A-C wrestlers take 13th in Merrill tourney
By Nathaniel Underwood
The Abby-Colby wrestling team took part in the Bluejay Challenge tournament held in Merrill on Saturday and also faced off against Spencer and Cadott in a triangular held in Spencer last Thursday.
Five members of the Abby-Colby wrestling team finished with top-three performances and seven ended the day in the top-ten at the 2024 Bluejay Challenge held in Merrill this past weekend. Out of the 26 schools present, the co-op boys team finished in 13th place with 199.5 team points.
Makenna Herrmann finished Saturday at the top of the 120-pound bracket in the girls tournament, winning all three of her matches. She got an early fall victory over her first opponent of the day, Wausau West’s Briana Leigh Gutowski, taking her down at the 0:25 mark.
Herrmann recorded a comeback win against Elise Gibeault (Tomahawk) in her second match to secure her place in the final. Gibeault took an early 5-0 lead in the first round after recording a takedown and nearfall. While a late penalty on the Tomahawk wrestler and an escape by Herrmann at the end of the period made the score 5-2 going into the second, another penalty, this time on Herrmann, a reversal and a twopoint nearfall made the score 10-2 at one point in the second period. The Abby-Colby junior notched a reversal at the end of the second, but was still down 10-4 heading into the third round.
Likely needing a pin to move on, Herrmann elected to start with top positioning at the beginning of the round, a choice that made all the difference. She was able to maintain her control and secured the win by fall at the 5:21 mark.
After a tough battle in the semifinal match, Wausau West’s Eleni Prantalos waited in the finals. Herrmann made short work of her final opponent of the day, earning the win by fall in the first round and claiming the top spot in the bracket.
Erik Martinez had his best finish of the season after taking second in the 190-pound category, earning the co-op 40.0 team points. He went 3-1 in his matches in Merrill, coming just one victory shy of the top spot.
Placed in a two-wrestler group, Martinez needed a victory over Jovanni Mata (Tri-County) to advance to the championship bracket. The Abby-Colby senior took an early lead with a takedown in the opening moments of the first period, but a later escape from Mata made the score 2-1 after the first round. Another takedown in the second period and a penalty on Mata followed by a third takedown in the third gave Martinez a 7-1 cushion, a lead that he was able to ride to a 9-3 decision.
In the first round of bracket play, he faced off against Carter Waldvogel of Wittenberg-Birnamwood. Martinez was once again able to force an early takedown and this time finished the job in the first period, earning a victory by fall at the 0:55 mark. In the semifinal match, he faced off against Chippewa Falls’ Sean Harp and early aggression once again paid off in a first round pin for Martinez.
In the finals, Wittenberg-Birnamwood’s Nathan Waupekenay was able to take the initiative, forcing a takedown early. Martinez was not able to escape and Waupeke-
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TOURNAMENT CHAMP - Makenna Herrmann stands atop the podium after claiming the top spot in the girls 120-pound bracket at Saturday’s Bluejay Challenge in Merrill.
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PUTTING ON THE PRESSURE - Alix Colby nears a pin of his Cadott opponent during last week’s triangular in Spencer. STAFF PHOTO/VALORIE BRECHT Merrill tourney
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nay earned the victory with a pin midway through the first period.
Tanner Halopka had a similar result for the co-op as he picked up his second-straight second place tournament finish after going 4-1 in his 165-pound matches on Saturday. The senior grabbed two quick victories in group play, defeating Aaron Sturm of Stanley- Boyd and Jack Stronstad of Antigo with first period pins to earn himself a place in the top bracket.
It was a similar result in the first round of bracket play, where Halopka was able to earn a third consecutive win by fall, this time defeating Chippewa Falls’Jake Krager in the first period of their match. While Halopka’s next opponent, Cruz Palubicki (Crandon), managed to make it to the second period of their semifinal bout, the Abby-Colby senior was in control throughout. Halopka earned six points in the first period and 10 in the second to take a 16-1 technical fall victory and move on to the finals.
The championship bout was a rematch of the prior weekend’s final match, as Halopka and Owen Wasley of St. Croix Central once again faced off against each other. It seemed possible that the co-op wrestler could deal Wasley his first loss of the season after two takedowns and a two-point nearfall over the first two periods had earned Halopka a 6-3 advantage heading into the final round. However, he could not escape after electing to start on the defensive side in the third period and Wasley was able to earn the win by fall at the 5:00 mark. Halopka’s secondplace finish earned the team 41.5 points.
Tristen Smazal and Anay Espino both took third place in their respective brackets. Smazal went 4-1 in the 120-pound boys tournament while Espino was 1-1 in the the girls 235 category.
Three victories in the group stage pushed Smazal into the championship brackets. He started off with a 13-1 major decision over Zane Pierce (Boyceville) and followed it up with a pin of Harman Hoffman (Tomahawk) in the third period of their bout. He then paired up against Henry Ruffi for the final group match. Ruffi held a 5-2 lead heading into the third round, but an escape and a takedown by Smazal tied things up. A flurry of scoring in the last minute ended with the two tied at 9-9 and a takedown by Smazal in the overtime period earned him an 11-9 sudden victory and a spot in the top bracket.
In the semifinal match, Smazal met eventual champ Brady Gesler (Chetek-Weyauwega/ Prairie Farm). Gesler was able to control the match, scoring four points in each period to take a 12-4 major decision victory. Smazal was able to bounce back in the third place match, however, coming up with a 13-4 major decision over Marathon’s Cale Quaintance. A 4-1 opening led to an even second period, but six points in the third allowed the co-op sophomore to come out with the third place spot and 34.0 team points.
Espino fell in her first match of the day against Daisha Storlie (Nekoosa/Assumption/ Port Edwards) but was able to bounce back with a victory over Wausau West’s Phoebe Steele.
The Abby-Colby wrestler took an early lead in the first period with a takedown of Steele and then forced another one at the midway point of the second. She very nearly pinned her opponent, earning a three-point nearfall, and while Steele was able to stay alive a bit longer, Espino finished the match with a victory by fall to take third place.
Alex Sundermeyer and Frankie Rodriguez both took seventh place for the co-op, earning 25.0 points each. Both started their days with a pair of victories, with Sundermeyer taking down Austin Schreiber (Edgar) and Evan Kautzer (Neillsville/Greenwood/ Loyal) in the 144-pound category and Rodriguez earning wins over Kody Steivang (Chippewa Falls) and Sawyer Zydzik (Wausau West) in the 175-pound category. Both Abby-Colby wrestlers then fell in their next two matches, matching Sundermeyer with Boyceville’s Alex Obermueller and Rodriguez with Marathon’s Mason Lawrence in their respective seventh place matches. Sundermeyer earned six points after recording two takedowns and a two-point nearfall in the first period before winning by fall in the second while Rodriguez earned a fast victory over Lawrence, pinning the Red Raider in the first period.
Alix Colby earned 13th in the 132-pound category after going 3-2, Ayden Michlig went 2-3 in the same weight class and took 14th, Aiden Burt was 1-3 and took 14th and Christian Satey went 1-3 and took 15th place.
SECOND-PLACE FINISHERS - Tanner Halopka, pictured second from left in the leftmost photo, and Erik Martinez, pictured on the left in the right photo, both claimed second place in their respective brackets at the tournament held in Merrill on Saturday. The seniors led the team with 41.5 and 40.0 team points.
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SIZING UP THE COMPETITION - Frankie Rodriguez eyes up his opponent from Cadott during the conference triangular held in Spencer last Thursday.
STAFF PHOTO/VALORIE BRECHT
