Wrestling co-op goes 1-2 in duals; regional in Cornell Saturday
WOLFPACK WRESTLING
The Cornell-Gilman-Lake Holcombe/ Turtle Lake-Clayton wrestling co-op tuned up for the quickly-approaching WIAA post-season by competing in a triple-dual event held Thursday in Frederic and hosted by the Luck-Granstburg-Frederic-Siren co-op.
The Wolfpack beat Unity 26-18 and lost 42-21 to Ladysmith and 28-18 to the host team to complete their abbreviated regular season.
The Wolfpack and Turtle Lake-Clayton will now go their separate ways for the tournament and the Wolfpack’s three-man crew will take part Saturday in a WIAA Division 3 regional that will now be held in Cornell, not Phillips as previously announced. The meet starts at 10:30 a.m. and will feature Bruce, Chequamegon, Chetek-Weyerhaeuser/ Prairie Farm, Ladysmith and Phillips.
The top two wrestlers in each weight class will advance to sectional competition Feb. 6 at St. Croix Falls.
“We had a good night overall,” head coach Greg Sonnentag said of Thursday’s duals. “The boys had some critical matches against Ladysmith for seeding purposes as we see them this weekend at our regional. They are working hard and steadily improving. We’re hoping for a solid regional performance here in Cornell this weekend.”
In the win over Unity, Gilman’s Troy Duellman, Braeden Person and Julian Krizan all earned key wins to help the coop secure the eight-point win.
Wrestling up at 138 pounds, Duellman reversed Unity’s Ashten Christensen and finished his move with a pin just before the second period expired at 3:58. Person, also bumping up to 145 pounds, followed that up with a 5-2 win over Gavin Holden that was secured when he escaped from a Holden takedown in the second period and then took Holden down before time expired. Wrestling from the down position in the third, he kept his three-point margin by not allowing Holden to score.
Krizan wrestled at 182 pounds and had no trouble with Donovan Johnson, rolling up a 15-0 technical fall that ended in the third period. Turtle Lake-Clayton’s Parker Lytle pinned Isaiah Holden in 1:55 in the 170-pound match and Mason Quade took a forfeit at 126. The co-op forfeited matches at 285, 152 and 220 pounds.
Gilman’s wrestlers again won their matches in the dual with Ladysmith.
At 132, Duellman used a second-period takedown to beat Derick Vollendorf 3-1. Person pinned Zach Kostka in 1:10 at 138 pounds and, at 182, Krizan took a 4-0 firstperiod lead over Matthew Roach, rode him in the second period and eventually pinned him at 3:10. Quade took another forfeit, while Lytle was pinned by Caiden Engel in 1:45. The co-op forfeited at 120, 145, 152, 195, 220 and 285 pounds.
Krizan, Lytle and Quade were forfeit winners against the Luck Co-op, accounting for all 18 of the team’s points. Duellman lost his 138-pound match 12-3 to Taeden Nichols and Person was pinned at 145 pounds by Lucas Djock in 5:34. The co-op forfeited matches at 113, 152 and 160 pounds.
