Articles Written by Joann Walla
 

2008-2009

Wisconsin Little Ten Conference Meet
WLT Photo's by Joann Walla

Hartford Union High School WLT Conference Champs

Team wins dual meets and runs away with tournament title

WATERTOWN - This past weekend, February 6-7, all of Wisconsin high schools that had wrestling programs held tournaments to determine the Conference champion as well as the 14 weight-class champions for the Conference.

Watertown High School hosted the Wisconsin Little Ten teams, Beaver Dam, Hartford, Oconomowoc, Slinger, Watertown, West Bend East, West Bend West and Wisconsin Lutheran.

After the dual meet season Hartford led the pack with a record of 7-0, Wisconsin Lutheran followed with 6-1,  Oconomowoc 4-3, Slinger 4-3, Watertown 4-3, Beaver Dam 2-5, West Bend West 1-6, West Bend East 0-7.

More than 100 grapplers had their individual sights set on a gold medal and when all was said-and-done there were some “I told you so’s”, some surprises, some disappointments and some who took the attitude of having to do better for Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association regionals this coming Saturday.

The Hartford Orioles ran away with the trophy as they amassed 272 points. The Oconomowoc Raccoons surprised many as they took second place with 168.5 points - without anyone at 189 pounds -, Beaver Dam finished in third place with 165 and they were followed by Slinger 147, Wisconsin Lutheran 142, Watertown 117.5, West Bend West 96.5 and West Bend East 79.

The Orioles had seven participants in the championship round with five getting the big prize. Oconomowoc had six in the championship and they came away with three first place titles. Wisconsin Lutheran and Watertown had three on the center mat.  WISCO came away with all three taking first place while Watertown crowned only one Champion.  Beaver Dam and West Bend West had two going for the gold with one wrestler being successful on each team. Slinger and West Bend East each had a wrestler in the championship match but neither was victorious.

At 10 a.m. the referee’s whistles blew starting the 103 matches. With the exception of a 30-minute break at 2:30 p.m. the combatants battled until there were but two left for each championship match which began at 3 p.m.

Freshman Cale Klink of Hartford faced sophomore Mitchell Gundrum of West Bend East at 103 pounds.

Klink came in with a WLT record of 6-0 while Gundrum was 6-1. Klink was 26-7 overall while Gundrum was 17-4.

Just 24 seconds into the second period, Klink got the upper hand and Gundrum was pinned at 2 minutes 24 seconds.

The 112 pound weight class had No. 2 ranked* junior Zack Mommaerts of Oconomowoc face off with honorable mention freshman Nick Becker of Hartford. Mommaerts and Becker came to the mat with records of 7-0 and 5-1, respectively. The Raccoon was 32-0 and the Oriole was 28-4 overall.

Becker got an early takedown and the first period ended with the Oriole leading 2-0. Mommaerts deferred, Becker took the down position and escaped, gaining another point. Which stood until the end of the frame. Mommaerts was down for the final period but neither grappler could get an advantage and the score ended 3-0 in favor of the Oriole who stood atop the podium to receive his gold medal.

At 119 pounds sophomore Zach Durante of Hartford faced junior Nick Niggemeier of Oconomowoc. The two lightweights put on a real battle and show with Durante getting a 18-10 major decision over Niggemeier.

The Oriole had an 8-5 lead after the first two minutes, was ahead 12-8 after four minutes and then strung and escape, takedown and two-point near fall to clinch the win.

No.10 ranked freshman Taylor Mommaerts brought his WLT record of 7-0 (30-3 overall) to the mat at 125 pounds where he squared off against sophomore Gunnar Melstrand of West Bend West. Melstrand was 6-1 in conference and 24-5 overall.

Neither grappler was able to earn any points in the first period which was spent with them trying to figure out what the other guy was going to do.

In the second period there still was a lot of hesitation when ended with the Spartan ahead  2-1. Melstrand took the down position to begin the final two minutes and Mommaerts immediately went to work. He flattened Melstrand, turned him over and before the Spartan knew what hit him Mommaerts had two-two point near falls, a three-point near fall followed by another three-point near fall and the win which totaled 10 points for the Raccoon. They recorded four points which placed the gold medal around Mommaerts’ neck.

Both competitors at the 130 pound weight class are ranked with Cooney junior Jake Morrison holding the No. 4 spot and Beaver Dam senior Jesus Nunez ranked No. 11.

