SOUTH WAYNE - Pecatonica-Argyle senior Chris James had to sit on the sidelines with a broken fourth metacarpal in his hand last year at the championship time for wrestlers.
James, a two-time sectional qualifier, didn't get the chance to wrestle for a third straight sectional berth due to a broken bone in his hand. James returned this year and wasted no time setting the bar high after taking second at 130 pounds at the 24th annual Black Hawk Invitational Saturday.
"It's definitely all coming back to me," he said.
James was one of three area wrestlers to make it to the finals. Sugar River senior Mike Nolden (189) and Darlington senior Brandon Heins (215) also made runs to championship matches.
James pinned Mount Horeb sophomore Sam Kruse in the quarterfinals and pinned Pioneer Westfield's Dustin Dolgner in 5:29 in the semifinals. He finished fifth at the Black Hawk Invite last year.
"My main goal was to get better than that," he said.
Pecatonica-Argyle coach Ike Campbell liked the way James wrestled.
"He was really hungry coming out this year," Campbell said. "I know he was really disappointed in how it ended last year. He's working to get to state. He stayed in a good position and didn't make mistakes. He made some good decisions and made it to the finals."
Sugar River's Nolden finished second after he was pinned by Merill's Noah Lassa in the title match in 1:33. Nolden defeated Sauk Prairie's Caleb Sisbach 11-3 in the semifinals to get a chance at a title.
"I set my goal for tournaments to wrestle to my seed or better," Nolden said. I have to get at least second. That's what I expect."
Darlington's Heins took second after losing a title match 10-2 to Sauk Prairie's Michael Gamboa. Heins pinned Merill's Mitch Grabko in 3:26 in the semifinals.
"It's a huge confidence booster," Heins said after his semifinal win. "I knew I could wrestle. Pinning someone is nice at any weight and at any time."
Darlington took fifth place as a team. Four Redbird wrestlers finished in fifth place including junior Bo Brunkow (119), junior Joey Meylor (130), junior Matt McDaniel (145) and senior Colton Hackett (189).
"I thought we had seven kids who could come up here and finish top five," Darlington coach Tom Mathias said. "I was hoping for a top half finish."
The Vikings had three wrestlers make it to the semifinals and finished eighth as a team despite wrestling without heavyweight Ross Gilbertson and Eli Davis. Cody James (125) lost a semifinal match to Merrill's Marcus Reinhardt 8-0. However, Cody James bounced back and finished third beating Burlington Catholic Central's Myles Waler 10-8 in overtime. Pecatonica-Argyle sophomore Ethan Averill (112) lost to Dodgeville's Austin Devoss 9-0 in the semifinals. Averill came back and finished fourth. Senior Ian Sigg (215) took fifth.
Sugar River finished ninth as a team. Sugar River's Brooks Hendrickson took fourth after losing a third-place match to Dodgeville's Trace Vance 5-3. Sugar River's Taylor Christen (112) and Young-Chul Vetterli (135) each finished fifth.
Black Hawk senior Bryant Luhman (171) was one of six area wrestlers who qualified for the semifinals. Luhman, who was the No. 2 seed, opened the tournament by pinning Darlington junior Tyler Black in 1:56. He then dropped a semifinal match 7-1 to Merrill's Dylan Burkam. Luhman pinned Orfordville Parkview's Justin Graham in 2:09.
"I was really hoping for a top three finish," Luhman said. "That was my goal."
Luhman, who was a sectional qualifier last year, has his sights set on contending for a trip to state.
"It would be really sweet," he said. "I'm hoping to be a state qualifier. I'm expecting to make it to sectionals and I hope to make it to the next level. It will be tough."
Black Hawk finished 11th as a team. Black Hawk freshman Jared Pickett (103) and freshman Dakota Meier (125) each finished fifth. Black Hawk coach Jim Seffrood is focusing on single and double leg takedowns with a young team.
"It all comes down to the basics of wrestling and the little things we learned back in junior high," Seffrood said. "I just wanted them to wrestle 100 percent. We will learn from our mistakes from today and move on."
