A-C wrestling takes fifth at conference tournament

By Nathaniel Underwood

Three Abbotsford-Colby wrestlers took all-conference spots and five placed in the top four at Saturday’s Cloverbelt conference tournament held in Neillsville. Tristen Smazal and Tanner Halopka led the co-op to a fifth place finish at the tournament.

After taking fourth in the conference during the regular season duals, going 6-3 over the course of the year, Abby-Colby headed into the tournament finale with a likely top-five finish. They came out with 118.5 team points, putting them midway through the pack as projected.

The Neillsville/Greenwood/Loyal squad narrowly claimed the top spot, beating out Regis/Altoona with 205.0 points to RAW’s 201.0. Cadott and Stanley-Boyd were not far behind with 199.5 and 193.0 points respectively. The Abbotsford-Colby team had been eyeing to compete with those squads for the top spot, but late season injuries meant that only eight wrestlers were able to compete in the conference finale.

Smazal improved to 38-8 this season with two more victories en route to his second tournament win this season. The championship was his second straight conference title. Last season, Smazal defeated Deaglan O’Connel for the top spot in the 113-pound bracket of the Cloverbelt tournament and he added a 120-pound first-team all-conference honor to his resume with his pair of wins on Saturday.

A first round bye meant that Smazal’s first match was in the semifinals against Cadott’s Evan Lallemont. A quick takedown by Smazal was the only scored maneuver in the match, as the Abby-Colby sophomore quickly turned that into a first round pin of his opponent.

He then faced off against Bloomer/Colfax’s Zeke Anderson in the finals. A takedown in the first period and a reversal in the second gave Smazal a 4-0 lead heading into the third round. While seven points in the last two minutes would have secured him the win anyway, he finished Anderson with a pin at the 5:53 mark to grab the top spot in his bracket.

Halopka also won both of his matches to pick up his second Cloverbelt tournament victory. Now 40-4 this season, the senior notched his fourth tournament win this year, taking the 157-pound title in convincing fashion.

After a first round bye, the Abby-Colby senior dispatched Stanley-Boyd’s Brody Westrom in the first period of their match. Halopka was able to turn his initial takedown of the Orioles’ wrestler into a pin not long after, earning himself a place in the finals.

There he faced off against Regis/Altoona’s Brandon Myher. Myher, boasting a 35-11 2023-24 record heading into the match, was not much more of a challenge for Halopka. He forced another early pin, taking down the RAW senior at the 0:44 mark to claim the top spot in the tournament.

Matt Jakel grabbed another all-conference honor for the co-op after taking second in the 132-pound bracket. His seasonal record earned him a first round bye and he quickly bested his semi-final opponent, Stanley- Boyd’s Darrin Dorn. A first round pin of Dorn moved Jakel on to the finals, where he would face off against Adam Kautzer of Neillsville/Greenwood/Loyal.

A flurry of action in the first period saw Jakel take a quick lead, bringing his opponent to the mat and earning a twopoint nearfall. However, Kautzer was able to escape and earned a takedown and a two-point nearfall himself at the end of the period, going up 5-4 heading into the second round. The NGL freshman then capitalized in the second, earning the victory by fall at the 3:13 mark. After his second place finish in the tournament, his third top-two finish this season, Jakel holds a 32-11 record heading into the postseason.

Alix Colby and Jacob Hoppe both took third place in their respective weight classes on Saturday.

Colby went 2-1 in wrestled matches in the tournament, ending the regular season with a 30-14 record. After a bye in the 126-pound quarterfinals, Colby lost an 8-2 decision to Monte Lodahl (Cadott). Lodahl held a 4-0 lead going into the third period and while Colby was able to get a quick reversal to put himself within striking distance, he could not find a nearfall count to pull even and late points for Lodahl demoted the Abby-Colby freshman into the consolation bracket.

Colby bounced back with a victory over Josh Reis of Neillsville/Greenwood/ Loyal. While Reis was able to fend off attempts to pin him for much of the round, Colby finished the job near the end of the first, earning a win by fall at the 1:51 mark. He then faced off against Thorp/Owen-Withee’s Steven Williams in the third place match, where he won by technical fall in the second round. Seven points in the first round were followed by eight in the second as Colby dominated the match to take third overall.

Hoppe started his day in the 175-pound weight class with a win over Noah Krueger (Osseo-Fairchild/Augusta/Fall Creek), pinning him in the first round. He then faced off against NGL’s Dane Luchterhand in the semifinals. Just as their last matchup, the duel went right down to the wire, but this time Luchterhand came out on top, with a takedown in the final moments the deciding factor in the 3-1 decision. The Abby-Colby junior followed the loss with a pair of victories. He defeated Mason Dieringer of Spencer/ Columbus/Granton with a second period pin, setting up a bout with Regis/Altoona’s Colin Lofgren in the third place match. Hoppe allowed two escapes by Lofgren before winning by fall to take the third place spot. His 2023-24 record sat at 18-7 at the end of the tournament Ayden Michlig took fourth in the 138-pound bracket. He won by fall over Ford Hay (McDonell/Elk Mound) at the 1:19 mark but was then forced into the consolation bracket after running into Breckin Burzynski (Stanley-Boyd). Michlig then faced off against Cadott’s Brenton Faber in the thirdplace match. Faber took an early 5-2 lead but Michlig tied things up in the second period with a pair of two-point nearfalls against Faber’s one escape. Momentum swung back in Faber’s favor in the third and after two nearfalls, he pinned Michlig at the 5:57 mark. The Abby-Colby freshman finished the regular season with an 11-12 record.

Christian Satay (11-17) and Aiden Burt (15-23) both earned seventh place finishes after taking two defeats on Saturday.

The team’s postseason will begin with the regional tournament held in Medford this coming Saturday, Feb. 10. There will be a number of familiar faces present at the meet, as six of the Cloverbelt schools that they faced off against over the weekend will be in the same regional. The hosting Red Raiders took first place in the Great Northern Conference and GNC clubs Mosinee, Rhinelander and Tomahawk will also be present. Weighins are to begin at 8 a.m. and the tournament will start at 10 a.m.

SEMI-FINAL BOUT - Alix Colby tries to turn his opponent to his back during his first match of the day. While the freshman would lose the 8-2 decision, he would win his final two matches to take third in the 126-pound weight class.

STAFF PHOTO/NATHANIEL UNDERWOOD

QUICK TAKEDOWN - Jacob Hoppe quickly takes his opponent to the mat in the 175-pound quarterfinals of the Cloverbelt conference tournament. He would go on to take third place.

STAFF PHOTO/NATHANIEL UNDERWOOD

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