MONROE — The Monroe Cheesemaker wrestling team hosted nine other teams at its annual invite on Saturday, Jan. 21.
Since the first Monroe Invite in 1984, the Cheesemakers have won the event 14 times, most recently in 2020. This year, Janesville Parker took the team title with 212.5 points.
Monroe finished third (152.5 points) with four individual champions in Owen Voegeli (106), Garrett Minder (113), Jack Dubach (145) and Isaac Bunker (285).
Voegeli got out of the first round with a 18-2 technical fall in the second period. He followed that up with a third-period pin — just 25 seconds remained in the match. In the championship, Voegeli defeated Braydyn Collins of Clinton by a 12-1 major decision.
Minder received a first-round bye then dominated in the semifinals with a 14-5 major decision. He took the title with a third-period pin of Miguel Martinez from Beloit Memorial.
Dubach, who won the 138-pound bracket last year, pinned his first two opponents in less than a minute. In the championship, Dubach pinned Jacob Dutton of Delavan-Darien in 2:46.
Bunker won the 285-pound title for the second straight year, spending a grand total of 54 seconds on the mat. After a first-round bye, he pinned Cadler Bahiti of Beloit Memorial in just 17 seconds, followed by a pin of Porter Mandurano from Belmont-Platteville in 34 seconds.
With his championship pin, Bunker ties Monroe’s single-season pin record with 29 pins — all of them occurring in the first period with 22 of them in less than a minute.
Christian Schuh (152) was the only other wrestler in the top three. He defeated Cam Spensley by a 15-5 major decision in the first round. After getting knocked off by Sebastian Cueller, Schuh faced Spensley again for third place. This time, Schuh pinned Spensley in 2:41.
Connor Eckdahl (138) and Braedyn Nally (170) took fourth, while Joe Rufenacht (160) finished fifth.
Parkview-Albany took second (156 points) at the invite with individual champions in Danny Finley (120) and Wesley Egan (220).
Finley received a first-round bye and won his next to matches by a combined five points. In the semifinal, Finley defeated Jarvis Porcaro 14-11, followed by a 7-5 victory over Nathaniel Peters in the championship.
Egan, too, received a first-round bye. He then had his toughest match in the semifinals — a 4-3 decision over John Wackershauser from Cuba City. With Wackershauser out of the way, Egan pinned Jackson Kent in 53 seconds for the title.
Ian Suer (132), Evan Suer (138) and Wyatt Egan (195) all took second. Ian Suer won by 10-3 and 4-3 decisions before falling to Shawn Sobczak 9-4. Evan Suer pinned his first two opponents before falling to Mason Oellerich 9-4 in the championship. Wyatt Egan pinned his first two opponents in a combined 2:08 before getting pinned by Carter Wesley in 2:34.
Slater Valley (106) and Sam Schwengels (182) took third, while Nicolas Zamora (145) finished fourth. Sean Morales (170) was the final placer in fifth.
MONROE 48, MOUNT HOREB 36
MONROE — The Cheesemakers picked up a dual win in front of an alumni crowd on Friday, Jan. 20.
Although the Vikings had one more pin than the Cheesemakers (5-4), Monroe benefited from four Mount Horeb forfeits.
Schuh pinned Ryan Errthum with one second left in the second period. Monroe’s next pin came seven matches later, as Minder bested Cole Cunningham in 3:28.
After a Viking pin at 120, Kingston McNett (126) and Carson Menehan (132) recorded pins in back-to-back matches to secure the win.
PECATONICA-ARGYLE 47, THE LINCOLN ACADEMY 0
BLANCHARDVILLE — The Vikings hosted the Eagles in a dual on Thursday, Jan. 19.
Only three matches were played out, as the rest were either double forfeits or forfeits favoring Pecatonica-Argyle.
Aidan Gruenenfedler (106) opened with a first-period pin of Favio Tapia. After three forfeits in favor of the Vikings, Will Doescher defeated Iain Hanson by a 16-1 technical fall.