With but four seconds remaining in the first period Morrison grabbed a single and had a takedown to put two points in his column. Nunez took the down position for the middle period; he escaped and had a takedown which Morrison reversed at the buzzer. The match still favored the Raccoon 4-3.

Morrison went down to start the third period. Nunez let him go intentionally which was a big mistake. Morrison took Nunez down again, let him go, took him down and was holding the Golden Beaver on the mat when the final whistle blew. Morrison was the winner, 9-4.

At 135 pounds sophomore Erik Becker of Hartford, 5-0, 18-3 and junior Tyler Yost of Oconomowoc, 6-1, 20-12  put on a real show for the crowd before Becker took the title, 16-14.

The score was 2-0 in favor of the Oriole after two minutes and then both wrestlers got into the match. When the middle two minutes had expired Yost led 12-8. But Becker came back strong in the final frame, getting the 16-14 win.

Oconomowoc’s Tyler Swanson took the mat at 140 pounds. He has kind of been sliding under the radar as he has filled in at several weight classes during the season. However his record speaks for itself as he was 6-1 in conference and 23-10 overall.

Swanson stood opposite honorable mention Danny Allen, a senior from Hartford.

Allen had impressive credentials as he was 6-1, 27-8 overall.

Unlike the previous match this one was a nail-biter. Swanson led 2-1 after one period. Swanson deferred, Allen took down and escaped which put the score at 2-2 after two periods. Swanson started the third period on the bottom and escaped 45 seconds into the frame. The Coon got a takedown almost immediately from which the Oriole escaped. But that would be all the scoring with Swanson getting his first WLT title, winning 5-3.

No.10 ranked senior Tim Filter would claim the title at 145 pounds. Filter was 6-1, 35-5 on the season. The Viking pulled out a 7-5 win over sophomore Weston Klink of Hartford. The Oriole’s record was 6-1, 27-8.

Watertown junior Justin McFarland bested Oriole senior Matt Kowale at the for the 152 pound title. McFarland came in with a record of 7-0, 32-5 and a ranked No. 11. Kowalke was 5-2, 19-12.

McFarland never seemed to be in trouble and he heard the slap of the official’s hand declaring a pin at 3:46.

Two juniors, Darvel Winfrey of Wisconsin Lutheran and Mike Turtenwald of Watertown took the mat at 160 pounds. Winfrey came in with a record of 7-0, 34-4 while Turtenwald was 5-1, 23-9.

The Viking got the upper hand and the Gosling was beaten 13-6.

Senior John Klein of Wisconsin Lutheran is another wrestler who has quietly crept up on his opponents at the 171 weight division. Klein came into the tournament with a record of 6-1, 31-8.  The Viking tangled with senior Dustin Wilcox of Hartford who was 4-1, 16-8 on the season.

Klein uses his long body and extremities to tire his opponent out which is what he did with Wilcox before pinning him at 5:06.

West Bend West sophomore Steve Sizer dashed the hopes of the only Slinger Owl in the championship round when he defeated senior Tony Kanas in the f215 pound division. Sizer started the day with a record of 7-0, 31-3 and Kanas was 6-1, 27-5. The two big men battled for six minutes with the Spartan getting a 4-2 victory.

The two heavyweights (285 pounds) were the last match of the day and they had saved the best for last. The two seniors, Bill Caudle of Watertown and Raul De La Garza of Beaver Dam were both ranked honorable mention. Caudle with a record of 6-1, 31-6 and De La Garza was 7-0, 26-6.

The two behemoths pushed and pulled, pummeled and grunted with neither getting an advantage.  Then they decided they didn’t like each other very much and the pushing and pulling got a little more intense. Finally the official stepped in, stopped the warriors and had a rather stern discussion with Caudle. The official was doing the talking. Then one of Caudle’s coaches chewed on his ear while De La Garza was shaking his head, seeming confused by the whole affair. Finally the huge men got going again with De La Garza taking a 5-3 decision and the title.

Now all the high school teams in the state will prepare for their WIAA regional tournaments which will take place all over the state on Friday night and Saturday.

The tournaments consist of eight teams and Watertown will be in the one which will be hosted by Oconomowoc on Saturday, Feb. 14 at 10 a.m.

Each of the wrestlers will have one goal in mind…to be one of the top four when the day is finished. That means he will have earned the right to compete in WIAA Sectionals the following week. The wrestlers will then be one step away from competing from a state title.

                                                                                Joann Walla

                                                                                Cooney Sports Beat, Editor

*All state rankings can be found at wiwrestling.com