Co-op boys take sixth in Hayward regional
By Nathaniel Underwood
Four wrestlers will be representing the Abbotsford/Colby co-op club at the sectional meet in Amery this coming Saturday after placing in the top four at the regional tournament held in Hayward this past weekend.
Jacob Hoppe, Matt Jakel and Tristen Smazal all notched regional titles after taking first place in their respective weightclasses on Saturday. Alix Colby added a second-place finish for the co-op after grabbing a runner-up spot.
Overall, Abbotsford/Colby finished in sixth place out of 13 teams, ending the day with 114.0 points. Hayward/Northwood placed first with 251.0 points and Chetek-Weyerhaeuser/Prairie Farm took second with 228.5 points.
Hoppe started his day in the 175-pound bracket with a dominant performance over Northwestern’s Brendon Harding. The A/C senior quickly earned a takedown of his opponent before rattling off three straight nearfalls to end the match with a 15-0 technical victory.
His semifinal match against Adam Foss of Chetek-Weyerhaeuser/Prairie Farm ended similarly, though it took a bit longer to reach the same result. A takedown for Hoppe in the first round gave him a 3-0 advantage, but Foss managed to register a two-point nearfall in the second. A reversal and a pair of four-point nearfalls in the latter portion of the second period quickly shifted the tide back in Hoppe’s favor and another reversal and a four-point nearfall in the third gave him a 19-2 technical fall victory.
The win set up a matchup with Medford’s Paxton Rothmeier in the championship. Hoppe jumped ahead with the bout’s first takedown and then used the positioning to register a four-point nearfall. While Rothmeier managed an escape in the first’s final moments, Hoppe got the point back with his own escape in the second period. He then forced another takedown and then leveraged it into a pin of Rothmeier, winning the regional title with a victory by fall at the 3:00 mark. Hoppe’s championship performance earned Abbotsford/Colby 29.0 points.
In the 138-pound weight class, Jakel faced off against Wayne Dorn of Spooner/ Webster for his first bout of the day. Jakel finished off Dorn in the opening period, needing just a single takedown to work an eventual pin of his opponent.
Northwestern’s Logan Jones was not as easily felled in the semifinals, but a strong second period for Jakel carried him to victory. After a scoreless first, Jakel grabbed the initiative in the second with a quick takedown of Jones. He then used it to register a four-point nearfall 20 seconds later, giving him a commanding 7-0 lead. While Jones managed an escape midway through the round, Jakel was awarded a penalty point near the end of the period to effectively erase the escape. The pair battled to a draw in the third, ultimately leading to Jakel’s 8-1 decision over the Northwestern senior and allowing him to advance to the finals.
In the championship bout, Jakel faced off against Hayward/Northwood’s Jeremiah Kuehlman. The A/C junior did not need long to claim his second regional title of his career and his first tournament victory of the season, jumping ahead with a takedown and a four-point nearfall before converting his second takedown of the round into a pin of Kuehlman at the 1:29 mark. Jakel earned 28.0 team points for his first place finish.
Wrestling in the 126-pound bracket, Smazal began his day with a matchup against Medford’s Jordan Lavin. Lavin managed just one point against Smazal, an escape in the first round, but the A/C junior used a pair of takedowns and a reversal to hold a significant point advantage over his opponent. He then used the positioning gained by his second period reversal to pin Lavin, winning by fall.
He then faced off against George Ahles of Mosinee in the semifinals. A pair of takedowns in the first gave Smazal a 6-3 lead heading into the second, where he quickly notched an escape and then a later takedown to expand his lead. A fourth takedown in the third period put Smazal in full control, but points ultimately would not come into the equation as he ended the match with a pin of Ahles at the 4:43 mark.
The win set up Smazal against Ivan Woodhull of Northwestern in the finals. The pair battled to no score after the first round and Smazal took the lead with an early escape in the second. However, Woodhull grabbed the advantage by registering the match’s first takedown halfway through the period. Smazal quickly escaped, but found himself down 3-2 heading into the final round.
