RICHLAND CENTER — The Cheesemakers took fourth as a team at the annual Richland Center Invitational Dec. 15. Monroe (165) finished two points behind Baraboo (167) for third. Tomah (262.5) was second and Gale-Ettrick-Trempeleau/Melrose-Mindoro (322.5) was the team champion. Seventeen teams participated.
“Overall, it was a very good day for us,” Monroe head coach Tom Witt said. “G-E-T is ranked and they ran away with it. Baraboo is really good, too. We were third going into the final round.”
Sugar River finished 13th (86).
The Cheesemakers were struck by illness and injury last week, which meant multiple wrestlers moving into the varsity lineup. At 106 pounds, Garrett Voegeli replaced Brady Schuh (shoulder) and finished fifth.
“(Voegeli) weighs only 91 pounds, so he’s giving up nearly 15 pounds, and yet he was able to go 4-1 on the day,” Witt said.
Lukas Broitzman, a first-year wrestler, moved into the role at 120 pounds and placed sixth.
“Lukas missed three days of school last week with the flu and didn’t wrestle Friday (at Evansville). Then he took sixth Saturday. It’s only his first year wrestling and he’s doing a great job,” Witt said.
At 126, Dakota Wickstrum was fourth, falling to Boscobel’s Blake Sander via pin at the 2:19 mark.
“Dakota had a good day,” Witt said. “We had some great individual performances. Nine of our 13 wrestlers scored points. We didn’t wrestle at 138.”
Monroe’s strength comes from its heavier weight classes. Patrick Rielly took second, losing his first match of the year in 10 bouts with an 8-6 sudden victory loss in overtime of the championship to Tomah’s Marques Fritsche. At 170, Alex Witt (15-2) also finished second, falling to Boscobel’s Chase Beinborn 9-3 in the final.
“(Beinborn) is a ranked kid in D3,” coach Witt said.
Bodie Minder (14-3) also finished second, getting pinned in the championship by Baraboo’s Tyson Fry at 220 pounds. Kelsey Dominguez was fourth in the 285-pound bracket, despite being just 205 pounds.
At 195, Julian Gruber finished sixth, going 3-2 on the day.
“Julian was leading 1-0 throughout the fifth-place match, but he got flipped with 8 seconds left and lost,” Witt said.
For Sugar River, Joe Quaglia was third, going 3-1 on the day at 120 pounds. Robert Chenoweth was fourth at 145 pounds. Jack Diederich (152) and Daniel Enloe (285) each took fifth.
The Raiders, a co-op of Belleville, New Glarus and Monticello, took just six wresters to the meet.
Dec. 14
Evansville-Albany 40, Monroe 33
EVANSVILLE — The Blue Devils picked up a dual win over the Cheesemakers Dec. 14.
Monroe scored victories in six matches and gave away 12 points to forfeits.
Kelsey Dominguez opened the night with a pin over Cutter Lange in 3:58 of the 220-pound match. Minder won the heavyweight match over Waylon Klitzman by pin in 1:21, which gave Monroe a brief 12-0 advantage.
“Our big guys did a good job. Evansville is solid in their low weights, and we are solid in our upper weights. Evansville is especially solid from 120-138,” Witt said.
The Devils took the next eight matches — which included the two forfeits. The last Evansville win came at 152, where Patrick Crull defeated Gabe Witt 1-0.
At 160, Logan Clark of Monroe pinned Riley Long in 4:41. Then at 170, Rielly won a 5-0 decision. Alex Witt (182) and Gruber (195) closed out the match with pins for the Cheesemakers.
Up next for Monroe was a road dual at Watertown Dec. 18. Witt said he was unsure how it would go, given the injuries and illnesses his squad was facing over the weekend. On Dec. 21, Monroe hosts Oregon in the Monroe High School Performing Arts Center for Senior Night. The Panthers have struggled to wrestle eight matches in a night, and Witt said that Oregon had just four grapple in an earlier dual this season.
“It’ll be a quick night,” Witt said.
Dec. 15
Beloit Memorial Bill McCreary Duals
BELOIT — Pecatonica-Argyle competed at the Bill McCreary Duals hosted by Beloit Turner.
In one dual, the Vikings clipped Cudahy-St. Francis-St. Thomas More 42-40.
Lucas Gilbertson pinned his opponent at 220 in just 16 seconds, and Dalton Turner won the 160 match via pin in just 15 seconds. Dakota Doescher (126), Chevy Hughes (132), Justin Heathershaw (152), and Zander Brunker (170) all won by pin as well.
Pecatonica-Argyle gave up 12 points to forfeits.
In a 40-37 dual win over Turner, the two teams each forfeited three weight classes. Gilbertson, Easton Schraepfer (152) and Noah Krahenbuhl (126) each scored pins for the Vikings, while Dawson Gross (113) picked up a 13-3 major decision win.
Dec. 15
Mount Horeb Invitational
MOUNT HOREB — Brodhead-Juda (99.5) finished seventh in the 16-team invite. Whitewater (198.5) was first, followed by Edgerton (180) and then Stoughton (134).
Jackson Hauri took first at 152 for the Cardinals, finishing 4-0 on the day with three pins.
Jayson Starr was third at 138, losing via technical fall in the semifinals 19-4. Starr then won the third-place match via pin – his third pin of the day.
Russell Waeffler was fourth at 120, while Seth Mansfield was fifth at 106. Blaine Berget (170) also finished fifth for Brodhead-Juda.
