SOUTH WAYNE - Before the Black Hawk Invitational, Darlington wrestling coach Tom Mathias lobbied with the Merrill coach for Devin Malott to receive the No. 1 seed at 125 pounds.
Mathias said Malott would have to prove it on the mat if he reached the championship against Merrill sophomore Matthew Reinhardt, who won the Black Hawk Invite title at 125 last year. Malott's resume speaks for itself as a three-time state qualifier and as a wrestler who has racked up more than 100 career wins. The seeding debate was settled on the mat where Malott pulled out a thrilling 6-4 overtime win against Reinhardt Saturday to win the championship.
"Being a senior, I kind of want to go undefeated," Malott said, who breezed into the title match after two pins. "My goal is to just win it. Being a senior, I want to win it for the first time being here."
Merrill had four champions and won the Black Hawk Invitational for the eighth-straight year in a landslide over Mount Horeb 312.5-193. Darlington finished fourth behind Sauk Prairie.
"It's good competition," Black Hawk coach Jim Seffrood said. "We are so small. We can still run with a lot of these teams."
Malott wasn't the only wrestler to make a splash. There were eight area wrestlers who advanced to the semifinals, including two other Redbird wrestlers - junior Colton Hackett (171) and Bruce King (189). Pecatonica-Argyle had three junior wrestlers advance to the semifinals, including Tyler Francois (140), Eli Davis (152) and Ross Gilbertson at heavyweight. Black Hawk seniors Isaac Sigafus (119) and Grant Roper (160) also wrestled their way into the semifinals.
Sigafus finished third with a 2-1 win over Rockford Guilford's Jamid Rodriguez. Sigafus defeated Pioneer Westfield sophomore Anthony Manning 11-4 in the quarterfinals, but was pinned by Deerfield junior Pat Tolmie in the semifinals.
"I always want to do good wrestling at home," Sigafus said. "I wanted to get as high as I can. I want to do good at sectionals and go to state. It kind of pumps you up with everyone yelling. It's a lot louder than a normal meet."
Pecatonica-Argyle's Gilbertson lost a semifinal match to Merrill's Nick Collins, 9-0. He then won a thrilling third place match, 6-5 over Deerfield junior Walker Jaroch. The Vikings also received a fourth-place finish from Davis.
Gilbertson didn't make weight to wrestle 215, but he found success at heavyweight by using his quickness and strength against bigger opponents.
"It's a big deal for him to stay in good position and not get stuck under guys that weigh 50 pounds more than him," Pecatonica-Argyle coach Ike Campbell said. "When the big guys get gassed in the third period, he's still going 100 miles an hour."
Black Hawk's Roper (160) finished fourth. He lost his semifinal match to Belmont-Platteville sophomore Dusty Jentz, who qualified for state last year and was a champion at 171 at the 2008 Black Hawk invite. Jentz went on to win his second-straight title. In the third-place match, Roper lost to Rockford Guilford's Dante Ignacio 15-8. Black Hawk finished 13th overall and received a seventh-place finish from Bryant Luhman (171) who defeated Dodgeville's Tony Lease 1-0.
Roper is excited to place in his hometown tournament.
"Placing here is really something," Roper said. "There are some Division 1, sectional and state qualifiers."
Darlington's Hackett, at 171 pounds, finished fourth. King, at 189, also finished fourth after Sauk Prairie's three-time state qualifier James Wixom pinned him in the semifinals. King was pinned by Merrill's Noah Lassa in 2:46 in the third-place match.
The Redbirds started out slow with heavyweight Mark Brugger losing a first-round match to Mount Horeb's Justin Lund, 4-1, and senior Tanner Andrews was pinned by Belmont-Platteville's David Stoney in 5:02.
Darlington's Joey Meylor (112), Andrews and Brugger wrestled back and each finished fifth.
Darlington junior Matt McDaniel (145) finished sixth and sophomores Bo Brunkow (119) and Eli Humphrey (160) took seventh.
Pecatonica-Argyle's Francois came back and finished fourth after being pinned by Mount Horeb junior Matt Berger in 2:54 in the third place match.
Pecatonica-Argyle junior Chris James (125) and junior Ian Sigg (189) each wrestled back to finish fifth. James defeated Parkview junior Nick Cawkins, 5-1 for fifth place. Sigg pulled out a 10-8 win over Mount Horeb's Seth Kilkelly.
