Losiewicz third in Greco nationals; undefeated in Greco team duals

YOUTH WRESTLING

June was a busy month for Gage Losiewicz of Medford who wrestled in team and individual competition with Team Wisconsin’s 14U squad.

Wrestling at 136 pounds, Losiewicz finished third in his Greco-Roman age and weight class and seventh in his freestyle age and weight class during the USA Wrestling Kids Nationals, held June 25-26 at the Wisconsin Center at Wisconsin Dells.

Before that, he wrestled for Team Wisconsin in both styles at USA Wrestling’s 14U National Duals held in Franklin, Ind. June 9-13. Wisconsin placed ninth in Greco Roman competition, winning the Bronze/Copper placement pool and the team made it to the Gold/Silver pool in the freestyle tournament, but lost all three duals there to place eighth overall.

During the individual tournament in Wisconsin Dells, Losiewicz fought his way back from a first-round defeat to earn his third-place award in the Greco Roman competition June 25. He was defeated in a 10-0 technical fall by Moose Bringer of Georgia in the opening round but stayed alive with a pin in 3:48 over Brayden Koester of Iowa and a 10-0 technical fall over Nolan Kielcheski, also of Wisconsin.

Those wins put Losiewicz in the consolation semifinals, where he pinned Blue Stiffler of South Carolina in 1:38. He pinned Keenan Sheridan of South Dakota in 1:39 to seal third place, plus he earned a wrestleback match for second place against finalist Carlos Valdez of Indiana. Valdez held on to second by beating Losiewicz in an 11-0 technical fall.

Bradley Rodriguez-Little of Minnesota beat Valdez 10-2 in the national championship match. In the freestyle competition June 26, Losiewicz opened with a bye and then was knocked off by Stiffler in a 10-0 technical fall. Losiewicz outlasted Jonathan Sims of Ohio 12-9, but then lost again to Valdez 11-0 to land in the seventh place match, which he won with a 10-0 technical fall over Xavier Smith of Indiana.

Rodriguez-Little won his second championship of the weekend with a 10-0 technical fall over Sheridan in the final.

National Duals

Losiewicz was undefeated at the 136-pound spot in Wisconsin’s lineup through the Greco Roman portion of the National Duals, going 8-0. The team went 6-2 in its eight duals.

Wisconsin opened by going 2-2 and finishing fourth in Pool B with both losses coming to the Oklahoma Outlaws Red squad. The Oklahoma team won the opener 47-34. Losiewicz finished the dual by pinning Jayden Fuston in 2:47.

Wisconsin crushed Kansas Blue 723, a dual that included Losiewicz’s 10-0 technical fall over Tad Forsyth. Then the team took care of Team Idaho 50-31, getting a pin from Losiewicz in 1:52 over Jairo McLean.

Those wins set up the rematch with Oklahoma Red for third place. Oklahoma Red won a close dual 41-35, holding on after jumping out to an early 24-4 lead. Losiewicz earned a 12-0 technical fall over Fuston.

Oklahoma then beat Missouri 49-31 in the second-place wrestleback dual to advance to the Gold/Silver Pool. Minnesota Red had already beaten Missouri 67-14 for the pool championship. Wisconsin and Missouri represented Pool B in the Bronze/Copper Pool.

There, Wisconsin dominated and won all four of its duals.

The team opened with a 54-29 win over Ohio Gray, winning nine of 10 matches midway through the dual. Losiewicz got one of those wins with an 11-0 technical fall over Jonathan Sims. Next was a 5035 victory over Indiana Gold. Losiewicz picked up another technical fall, 10-0 over Christian Arberry.

A 53-28 win over Tennessee put Wisconsin in the pool’s first-place dual. Losiewicz got a forfeit in that meet. Team Wisconsin closed things out in the first-place with a 43-39 win over California. Losiewicz pinned Daniel Roza, giving Wisconsin a 27-18 lead at the time. California got two wins after that to pull within 27-25, but Wisconsin’s Garett Kawczynski and Hunter Vander Heiden got back-to-back pins at 187 and 250 pounds to restore order. Isaac Hermanson clinched it by taking a forfeit at 77 pounds.

In the freestyle duals, Wisconsin went 3-1 and took second in Pool C to advance to the Gold/Silver bracket with a shot at winning the overall tournament championship. That bracket, however, proved to be a tough one as Wisconsin went 1-3 and placed eighth.

In Pool C competition, Wisconsin buried Kansas Red 59-19 with Losiewicz finishing out the dual with a 17-6 technical fall over Tad Forsyth. Losiewicz took a forfeit in a 57-27 win over Team Virginia and lost a 14-9 slugfest with Rodriguez-Little during Wisconsin’s 53-30 loss to Minnesota Red. Losiewicz earned a 17-6 technical fall over Gavin Isaacs in the team’s 44-36 win over Team Florida. That was a key win late in the dual.

Wisconsin got off to a good start in bracket competition, beating California 43-37. The win included Losiewicz’s pin of Daniel Reza at the 1:32 mark, which gave Wisconsin a 30-19 lead. The Oklahoma Outlaws Red team got Wisconsin again, this time in a tiebreaker in a dual that ended 42-42. Losiewicz beat Fuston in this dual in an 11-1 technical fall.

Iowa handed Team Wisconsin a 5030 defeat with Kyle Knaack defeating Losiewicz in a 10-0 technical fall. In the seventh-place dual, Illionois eked out a 42-40 win that included Blake Smith’s 10-0 technical fall over Losiewicz.

Minnesota Red won the championship dual 41-31 over California.