Five A-C wrestlers move on to sectionals

Five Abby-Colby wrestlers advanced to sectionals following their performances at the regional tournament held in Neillsville this past Saturday. Matt Jakel, Tristen Smazal, Jacob Hoppe, Levi Dommer and Luis Nava Rojas all finished in the top four of their respective weight-classes, pushing them through to the next round of competition in the WIAA tournament.

The team as a whole placed sixth out of the 13 teams present at the event, scoring 115.0 points. Baldwin-Woodville had the highest team score, finishing the day with 250.0 points, just edging out St. Croix Central’s 242.5 points for first place. The Regis/Altoona combined team took third with 190.5 points.

Jakel had the Abby-Colby co-op’s best finish of the day, taking first in the 106-pound weight class. It was his second tournament victory of the season and his fourth top-three finish.

The freshman won his first match of the regional by major decision, defeating Cillian O’Connell of Regis/Altoona 9-0. His next opponent was Prescott’s Benny Olson, a senior with a 39-10 record coming into Saturday. Olson jumped out to a 2-0 lead after recording a takedown in the first period, but Jakel came back in the second. The Abby-Colby freshman recorded a takedown and a nearfall in the middle period to go up 5-2. A takedown in the third eventually turned into a pin for Jakel, giving him the win over Olson and pushing him into the championship match.

There he met Garrett DeLong, a sophomore from St. Croix Central boasting a 32-19 record this season. DeLong took the initiative in the first period, recording the first takedown of the match. Jakel defended and survived to see the next period. DeLong once again struck first, earning another two points with a takedown. This time, Jakel managed to escape and earned a takedown before the end of the round, putting him down by one heading into the final period. DeLong opted to start the third with a neutral opening, but this time it was Jakel who won the first takedown. The St. Croix Central sophomore could not escape and Jakel pinned him at the 5:39 mark, earning himself the regional championship crown and a ticket to the sectional tournament.

Smazal took second in the 113-pound bracket. Like Jakel, Smazal opened his day with a major decision victory, defeating Gavin Ricke of Ellsworth 112. His semifinal opponent was Drake Gartmann of Baldwin-Woodville. The pair exchanged points in the first round, with Gartmann taking the lead initially with a takedown but Smazal answering with a reversal later in the period. After choosing to start the second period on the bottom, Smazal took the lead when he got his second reversal of the match. A 5-2 final period sealed the deal, giving the Abby-Colby sophomore a 9-4 decision and putting him in the championship match.

There he found himself up against a familiar opponent, Regis/Altoona senior Deaglan O’Connell. The pair had faced each other in the championship round of the Cloverbelt tournament just a week prior and Smazal had walked away victorious, taking a 12-0 major decision.

The tables were turned on Saturday. O’Connell forced the first takedown of the match and was able to turn it into a victory, pinning Smazal at the 1:39 mark. Despite the loss in the rematch, Smazal still earned himself second place in his bracket.

Levi Dommer took third for the Abby-Colby team in the 220-pound bracket. The senior picked up a win in his first match of the day, defeating Kelton Graff of Ellsworth with relative ease. A quick takedown in the opening moments turned into a pin just 45 seconds into the match.

Dommer seemed poised for another fast-paced victory in the semifinals. Paired up against Willy Graham of Stanley-Boyd, Dommer once again took the initiative, taking down Graham and nearly pinning the Oriole freshman. However, Graham managed to turn the situation to his advantage, getting a reversal and then earning the win by fall in the first round.

The loss pushed Dommer into the third place match, where he faced off against Gavin Lofgren of Regis/ Altoona. Much like Graff in the first round, Dommer made short work of Lofgren, pinning him in 40 seconds and earning himself third place after Graham was defeated in the championship round.

Jacob Hoppe and Luis Nava Rojas both earned fourth place in their respective weight-classes on Saturday.

A quarterfinal loss to open his day set Hoppe on a difficult road to a sectional berth. Hoppe fell to Taden Holldorf of Baldwin-Woodville in his first match, relegating him to the consolation bracket. After being relegated, Hoppe needed to win four straight matches in order to earn himself the final ticket to the sectional tournament.

A medical forfeit earned him his first win and set him up with Julius Cook of Somerset for his second match of the day. After two rounds of careful sparring, Hoppe took down Cook in the third, pinning his opponent at the 4:36 mark.

His next two matches would be against opponents he had defeated the week prior at the Cloverbelt conference tournament. His victory over Cook put him in the fifth place match against Brandon Myher of Regis/Altoona. Hoppe got his second win over Myher in as many weeks, earning a 7-2 decision and moving on to the fourth place match with Jakob Luchterhand of Neillsville/Greenwood/Loyal. Luchterhand and Hoppe had faced each other in a similar final match during the Cloverbelt tournament and Hoppe once again emerged victorious. A 3-1 third period sealed his 7-4 decision over Luchterhand and stamped Hoppe’s ticket to the sectional tournament.

Nava Rojas took a less winding route to his fourth place finish in the 285-pound division. He faced Damian Seichter of Stanley-Boyd in the quarterfinals and a pin in the second period pushed Nava Rojas into the semifinals. While he was pinned in the subsequent semifinal and third place matches by Gunner Hoffmann of Neillsville/Greenwood/Loyal and Jacob Berends of St. Croix Central, his victory over Seichter still earned him fourth place and allowed him to move on to the sectional meet.

Also earning wins on Saturday for the Abby-Colby team were Erik Martinez and Christian Fuentes, who won two of their four matches.

The five athletes who advanced to the sectional tournament will compete in Amery this Saturday, Feb. 18. It will be a first time experience for most of the wrestlers, with Dommer being the only one to have competed in a sectional meet prior to this season. The tournament is set to start at 10:00 a.m.