MONROE - The Cheesemaker wrestling team had four champions Saturday, but Black Hawk-Darlington outdueled Monroe for the team title in the Monroe Invitational.
The quartet that won championships for the Cheesemakers are senior Travis Wolf at 152 pounds, sophomore Patrick Rielly (160), senior Sam Kind (170) and senior Tyson Welsch (heavyweight). Monroe had 11 wrestlers finish in the top four compared to Black Hawk-Darlington, which had 10. However, the WarBirds clipped the Cheesemakers for the team title 208.5-201 in the 12-team invitational. Whitewater took third (139). The Cheesemakers didn't have wrestlers at 120 and 126.
"I thought they wrestled good today," Black Hawk-Darlington coach Cole Wunnicke said. "They could have lost it just as easily as they won it. Every single guy came in and scored points for the team. That was the big key. We don't want to peak yet. We still have some work to do. We have some work to do for a couple of weeks from now for conference and regionals. We want to peak two or three weeks from now."
Black Hawk-Darlington had three champions: junior Kolbe Ubersox (132), senior Grady Rielly (145) and senior Brody Milz (220).
"Division 3 wrestling is definitely tough," Milz said. "Whenever you come up against a team from a larger division, you want to compete well, and if you win it's a big deal."
For the Cheesemakers, Kind (28-5), who is ranked No. 6 in the Wisconsin Wrestling Online state poll, and Wolf (24-8) both repeated as champions. Each of the four champions for the Cheesemakers went 3-0.
Wolf pinned Big Foot-Williams Bay's Raul Rojas in 1:44 in a quarterfinal match. In the semifinals, he scored on an escape with one second left in overtime to edge Black Hawk-Darlington's Hunter Bredeson. Wolf had two takedowns in the first period that fueled him to a 14-4 win over Poynette's Justin Taylor in the championship match.
"It means a lot," said Wolf, who won the title at 145 last year. "It's my senior year. I wanted to go out on top in my home tournament. We only have one home tournament a year. It's nice to win the home tournament. I have been working pretty hard to get here and to get to where I'm at now. Hard work pays off."
Kind's finals match against Whitewater sophomore Aldo Soto was a nail-biter. He scored on an escape to start the second period to take a 1-0 lead. Kind then scored on a takedown with 1:10 left in the third period to take a 3-1 lead. Soto came up with an escape in the final seconds to cut the deficit to 1 point, but Kind held him off in the waning seconds. Soto's short and bowling-ball-type build was a challenge for Kind.
"You have to adapt to who you are wrestling," Kind said. "Everyone has a different build. It helps a lot seeing different guys in the wrestling room, because you see a lot of different wrestling types. Once I got that takedown, I knew I could win it. It was the first takedown in the match. I just had to have the push and drive to keep going. He was a good competitor, and it was a good match."
Kind breezed through his first two matches. He pinned Beloit Memorial's Mario Mendoza in 28 seconds in a quarterfinal match. In the semifinals, he pinned Cuba City-Southwestern's Abe Meier in 54 seconds.
Kind was excited to become a repeat champion.
"To win it the year before, you expect to win it this year," he said. "I would have been upset if I didn't win it again."
Patrick Rielly (26-6), ranked No. 11 at 160, controlled the entire title match and knocked off Oregon senior Devin Keast 6-2. Rielly scored on an escape with 1:35 to go in the second period to take a 1-0 lead. He followed that up with a takedown to build a 3-0 lead. He survived a late comeback by Keast, who dropped weight after wrestling at 170 earlier this year.
"I thought there wasn't much difference between me and the second-place kid," Rielly said of Keast. "Keast is a really good wrestler, and it feels good to beat him. I feel like this is definitely one of my bigger accomplishments this year. It feels really good because last year I got fifth place at this tournament. To come around and win it is a big accomplishment for me."
Rielly rolled through his first two matches. He pinned Big Foot-Williams Bay's Sam Flom in 16 seconds and then defeated Black Hawk-Darlington's Carson Lobdell 11-3.
Welsch (25-6), ranked No. 9, beat Cuba City-Southwestern's Francisco Garcia in a technical fall, 15-0 in 3:27 in the semifinals. In the championship match, Welsch pinned Lake Mills junior Harley Jones in 4:25. Welsch screamed after the big win. He had some unfinished business after taking second in the invite last year.
"It felt great," he said. "I really wanted redemption from last year, and to get that and win this feels amazing."
Welsch battled a shoulder injury the last couple of weeks, but he's focused when he's on the mat. He isn't worried about his shoulder.
"Once I'm in a match, I just let it loose," he said. "One thing I know I have to improve on is being more aggressive on my feet, and I have to work on my head position on my tie-ups."
