Boys regionals
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score at 6-6 and force an overtime period. Here Smazal grabbed a crucial takedown of his opponent, and, after notching a four-point nearfall, he won the 13-6 decision. His first place finish earned Abbotsford/Colby 28.0 points.
Colby battled his way through the 132-pound bracket for his second place finish. In the first round, he quickly defeated Medford’s Corey McVicker, pinning his opponent after a single takedown in the first round. This set him up against Tomahawk’s Jack Derleth in the quarterfinals. Late takedowns from Colby in the first two periods, plus a last second four-point nearfall at the end of the second gave him a big 10-0 lead heading into the final period. He held Derleth in check for the final two minutes, eventually working another four-point nearfall to expand his advantage further. A reversal from Derleth got him on the board, but Colby took the 14-2 major decision win to move on to the semifinals.
There he faced off against Andrew Beatty of Mosinee. While the A/C sophomore grabbed a 3-0 lead heading into the second period, a takedown and a four-point nearfall for Beatty shifted the match briefly in the Mosinee wrestler’s favor. Colby was able to counter with a reversal and a fourpoint nearfall of his own and a seven-point third period sealed the deal for his 16-7 major decision victory.
While he was unable to notch a point against Chetek-Weyerhaeuser/Prairie Farm’s Brady Gesler in the finals, suffering a defeat by fall in the first round, his tournament performance still earned Colby a second-place finish and 22.0 team points, as well as a spot at the sectional tournament.
Izaac Sundermeyer added a sixth place finish and 7.0 points in the 165-pound bracket for the co-op. After suffering a 19-2 technical fall defeat to Spencer/Columbus Catholic/Granton’s Teddy Meyer in his opening match of the day, Sundermeyer bounced back with a victory over Hayward/Northwood’s Archer Krizan in the consolation bracket semifinals. Neither wrestler notched a point in the first round, but a four-point nearfall at the end of the second put Sundermeyer up 4-1. He then worked a takedown halfway through the third to take full control of the match, winning by a 7-1 decision. Sundermeyer couldn’t find much to work with in his fifth place match against Northwestern’s Jack Needham. While he forced it to go the distance, the A/C freshman failed to notch a point against his opponent, falling in a 14-0 major decision.
Eyan Cortista, Gilbert Sundermeyer and Aiden Burt also competed for the varsity club at the regional tournament, but were eliminated after failing to find a win in their first two matches of the day.
Cortista was pinned by Reedon Jarvis of Rice Lake and Medford’s Levi Zuleger in his two 144-pound bouts, Gilbert Sundermeyer had two defeats by fall to Rhinelander’s Dresden Klaver and Hayward/Northwood’s Ethan Even and Burt was pinned in his first match against Tomahawk’s Nathan Norman before suffering a close 4-3 decision loss to Parker Kirkland of Hayward/Northwood.
Those moving on to sectionals will compete in Amery on Saturday, Feb. 22. Weigh-ins are scheduled for 8:30 a.m. and the first session will begin at 10 a.m.