Ormond, Underwood are third at 2023 state wrestling tourney

Becker and Lueck finish fourth at the Kohl Center

By Casey Krautkramer

Marathon freshman wrestler Blake Underwood was ranked third at 106 pounds going into last weekend’s WIAA Division 3 individual state tournament in Madison. He finished third on the podium when the state tournament was over.

Underwood surely tried his hardest to win a state championship, but it just wasn’t in the cards for him this season. Underwood started the state tournament on Friday morning with a 5-0 decision win against Westby sophomore Jayden Geier. He then lost on Friday night to Pacatonica/Argyle undefeated sophomore Aidan Gruenenfelder by only a 2-1 decision.

After suffering his first loss of the season, it was time for Underwood to dig deep and battle through the consolation bracket for third place. He won a 4-2 decision against Auburndale sophomore Derek Godard on Saturday morning, before winning a 5-3 decision against La Crosse Aquinas freshman Roger Flege in the thirdplace match to gain a spot on the state podium.

Underwood described how his first experience was competing in the individual state tournament at the Kohl Center. He concludes his first high school season with a 48-1 match record.

“It was surreal taking third at state as a freshman but had a bigger goal in mind when I came down here,” Underwood said. “I am thankful for the opportunity but not the outcome. I had a nice tough semifinals match in which I wrestled good but it just didn’t go my way by losing a 2-1 decision, so the next best thing was going for third place; that loss will hurt for a while. I know I had to keep my head up and not get down on myself because I knew I had two tough matches to go on the consolation side. I won those both and came home with third place.”

Blake Underwood said he’s fortunate to have his father, Kraig Underwood, coaching him.

“My dad has helped me become a great wrestler by working with me every day and pushing me to be my best every day, being there for me and keeping me accountable for my actions and words,” he said. “All of my coaches, family and friends have been great for pushing me to be my best and supporting me.”

Just like Underwood, Stratford senior Jackson Ormond lost his individual state tournament match on Friday. Ormond was pinned by Crivitz junior TJ Mueller in four minutes, 33 seconds at 182 pounds. Instead of fretting over the loss, Ormond kept his composure and battled back through the consolation bracket to garner third place at state.

On Friday afternoon, Ormond won a 4-1 decision against Fennimore Wyatt Ahnen. On Saturday morning, Ormond pinned Markesan senior Jaden Walker in 2:19. He concluded his last individual state tournament in high school with a 9-5 decision win against Bonduel senior Tyson Bogacz in the third-place match. Ormond finished his senior season with a 46-2 match record. He took fifth place at 182 pounds at the state tournament in his first state appearance last season, so he was able to improve to third place at state this season.

“It was hard to realize that I wouldn’t be able to win state after I lost my match Friday morning,” Ormond said. “For a while I didn’t know what to do, but I was also able to gather myself and wrestle at my best ability. I finished strong and I am happy I ended the tournament wrestling hard and having fun doing it. It is nice to know that I gave it my all.”

Stratford senior Ryan Becker took fourth place at 145 pounds at state and sophomore Carter Lueck was fourth at 170 pounds. This was their first season as individual state qualifiers. Stratford brothers Trenton Cournoyer, a sophomore, and Colin Cournoyer, a freshman, both won their first state matches in their weight classes but they failed to place at state this season. Trenton Cournoyer lost his first match at state while competing at 106 pounds last season so winning a state match at 120 pounds this year is a nice stepping stone for him in his Tigers career. Colin Cournoyer wrestled at 106 pounds at state this year.

Stratford junior Kaleb Krummel lost his first match at 152 pounds on Thursday night and he was thus eliminated from the state tournament. This was his first season qualifying for the state tournament.

Marathon junior Dylan Dodson won his first state match on Thursday night by pinning Crandon junior Elias Glinski in 3:21 at 132 pounds. Dodson failed to place at state again this season, but he’s now experienced what it’s like to win a state match. He lost his first state match last season at 113 pounds. Dodson concludes this season with a 34-11 match record. Marathon senior Hector Pintor lost his first state match at 160 pounds and he was thus eliminated from the state tournament. This was Pintor’s first season that he qualified for state and his head coach, Kraig Underwood, has said Pintor was instrumental in helping him build the school’s wrestling program. Pintor finished this season with a 41-12 match record.

Athens senior Elle Gauerke wrestled in the individual girls state tournament that was held in conjunction with the boys state tournament for the first time at the Kohl Center this year. Although she lost both her state matches and thus didn’t place at state, she will forever treasure her time spent with her father, Jodi Gauerke, who was her head coach.

“It was awesome having my dad as my coach,” she said. “We work so well together even when things don’t go the right way. He has pushed me to be a better person. It was awesome seeing all of the support I have received from community members through this journey. Wrestling has taught me to be strong mentally for sure. Having a strong mindset will help a conditioned body to perform at its best.”

Elle Gauerke is hoping younger girls saw her become the first girl in Athens to compete in the state tournament.

“I think in the upcoming years girls wrestling will become a lot stronger,” she said. “Instead of first place maybe the top two girls in each sectional weight class will go to state once the weight classes start filling up with more girls. I think it would be so cool to see other girls from Athens giving this sport a try. I hope I have paved a path for the younger girls because even though I didn’t do that well, it takes a lot of courage to step out on the mat each day.”

ORMOND WORKS ON ADVANCING INTO THE STATE THIRD PLACE MATCH- Stratford senior wrestler Jackson Ornond is shown in the process of pinning Markesan senior Jaden Walker in the WIAA Division 3 consolation semifinal match at 182 pounds on Saturday morning. He pinned Walker in two minutes, 19 seconds to advance into the third place match on Saturday afternoon, in which he won a 9-5 decision against Bonduel senior Tyson Bogacz to place third on the state podium.SN PHOTO/MATT FREY