Westfall battles back to take third
77TH ANNUAL WIAA INDIVIDUAL WRESTLING TOURNAMENT
Athens senior finishes off his career strong
By Casey Krautkramer
Athens senior wrestler Connor Westfall’s perseverance paid off when he won both of his WIAA individual state tournament matches on Saturday to garner a third-place finish on the podium.
Connor Westfall, the son of Rick and Tammy Westfall, concluded his final high school wrestling season with a 34-8 match record. He improved his position on the state podium this year, after he placed fifth at 220 pounds during his first time competing at state last year.
He began the individual state tournament by pinning senior Noah Degroot of La Crosse Aquinas in three minutes, 45 seconds, in a preliminary match on Thursday night. Westfall then pinned senior Jake Pronshinske of Palmyra-Eagle in 54 seconds in a quarterfinals match on Friday morning.
Connor suffered a close 4-2 decision loss to Coleman senior Shamus Mclain in the semifinal match on Friday night, which denied him a shot at competing in the state finals match on Saturday night.
He didn’t get down on himself, however, after his semifinal match. Connor bounced back to win an 11-0 major decision against senior Dustin Wolf of Lancaster in a consolation wrestleback on Saturday morning. He then pinned junior Isaac Banker of Bonduel in 4:21 in the third-place match on Saturday afternoon.
“My goal was to wrestle in the state finals this year, but when I didn’t get there then taking third place was the next best thing for me,” Connor said.
The Athens wrestling coaching staff asked Connor if he’d like a parade welcoming him back into the village of Athens, but he declined because he figured parades should only be held for state champions.
Connor will now focus on his Athens baseball team’s upcoming spring season. After graduation, he plans to join his brother, Marshall, at UW-Stevens Point.
The Westfall brothers will be playing college baseball together for the Pointers, beginning in the 2021 spring season, just like they did for a few years together on the Athens High School baseball squad. Connor plans to major in forestry at UW-Stevens Point.
