Hoppe reaches 100th win in Ladysmith

By Nathaniel Underwood

Abby/Colby senior wrestler Jacob Hoppe joined the 100 career win club over the weekend, reaching the milestone at the squad’s tournament in Ladysmith. He also notched his second tournament title of the season, grabbing first place in the 175-pound bracket.

Hoppe grabbed four wins on Saturday to bring his record to 29-5 so far this campaign. In addition to his first place finish in Ladysmith, he also grabbed first in the co-op’s opening tournament of the season, the John Roberts Scramble, and has three other topfive tournament finishes this year. The championship was his third tournament title of his career, as he also had a first place finish at the Wildcat Invite in Oshkosh in 2022.

The A/C senior has wrestled in the WIAA Division 2 sectionals the past two seasons, qualifying after taking second at the regional tournament in Medford last year and fourth at the regional in Neillsville in 2023. He also has a pair of third place finishes in the last two Cloverbelt Conference tournaments to his name.

Reaching the milestone was just part of an impressive day for Hoppe. He started his tournament with a match against Somerset’s Jack Mukka and he instantly took control of the bout, pinning his opponent at the 1:14 mark.

He was then paired with Turtle Lake/Clayton’s Ryan Shortess in the quarterfinals. Hoppe took the lead with a takedown in the first, but a reversal by Shortess kept things close. An eight point second period for Hoppe changed the complexion of the match, however, as the A/C wrestler was awarded a penalty point before scoring a reversal and a four-point nearfall. Shortess managed another reversal, but an escape by Hoppe led to him holding an 11-4 advantage heading into the final period. He finished the job in the third, scoring a pair of four-point nearfalls to put him up 19-4 and earning himself a technical fall victory.

Hoppe then needed to face off against Weyauwega-Fremont’s Carter McDaniel in the semifinals. In a near unheard of comeback, Hoppe beat the odds and grinded for a 17-14 win over McDaniel. He did so by scoring all 17 of his points in the final round, coming back from a 14-0 deficit heading into the third to earn his place in the championship match.

The first two rounds were dominated by McDaniel. The Warkhawk senior jumped out to a 3-0 lead after notching a late takedown in the first period and then put himself in a commanding position by rattling off 11 unanswered points in the second period.

Despite being one point away from a technical fall defeat, Hoppe did not give up heading into the final round. He scored a quick takedown and added a four-point nearfall a few seconds later. Maintaining his position, he notched a second four-point nearfall thirty seconds into the period before a third fourpoint nearfall saw him take the lead with just a minute left in the match. A two-point nearfall gave him some breathing room and Hoppe held on for the final 45 seconds to complete the rally and move on to the finals.

In the finals, Hoppe was pitted against Stratford’s Jack Tubbs. Similarly to his match against McDaniel, the co-op senior fell behind early due to a late first round takedown, but managed to rally. He earned his own late takedown in the second period to return the favor and even the score and quickly grabbed the lead in the third with a reversal in the opening moments. Hoppe held on to his position for the rest of the round, not allowing Tubbs an opportunity to escape and captured the tournament title with a 5-3 decision. The first place finish earned the team 47.5 points.

The co-op had two other top-five finishes in Ladysmith on Saturday. Tristen Smazal earned third place in the 126-pound category and Alix Colby took fifth in the 132-pound bracket.

Smazal only had three matches after earning a first round bye to move straight to the quarterfinals. He quickly took control over Cadott’s Steven Williams in his first match of the day, notching a takedown and a fourpoint nearfall in the first round before adding another takedown in the second. Two more takedowns in the third sealed the deal, earning him a 16-0 technical fall victory.

Smazal would be put in the opposite position in the semifinals. Riley Scherg of Weyauwega-Fremont started out hot, rattling off 11 points in the first round. The A/C junior managed an escape to at least get on the board in the first, but found himself in an early 10 point deficit.

He managed an escape to start the second, but another takedown from Scherg put Smazal on the brink of defeat. He earned another escape before picking up a last second takedown to bring himself slightly closer. Unfortunately for Smazal, the pair were relatively even in the final period, both scoring an escape and a takedown and Scherg was able to move on to the finals with an 18-10 major decision.

In his last match of the day, Smazal went up against Ladysmith’s Alex Mikunda. With a third-place finish on the line, Smazal went ahead with a takedown in the first period and then followed it up with an early reversal to start the second. Those were the only points scored over the first two rounds, giving the A/C wrestler a 5-0 lead heading into the third. Mikunda quickly knotted things up, however, picking up a takedown and a twopoint nearfall in the first 20 seconds of the period. Smazal was able to recover, turning the nearfall positioning into a reversal for himself that allowed him to pin the Lumberjack sophomore at the 4:38 mark.

Smazal’s third place performance earned the co-op 40.5 points.

Colby, meanwhile, went 3-1 in his four matches on Saturday. The sophomore quickly dispatched Marshall Gray of Reedsville in the opening bout, racking up nine points before pinning his opponent at the end of the first period. He then faced off against Osceloa’s Hunter Kromrey in the quarterfinals. A late takedown by Colby gave him a 3-0 advantage after one round and after opting to begin the second in neutral, another takedown for Colby midway through the second had him up 6-0. However, a reversal from Kromrey in the third put Colby in a tough spot and the Osceola wrestler was able to capitalize, pinning Colby late.

The loss dropped Colby into the consolation bracket, where he needed to defeat Black River Falls’ Deacon Brown to move on. Just as he had in his prior two matches, the A/C sophomore earned an early advantage by forcing a first round takedown while picking up a three-point nearfall as well to put him ahead 6-0. Another takedown and a twopoint nearfall gave him 11 straight points and while Brown managed a reversal, Colby continued to put on the pressure and eventually took home a 17-2 technical fall win over the Tiger wrestler.

In his final match of the day, Colby faced off against Bloomer/Colfax’s Blake Sparrgrove. Sparrgrove was able to notch the first points of the match with a takedown, but Colby quickly flipped the script, earning a reversal and a three point nearfall to put him ahead. He used his commanding position to eventually work a pin of Sparrgrove in the first, grabbing fifth place for himself and picking up 34.5 points for the team.

Three other co-op varsity wrestlers also competed on Saturday. Aiden Burt went 2-2 in the 285-pound bracket, bouncing back from a pair of initial losses to win two straight, pinning Chequamegon’s Larry Komarek and then defeating Bloomer/Colfax’s Ryan Frelk by pinning him in the first period of the 13th place match.

Izaac Sundermeyer also ended his day with a win in the 175-pound bracket, defeating Somerset’s Mukka in the 15th place match. A first period takedown put Sundermeyer ahead and another takedown in the third was able to seal his 6-3 decision victory. Gilbert Sundermeyer could not quite find a victory on Saturday, taking 16th overall in the 165-pound category.

REACHING A CAREER MILESTONE - Jacob Hoppe poses with a banner celebrating his 100th career victory on Saturday at the Ladysmith tournament. The senior wrestler would go on to win the 175-pound title later that day.

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