Halopka claims second place in Madison

By Nathaniel Underwood

Under the bright lights of the Kohl Center, two wrestlers who had become very familiar with each other faced off for the final time. For the third week in a row, the 157-pound finals came down to Abbotsford-Colby’s Tanner Halopka and Medford’s Gage Losiewicz, a matchup that had already produced two excellent championship matches and looked primed for a third.

Two weeks prior, Halopka had come out on top in their regional finals bout. Losiewicz evened the score by taking the rematch in the sectional championship a week later. The pair would go head to head once again; but this time it would be for a Division 2 state title.

This past Saturday, the grudge match between two of the best wrestlers in Wisconsin took place on the state’s most prestigious stage. Their prior two bouts had gone the distance, with Halopka earning a nearfall in the final moments of their regional match to take the win and Losiewicz’s victory came in overtime. Their final battle in Madison was no different.

For three rounds, the pair was deadlocked, neither ceding a single point to their opponent. The stalemate continued into overtime, perfectly emulating just how close the matches between Halopka and Losiewicz have been. And yet, regardless how close the two were, a victor must emerge, a winner crowned. In this case, it broke in Losiewicz’s favor, and a six-point tiebreaker for the Medford junior was the difference maker.

While a loss in such a fashion may not have been the ideal ending to Halopka’s high school wrestling career, it was about as close as one could get without reaching the summit. The second-place finish was the best that any Abbotsford-Colby wrestler has achieved since Sage Soppa, who is now a coach for the team, placed second in the 126-pound weight class in 2014.

Much had led up to this moment for Halopka, from the years of wrestling through elementary and middle school to his previous state bids during his freshman and sophomore campaigns to coming back from an injury that kept him sidelined for his junior season.

Now a senior and one of the leaders of the Abby-Colby squad, Halopka had battled through the previous two Division 2 brackets to earn one of the 12 spots at the WIAA individual state tournament. Three straight victories over the prior two days against the toughest Wisconsin has to offer bought him a chance for a state title.

Heading into the tournament, it looked like Halopka’s path to the championship match would be a difficult one. A third place finish at the Tomahawk sectional the week prior had earned him the ninth seed in the field of 12 wrestlers in the bracket, which meant that he would have to wrestle in first round of the competition against eighth-seeded Ethan Brissette of Peshtigo, where a loss would mean immediate elimination. If he could notch a win to move on, he would still be matched up with the number one overall seed, Winneconne’s Brody Hart.

Thursday evening, Halopka and Brissette went head to head in a bout that would mark the end of one of their high school wrestling careers. Brisette, also a senior, was 37-4 heading into the match and, like Halopka, had won his regional before taking third in his sectional tournament.

In the first period, it was Brissette who took the initiative, earning the first points of the match with a takedown within the first thirty seconds. Halopka was able to get one back with an escape later in the round, but he ended the first behind 2-1.

Hoping to extend his lead, Brisette opted to start on bottom in the second period, a move

See HALOPKA AT STATE/ Page 13

ON THE MAT IN MADISON - Tanner Halopka grapples with St. Croix Falls’ Griffin Marko in the WIAA Division 2 state semifinal match last Friday evening. Halopka went on to win the bout with a 4-2 decision to move on to the finals held on Saturday.

STAFF PHOTO/MATT FREY Halopka at state

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that proved to be a costly mistake. Halopka was able to take advantage of his starting position and worked his opponent on to his back, pinning him at the 2:42 mark. Halopka’s victory eliminated Brissette and set up a meeting between himself with the number one overall seed.

At that point in the season, Hart had yet to lose a match, having gone 19-0 and notching championships in his conference, regional and sectional tournaments. The state quarterfinal bout was not the first time the pair of seniors had faced off this season; Halopka and Hart had gone head to head at the Wausau East Invitational championship a month prior. Hart had gotten the better of Halopka then, using a 6-0 second period to power to an eventual 11-9 decision.

This time, however, things would be very different. Just as he had in their first meeting, Halopka grabbed an early lead, but this time, he was the one that dominated the second round. Holding a 2-1 advantage after the first, the Abby-Colby senior picked up an escape before taking Hart down for a second time. A two-count nearfall at the end of the period made it a 5-0 run for Halopka and while a takedown by Hart in the third round briefly put him in danger of a possible pin, an escape and subsequent takedown sealed the 10-3 decision for Halopka.

The remaining path would continue to feature familiar faces. Saint Croix Falls’ Griffin Marko, who had taken the second- place spot at the Tomahawk sectional, had also won his first two matches of the tournament and now awaited Halopka in the semifinals.

Having faced each other the week prior and with a championship berth on the line, neither took any big risks through the first two periods, battling to a 0-0 deadlock heading into the third. With a chance to take the lead, Halopka opted to start with bottom positioning, a decision that worked out in his favor.

Halopka was eventually able to escape from his opponent’s grasp, taking a 1-0 lead with just over a minute left in the contest. With his chance at the championship on the line, Marko aggressively attacked and was able to quickly earn a takedown, taking the lead.

It was then Halopka’s turn to respond to a potentially dire situation and respond he did. His second escape of the round tied the score at 2-2 a few seconds later and he then came up with his most clutch takedown of the event. With time winding down, Halopka took commanding position with just 19 seconds left and was able to hold it until the final buzzer. The 4-2 decision guaranteed that Halopka would finish with his best result of his career and earned him his place in the championship bout.

The loss to Losiewicz in the championship was hard fought, indicative of the drive Halopka had to reach that point. His runner-up position was an impressive result, adding to his fourth and fifth place finishes at his previous state appearances. Halopka ended his senior season with a 51-7 record, winning five tournaments and never placing lower than third.