James, a two-time sectional qualifier, didn't get the chance to wrestle for a third straight sectional berth due to a broken bone in his hand. James returned this year and wasted no time setting the bar high after taking second at 130 pounds at the 24th annual Black Hawk Invitational Saturday.
"It's definitely all coming back to me," he said.
James was one of three area wrestlers to make it to the finals. Sugar River senior Mike Nolden (189) and Darlington senior Brandon Heins (215) also made runs to championship matches.
James pinned Mount Horeb sophomore Sam Kruse in the quarterfinals and pinned Pioneer Westfield's Dustin Dolgner in 5:29 in the semifinals. He finished fifth at the Black Hawk Invite last year.
"My main goal was to get better than that," he said.
Pecatonica-Argyle coach Ike Campbell liked the way James wrestled.
"He was really hungry coming out this year," Campbell said. "I know he was really disappointed in how it ended last year. He's working to get to state. He stayed in a good position and didn't make mistakes. He made some good decisions and made it to the finals."
Sugar River's Nolden finished second after he was pinned by Merill's Noah Lassa in the title match in 1:33. Nolden defeated Sauk Prairie's Caleb Sisbach 11-3 in the semifinals to get a chance at a title.
"I set my goal for tournaments to wrestle to my seed or better," Nolden said. I have to get at least second. That's what I expect."
Darlington's Heins took second after losing a title match 10-2 to Sauk Prairie's Michael Gamboa. Heins pinned Merill's Mitch Grabko in 3:26 in the semifinals.
"It's a huge confidence booster," Heins said after his semifinal win. "I knew I could wrestle. Pinning someone is nice at any weight and at any time."
Darlington took fifth place as a team. Four Redbird wrestlers finished in fifth place including junior Bo Brunkow (119), junior Joey Meylor (130), junior Matt McDaniel (145) and senior Colton Hackett (189).
"I thought we had seven kids who could come up here and finish top five," Darlington coach Tom Mathias said. "I was hoping for a top half finish."
The Vikings had three wrestlers make it to the semifinals and finished eighth as a team despite wrestling without heavyweight Ross Gilbertson and Eli Davis. Cody James (125) lost a semifinal match to Merrill's Marcus Reinhardt 8-0. However, Cody James bounced back and finished third beating Burlington Catholic Central's Myles Waler 10-8 in overtime. Pecatonica-Argyle sophomore Ethan Averill (112) lost to Dodgeville's Austin Devoss 9-0 in the semifinals. Averill came back and finished fourth. Senior Ian Sigg (215) took fifth.
Sugar River finished ninth as a team. Sugar River's Brooks Hendrickson took fourth after losing a third-place match to Dodgeville's Trace Vance 5-3. Sugar River's Taylor Christen (112) and Young-Chul Vetterli (135) each finished fifth.
Black Hawk senior Bryant Luhman (171) was one of six area wrestlers who qualified for the semifinals. Luhman, who was the No. 2 seed, opened the tournament by pinning Darlington junior Tyler Black in 1:56. He then dropped a semifinal match 7-1 to Merrill's Dylan Burkam. Luhman pinned Orfordville Parkview's Justin Graham in 2:09.
"I was really hoping for a top three finish," Luhman said. "That was my goal."
Luhman, who was a sectional qualifier last year, has his sights set on contending for a trip to state.
"It would be really sweet," he said. "I'm hoping to be a state qualifier. I'm expecting to make it to sectionals and I hope to make it to the next level. It will be tough."
Black Hawk finished 11th as a team. Black Hawk freshman Jared Pickett (103) and freshman Dakota Meier (125) each finished fifth. Black Hawk coach Jim Seffrood is focusing on single and double leg takedowns with a young team.
"It all comes down to the basics of wrestling and the little things we learned back in junior high," Seffrood said. "I just wanted them to wrestle 100 percent. We will learn from our mistakes from today and move on."
