MOUNT HOREB - Day two at the Badger Conference wrestling tournament played out like a sustained near-fall for the Cheesemakers.
One hundred three-pound junior Gavin Wels and 119-pound freshman Dylan Schwitz put themselves into position to win their halves of their respective ladders, but both Cheesemakers came up short in the final match of the gala in Mount Horeb Saturday.
For the first time in three years, Monroe failed to earn an individual title as Reedsburg freshman Blake Koch pinned Wels in their gold-medal match and Schwitz lost a heartbreaking 3-2 decision to Baraboo sophomore Levi Porter in the consolation finals.
Wels and Schwitz still accounted for more than half of Monroe's team points, 48 of 79 with their second- and fourth-place finishes, respectively. The Cheesemakers placed 11th out of 12 teams while Stoughton's five-year streak as team champions was snapped by DeForest's 311. The Vikings finished in third with 255 points while Reedsburg took second place with 277.
After dismantling Cole Engeldinger of DeForest to the tune of a 19-6 major decision, Wels ran into a frosh with an agenda in his title bout.
"I had the confidence all along," Koch said. "My dad told me I could win it. And my mom too. I'd only lost to Gavin 2-1 the first time, so I was very confident."
His confidence was palpable as he fended off Wels' barrage of takedown attempts. Finally, in the waning seconds of the second period, the Cheesemaker tried to get under Koch's defense, only to be countered, hooked, turned and pinned at 3 minutes, 51 seconds.
"I was just waiting for that one move the entire time, because I knew he was a shooter going in," Koch said.
Wels was shell-shocked by the counter-attack even minutes after the match.
"I couldn't tell you what happened, it all happened too fast. I just wasn't thinking," Wels said. "What I did out there is exactly what I hope not to do next weekend. When it happens, I've gotta learn."
Koch took his deep team's only individual title despite entering the tourney with a 4-2 mark and receiving the bracket's fourth seed.
After pushing Wels to the limit in their first matchup, Koch was anything but off Monroe's radar.
"Coming in here, he was the only guy I was worried about," Wels said.
Schwitz, still rebounding from a recent appendectomy, was less than convincing as he nearly blew a 3-1 lead against his consolation semifinal opponent but held on to defeat Stoughton's Nick Hite, 3-2. Unable to score out of tie-up scenarios, Schwitz couldn't quite overcome Porter in the bronze-medal match.
Perhaps irritated after being pinned twice in the 140-pound semifinals and again in the wrestlebacks, Monroe captain Kyle Klopfenstein drubbed Portage's Kory Heaps to place fifth after pinning Heaps the night before in just 52 seconds.
Monroe sophomore Dillon Weckerly (160 pounds) and junior Lucas Leu (285) both earned eighth place in their respective classes.
After Monroe's Great Scotts, Scott Timm and Matt Scott, both earned conference titles last year when the event was held in the Cheesemakers' home site. The squad's season isn't over as they get one week to prepare for the WIAA regionals in Belleville this Saturday, which will also have Sugar River in attendance.
"The weekend wasn't too shocking, there were a couple of places we could've done better," Monroe coach Jeriamy Jackson said, "so we'll need to see some changes next weekend in Belleville if we'll want to meet some of the goals we've set."
One hundred three-pound junior Gavin Wels and 119-pound freshman Dylan Schwitz put themselves into position to win their halves of their respective ladders, but both Cheesemakers came up short in the final match of the gala in Mount Horeb Saturday.
For the first time in three years, Monroe failed to earn an individual title as Reedsburg freshman Blake Koch pinned Wels in their gold-medal match and Schwitz lost a heartbreaking 3-2 decision to Baraboo sophomore Levi Porter in the consolation finals.
Wels and Schwitz still accounted for more than half of Monroe's team points, 48 of 79 with their second- and fourth-place finishes, respectively. The Cheesemakers placed 11th out of 12 teams while Stoughton's five-year streak as team champions was snapped by DeForest's 311. The Vikings finished in third with 255 points while Reedsburg took second place with 277.
After dismantling Cole Engeldinger of DeForest to the tune of a 19-6 major decision, Wels ran into a frosh with an agenda in his title bout.
"I had the confidence all along," Koch said. "My dad told me I could win it. And my mom too. I'd only lost to Gavin 2-1 the first time, so I was very confident."
His confidence was palpable as he fended off Wels' barrage of takedown attempts. Finally, in the waning seconds of the second period, the Cheesemaker tried to get under Koch's defense, only to be countered, hooked, turned and pinned at 3 minutes, 51 seconds.
"I was just waiting for that one move the entire time, because I knew he was a shooter going in," Koch said.
Wels was shell-shocked by the counter-attack even minutes after the match.
"I couldn't tell you what happened, it all happened too fast. I just wasn't thinking," Wels said. "What I did out there is exactly what I hope not to do next weekend. When it happens, I've gotta learn."
Koch took his deep team's only individual title despite entering the tourney with a 4-2 mark and receiving the bracket's fourth seed.
After pushing Wels to the limit in their first matchup, Koch was anything but off Monroe's radar.
"Coming in here, he was the only guy I was worried about," Wels said.
Schwitz, still rebounding from a recent appendectomy, was less than convincing as he nearly blew a 3-1 lead against his consolation semifinal opponent but held on to defeat Stoughton's Nick Hite, 3-2. Unable to score out of tie-up scenarios, Schwitz couldn't quite overcome Porter in the bronze-medal match.
Perhaps irritated after being pinned twice in the 140-pound semifinals and again in the wrestlebacks, Monroe captain Kyle Klopfenstein drubbed Portage's Kory Heaps to place fifth after pinning Heaps the night before in just 52 seconds.
Monroe sophomore Dillon Weckerly (160 pounds) and junior Lucas Leu (285) both earned eighth place in their respective classes.
After Monroe's Great Scotts, Scott Timm and Matt Scott, both earned conference titles last year when the event was held in the Cheesemakers' home site. The squad's season isn't over as they get one week to prepare for the WIAA regionals in Belleville this Saturday, which will also have Sugar River in attendance.
"The weekend wasn't too shocking, there were a couple of places we could've done better," Monroe coach Jeriamy Jackson said, "so we'll need to see some changes next weekend in Belleville if we'll want to meet some of the goals we've set."
