SOUTH WAYNE - Black Hawk-Darlington sophomore Brody Milz opened some eyes in his first high school wrestling tournament.
Milz went 3-1 at 195 pounds and finished second place in the 29th annual Black Hawk Invitational on Saturday. It marked the first time Milz has wrestled since eighth grade.
Milz opened the tournament by pinning River Ridge-Cassville's Camron Mish in 1 minute, 22 seconds. He then pinned Milwaukee Madison Languages' Cameran Wright in 55 seconds. Beloit Turner's Shane Swing knocked him off in the championship match 8-2.
"We didn't know what to expect this year from Brody," Black Hawk-Darlington co-head coach Tom Donar said. "We knew physically he's talented. Before the season started it would have been a surprise. When he stepped into the wrestling room, it's not a surprise. He is by far our hardest worker in the practice room."
Black Hawk-Darlington senior Conrad Blosch (182) also took second place to help the Warrior-Redbirds take fourth as a team with 149 points. Beloit Turner won the tournament, racking up 212 points, well ahead of runner-up Mount Horeb-Barneveld (175) in the 14-team tournament. Sugar River (63) and Pecatonica-Argyle (63) tied for 10th.
Blosch also went 3-1. After a first-round bye, he pinned Cuba City-Benton-Southwestern's Brandon Cerney in 1:45. Blosch then defeated Beloit Turner's Josh Christenson 7-1 in the semifinals. The championship match was a rematch of last year's title match. Mount Horeb-Barneveld's Matt Blome, the defending Division 2 state champion, pinned Blosch in 2:48 for the title.
All five of Pecatonica-Argyle's wrestlers at the tournament placed in the top eight, led by junior Cam Treuthardt who finished third at 182. Treuthardt went 3-1 on the day. After a first-round bye, he defeated Richland Center's Caleb Coleman in a thriller 6-4 in overtime. Blome, the eventual champion, pinned Treuthardt in 2:27. Treuthardt then rebounded to knock off Christenson 7-1 in a third-place match.
Pecatonica-Argyle senior Casey Phillips (138) went 2-2 in the tournament and finished fourth. Phillips, the champion at 120 last year, lost a third-place match 6-2 to Mount Horeb's Miles Stinhoff. Teammate Prestan Rosenstiel also took fourth. He finished the tournament 2-2 and Dodgeville's Zach Weber pinned him in a third-place match in 1:42.
All 11 of Black Hawk-Darlington's wrestlers who competed placed in the top eight, but the Warrior-Redbirds couldn't repeat as team champions.
"We have a lot of freshmen and sophomores and they got a tough seed because they didn't have a record," said Donar, who is co-head coach along with Black Hawk's Carl Ruegsegger. "That is why a lot of them lost before the semifinals even though they were probably good enough to be in the semifinals."
Black Hawk-Darlington didn't have wrestlers at 106, 120 or 170. Senior Taylor Evenstad, the usual starter at 220, has a dislocated shoulder he suffered in the state football championship game, and hasn't practiced yet. Paul King is battling pneumonia and wasn't available to wrestle.
"We were coming in looking for a chance to get first," Donar said. "We knew it would be tough and wouldn't be able to come back from that. We don't know when he (King) is coming back. It will probably be a week or two. We will be a much different wrestling team later in the season than we are today."
Sugar River had six wrestlers at the tournament and Max Gerner (120) went 2-2 and finished fourth. Gerner pinned River Ridge-Cassville's Caleb Lenzendorf in 56 seconds. He then lost by pin to Parkview's Conner Nolan. In a third-place match, Richland Center's Cade Furgason pinned Gerner in 45 seconds. Sugar River's John Chenoweth (132) also went 2-2 and took fourth. After a first-round bye, Chenoweth defeated Westfield's Hunter Clark 12-3. Ithaca-Weston's Hunter Dischler then pinned him in 1:05. Mount Horeb-Barneveld's Tyler Bowar then defeated Chenoweth in a third-place match 11-1. All six of Sugar River's wrestlers placed in the top eight.
"The competition will make us better," Sugar River coach Peter Swenson said. "We can go back to the wrestling room ,watch the video and point out where we need to make our improvements. I'm happy with the effort. We don't just hang our hats on wins and losses. We just need to clean up some things from a technique standpoint."
Black Hawk-Darlington's Hunter Bredeson (113), Connor Novak (126), Kolbe Ubersox (132), Grady Rielly (138), Caleb Novak (145) and Jake Tuescher (heavyweight) each finished fifth.
Bredeson went 3-1 and pinned Westfield's Talon Barton in 54 seconds to seal fifth place. Connor Novak also went 3-1 and pinned Belmont-Platteville's Alex Sargent in 2:21 to lock up fifth.
Ubersox went 4-1 and wrestled back to take fifth after posting a 9-1 win over Westfield's Hunter Clark. Rielly at 138 went 4-1 and pinned Richland Center's Sam Hart in a fifth-place match in 3:46.
Caleb Novak at 145 finished the day 4-1 and pinned Madison Memorial's Connor Jones in 2:55 in a fifth-place match. Tuescher also went 4-1 and edged Parkview's Nicholas Shepherd 2-0 to seal fifth place.
Pecatonica-Argyle's Travis Gilson finished 4-1 and took fifth place. He pinned Sugar River's Kyle Sparr in 45 seconds in a fifth-place match.
