Rival schools meshing

Edgar/Athens wrestling co-op is working well

By Casey Krautkramer

The Edgar and Athens varsity wrestling teams are traditional arch-rivals who’ve endured some intense matches against each other over the years. The squads won’t grapple against each other during this COVID season, however, because they’ve joined forces to become the WildJays.

Athens sophomore Connor Lewandowski said after the WildJays’ 54-21 match loss to Whitehall on Tuesday in Edgar’s gym that many of the wrestlers from Athens and Edgar were already friends before the two squads formed a temporary co-op for only this season. He described an advantage to Athens wrestling with Edgar this season.

“We are learning two different wrestling styles from what Edgar is doing at its practices and what we are doing in ours,” Connor, who is the son of Peter and Sheila (Zinkowich) Lewandowski, said.

The two schools practice in their own gyms and then join together to wrestle against opponents during this wresting season. Edgar head wrestling coach Andrew Lukasko and Athens co-head wrestling coaches Dale Westfall and Jodi Gauerke could be seen instructing student athletes from both schools during their individual bouts against Whitehall. Grapplers on Edgar’s bench were also quick to congratulate Connor Lewandowski and junior Brooks Kraus of Athens on achieving pins against the Norsemen.

The draw weight was 160 pounds for Tuesday’s match. Whitehall junior Broken Kulig pinned Edgar sophomore Keghan Hartway in two minutes, 37 seconds at 160 pounds and Whitehall senior Ryan Kleinhans pinned Edgar junior Collin Gajewski in 1:33 at 170. The Norsemen built a 48-0 lead in the match after sophomore Eric Kleinhans pinned Athens sophomore Kyler Ellenbecker in 1:25 at 182 pounds, forfeit wins at 195 and 220, junior Wylie Dunn pinning Edgar junior Waylon Wirkus in 2:26 and forfeit victories at 106 and 113.

Edgar/Athens got on the scoreboard when junior Brooks Kraus of Athens pinned junior Bryce Johnson in 3:37 at 120 pounds. Whitehall received a forfeit win at 126 pounds.

Connor Lewandowski of Athens held on for an 8-7 decision win against sophomore Matthews Poulos at 132 pounds. Connor Lewandowski earned a two-point reversal just before the second-period buzzer sounded to take a 7-5 advantage in the bout. He took an 8-5 lead in the third period after obtaining an escape. Poulos obtained two near-fall points to make the score 8-7 before the bout ended.

Both teams forfeited at 138 pounds. Edgar junior Kalvin Kingsley pinned sophomore Kaiden Gaier in 4:38 at 145 pounds and Edgar junior Jesse Jisko was handed a forfeit win at 152 to conclude the match.

The Edgar/Athens wrestling coop’s remaining 6 p.m. regular-season matches this season are this Tuesday, Dec. 29, at Oshkosh Lourdes; on Thursday, Jan. 7, 2021, against Phillips at Edgar High School; on Thursday, Jan. 14, 2021, against Auburndale/Marathon at Marathon High School and on Thursday, Jan. 21, 2021, against Stratford at Athens High School.

Tigers fall to Golden Eagles

Stratford’s varsity wrestling team lost, 42-35, in a road match to state tournament nemesis Fennimore on Friday. The Tigers normally don’t face the Golden Eagles until at team state, but this COVID season is anything but normal.

The draw weight was 195 pounds, in which Raife Smart of Stratford pinned Chase Hestetune in 3:48 to give the Tigers an early 6-0 match lead. Stratford’s Cole Marten then won a 5-2 decision against Cameron Winkers at 220 pounds to give Stratford a 9-0 advantage.

Fennimore received a handful of pins and a forfeit win against Stratford to take a 36-9 lead in the match. Patrick Greenberg was pinned by Wyatt Miles in 1:32 at 285 pounds, Roman Schmidt got pinned by Nick Needham in 25 seconds at 106, Alex LeMoine was pinned by Ian Crapp in 17 seconds at 113, Wyatt Ahnen received a forfeit at 120, Benno Wenzel got pinned by Brett Birchman in 3:24 at 126 and Logan Gaulke was pinned by Jayden Glasbrenner in 5:15 at 132.

Stratford cut into Fennimore’s lead by winning the next two bouts. Gavin Drexler won a 17-2 technical fall against Macoy Fitzgerald at 138 pounds and Elijah Lucio pinned Connor Northouse in 17 seconds at 145.

Logan Gliniecki of Stratford got pinned by Brody Lee in 48 seconds at 152 pounds. The Tigers strung together three straight wins to end the match on Jacob Heiden’s 4-0 decision against Kaden Hahn, Hunter Ford pinning Cameron Wolf in 1:51 at 170 and Jackson Ormond pinning Dawson Cole in 4:50 at 182.

Stratford’s next wrestling match is a 10 a.m. this Tuesday, Dec. 29, against Amherst at home.

KINGSLEY CONTROLS HIS OPPONENT- Edgar junior wrestler Kalvin Kingsley is in the process of pinning Whitehall sophomore Kaiden Gaier during the Edgar/Athens squad’s 54-21 home loss on Tuesday, which was parent’s night for the Wildcat wrestlers in their gym. Retired Edgar High School varsity wrestling coach Mark Lacke, who announced the WildJays’ home dual match, sits on the scorers table in the background.STAFF PHOTO/CASEY KRAUTKRAMER

HUNGRY FOR A PIN- Athens junior wrestler Brooks Kraus stares down his opponent, Whitehall junior Bryce Johnson, during their 120-pound match on Tuesday in the Edgar High School gym. Kraus eventually pinned Johnson.STAFF PHOTO/CASEY KRAUTKRAMER

HEAVYWEIGHTS TUSSEL- Edgar junior Waylon Wirkus grapples against Whitehall junior Wylie Dunn in the 285-pound match on Tuesday. It was Edgar wrestlers parent’s night and Waylon’s parents, Stan and Jamie Wirkus, were honored along with the other Wildcat wrestling parents before the varsity match began.STAFF PHOTO/CASEY KRAUTKRAMER