to do the very best you can. Dempzy's planning that it comes through for him."
For Foley, though, sectionals could very well be the end of a solid high school wrestling career. How he'll feel when it's all over is something he hasn't given much thought to yet, however.
"I honestly don't know. We'll see when the time comes, I guess," Foley said.
