A/C grapples state’s best at St. Croix Falls
There’s only a few matches left before the Abbotsford/Colby wrestling co-op enters the postseason. The co-op took advantage of what matches remain before the Cloverbelt Championships by hosting the Abby/Colby Quad on Thursday and a trip to St. Croix Falls on Saturday.
Over twenty wrestling programs from across two states and multiple divisions converged on St. Croix Falls over the weekend for the St. Croix Falls Wrestling Classic.
Grapplers from Minnesota and Wisconsin went toe to toe, and when it was all over, Amery won the title with 209.5 points. A pair of teams from Minnesota, Stillwater (185 points) and Princeton (165.5 points), placed second and third.
Abby/Colby took a respectable twelfth place, finishing with 61 team points. As they have all season long, senior Carter Grewe and sophomore Tanner Halopka paced the program.
Halopka was victorious in the 145 weight class, pinning his first three opponents en route to the title match. Halopka squared off with Evan Wolfe of West Salem/ Bangor in the championships.
Wolfe was stepping up in weight, going from 138 to 145, but was still a very dangerous wrestler, ranking fourth in the state in the 138 pound division. Halopka was unable to pin Wolfe, but topped him in points, winning a 7-1 decision for the title and 28 team points. Halopka now stands at 37-1 on the year.
Carter Grewe very nearly joined Halopka in the winner’s circle on Saturday in the 195 weight class. Grewe took down his first opponent in 3:06, but had to work for his semi-final victory over Zachariah Hunter of Stillwater.
Hunter, a state qualifier in Minnesota in the 220 pound weight class, gave Grewe one of his best matches of the season, but Grewe prevailed for a tight 2-1 decision that set up a rematch with Amery’s Kale Hopke.
Grewe and Hopke battled hard in the first period, but after his grueling win over Hunter, Grewe was pinned in 3:04 in the championship match. It’s just the second loss of the season for Grewe, both to Hopke, who has been ranked as high as first in the 195 pound division. Grewe now boasts a 36-2 record on the year, and earned 22 points for the co-op.
Talon Severson and Levi Dommer took part in the varsity tournament, but Severson was not able to earn points in the 170 weight class. Severson lost a 12-4 major decision in his opening match, and lost by technical fall in his second match.
Dommer had a better day, placing inside the top ten in the 220 weight class. Dommer took seventh and earned 11 points after going 3-2, with all three wins coming by pin to improve to 16-12.
Brayden Meyer and Jacob Hoppe both wrestled in the 152 weight class of the junior varsity tournament on Saturday. Meyer placed first overall, including a 9-3 decision over Hoppe in the third round.
Meyer then went on to win one match by pinfall and another on a 10-4 decision to improve to 18-7. Hoppe placed second in the JV 152 weight class, winning two matches by decision and one by pinfall. Hoppe now has a record of 14-11.
Abby/Colby hosted Athens, Thorp, Phillips and Wabeno/Laona/Three Lakes (WBLTL) on Thursday in the north gym of Abbotsford.
The co-op performed well, with several wrestlers earning impressive victories. The highlight of the event was Carter Grewe notching his 100th varsity match win of his prep career.
The co-op began their night with a 30-12 victory over the Thorp Cardinals. There were double forfeits in seven weight classes, and Thorp’s only points came off a A/C forfeit in the 113 weight class, and Levi Dommer’s loss to Nathan Zarins via 2:52 pin in the 285 pound division.
Tanner Halopka pinned Connor Simington in 2:28 in the 145 weight class, Jacob Hoppe pinned Hunter Kodl in 1:18 in the 152 pound divsion, and Brayden Meyer in the 160 weight class had the fastest A/C pin, stopping Ben Heggemeir in 36 seconds. It took Carter Grewe a little longer than he would have liked, but he eventually pinned Wyatt Wulff in 2:52 for his 100th victory.
The co-op could not replicate the same result against Phillips, losing to the Loggers 34-24, with 24 of those Logger’s points coming from forfeits in the 106, 113, 120 and 132 weight classes.
Tanner Halopka won in 1:29 over Ethan Kenner at the 145 pound division. Brayden Meyer and Jacob Hoppe both lost their matches in the 152 and 160 weight classes.
Talon Severson and Carter Grewe picked up 12 points thanks to forfeits at 170 and 195, and Levi Dommer pinned Kaylie Upson in the 220 division in 2:27.
The co-op lost to WBLTL 43-18. Carter Grewe and Tanner Halopka picked up 12 points via pinfalls, and Jacob Hoppe had six points off a forfeit. Severson, Meyer and Dommer all lost their matches.
The co-op will have one final home meet, a Cloverbelt Crossover Challenge in Abbotsford on Friday. Matches begin at 5:30 p.m.
TANNER ASSERTS HIS DOMINANCE -Tanner Halopka leans heavily on Thorp’s Connor Simington to tire him out last Thursday. Halopka pinned Simeington in 2:28, and then carried that form over to St. Croix Falls on Saturday. Halopka improved his season record to 37-1 after a dominant showing in St. Croix Falls. Halopka pinned his first three opponents and defeated fourth ranked Evan Wolfe of West Salem/Bangor in the 145 weight class for the title.
LEAN ON HIM -Jacob Hoppe prepares to flip Thorp’s Hunter Kodl on his back for a pin in the 152 weight class on Thursday. Hoppe took second in the JV tournament at 152 and teammate Brayden Meyer was first in the same weight class.
