Trio of A-C wrestlers take first in Oshkosh

By Nathaniel Underwood

The Abbotsford/Colby wrestling team made their way to Oshkosh over the weekend to take on seven other schools at Oshkosh West’s Wildcat Invite this past Saturday. The co-op squad took fourth overall, putting up 183.5 points.

The hosting Oshkosh West team took first place with 262.0 team points, D.C. Everest took second with 230.0 points and Ashwaubenon placed third, finishing with 216.0 points.

The co-op had three of their wrestlers take first place at the tournament. Matt Jakel, Tanner Halopka and Luis Nava Rojas all claimed the top spot in their respective brackets.

Jakel won all five of his matches in a roundrobin style tournament in the 132-pound weight class. The sophomore started his day with two first round pins, taking down Dominick Pierce (Ashwaubenon) and Liam Sullivan (Oshkosh West). His third round bout was against eventual second-place finisher Hunter Bozile (Oconto Falls) and it was one of his closest matches of the day.

Jakel took an early lead by registering a first round takedown, but an escape for Bozile in the second period brought the score to 2-1 heading into the final round. Jakel extended his lead by escaping immediately at the beginning of the round, but a takedown by Bozile briefly tied the match. Another escape from Jakel, however, turned the tide in his favor and he was able to notch a 4-3 decision. Jakel then pinned Kimberly’s Jayden Dickman at the 3:13 mark and picked up a 6-4 decision over Tyler Modjewski of D.C. Everest to go undefeated on the day. He earned 22.0 team points.

Halopka likewise won all five of his matches on Saturday. Battling in the 165-pound bracket, he easily swept through his first four opponents. He took down Appleton East’s Diego Mendoza and Xander DiMatteo, Ashwaubenon’s Jaivenn Torres and Kimberly’s Reed Beck all by fall, with the longest match lasting a mere 35 seconds.

Halopka’s dominance earned him a spot in the first place match, where he faced off against Jaiden Fronczak (Oshkosh West). While Fronczak was a bit more resistant than the prior opponents the co-op senior had faced, the result was still the same. Halopka won by fall in the first period, pinning his opponent at the 1:42 mark. Not only was Halopka undefeated, but he did not surrender a single point to his opponents on Saturday. His performance earned the team 35.0 team points.

Nava Rojas, meanwhile, battled his way to the top of the 285-pound bracket by picking up two wins against Eric Christofferson (Oshkosh West) and Brady Wilker (Ashwaubenon), both by fall, to put himself in the championship bracket.

Once there, he pinned Appleton East’s Luke Pokwinski in the third period of their quarterfinal match and did the same to Pokwinski’s teammate Todd Marx in the semifinals. The wins set up a match between the co-op senior and Oshkosh West’s Garth Martell.

The bout was what one would expect from a championship match; both sides seemed evenly matched. Neither wrestler gave up much over the first two periods, an escape by Martell in the second period the only scored point. Martell briefly took control of the match by earning a nearfall at the beginning of the third round, but a quick reversal from Nava Rojas followed by a nearfall of his own flipped the script, suddenly giving him a 5-4 lead. A last second escape by Martell tied the match at 5-5 and overtime ensued.An escape for Nava Rojas was the only overtime point he would score, but it would be enough to earn him the 6-5 victory. His championship run was worth 50.0 team points.

Tristen Smazal and Alix Colby both only had one loss in the 126-pound category, with Smazal taking second and Colby placing third. Both only fell to Easton Cooper (D.C. Everest), who took first in the group.

Colby faced off against the eventual champ in the first round, losing by fall at the 1:27 mark. He bounced back with three straight wins, defeating Benedication Kakola (Oshkosh West) and Damien Sauerhage (Oconto Falls) by fall to earn a place in the third place match. He then faced off against Ashwaubenon’s Noah Egandrury and after taking a two-point lead after the first period, he pinned Egandrury in the second to claim the third place spot.

Smazal won all four of his pool play matches, defeating Noah Gonzalez (Sheboygan North) by technical fall (17-1) before pinning Oconto Falls’ Brandon Romo and Dominic Sauerhage and Egandrury to earn himself a place in the championship match against Everest’s Cooper. Smazal could not deal the Evergreen senior his first loss of the season, as Cooper won by technical fall in the first place bout. Smazal’s second place finish earned him 27.5 team points.

Alex Sundermeyer, Frankie Rodriguez and Erik Martinez all earned fourth place finishes for the co-op. Sundermeyer went 3-2, winning his first three matches by defeating Hayden Rossey (Appleton East) and Kermit Pfister (Sheboygan North) by fall and winning a 13-10 decision over Appleton East’s Xander Schiltz before falling in his final two matches. Rodriguez had a similar day, defeating D.C. Everest’s DeAvion Broaders and Nathaniel Briggs and Appleton East’s Elliott Kilsdonk all by fall before being defeated in his final two bouts. Martinez opened with a win over Ethan Meissner (Sheboygan North) but was felled by Easton Hockers (Ashwaubenon) and Nick Trepanier (Oconto Falls) before forfeiting his final match.

Christian Satey took fifth place for the coop in the 150-pound weight class. After being dealt three consecutive losses to start the tournament, Satey bounced back to record two wins in the consolation bracket, winning by fall over Oconto Falls’ Dayton Duncan and Sheboygan North’s Riley McNeil.

The team will have a week off before heading back into action for the two day tournament next Thursday and Friday, Dec. 28 and 29, in River Falls.

LEAVING IT ALL ON THE MAT - Matt Jakel, pictured above left against a Mosinee wrestler at a home meet, took first place in the 132-pound bracket at Oshkosh West’s Wildcat Invite on Saturday. Alix Colby, pictured above right after defeating his Mosinee foe, won four of his five matches to take third in the 126-pound category in Oshkosh.

STAFF PHOTOS/NATHANIEL UNDERWOOD