REEDSBURG - The Monroe wrestling team had two champions and finished sixth place at the Reedsburg Scramble on Saturday.
"It's a good way to start, to give us an idea of where we are at early in the year," Monroe coach Jeriamy Jackson said. "Nothing was too surprising for us; there were a few guys who expected themselves to do better, but it is a long year and we need to learn from our matches and keep the prize in mind. I'd much rather be at the top of our game come February than right now."
Monroe senior Trevor Gorr at 220 pounds and junior Brett Zimmerman at heavyweight each won championships and finished 5-0. Zimmerman was dominant winning each match he wrestled by pin.
"They both wrestled really well and didn't get pushed too much all day," Jackson said.
Monroe senior Aaron Hesgard (138) defeated Reedsburg's Nick Sieber 12-10 and Lancaster's Daniel Rice 7-4. He pinned Westby's Austin Pasch in 4 minutes, 28 seconds and pinned Weston's Nick Bennett in 4:58. Hesgard's only loss of the day came to Middleton's Jake Cain.
'I'm sure that Aaron would tell you that he would like to try that match again," Jackson said.
The Cheesemakers had a trio of wrestlers finish third place, including senior Jesse Keizer (126), senior Kevin Klopfenstein (145) and junior Ryan Hughes (160). Senior Dusty Burkhalter took fourth at 182.
Gorr pinned Weston's Wyatt Gundlach in 42 seconds. He pinned Lancaster's John VandeHey in 3:15 and defeated Reedsburg's Nick Noyce 15-0. In his closest match, he edged Westby's Chase Nottestad 4-1.
Zimmerman at heavyweight pinned Sparta's John Benish in 1:39 and pinned Middleton's Sean Benedict in 1:13. He also made short work of Weston's Ossian Sharp pinning him in 27 seconds and pinning Oregon's Jake Kluever in 53 seconds.
Keizer, Klopfenstein and Hughes each went 3-2. Keizer pinned Racine Horlick's Lukeus Perez in 2:47 and defeated Sparta's Justin Marx 8-1. He pulled out an 8-6 win over Westby's Andrew Johnson. The only losses for Keizer came 13-7 to Weston's Stetson Clary and 18-2 to Lancaster's Cole Martin.
Klopfenstein, one of three state qualifiers from the Cheesemakers last year, defeated Middleton's Jacob Laurent 8-0 and pinned Weston's Dustin Aspenson in 1:32. He also pinned Westby's Ross Withington in 2:35. He lost a hard fought match to Sparta's Michael Murnane 4-2 and lost to Lancaster's Trenton Cornell 3-0. Hughes at 160 defeated Racine Horlick's Ricardo Garcia 5-0 and pinned Sparta's Walker Polhamus in 3:16. He pulled out a 7-6 win over Weston's Morgan Seep and then lost a nail-biter 12-11 to Westby's Jacob Rooney. The only other loss for Hughes came to Middleton's Shay Haase, who pinned him in 1:55.
"The guys were eager to compete after three long weeks of practice," Jackson said.
"It's a good way to start, to give us an idea of where we are at early in the year," Monroe coach Jeriamy Jackson said. "Nothing was too surprising for us; there were a few guys who expected themselves to do better, but it is a long year and we need to learn from our matches and keep the prize in mind. I'd much rather be at the top of our game come February than right now."
Monroe senior Trevor Gorr at 220 pounds and junior Brett Zimmerman at heavyweight each won championships and finished 5-0. Zimmerman was dominant winning each match he wrestled by pin.
"They both wrestled really well and didn't get pushed too much all day," Jackson said.
Monroe senior Aaron Hesgard (138) defeated Reedsburg's Nick Sieber 12-10 and Lancaster's Daniel Rice 7-4. He pinned Westby's Austin Pasch in 4 minutes, 28 seconds and pinned Weston's Nick Bennett in 4:58. Hesgard's only loss of the day came to Middleton's Jake Cain.
'I'm sure that Aaron would tell you that he would like to try that match again," Jackson said.
The Cheesemakers had a trio of wrestlers finish third place, including senior Jesse Keizer (126), senior Kevin Klopfenstein (145) and junior Ryan Hughes (160). Senior Dusty Burkhalter took fourth at 182.
Gorr pinned Weston's Wyatt Gundlach in 42 seconds. He pinned Lancaster's John VandeHey in 3:15 and defeated Reedsburg's Nick Noyce 15-0. In his closest match, he edged Westby's Chase Nottestad 4-1.
Zimmerman at heavyweight pinned Sparta's John Benish in 1:39 and pinned Middleton's Sean Benedict in 1:13. He also made short work of Weston's Ossian Sharp pinning him in 27 seconds and pinning Oregon's Jake Kluever in 53 seconds.
Keizer, Klopfenstein and Hughes each went 3-2. Keizer pinned Racine Horlick's Lukeus Perez in 2:47 and defeated Sparta's Justin Marx 8-1. He pulled out an 8-6 win over Westby's Andrew Johnson. The only losses for Keizer came 13-7 to Weston's Stetson Clary and 18-2 to Lancaster's Cole Martin.
Klopfenstein, one of three state qualifiers from the Cheesemakers last year, defeated Middleton's Jacob Laurent 8-0 and pinned Weston's Dustin Aspenson in 1:32. He also pinned Westby's Ross Withington in 2:35. He lost a hard fought match to Sparta's Michael Murnane 4-2 and lost to Lancaster's Trenton Cornell 3-0. Hughes at 160 defeated Racine Horlick's Ricardo Garcia 5-0 and pinned Sparta's Walker Polhamus in 3:16. He pulled out a 7-6 win over Weston's Morgan Seep and then lost a nail-biter 12-11 to Westby's Jacob Rooney. The only other loss for Hughes came to Middleton's Shay Haase, who pinned him in 1:55.
"The guys were eager to compete after three long weeks of practice," Jackson said.