The other top four finishers for the Cheesemakers are sophomore Zach Roper (113), second; sophomore Bodie Minder (220), second; sophomore Alex Witt (145), third; senior Dempzy Foley (182), third; sophomore Dakota Wickstrum (106), fourth; sophomore Julian Gruber (195), fourth; and sophomore Kelsey Dominguez (220), fourth.
Roper and Minder each went 2-1. Roper pinned Black Hawk-Darlington's Eric Hocking in 3:24. Clinton's Ryan Maly then pinned him in 4:25. Roper bounced back, pinning Big-Foot-Williams Bay's Marcus Zuniga in 2:51.
Minder cruised early on, pinning Whitewater's Alex Alvarez in 22 seconds in the first round. He then pinned Cuba City-Southwestern's Logan Murphy in 1:23. For the WarBirds, Milz defeated Minder in the title match 8-1. Milz tossed Minder to the mat with a takedown early in the first period and then scored on a 3-point near fall to take a 5-0 lead at the end of the period.
"That kid (Minder) is really a good wrestler," Milz said. "The toss was there, and I took advantage of it."
After earning all-state honors as a running back and linebacker and wrestling last year at 195, Milz used his quickness to give him an edge.
"I obviously have got a lot stronger than last year," he said. "I definitely use my quickness to my advantage, and it really helps."
Black Hawk-Darlington senior Paul King (120) took second, and the WarBirds had five wrestlers take third, including Cody Blosch (126), Hunter Bredeson (152), Carson Lobdell (160), Tyler Mosley (170) and Bailey Schilling (195). Teammates Hocking (113) and Lief Bredeson (heavyweight) each finished fourth.
Ubersox (26-2) at 132 pinned Cuba City-Southwestern's Wylie Niles in 43 seconds in his first match. He then knocked off Poynette's Blake Shallow in a technical fall, 19-3 in 5:02. In the title match, Ubersox pinned Beloit Memorial's Robert Johnson in 3:50.
"I like to get out there, score some points and get it over with as soon as I can," Ubersox said. "Every match is a tune-up for regionals. I know this tournament has some good competition. It was our goal to win it."
Grady Rielly (19-8) was just as impressive for the WarBirds. He pinned Oregon's Cole Legler in 1:50 in a quarterfinal match. Rielly then pinned Whitewater's David Cushman in 1:15 in a semifinal match. In the championship match, Rielly pinned Parkview's Korben Brown in 3:50.
The quartet that won championships for the Cheesemakers are senior Travis Wolf at 152 pounds, sophomore Patrick Rielly (160), senior Sam Kind (170) and senior Tyson Welsch (heavyweight). Monroe had 11 wrestlers finish in the top four compared to Black Hawk-Darlington, which had 10. However, the WarBirds clipped the Cheesemakers for the team title 208.5-201 in the 12-team invitational. Whitewater took third (139). The Cheesemakers didn't have wrestlers at 120 and 126.
"I thought they wrestled good today," Black Hawk-Darlington coach Cole Wunnicke said. "They could have lost it just as easily as they won it. Every single guy came in and scored points for the team. That was the big key. We don't want to peak yet. We still have some work to do. We have some work to do for a couple of weeks from now for conference and regionals. We want to peak two or three weeks from now."
Black Hawk-Darlington had three champions: junior Kolbe Ubersox (132), senior Grady Rielly (145) and senior Brody Milz (220).
"Division 3 wrestling is definitely tough," Milz said. "Whenever you come up against a team from a larger division, you want to compete well, and if you win it's a big deal."
For the Cheesemakers, Kind (28-5), who is ranked No. 6 in the Wisconsin Wrestling Online state poll, and Wolf (24-8) both repeated as champions. Each of the four champions for the Cheesemakers went 3-0.
Wolf pinned Big Foot-Williams Bay's Raul Rojas in 1:44 in a quarterfinal match. In the semifinals, he scored on an escape with one second left in overtime to edge Black Hawk-Darlington's Hunter Bredeson. Wolf had two takedowns in the first period that fueled him to a 14-4 win over Poynette's Justin Taylor in the championship match.
"It means a lot," said Wolf, who won the title at 145 last year. "It's my senior year. I wanted to go out on top in my home tournament. We only have one home tournament a year. It's nice to win the home tournament. I have been working pretty hard to get here and to get to where I'm at now. Hard work pays off."
Kind's finals match against Whitewater sophomore Aldo Soto was a nail-biter. He scored on an escape to start the second period to take a 1-0 lead. Kind then scored on a takedown with 1:10 left in the third period to take a 3-1 lead. Soto came up with an escape in the final seconds to cut the deficit to 1 point, but Kind held him off in the waning seconds. Soto's short and bowling-ball-type build was a challenge for Kind.
