MONROE — On Parent’s Night the Cheesemakers surged to a dual win over Monona Grove-McFarland 45-25. It helped to have a little bit of extra juju on their side.

“It was a good match. It was a good crowd too, with Parent’s Night. It was a great atmosphere,” Monroe coach Tom Witt said.

Reflections of the family-element could be seen throughout the night. Julian Gruber scored a pin for Monroe in the opening match with his mother anxiously squatting just off the mat. Brady Schuh won a tough 7-3 match with the whole family in attendance, including his grandfather, who was celebrating a birthday. And Alex Witt, head coach Witt’s son, won via technical fall to close out the evening after dusting off his father’s singlet.

“It was Parent’s Night, so I wanted to wear my dad’s singlet that he wore when he won state in 1989,” Alex Witt said. “I like wearing it.”

Tom Witt won the Class A state championship in the 160-pound division in 1989, finishing the season 37-1.

“He’s actually had it for a while. He used in it eighth grade for some youth-type matches. It wasn’t as tight then, but now it’s pretty tight. So, yeah, it was cool for him to do that on Parent’s Night,” Tom Witt said.

Alex Witt moved up to 195-pounds, though he normally sits right at 170.

“Alex went up two weights — he’s normally a 170-pounder. I didn’t want to forfeit to that kid,” said Tom Witt, who had to make other adjustments to his lineup with normal heavyweight Kelsey Dominguez unable to suit up.

Alex knocked off MG’s Connor Fraiser 24-6 in the second round.

“I don’t like to do a lot of riding when I wrestle. I’m not very good at it, as I take them down and let them go. That’s why I just kept doing my takedowns one right after another. Scoring points is my type of wrestling,” said Alex. He said that neither having the team victory secured nor moving up in weight classes affected his approach on the mat. “Every match my goal is to go out there and to pummel them no matter how good they are, or where they are from. The mindset is the same every time — just keep grinding at them.”

Gruber, who bumped from 195 to 220, pinned Guenter Switzer in the third period in a rather unorthodox way. Leading 8-2, Gruber spun himself around Switzer into an off-kilter body position, but used his strength to keep his opponent locked to the ground.

“I give some of that credit to my partner in the practice room, Bodie (Minder). He’s kind of weird like that. I always find myself in positions that Bodie tries to do, so I know what to do,” Gruber said.

Minder, moving from 220 to 285, won a 5-2 decision that put Monroe ahead 9-0 through two matches, with Schuh scoring a 7-3 decision in the next bout in the 106 match.

“Getting the win was first priority, and guys getting more points and pins in matches was good too,” coach Witt said.

MG rattled off a pair of pins at 113 and 120 to even the score at 12. Monroe received a forfeit at 126, but Dakota Wickstrum let a 7-0 lead evaporate and turn into a pin after just one minute in the second.

“Most matches went how I expected other than 132 with Dakota. Ahead 7-0, that should be a match that you hang on to. The kid flipped the switch and got real aggressive really quickly, and Dakota didn’t answer that bell of physicality quick enough. He ended up on his back and he was done,” coach Witt said. “He’s disappointed, and he should be. When you’re up 7-0, you’re kind of dominating a match. He knows it.”

Monroe gained other two forfeits at 138 and 145 to go ahead 30-18. Gabe Witt lost 10-0 in the 152 match, but then the Cheesemakers scored back-to-back wins at 160 and 170. Logan Clark pinned Carlos Gatica at 160 in the second period, and then Patrick Rielly scored a 14-5 major decision over Tysen White to seal the dual victory.

Senior Grant Gogin lost a 13-6 decision in the 182 match before Alex Witt’s victory capped the dual.

“Based on what they (MG) had on lineups from the beginning of the year we knew they were going to give up some forfeits. They actually had more in the lineup than they have in the past — they had been at four or five (forfeits) a night,” Coach Witt said. “That’s good for them, and it’s actually good for us because we got some matches in and not forfeits.”

Belmont-Platteville Invitational, Jan. 12

PLATTEVILLE — The Cheesemakers scored three champions and two runners-up en route to a rousing team title at the annual tournament held at Platteville High School. Monroe (246) finished ahead of Cuba City/Benton/Southwestern (237.5), Belmont-Platteville (232.5) and eight other schools.

Rielly (18-3) went 5-0 in the 160-pound bracket with four first-period pins. Rielly pinned Dodgeville’s Tyler Bell in the championship 6-0.

Alex Witt (29.5) won the 182 class, finishing 5-0 with three pins and a 7-4 victory over Dodgeville’s Tanner Bell in the championship. 

Minder (26-7) went 5-0 with four pins, including the title match against Jake Neis of Cuba City/Benton/Southwestern.

Schuh (20-6) finished 4-1 at 106, losing only in the championship to La Crosse Logan/Central’s Kailix Roe.

Gruber (23-9) was second at 195, falling to Belmont-Platteville’s Will Schaefer in the title bout.

Wickstrum (12-16) was third at 126, losing in the semifinal by a 13-6 decision, but pinning Max Papp of Cambria-Friesland in the first round.