MADISON - Darlington junior Devin Malott is still alive for a medal after dominating his preliminary match, a 12-3 win over Marathon's Alex Brickheimer, on Thursday at the WIAA Division 3 state wrestling tournament at the UW-Madison Kohl Center.
Malott (39-7), a three-time state qualifier ranked seventh in the Wisconsin Wrestling Online poll at 119 pounds, jumped on Brickheimer early, fueled by a quick takedown. He almost got a pin at the end of the first period, but settled for a near fall to take a 5-0 lead.
"I knew that would be the match to win," Malott said. "If I didn't win that match, I would be done. It really starts the fire when I take him down right away. I thought I would pin him. He kept on lifting his neck."
Darlington coach Tom Mathias knows how demoralizing a takedown in the first period can be for an opponent.
"That really set the tone," Mathias said.
Malott then came up with a key takedown in the third period that gave him a 7-2 lead.
"We felt pretty confident he could get a takedown again," Mathias said.
Malott will wrestle a quarterfinal match today against Bruce-Weyerthaeuser junior Bubba Gudis (42-1), who is ranked second. Malott wrestled Gudis as a freshman and was pinned in the preliminaries at the state tournament. Gudis finished as the state runner-up as a freshman and third last year. However, Malott plans to attack and be aggressive.
"I feel four or five times better," Malott said his last match with Gudis. "I'm definitely not going to sit back."
Mathias knows Malott is the underdog.
"(Gudis) is the one who has something to lose," Mathias said. "We are going to go in there as a loose cannon."
Darlington junior heavyweight Mark Brugger lost his preliminary match to Blair-Taylor senior Jeff Erickson (34-2), 13-1.
"I went out there and wrestled as hard as I could," Brugger said. "He's a bigger kid. He overpowered me."
Brugger finished the season 22-12 and he's motivated from his first state appearance.
"It made me excited to qualify," Brugger said. "I didn't expect to make it this far. I will come back and wrestle a lot better next year."
Malott (39-7), a three-time state qualifier ranked seventh in the Wisconsin Wrestling Online poll at 119 pounds, jumped on Brickheimer early, fueled by a quick takedown. He almost got a pin at the end of the first period, but settled for a near fall to take a 5-0 lead.
"I knew that would be the match to win," Malott said. "If I didn't win that match, I would be done. It really starts the fire when I take him down right away. I thought I would pin him. He kept on lifting his neck."
Darlington coach Tom Mathias knows how demoralizing a takedown in the first period can be for an opponent.
"That really set the tone," Mathias said.
Malott then came up with a key takedown in the third period that gave him a 7-2 lead.
"We felt pretty confident he could get a takedown again," Mathias said.
Malott will wrestle a quarterfinal match today against Bruce-Weyerthaeuser junior Bubba Gudis (42-1), who is ranked second. Malott wrestled Gudis as a freshman and was pinned in the preliminaries at the state tournament. Gudis finished as the state runner-up as a freshman and third last year. However, Malott plans to attack and be aggressive.
"I feel four or five times better," Malott said his last match with Gudis. "I'm definitely not going to sit back."
Mathias knows Malott is the underdog.
"(Gudis) is the one who has something to lose," Mathias said. "We are going to go in there as a loose cannon."
Darlington junior heavyweight Mark Brugger lost his preliminary match to Blair-Taylor senior Jeff Erickson (34-2), 13-1.
"I went out there and wrestled as hard as I could," Brugger said. "He's a bigger kid. He overpowered me."
Brugger finished the season 22-12 and he's motivated from his first state appearance.
"It made me excited to qualify," Brugger said. "I didn't expect to make it this far. I will come back and wrestle a lot better next year."