"You have to adapt to who you are wrestling," Kind said. "Everyone has a different build. It helps a lot seeing different guys in the wrestling room, because you see a lot of different wrestling types. Once I got that takedown, I knew I could win it. It was the first takedown in the match. I just had to have the push and drive to keep going. He was a good competitor, and it was a good match."
Kind breezed through his first two matches. He pinned Beloit Memorial's Mario Mendoza in 28 seconds in a quarterfinal match. In the semifinals, he pinned Cuba City-Southwestern's Abe Meier in 54 seconds.
Kind was excited to become a repeat champion.
"To win it the year before, you expect to win it this year," he said. "I would have been upset if I didn't win it again."
Patrick Rielly (26-6), ranked No. 11 at 160, controlled the entire title match and knocked off Oregon senior Devin Keast 6-2. Rielly scored on an escape with 1:35 to go in the second period to take a 1-0 lead. He followed that up with a takedown to build a 3-0 lead. He survived a late comeback by Keast, who dropped weight after wrestling at 170 earlier this year.
"I thought there wasn't much difference between me and the second-place kid," Rielly said of Keast. "Keast is a really good wrestler, and it feels good to beat him. I feel like this is definitely one of my bigger accomplishments this year. It feels really good because last year I got fifth place at this tournament. To come around and win it is a big accomplishment for me."
Rielly rolled through his first two matches. He pinned Big Foot-Williams Bay's Sam Flom in 16 seconds and then defeated Black Hawk-Darlington's Carson Lobdell 11-3.
Welsch (25-6), ranked No. 9, beat Cuba City-Southwestern's Francisco Garcia in a technical fall, 15-0 in 3:27 in the semifinals. In the championship match, Welsch pinned Lake Mills junior Harley Jones in 4:25. Welsch screamed after the big win. He had some unfinished business after taking second in the invite last year.
"It felt great," he said. "I really wanted redemption from last year, and to get that and win this feels amazing."
Welsch battled a shoulder injury the last couple of weeks, but he's focused when he's on the mat. He isn't worried about his shoulder.
"Once I'm in a match, I just let it loose," he said. "One thing I know I have to improve on is being more aggressive on my feet, and I have to work on my head position on my tie-ups."
The other top four finishers for the Cheesemakers are sophomore Zach Roper (113), second; sophomore Bodie Minder (220), second; sophomore Alex Witt (145), third; senior Dempzy Foley (182), third; sophomore Dakota Wickstrum (106), fourth; sophomore Julian Gruber (195), fourth; and sophomore Kelsey Dominguez (220), fourth.
Roper and Minder each went 2-1. Roper pinned Black Hawk-Darlington's Eric Hocking in 3:24. Clinton's Ryan Maly then pinned him in 4:25. Roper bounced back, pinning Big-Foot-Williams Bay's Marcus Zuniga in 2:51.
Minder cruised early on, pinning Whitewater's Alex Alvarez in 22 seconds in the first round. He then pinned Cuba City-Southwestern's Logan Murphy in 1:23. For the WarBirds, Milz defeated Minder in the title match 8-1. Milz tossed Minder to the mat with a takedown early in the first period and then scored on a 3-point near fall to take a 5-0 lead at the end of the period.
"That kid (Minder) is really a good wrestler," Milz said. "The toss was there, and I took advantage of it."
After earning all-state honors as a running back and linebacker and wrestling last year at 195, Milz used his quickness to give him an edge.
"I obviously have got a lot stronger than last year," he said. "I definitely use my quickness to my advantage, and it really helps."
Black Hawk-Darlington senior Paul King (120) took second, and the WarBirds had five wrestlers take third, including Cody Blosch (126), Hunter Bredeson (152), Carson Lobdell (160), Tyler Mosley (170) and Bailey Schilling (195). Teammates Hocking (113) and Lief Bredeson (heavyweight) each finished fourth.
Ubersox (26-2) at 132 pinned Cuba City-Southwestern's Wylie Niles in 43 seconds in his first match. He then knocked off Poynette's Blake Shallow in a technical fall, 19-3 in 5:02. In the title match, Ubersox pinned Beloit Memorial's Robert Johnson in 3:50.
"I like to get out there, score some points and get it over with as soon as I can," Ubersox said. "Every match is a tune-up for regionals. I know this tournament has some good competition. It was our goal to win it."
Grady Rielly (19-8) was just as impressive for the WarBirds. He pinned Oregon's Cole Legler in 1:50 in a quarterfinal match. Rielly then pinned Whitewater's David Cushman in 1:15 in a semifinal match. In the championship match, Rielly pinned Parkview's Korben Brown in 3:50.
