MONROE - The Monroe High School wrestling team enters the Badger Conference tournament short-handed, but the Cheesemakers are still shooting for a third-place finish in the Badger South.
Monroe senior McKenzy Foley and sophomore Sam Kind are both expected to miss the Badger Conference tournament Saturday at DeForest High School due to knee injuries.
"Sam Kind is questionable," Monroe coach Tom Witt said. "My guess is he will not wrestle at conference because to me regionals is more important."
Monroe senior Traiten Gorr (29-1) ranked No. 5 in the Wisconsin Wrestling Online Division 2 poll, is the defending conference champion at 220 pounds. Two other ranked wrestlers, Waunakee's Mason Ripp and Sauk Prairie's Logan Moore, will be vying with Gorr for the title.
"Traiten will be the No. 1 seed," Witt said. "He is the defending conference champion and finished fourth at state last year."
With the injuries, Witt is shuffling the lineup for the Cheesemakers. Monroe junior Isaac Allen will wrestle at 170 pounds instead of 182. Junior Hayden Arneson will wrestle at 182 instead of 195. Even with a short-handed lineup, Witt still has high expectations of a top-three finish in the Badger South. Monroe is 3-2 in the Badger South with its only dual meet losses coming to Stoughton, ranked fifth in Division 1, and ninth-ranked Milton.
"That's kind of been our goal all year," Witt said of taking third in the Badger South. "We set that as a goal before we started. We would love to finish ahead of Fort Atkinson, which would give us third place outright."
Stoughton, which went 6-0 in dual meets this season, is the favorite to win the overall Badger Conference tournament team title. The Vikings have seven wrestlers ranked in the top 10 in Division 1 led by returning state champions Brandon Klein (113) and Collin Kraus (145), who are both ranked No. 1. Sauk Prairie, ranked sixth in Division 1, is the top team in the Badger North and could be a contender with eight state-ranked wrestlers, and Milton could be in the mix with five ranked wrestlers. Witt said Stoughton is the favorite and they could run away with the conference championship and the tournament title.
"They are so good in the lower weights," Witt said. "I'm pretty sure they will take first in three or four of the first eight weight classes. It would not surprise me if they had six or seven conference champions. They are that good."
Monroe junior Cole Murray (132) took sixth at the conference last year. The heavy favorite going into the tournament is Sauk Prairie's Drew Fjoser. However, Fjoser was injured in "The Clash" tournament in Minnesota and may not wrestle. The other top contenders are Milton's Tristan Woods, Sauk Prairie's Aaron Hankins, Stoughton's Cade Spilde and Murray. Murray (22-5) could receive a top three or four seed.
At 170, Allen is looking to improve on his eighth-place finish at conference last year. Milton's Billy Pitzner, ranked No. 7 in Division 1, and DeForest's Alex Schodin are the top contenders. Fort Atkinson's Austin Kind, Stoughton's Drew Pasold and Baraboo's Hermes Duran could also be in the mix for a top-three finish.
One of the tougher weight classes may be 182 where there are four ranked wrestlers. Mount Horeb-Barneveld's Matt Blome, No. 1 in Division 2, is not a sure thing to win the title. Sauk Prairie's Austin Powell, No. 4 in Division 1, will be a top contender. The weight class also features Arneson (22-7), No. 10 at 195 in Division 2 and DeForest's ranked Kevin Rauls.
"I would hope his goal would be a top-three-finish," Witt said of Arneson. "He wrestled really well at Bi-State. If he can do that the next three weekends he should be sitting pretty good no matter what weight he is at."
The other Cheesemakers wrestler with a strong chance to medal is junior Kyle Walter (25-7) at heavyweight. The heavyweight class may be the most wide open at the conference meet. Some of the other top wrestlers vying for the championship are Sauk Prairie's Konnor McNeal, Milton's Tom Rakestraw and Stoughton's Erik Haried.
"He (Walter) could be the No. 1 or No. 2 seed," Witt said.
Monroe senior McKenzy Foley and sophomore Sam Kind are both expected to miss the Badger Conference tournament Saturday at DeForest High School due to knee injuries.
"Sam Kind is questionable," Monroe coach Tom Witt said. "My guess is he will not wrestle at conference because to me regionals is more important."
Monroe senior Traiten Gorr (29-1) ranked No. 5 in the Wisconsin Wrestling Online Division 2 poll, is the defending conference champion at 220 pounds. Two other ranked wrestlers, Waunakee's Mason Ripp and Sauk Prairie's Logan Moore, will be vying with Gorr for the title.
"Traiten will be the No. 1 seed," Witt said. "He is the defending conference champion and finished fourth at state last year."
With the injuries, Witt is shuffling the lineup for the Cheesemakers. Monroe junior Isaac Allen will wrestle at 170 pounds instead of 182. Junior Hayden Arneson will wrestle at 182 instead of 195. Even with a short-handed lineup, Witt still has high expectations of a top-three finish in the Badger South. Monroe is 3-2 in the Badger South with its only dual meet losses coming to Stoughton, ranked fifth in Division 1, and ninth-ranked Milton.
"That's kind of been our goal all year," Witt said of taking third in the Badger South. "We set that as a goal before we started. We would love to finish ahead of Fort Atkinson, which would give us third place outright."
Stoughton, which went 6-0 in dual meets this season, is the favorite to win the overall Badger Conference tournament team title. The Vikings have seven wrestlers ranked in the top 10 in Division 1 led by returning state champions Brandon Klein (113) and Collin Kraus (145), who are both ranked No. 1. Sauk Prairie, ranked sixth in Division 1, is the top team in the Badger North and could be a contender with eight state-ranked wrestlers, and Milton could be in the mix with five ranked wrestlers. Witt said Stoughton is the favorite and they could run away with the conference championship and the tournament title.
"They are so good in the lower weights," Witt said. "I'm pretty sure they will take first in three or four of the first eight weight classes. It would not surprise me if they had six or seven conference champions. They are that good."
Monroe junior Cole Murray (132) took sixth at the conference last year. The heavy favorite going into the tournament is Sauk Prairie's Drew Fjoser. However, Fjoser was injured in "The Clash" tournament in Minnesota and may not wrestle. The other top contenders are Milton's Tristan Woods, Sauk Prairie's Aaron Hankins, Stoughton's Cade Spilde and Murray. Murray (22-5) could receive a top three or four seed.
At 170, Allen is looking to improve on his eighth-place finish at conference last year. Milton's Billy Pitzner, ranked No. 7 in Division 1, and DeForest's Alex Schodin are the top contenders. Fort Atkinson's Austin Kind, Stoughton's Drew Pasold and Baraboo's Hermes Duran could also be in the mix for a top-three finish.
One of the tougher weight classes may be 182 where there are four ranked wrestlers. Mount Horeb-Barneveld's Matt Blome, No. 1 in Division 2, is not a sure thing to win the title. Sauk Prairie's Austin Powell, No. 4 in Division 1, will be a top contender. The weight class also features Arneson (22-7), No. 10 at 195 in Division 2 and DeForest's ranked Kevin Rauls.
"I would hope his goal would be a top-three-finish," Witt said of Arneson. "He wrestled really well at Bi-State. If he can do that the next three weekends he should be sitting pretty good no matter what weight he is at."
The other Cheesemakers wrestler with a strong chance to medal is junior Kyle Walter (25-7) at heavyweight. The heavyweight class may be the most wide open at the conference meet. Some of the other top wrestlers vying for the championship are Sauk Prairie's Konnor McNeal, Milton's Tom Rakestraw and Stoughton's Erik Haried.
"He (Walter) could be the No. 1 or No. 2 seed," Witt said.
