EDGERTON - Academic diligence was all that stood between the Brodhead-Juda Cardinals and a victory at Saturday's Edgerton Duals Invitational.
The Cardinals were missing two of their key senior wrestlers, Cody Spooner and Josh Hicks, who were taking their ACT tests. Despite being short-handed, the Cards finished 3-2 - their two losses were by incredibly slim margins.
"We were really happy with the effort today, and I really felt we finished strong," said Cardinals head coach Tim Colden. "Having two starters out, I really believe we could have been at least 4-1 if not 5-0 if we had our full roster."
Four Cardinals went 5-0 and won individual titles as Aaron Pratt (119 pounds), Mitchel Wiesenberg (125), Devon Seitz (152) and Dylan Severson (285) cleaned up their respective brackets.
The Cardinals disposed of the hosting Crimson Tide 47-32 and routed Stoughton B and Poynette by scores of 63-24 and 72-12, respectively. The lead changed hands in each of the last four bouts between Brodhead-Juda and tournament champion and perennial powerhouse Wisconsin Rapids B, with the Red Raiders having the final say in a 39-35 decision. The Cards tied Milton 39-39, but fell victim to tiebreaker criteria. The teams both had seven wins, but the Red Hawks had four pins to the Cardinals' three.
In the event's second round, the Cardinals trailed the Red Raiders 27-23 when Brodhead-Juda 140-pounder Dillon Woolums entered the ring with Matt Lindvig. Woolums, an aggressive shooter, led 2-0 when he began the second round in the bottom position. After escaping Lindvig's grip, he managed to lift him off the mat before turning to his right and bringing him back down to the padded surface. Despite being badgered by an injured hand, he drove home a pinfall at the 3:03 mark. He quickly popped up and pumped his hampered fist before helping Lindvig to his feet.
"I was excited because I haven't been doing so well," Woolums said, who finished the day 3-2, "and with my hand hurting, I thought he'd be able to stick me."
Freshman Hunter Colden (11-1) suffered his first loss of the season in the ensuing 145-pound bout, a pinfall at the hands of Micqui Medina. Then Seitz squared off with Colton Rush and was all too aware of what was at stake with his team down 33-29.
"I went into the match really scared, I'm not gonna lie; I go into a lot of my matches scared," Seitz said. "I really wanted the team to get the win and that's what motivated me. All the talk was that Rapids was going to dominate."
The technically sound Rush took a 2-0 lead into the second round and did a fine job of neutralizing Seitz, who began in the down position, for the first half of the period. Rush refused to let Seitz break his grip as they grappled out of bounds. But the moment the referee's whistle restarted the match, Seitz took action, spinning to his right and exploding through Rush's torso and achieving a near-fall. While Rush avoided the pin for the moment, Seitz flipped him back over and squeezed him for a pin at the 4:04 mark.
"You've gotta use your speed and that's really all I have is speed and strength," Seitz said. "I used my speed to get that reversal and got a little pumped after that."
"He's really quick, and I wish he'd use his quickness a little bit more," Tim Colden said. "He could really be unstoppable if he realized just how quick he is. He's been a great leader for us, though, that's for sure."
Garrett Schilling's pin of Kramer Lewis at 160 sealed the victory for the Red Raiders.
Severson was a force in the heavyweight division, pinning three opponents in the first period and picking up a forfeit. The Cardinals were forced to forfeit all of their 215-pound matches. Their coach was impressed with Ben Conway, who picked up two pins in the 189 class. He also was pleased with how well his light roster stuck together and how strong his team finished the day by drubbing Stoughton.
Colden's son, Hunter, used his earlier loss as motivation to finish off a four-pin day with a victory over the Vikings' Aaron Fuegstand in 1:44. Seitz also had four pins and has been a mentor for the frosh, who had a very simple motivation after spending nearly eight hours in the Tiders' gym.
"I thought to myself, 'Good, I get to go home and eat pizza,'" said Hunter Colden, who along with Joe Stephenson (130 pounds) finished 4-1. "I wanted to get it done with. I knew I could beat him."
The Cardinals' varsity squad won't compete for the next 18 days, but Hunter Colden isn't concerned about losing form during the time off.
