Halopka takes first atWWF Freestyle tourney

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By Nathaniel Underwood

Tanner Halopka won the 165-pound bracket at the Wisconsin Wrestling Federation’s Freestyle State Tournament held this past Saturday in Madison. The Colby senior was undefeated during the tournament, winning all five of his matches to take the top spot in the 32-man competition that featured athletes from schools from all divisions.

Halopka started his day off with a 1510 decision victory over Connor Mentik, using a strong first period where he outscored his opponent 9-4 to move on to the next round. He then faced off against Larry Norrington Jr., who took an early 8-0 lead before Halopka turned things around and pinned him at the 2:52 mark.

A 16-6 technical fall victory over Kade Boyd in the quarterfinals set up a confrontation with Cole Dummer, who had taken third in the 144-pound Division 1 state tournament, in the semifinals. Halopka took an early 2-0 lead heading into the second round, but Dummer tied things up early in the round. Undeterred, Halopka quickly turned the table back in his favor and dominated the rest of the duel, scoring 10 straight points to earn a technical fall and his spot in the championship match.

There he faced off against Jaxon Busse. Busse had narrowly defeated Connor O’Donnell, who had placed fifth in the 165-pound Division 1 state tournament, to earn his spot in the championship match. Halopka took control in the first period, scoring the first nine points of the match and holding Busse to a single point of his own. Busse opened the second period with six straight points of his own to make it a close match, but Halopka notched another point to hold off his opponent’s rally and eventually take the championship 10-6.

Halopka added the victory to his second place finish during the state tournament in February. It was his second WWF Freestyle Tournament title, having also won the 16U 152-pound tourney in 2022.

Tristen Smazal also competed in the tournament’s 132-pound bracket but lost both his matches, falling 12-2 to Marshall Hanke in the first round and a 16-6 loss to Ethan Aird in the consolation bracket.

FREESTYLE CHAMPION - Tanner Halopka stands atop the podium after winning the 165-pound bracket at WWF’s Freestyle State Tournament this past weekend.