WOLFPACK WRESTLING - Angell pins strong Osceola wrestler in final; Madlon wins her bracket

WOLFPACK WRESTLING

Taydyn Angell and Kaitlyn Madlon won their brackets, while Lucas Halida and Lee Zagorski got multiple wins as well for the Cornell-Gilman-Lake Holcombe wrestling team during Saturday’s 23-team Ladysmith Invitational.

Angell improved to 25-1 in his sophomore season with three pins en route the 215-pound championship. Madlon won the girls 145/152-pound bracket with three victories, while Halida was ninth at 132 pounds and Zagorski finished 10th at 285 pounds.

The guys combined to score 94 points and place 18th in the meet’s team standings ahead of Athens (75.5), Flambeau (49), Elcho (35), Bruce (25.5) and McDonell-Elk Mound (20). Weyauwega-Fremont (570.5), Stratford (545.5), Osceola (394.5), Cadott (344) and Turtle Lake-Clayton (284.5) were the tournament’s top five teams.

Angell claimed his fourth tournament championship of the season. After a firstround bye in the 14-man 215-pound bracket, Angell turned the first takedown into a pin of Josh Nutt (18-14) of Phillips in 1:13 in the quarterfinals. He had no trouble in the semifinals as well, building an 8-0 lead before pinning Sullivan King of Black River Falls (21-8) in 3:19.

In the final, Angell squared off with third-seeded Elliot Havlish of Osceola, who now holds a solid 32-6 record. This was a much more competitive match. Angell got the first takedown, but Havlish escaped and took Angell down to lead 4-3 after one period. Havlish escaped to start the second period, but Angell took him down and pinned him at 3:11.

It was Angell’s second pin of Havlish this season. He also got him in the seasonopening Barron Invitational.

Halida (11-8) lost his opening match by pin in 3:41 to Shell Lake’s Liam Hammond, but he went 3-0 after that Saturday. He pinned Gavin Frahm of Athens in 3:13 in his first consolation match, outscored Turtle Lake-Clayton’s Lincoln Grosskreutz (11-5) in his second one and then pinned Reedsville’s Marshall Gray in 2:27 in the third-place match.

Zagorski (11-8) had a similar run. He was pinned in 1:51 by Storm Heizler of Phillips in his opening match, but he responded with a pin over Jeffrey Hanson of Athens in 58 second and a pin in 3:29 over Eau Claire Memorial’s Jayden Whitwam. But in the ninth-place match 24-6 Cashten Hoffman of Weyauwega-Fremont earned a win by pin over Zagorski in 51 seconds.

In JV competition 150 pounds, Sawyer Winger placed second in a four-man, round-robin competition. He was pinned in his first mach in 44 seconds by Ladysmith’s Eli Schultz, but he came back with a pin in 1:46 over Cameron’s Joe Pittman and pinned Ladysmith’s Serzhio Beson-Chosa in 4:15.

Madlon went 3-0 in her round-robin bracket to earn her tournament. Now 10-9 for the year, the freshman pinned Sata Judkins of Osceola in 23 seconds, pinned Destinee Wood of Phillips in 39 seconds and outlasted Ladysmith’s Lailah Chosa in a 7-5 decision. Madlon got a first-period takedown, but a takedown and near fall put her in a 5-4 deficit to start the third. Her takedown with 1:12 left won it.

Aspen Person went 0-4 in the girls 114pound competition and placed fifth. Four losses were by pin. She went the distance in a 13-2 loss by major decision to Vanessa Schmidt of Chequamegon.

The Wolfpack will complete their Lakeland Conference dual-meet schedule tonight, Thursday, by hosting a quad that has been shifted to Gilman. Cornell-Gilman-Lake Holcombe will face Clear Lake and Turtle Lake-Clayton. Bruce is the other team in the quad.

In a Lakeland Conference quad this past Thursday at Frederic, the Wolfpack were defeated by a full squad from the Luck Co-op and lost 54-12 to a nearly-full squad from Unity with Angell getting a pin and Halida taking a forfeit.

On Saturday, the team heads to the St. Croix Falls Invitational.