Three co-op wrestlers take first in Oshkosh
With the cancellation of a planned quad last Thursday due to weather, the Wildcat Invite in Oshkosh was the only event on the schedule this past week for the Abby-Colby co-op wrestling squad.
The team finished fifth out of eight schools, a solid result given the competition they faced. Many of the teams, like event winner and host Oshkosh West, Appleton East, and Kimberly all boast enrollments over 1,500 students, triple the size of the combined enrollments of Abbotsford and Colby. The co-op’s 111.0 points were narrowly beaten out by fourth-place Ashwaubenon’s 114.5. Oshkosh West finished first with 184.0.
The team also saw several individuals with strong final results, including first place finishes from Matt Jakel, Brayden Meyer and Jacob Hoppe.
Jakel took first place in the 113-pound weight-class. The freshman won all three of his matches, taking down Ivan Moua of Appleton East in the first round and two Ashwaubenon wrestlers in the following two rounds. He took down all three of his opponents by fall enroute to his first place finish.
Meyer took first place in the 152-pound weight-class. He went 5-0 on the day, winning his first two matches by fall and taking a forfeit in the third to make his way to the championship bracket. His first opponent in the final bracket was teammate Christian Fuentes, who he defeated with a pin at 0:40. He then faced off against Anthony Hephner of Sheboygan North in the first place match. Hephner had only one loss on the season coming into the match, but Meyer made relatively quick work of his opponent, pinning him at the 1:40 mark.
Hoppe, meanwhile, took down four opponents on his journey to his first place finish in the 160-pound weight-class. In the opening rounds, the sophomore took down two opponents by fall and then received a bye to advance to the championship bracket. He then won his first match in bracket play by a 10-7 decision over Brady Yonke from Winneconne, advancing to the first place match against Oshkosh West’s Jaiden Fronczak. Hoppe dealt Fronczak his first loss of the tournament, pinning his opponent in 4:29 to end a hard fought battle and claim first place.
Senior Levi Dommer took second at the tournament in the 220-pound weight-class. He went 2-1 on the day, winning his first two matches by pinning his opponents before falling to Nelson Fournier of Oshkosh West in his final bout.
Junior Erik Martinez took third in the the 170-pound weight class, going 2-1 in the preliminary rounds to get into the championship bracket. A loss to Jacob McVane of Ashwaubenon put Martinez in the third-place match, which he won over Winneconne’s Carson Piotraschke, getting three points in the final period to take the 3-2 decision.
Three co-op wrestlers took fourth in their respective weight-classes, with freshman Tristan Smazal going 2-1 in the opening rounds in the 126-class but having to bow out due to injury in the championship bracket matches, freshman Christian Fuentes winning two matches in the opening rounds to get into the championship bracket of the 152-pound class, and Luis Nava Rojas going 2-3 in the 285-pound division.
Other placements by co-op wrestlers included fifth place finishes from MaKenna Herrman and Alex Sundermeyer, a sixth place finish from Warren Flink, and a seventh place effort from Eddy Monroy.
Looking ahead, the Abby-Colby wrestling squad will be hosting a quad this coming Thursday, Dec. 22 in Abbotsford. The event is set to begin at 4:30 p.m. with weigh-ins taking place at 4:00 p.m.
