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SR narrowly falls to Janesville Parker at Monroe Invite
Mason Mau named Most Outstanding Wrestler
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Sugar River’s Mason Mau won by tech fall over Clinton’s Hunter Marquis. Mau won the 138-pound bracket and earned the Most Outstanding Wrestler award in the Monroe Invite on Saturday, Jan. 20. - photo by Natalie Dillon

MONROE — Janesville Parker won back-to-back Monroe Invite titles, edging out Sugar River by one point (196.5-195.5) on Saturday, Jan. 20. The Raiders had two individual champions, including Most Outstanding Wrestler Mason Mau.

Mau (138), ranked No. 2 in Division 2, received a first-round bye. He defeated Clinton’s Hunter Marquis by 17-0 tech fall and Waterloo’s Owen Koele by pin. In the championship, Mau faced Belmont-Platteville’s Dylan Wiegel, who is ranked No. 7 in Division 2. A season ago, Wiegel won the 126-pound bracket at the Monroe Invite and took third at state at 132 pounds. The match between Mau and Wiegel went all six minutes, with Mau coming out on top 6-3.

Ryker Swenson (165), ranked No. 9 in Division 2, also took first in his weight class. After a first-round bye, Swenson pinned Clinton’s Joe Collins in just 50 seconds. He bested Cuba City-Benton-Southwestern’s Landon Busch 10-0 to get to the championship, where Swenson pinned Sebastian Cuellar of Whitewater with just 16 seconds left in the match.

Blake Endres (120) took second, falling 5-3 to Charlie Meudt of Dodgeville. Meudt is ranked No. 1 in Division 2, while Endres is No. 5. Isaac Erb (285) also took second, falling to Delavan-Darien’s Kaden Lofy in the second period. Lofy is ranked No. 4 in Division 2.

Host Monroe tied for fourth with CC-B-SW, both earning 147.0 points. CJ Schuh (150) was the lone individual champion, pinning his way to the title. In the championship, he faced Belmont-Platteville’s Cam Spensley.

Owen Voegeli (106), who won the 106-pound bracket at the 2023 Monroe Invite, took second to Shane Rochon of Dodgeville. Rochon, ranked No. 1 in Division 2, won by 14-4 major decision. Voegeli is currently ranked No. 14 in Division 2.

Carson Menehan (132), ranked No. 7 in Division 2, fell in the championship to Owen West of Beloit Memorial, who is ranked No. 7 in Division 1. West pinned Menehan in 1:15.

Garrett Minder (138) won the 2023 Monroe Invite 113-pound bracket and took third this year. He faced eventual runner-up Wiegel in the semifinal, falling in 45 seconds. Minder narrowly defeated Owen Koele of Waterloo, 2-1, for third. 

Parkview-Albany, one of three Division 3 teams at the Monroe Invite, finished ninth with 104 team points and two individual champions in Wes Egan (215) and Danny Finley (126). In fact, both wrestlers won their respective brackets in the 2023 Monroe Invite, too.

Egan, ranked No. 5 in Division 3, won his first three matches by pin — the quickest in 37 seconds. In the championship match, he defeated Janesville Parker’s Cody Slater by a 12-5 decision. Egan won the 220-pound bracket last year, but the WIAA restructured its weight classes this season. The last 215-pound Monroe Invite winner was Trevor Gorr in 2011.

Finley bumped up a weight class from last season, and still won his respective Monroe Invite bracket. Last season it was 120-pound, this season 126-pound. After a first-round bye, Finley pinned all three opponents, including Janesville Parker’s Nate Peters in the championship.

Sam Schwengels (190), ranked No. 4 in Division 3, fell to Owen Burling of Lake Mills for second. Burling, ranked No. 9 in Division 2, won narrowly, 10-7.

Monroe has hosted its annual invite for decades, with records going back to 1984. The Cheesemakers have won 14 times, the latest in 2020, with 104 individual champions. Monroe has also named seven Most Outstanding Wrestlers — Cory Pink (1985), John Witt (1987), Tom Witt (1989), Kevin Klopfenstein (2011), Traiten Gorr (2015, 2016) and Isaac Bunker (2023).