A frantic final period saw the lead shift hands twice more. After an escape from Woodhull saw him expand his lead, Smazal grabbed it back with a takedown with about a minute left on the clock. Woodhull worked a reversal to flip the advantage once more, but an escape from Smazal with under 20 seconds left allowed him to tie the
See BOYS REGIONALS/ Page 16
WAITING FOR THE MOMENT TO STRIKE - Matt Jakel takes stock of his opponent during one of his matches at the Division 2 regional in Hayward last Saturday.
ROSS PATTERMANN/THORP COURIER
DOWN YOU GO - Jacob Hoppe brings his opponent to the mat as he cruised to a first place finish at Abbotsford/Colby’s boys regional over the weekend.
ROSS PATTERMANN/THORP COURIER
TAKING CONTROL - Alix Colby makes his move as he tries to gain the upper hand in one of his matches on Saturday. The sophomore placed second in the 132-pound bracket.
ROSS PATTERMANN/THORP COURIER Boys regionals
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score at 6-6 and force an overtime period. Here Smazal grabbed a crucial takedown of his opponent, and, after notching a four-point nearfall, he won the 13-6 decision. His first place finish earned Abbotsford/Colby 28.0 points.
Colby battled his way through the 132-pound bracket for his second place finish. In the first round, he quickly defeated Medford’s Corey McVicker, pinning his opponent after a single takedown in the first round. This set him up against Tomahawk’s Jack Derleth in the quarterfinals. Late takedowns from Colby in the first two periods, plus a last second four-point nearfall at the end of the second gave him a big 10-0 lead heading into the final period. He held Derleth in check for the final two minutes, eventually working another four-point nearfall to expand his advantage further. A reversal from Derleth got him on the board, but Colby took the 14-2 major decision win to move on to the semifinals.
There he faced off against Andrew Beatty of Mosinee. While the A/C sophomore grabbed a 3-0 lead heading into the second period, a takedown and a four-point nearfall for Beatty shifted the match briefly in the Mosinee wrestler’s favor. Colby was able to counter with a reversal and a fourpoint nearfall of his own and a seven-point third period sealed the deal for his 16-7 major decision victory.
While he was unable to notch a point against Chetek-Weyerhaeuser/Prairie Farm’s Brady Gesler in the finals, suffering a defeat by fall in the first round, his tournament performance still earned Colby a second-place finish and 22.0 team points, as well as a spot at the sectional tournament.
Izaac Sundermeyer added a sixth place finish and 7.0 points in the 165-pound bracket for the co-op. After suffering a 19-2 technical fall defeat to Spencer/Columbus Catholic/Granton’s Teddy Meyer in his opening match of the day, Sundermeyer bounced back with a victory over Hayward/Northwood’s Archer Krizan in the consolation bracket semifinals. Neither wrestler notched a point in the first round, but a four-point nearfall at the end of the second put Sundermeyer up 4-1. He then worked a takedown halfway through the third to take full control of the match, winning by a 7-1 decision. Sundermeyer couldn’t find much to work with in his fifth place match against Northwestern’s Jack Needham. While he forced it to go the distance, the A/C freshman failed to notch a point against his opponent, falling in a 14-0 major decision.
Eyan Cortista, Gilbert Sundermeyer and Aiden Burt also competed for the varsity club at the regional tournament, but were eliminated after failing to find a win in their first two matches of the day.
Cortista was pinned by Reedon Jarvis of Rice Lake and Medford’s Levi Zuleger in his two 144-pound bouts, Gilbert Sundermeyer had two defeats by fall to Rhinelander’s Dresden Klaver and Hayward/Northwood’s Ethan Even and Burt was pinned in his first match against Tomahawk’s Nathan Norman before suffering a close 4-3 decision loss to Parker Kirkland of Hayward/Northwood.
Those moving on to sectionals will compete in Amery on Saturday, Feb. 22. Weigh-ins are scheduled for 8:30 a.m. and the first session will begin at 10 a.m.