Black Hawk-Darlington will open up SWAL action when they host Fennimore Friday in South Wayne.
Milz went 3-1 at 195 pounds and finished second place in the 29th annual Black Hawk Invitational on Saturday. It marked the first time Milz has wrestled since eighth grade.
Milz opened the tournament by pinning River Ridge-Cassville's Camron Mish in 1 minute, 22 seconds. He then pinned Milwaukee Madison Languages' Cameran Wright in 55 seconds. Beloit Turner's Shane Swing knocked him off in the championship match 8-2.
"We didn't know what to expect this year from Brody," Black Hawk-Darlington co-head coach Tom Donar said. "We knew physically he's talented. Before the season started it would have been a surprise. When he stepped into the wrestling room, it's not a surprise. He is by far our hardest worker in the practice room."
Black Hawk-Darlington senior Conrad Blosch (182) also took second place to help the Warrior-Redbirds take fourth as a team with 149 points. Beloit Turner won the tournament, racking up 212 points, well ahead of runner-up Mount Horeb-Barneveld (175) in the 14-team tournament. Sugar River (63) and Pecatonica-Argyle (63) tied for 10th.
Blosch also went 3-1. After a first-round bye, he pinned Cuba City-Benton-Southwestern's Brandon Cerney in 1:45. Blosch then defeated Beloit Turner's Josh Christenson 7-1 in the semifinals. The championship match was a rematch of last year's title match. Mount Horeb-Barneveld's Matt Blome, the defending Division 2 state champion, pinned Blosch in 2:48 for the title.
All five of Pecatonica-Argyle's wrestlers at the tournament placed in the top eight, led by junior Cam Treuthardt who finished third at 182. Treuthardt went 3-1 on the day. After a first-round bye, he defeated Richland Center's Caleb Coleman in a thriller 6-4 in overtime. Blome, the eventual champion, pinned Treuthardt in 2:27. Treuthardt then rebounded to knock off Christenson 7-1 in a third-place match.
Pecatonica-Argyle senior Casey Phillips (138) went 2-2 in the tournament and finished fourth. Phillips, the champion at 120 last year, lost a third-place match 6-2 to Mount Horeb's Miles Stinhoff. Teammate Prestan Rosenstiel also took fourth. He finished the tournament 2-2 and Dodgeville's Zach Weber pinned him in a third-place match in 1:42.
All 11 of Black Hawk-Darlington's wrestlers who competed placed in the top eight, but the Warrior-Redbirds couldn't repeat as team champions.
"We have a lot of freshmen and sophomores and they got a tough seed because they didn't have a record," said Donar, who is co-head coach along with Black Hawk's Carl Ruegsegger. "That is why a lot of them lost before the semifinals even though they were probably good enough to be in the semifinals."
Black Hawk-Darlington didn't have wrestlers at 106, 120 or 170. Senior Taylor Evenstad, the usual starter at 220, has a dislocated shoulder he suffered in the state football championship game, and hasn't practiced yet. Paul King is battling pneumonia and wasn't available to wrestle.
"We were coming in looking for a chance to get first," Donar said. "We knew it would be tough and wouldn't be able to come back from that. We don't know when he (King) is coming back. It will probably be a week or two. We will be a much different wrestling team later in the season than we are today."
Sugar River had six wrestlers at the tournament and Max Gerner (120) went 2-2 and finished fourth. Gerner pinned River Ridge-Cassville's Caleb Lenzendorf in 56 seconds. He then lost by pin to Parkview's Conner Nolan. In a third-place match, Richland Center's Cade Furgason pinned Gerner in 45 seconds. Sugar River's John Chenoweth (132) also went 2-2 and took fourth. After a first-round bye, Chenoweth defeated Westfield's Hunter Clark 12-3. Ithaca-Weston's Hunter Dischler then pinned him in 1:05. Mount Horeb-Barneveld's Tyler Bowar then defeated Chenoweth in a third-place match 11-1. All six of Sugar River's wrestlers placed in the top eight.
"The competition will make us better," Sugar River coach Peter Swenson said. "We can go back to the wrestling room ,watch the video and point out where we need to make our improvements. I'm happy with the effort. We don't just hang our hats on wins and losses. We just need to clean up some things from a technique standpoint."
Black Hawk-Darlington's Hunter Bredeson (113), Connor Novak (126), Kolbe Ubersox (132), Grady Rielly (138), Caleb Novak (145) and Jake Tuescher (heavyweight) each finished fifth.
Bredeson went 3-1 and pinned Westfield's Talon Barton in 54 seconds to seal fifth place. Connor Novak also went 3-1 and pinned Belmont-Platteville's Alex Sargent in 2:21 to lock up fifth.
Ubersox went 4-1 and wrestled back to take fifth after posting a 9-1 win over Westfield's Hunter Clark. Rielly at 138 went 4-1 and pinned Richland Center's Sam Hart in a fifth-place match in 3:46.
Caleb Novak at 145 finished the day 4-1 and pinned Madison Memorial's Connor Jones in 2:55 in a fifth-place match. Tuescher also went 4-1 and edged Parkview's Nicholas Shepherd 2-0 to seal fifth place.
Pecatonica-Argyle's Travis Gilson finished 4-1 and took fifth place. He pinned Sugar River's Kyle Sparr in 45 seconds in a fifth-place match.
Black Hawk-Darlington will open up SWAL action when they host Fennimore Friday in South Wayne.