Mathias said Malott would have to prove it on the mat if he reached the championship against Merrill sophomore Matthew Reinhardt, who won the Black Hawk Invite title at 125 last year. Malott's resume speaks for itself as a three-time state qualifier and as a wrestler who has racked up more than 100 career wins. The seeding debate was settled on the mat where Malott pulled out a thrilling 6-4 overtime win against Reinhardt Saturday to win the championship.
"Being a senior, I kind of want to go undefeated," Malott said, who breezed into the title match after two pins. "My goal is to just win it. Being a senior, I want to win it for the first time being here."
Merrill had four champions and won the Black Hawk Invitational for the eighth-straight year in a landslide over Mount Horeb 312.5-193. Darlington finished fourth behind Sauk Prairie.
"It's good competition," Black Hawk coach Jim Seffrood said. "We are so small. We can still run with a lot of these teams."
Malott wasn't the only wrestler to make a splash. There were eight area wrestlers who advanced to the semifinals, including two other Redbird wrestlers - junior Colton Hackett (171) and Bruce King (189). Pecatonica-Argyle had three junior wrestlers advance to the semifinals, including Tyler Francois (140), Eli Davis (152) and Ross Gilbertson at heavyweight. Black Hawk seniors Isaac Sigafus (119) and Grant Roper (160) also wrestled their way into the semifinals.
Sigafus finished third with a 2-1 win over Rockford Guilford's Jamid Rodriguez. Sigafus defeated Pioneer Westfield sophomore Anthony Manning 11-4 in the quarterfinals, but was pinned by Deerfield junior Pat Tolmie in the semifinals.
"I always want to do good wrestling at home," Sigafus said. "I wanted to get as high as I can. I want to do good at sectionals and go to state. It kind of pumps you up with everyone yelling. It's a lot louder than a normal meet."
Pecatonica-Argyle's Gilbertson lost a semifinal match to Merrill's Nick Collins, 9-0. He then won a thrilling third place match, 6-5 over Deerfield junior Walker Jaroch. The Vikings also received a fourth-place finish from Davis.
Gilbertson didn't make weight to wrestle 215, but he found success at heavyweight by using his quickness and strength against bigger opponents.
"It's a big deal for him to stay in good position and not get stuck under guys that weigh 50 pounds more than him," Pecatonica-Argyle coach Ike Campbell said. "When the big guys get gassed in the third period, he's still going 100 miles an hour."
Black Hawk's Roper (160) finished fourth. He lost his semifinal match to Belmont-Platteville sophomore Dusty Jentz, who qualified for state last year and was a champion at 171 at the 2008 Black Hawk invite. Jentz went on to win his second-straight title. In the third-place match, Roper lost to Rockford Guilford's Dante Ignacio 15-8. Black Hawk finished 13th overall and received a seventh-place finish from Bryant Luhman (171) who defeated Dodgeville's Tony Lease 1-0.
Roper is excited to place in his hometown tournament.
"Placing here is really something," Roper said. "There are some Division 1, sectional and state qualifiers."
Darlington's Hackett, at 171 pounds, finished fourth. King, at 189, also finished fourth after Sauk Prairie's three-time state qualifier James Wixom pinned him in the semifinals. King was pinned by Merrill's Noah Lassa in 2:46 in the third-place match.
The Redbirds started out slow with heavyweight Mark Brugger losing a first-round match to Mount Horeb's Justin Lund, 4-1, and senior Tanner Andrews was pinned by Belmont-Platteville's David Stoney in 5:02.
Darlington's Joey Meylor (112), Andrews and Brugger wrestled back and each finished fifth.
Darlington junior Matt McDaniel (145) finished sixth and sophomores Bo Brunkow (119) and Eli Humphrey (160) took seventh.
Pecatonica-Argyle's Francois came back and finished fourth after being pinned by Mount Horeb junior Matt Berger in 2:54 in the third place match.
Pecatonica-Argyle junior Chris James (125) and junior Ian Sigg (189) each wrestled back to finish fifth. James defeated Parkview junior Nick Cawkins, 5-1 for fifth place. Sigg pulled out a 10-8 win over Mount Horeb's Seth Kilkelly.
