MONROE - The Monroe wrestling team was a heavy underdog in a dual meet against Stoughton, which is ranked eighth in the Division 1 Crossface poll, and came up short with a 45-19 loss to the Vikings Tuesday night.
Monroe (9-4, 1-1 Badger South) went 5-6 in 11 matches against the Vikings who have won the Badger Conference six of the last seven years.
"All year long we have been a strong team," Monroe coach Jeriamy Jackson said. "Our guys wrestled well and hard. We can stay in matches with good teams. We were trying for some more pins to close that gap. It just didn't happen. The other team did a nice job of staying off their backs."
Monroe senior Mason Goff at 152 pounds pulled out a thrilling 5-3 win over Stoughton senior Greg Krantz. Goff carried a 2-0 lead over Krantz through most of the second period. Then a flurry of scoring highlighted the end of the second period. Krantz took Goff down to take a 3-2 lead. Goff answered with a reversal at the end of the second period to regain the lead, 4-3.
"I feel like Stoughton has always been a good team," Goff said. "We have always had a tough time with them. I felt like any kind of win to get the team going was essential. We all wrestled kind of sloppy. I think we could have done better."
Goff was able to hang on for the victory and he credited a return to the fundamentals for his success.
"I got in there to jack him up," Goff said. "That's not my style of wrestling. I just needed to work on my tie-ups, setups, takedowns and not be sloppy."
The Cheesemakers dominated the upper weight classes winning three of the four top weight-class matches.
Fellow senior Dillon Weckerly (171) defeated Stoughton freshman Dillon Dewey 12-3 and senior Cory Kundert (215) withstood a late rally to defeat Mac Shumaker 16-11.
Weckerly jumped out to a 7-0 lead on the heels of a first-period takedown and near fall.
"Getting the first takedown is the key to every match," Weckerly said was his key to winning. "Whoever gets that first takedown usually wins. You have to establish who the better wrestler is from the get go. That will set the tempo for the rest of the match and hopefully the team."
Kundert was fueled by a first-period takedown and near fall as he jumped out to an 8-2 lead.
"When he hooked me and rode me, I was a little nervous there," Kundert said. "He was tying me up the whole match and defensively, I wasn't doing very good. I was working hard on my feet. I just needed to work harder on the top and bottom."
Monroe junior heavyweight Nick Walker beat Stoughton junior Ben Egan 8-2. After a scoreless first period, Walker scored on an escape and sealed the match with a takedown.
"I knew the upper weights is where we would get some points," Jackson said. "Their (Stoughton's) strength is in the mid to lower weights."
Monroe freshman Kevin Klopfenstein (119) continued a standout first year on the varsity with a pin of Stoughton's Karl Krumholz in 1 minute, 53 seconds.
Monroe junior Dylan Schwitz (145) lost a heartbreaker 5-4 to Stoughton senior Austin Wersal. Schwitz scored on a takedown in the first 29 seconds of the match and came through with a reversal to take a 4-0 lead. Wersal battled back and won it on a reversal with 1:35 to go in the third period.
Jackson said Schwitz wasn't feeling well.
"Schwitz was under the weather," he said. "I think he's a much better wrestler than that kid and I think he knows that."
Monroe forfeited at three weight classes, 125, 130 and 140. The Cheesemakers had two varsity wrestlers compete in junior varsity so they could each get a competitive match to build from.
"I don't think a 30-second match does them any good on the varsity," Jackson said.
The Cheesemakers host the 10-team Monroe Invitational at 9:30 a.m. Saturday.
Monroe (9-4, 1-1 Badger South) went 5-6 in 11 matches against the Vikings who have won the Badger Conference six of the last seven years.
"All year long we have been a strong team," Monroe coach Jeriamy Jackson said. "Our guys wrestled well and hard. We can stay in matches with good teams. We were trying for some more pins to close that gap. It just didn't happen. The other team did a nice job of staying off their backs."
Monroe senior Mason Goff at 152 pounds pulled out a thrilling 5-3 win over Stoughton senior Greg Krantz. Goff carried a 2-0 lead over Krantz through most of the second period. Then a flurry of scoring highlighted the end of the second period. Krantz took Goff down to take a 3-2 lead. Goff answered with a reversal at the end of the second period to regain the lead, 4-3.
"I feel like Stoughton has always been a good team," Goff said. "We have always had a tough time with them. I felt like any kind of win to get the team going was essential. We all wrestled kind of sloppy. I think we could have done better."
Goff was able to hang on for the victory and he credited a return to the fundamentals for his success.
"I got in there to jack him up," Goff said. "That's not my style of wrestling. I just needed to work on my tie-ups, setups, takedowns and not be sloppy."
The Cheesemakers dominated the upper weight classes winning three of the four top weight-class matches.
Fellow senior Dillon Weckerly (171) defeated Stoughton freshman Dillon Dewey 12-3 and senior Cory Kundert (215) withstood a late rally to defeat Mac Shumaker 16-11.
Weckerly jumped out to a 7-0 lead on the heels of a first-period takedown and near fall.
"Getting the first takedown is the key to every match," Weckerly said was his key to winning. "Whoever gets that first takedown usually wins. You have to establish who the better wrestler is from the get go. That will set the tempo for the rest of the match and hopefully the team."
Kundert was fueled by a first-period takedown and near fall as he jumped out to an 8-2 lead.
"When he hooked me and rode me, I was a little nervous there," Kundert said. "He was tying me up the whole match and defensively, I wasn't doing very good. I was working hard on my feet. I just needed to work harder on the top and bottom."
Monroe junior heavyweight Nick Walker beat Stoughton junior Ben Egan 8-2. After a scoreless first period, Walker scored on an escape and sealed the match with a takedown.
"I knew the upper weights is where we would get some points," Jackson said. "Their (Stoughton's) strength is in the mid to lower weights."
Monroe freshman Kevin Klopfenstein (119) continued a standout first year on the varsity with a pin of Stoughton's Karl Krumholz in 1 minute, 53 seconds.
Monroe junior Dylan Schwitz (145) lost a heartbreaker 5-4 to Stoughton senior Austin Wersal. Schwitz scored on a takedown in the first 29 seconds of the match and came through with a reversal to take a 4-0 lead. Wersal battled back and won it on a reversal with 1:35 to go in the third period.
Jackson said Schwitz wasn't feeling well.
"Schwitz was under the weather," he said. "I think he's a much better wrestler than that kid and I think he knows that."
Monroe forfeited at three weight classes, 125, 130 and 140. The Cheesemakers had two varsity wrestlers compete in junior varsity so they could each get a competitive match to build from.
"I don't think a 30-second match does them any good on the varsity," Jackson said.
The Cheesemakers host the 10-team Monroe Invitational at 9:30 a.m. Saturday.