"It's a lot easier living with the coach at home," he said, with a laugh.
The Cardinals were missing two of their key senior wrestlers, Cody Spooner and Josh Hicks, who were taking their ACT tests. Despite being short-handed, the Cards finished 3-2 - their two losses were by incredibly slim margins.
"We were really happy with the effort today, and I really felt we finished strong," said Cardinals head coach Tim Colden. "Having two starters out, I really believe we could have been at least 4-1 if not 5-0 if we had our full roster."
Four Cardinals went 5-0 and won individual titles as Aaron Pratt (119 pounds), Mitchel Wiesenberg (125), Devon Seitz (152) and Dylan Severson (285) cleaned up their respective brackets.
The Cardinals disposed of the hosting Crimson Tide 47-32 and routed Stoughton B and Poynette by scores of 63-24 and 72-12, respectively. The lead changed hands in each of the last four bouts between Brodhead-Juda and tournament champion and perennial powerhouse Wisconsin Rapids B, with the Red Raiders having the final say in a 39-35 decision. The Cards tied Milton 39-39, but fell victim to tiebreaker criteria. The teams both had seven wins, but the Red Hawks had four pins to the Cardinals' three.
In the event's second round, the Cardinals trailed the Red Raiders 27-23 when Brodhead-Juda 140-pounder Dillon Woolums entered the ring with Matt Lindvig. Woolums, an aggressive shooter, led 2-0 when he began the second round in the bottom position. After escaping Lindvig's grip, he managed to lift him off the mat before turning to his right and bringing him back down to the padded surface. Despite being badgered by an injured hand, he drove home a pinfall at the 3:03 mark. He quickly popped up and pumped his hampered fist before helping Lindvig to his feet.
"I was excited because I haven't been doing so well," Woolums said, who finished the day 3-2, "and with my hand hurting, I thought he'd be able to stick me."
Freshman Hunter Colden (11-1) suffered his first loss of the season in the ensuing 145-pound bout, a pinfall at the hands of Micqui Medina. Then Seitz squared off with Colton Rush and was all too aware of what was at stake with his team down 33-29.
"I went into the match really scared, I'm not gonna lie; I go into a lot of my matches scared," Seitz said. "I really wanted the team to get the win and that's what motivated me. All the talk was that Rapids was going to dominate."
The technically sound Rush took a 2-0 lead into the second round and did a fine job of neutralizing Seitz, who began in the down position, for the first half of the period. Rush refused to let Seitz break his grip as they grappled out of bounds. But the moment the referee's whistle restarted the match, Seitz took action, spinning to his right and exploding through Rush's torso and achieving a near-fall. While Rush avoided the pin for the moment, Seitz flipped him back over and squeezed him for a pin at the 4:04 mark.
"You've gotta use your speed and that's really all I have is speed and strength," Seitz said. "I used my speed to get that reversal and got a little pumped after that."
"He's really quick, and I wish he'd use his quickness a little bit more," Tim Colden said. "He could really be unstoppable if he realized just how quick he is. He's been a great leader for us, though, that's for sure."
Garrett Schilling's pin of Kramer Lewis at 160 sealed the victory for the Red Raiders.
Severson was a force in the heavyweight division, pinning three opponents in the first period and picking up a forfeit. The Cardinals were forced to forfeit all of their 215-pound matches. Their coach was impressed with Ben Conway, who picked up two pins in the 189 class. He also was pleased with how well his light roster stuck together and how strong his team finished the day by drubbing Stoughton.
Colden's son, Hunter, used his earlier loss as motivation to finish off a four-pin day with a victory over the Vikings' Aaron Fuegstand in 1:44. Seitz also had four pins and has been a mentor for the frosh, who had a very simple motivation after spending nearly eight hours in the Tiders' gym.
"I thought to myself, 'Good, I get to go home and eat pizza,'" said Hunter Colden, who along with Joe Stephenson (130 pounds) finished 4-1. "I wanted to get it done with. I knew I could beat him."
The Cardinals' varsity squad won't compete for the next 18 days, but Hunter Colden isn't concerned about losing form during the time off.
"It's a lot easier living with the coach at home," he said, with a laugh.
