A/C wrestlers battle at River Falls tourney
The Abby-Colby wrestling team made the trip to River Falls for the Northern Badger Wrestling Classic tournament last week. The two day event, which took place last Thursday and Friday, saw athletes from 45 different schools from around the state participate, including nine from the Abby-Colby squad. Each of those wrestlers came away with at least one win in a highly competitive tournament.
Matt Jakel had the most successful run in the tournament for the co-op. The freshman went 3-1 in the 113-pound weight-class during the event’s first day. He started off the day with a takedown of Aidan Johnson from the Luck/Frederic/ Grantsburg/Siren combined team, pinning his opponent at the 1:34 mark. He was then forced into the consolation bracket after suffering a loss to St. Croix Falls’ Cole Steffen, who ended up taking sixth in the tournament.
Jakel bounced back from the loss to win two straight matches. His first opponent was Luke Moen from Turtle Lake/Clayton, whom Jakel pinned in the second period. He then took down Noah Evenson of Boyceville after falling behind 7-0, taking the fall victory at the 2:30 mark. The two wins pushed Jakel into the second day of wrestling and guaranteed at least 12th place for the freshman.
Unfortunately, an injury suffered during his first match of day two against Baldwin-Woodville’s Drake Gartmann spelled the end for Jakel’s tournament. His two forfeits following the injury gave him 12th place and earned his team 12.0 points.
Jakel was the only Abby-Colby wrestler to reach the second day’s events, a fact that should hint at how tough this tournament typically is.
Sophomore Jacob Hoppe, participating in the 160-pound weight-class, walked away with two victories over opponents in the tournament. He opened his day with a win, pinning his opponent in the second period to move on to the next round of the championship bracket. A run in with eventual tournament champion Owen Wasley of St. Croix Central saw Hoppe designated to the consolation bracket, where he won his first match against Chase Lessard from St. Croix Falls, an 8-4 decision. A second period escape and takedown gave the sophomore an early point lead and he’d weather a comeback attempt from Lessard in the third to move on to the third round of the consolation bracket.
Paired up with Zane Grams from Lakeland/Mercer, Hoppe lost in a hard fought match, finding himself on the wrong side of an 8-6 decision. A takedown by Hoppe in the first period turned into a reversal from Grams later and the second period saw the roles switched. However, Grams was able to escape the reversal at the last second, netting him a 5-4 lead heading into the final period. Hoppe couldn’t quite close the gap in the third and was knocked out of the tournament, while Grams would go on to take fifth place, winning six straight matches to do so. Hoppe’s performance garnered 5.0 points for the team.
Senior Brayden Meyer and freshman Tristan Smazal also had two wins for the co-op in the tournament.
Meyerwonhisfirstroundmatchinthe 152-pound bracket, taking down Gunner Schumacher from the Luck/Frederic/ Grantsburg/Siren co-op in 3:25. He then lost in a low scoring decision match against Arcadia’s Cruz Patzner. A takedown in the first period and a reversal in the third were all that Patzner needed in the 4-1 decision to push Meyer out of the main bracket and into the consolation rounds. A forfeit sent Meyer to the third round of the consolation bracket, where he fell to James Bruhn of Phillips. He finished the day 2-2 and came away with 7.0 points for the team.
Smazal, meanwhile, competed in the 120-pound bracket for the co-op. He lost a close 6-5 decision in the first round to Ivan Aguilar of Arcadia, a late escape and takedown in the final period ultimately flipping the tables in Aguilar’s favor. Smazal received a bye in the first round of the consolation bracket and then faced off against Regis/Altoona’s Brayden Kunze in the second round. Once again, the match went to decision, but this time Smazal emerged victorious, his two takedowns in the first two periods and a reversal in the third giving him a 6-0 victory. The freshman then faced Tylor LaCroix from Spring Valley/Elmwood in the third round and was knocked from the tournament after LaCroix took the 13-4 major decision. Smazal ended the day with 4.0 points.
Alex Sundermeyer, Christian Fuentes, Erik Martinez and Levi Dommer each won their first round matches but then suffered consecutive losses, getting bumped from the consolation bracket in its second round.
In total, the Abby-Colby co-op walked away with 42.0 points, resulting in a tie for 34th with Edgar. Menomonie came away with the most points, scoring 322.5, followed by Freedom’s 307.5 and Baldwin-Woodville’s 294.0.
The team’s next event is a triangular to be held in Cadott this Thursday, Jan. 5 and will feature duals with the Hornets and the Spencer/Columbus combined team. Cadott was also present at the Northern Badger Wrestling Classic and finished fourth as a team at the tournament, racking up 256.0 points, though they had 16 participants, which was the second most after St. Croix Falls. The triangular is set to start at 4:30 p.m.
