WIAA INDIVIDUAL STATE WRESTLING - MOTIVATION FOR NEXT YEAR
WIAA INDIVIDUAL STATE WRESTLING
Two local wrestlers went to Madison last week with high hopes and high seeds putting them in good positions to make a run toward state titles.
But few brackets fall according to chalk at the WIAA individual state championships in the Kohl Center and Medford’s Avery Losiewicz and Cornell-Gilman-Lake Holcombe’s Taydyn Angell got bit by the upset bug on the tournament’s first day.
Angell was the second seed in the Division 3 215-pound bracket, but he went into state competition with uncertainty due to a right shoulder injury suffered in the sectional tournament at Ladysmith Feb. 22.
Angell drew a bye into Thursday’s quarterfinal round. There, he met seventh-seeded Tellyer Alix of Weyauwega-Fremont. A 5-4 winner of 10th-seeded Sam Haines of Deerfield in the preliminaries, Alix got the first takedown and led 3-1 at the end of the first period. Alix built an 11-1 lead with an escape, takedown and near fall to start the second period. Angell stopped the momentum for a moment with a reversal with 53 seconds left in the period, but Alix reversed him and led 13-4 going into the third.
Angell escaped to start the third, but was taken down and eventually pinned at 4:52. Alix (39-12) went on to finish third in the tournament.
In a consolation match Friday afternoon, the season ended for Angell at 40-4 when he was pinned in 4:08 by eighth-seeded Sawyer Swiggum, a 35-7 junior from North Crawford-Seneca who wound up placing fifth in the bracket. After a scoreless 60-second first period, the wrestlers nearly got through the second period with no scoring either. But Swiggum finally got out from the bottom with 20 seconds left and took Angell down with 11 seconds left for a 4-0 lead.
Starting the third period on top, Swiggum maintained control until getting the pin.
“Taydyn went into the tournament banged up,” Wolfpack head coach Zach Person said. “I believe it played a part in how he performed at the tournament. The matches were close, but with his shoulder affecting his strength it limited his offense and took away from what he did all year. He did the best he could and we are all extremely proud of him. He had a great regular season posting a 40-2 record, along with claiming a regional and sectional championship. We are looking to get him healthy and ready for next season.”
Third-seed Wesley Egan of Parkview-Albany (55-1) won the 215-pound championship, pinning top-seeded Tyson Martin of La Crosse Aquinas (42-3) in 3:07 in the final Saturday night.
Angell’s state trip ended an improved season of Wolfpack wrestling with seven wrestlers in the room, including two girls, one of whom, Kaitlyn Madlon, advanced to sectionals.
“For our group being mostly new wrestlers they did a great job growing and performing this year,” Person said. “Everyone improved through the season. We are very excited to see what next year brings with having most of the wrestlers returning and building off this year.”
Losiewicz was seeded third in the girls 132-pound weight class and entered state competition on a 13-1 run over her last four tournaments. She got off to a good start Thursday afternoon, pinning 14thseeded Dakota Allen of Wisconsin Lutheran (30-17) in just 47 seconds after getting seven quick points.
Later that afternoon, in the quarterfinals, Losiewicz jumped ahead 60 with a takedown six seconds into the match and a late near fall in the first period. Adams-Friendship’s Lydia Hutter escaped, but Losiewicz led 6-1.
The sixth-seeded Hutter (48-6) got a takedown 26 seconds into the second period, but Losiewicz reversed her and got a four-point near fall with four seconds left in the period to hold a commanding 12-4 lead.
But with the wrestlers starting the third period in neutral positions, Hutter got a quick takedown eight seconds in. Fourteen seconds later, she had the pin and an upset win.
“The first match went really good,” Medford head coach Brandon Marcis said. “She went out there with a purpose and just had her game plan and went really good. She pinned her pretty quick. Second match, things were going really good. We were leading by quite a bit. She just got caught and I think mentally that kind of set us back a little bit.”
The loss sent Losiewicz to a consolation match with 13th-seeded Madelynn Lee of Wausau West, who Losiewicz pinned in Merrill on Feb. 8. Losiewicz got the first takedown and led 3-0 after one period. Lee started the second period with a takedown to tie the match. After Losiewicz escaped, Lee (36-13) took her down again and pinned her at 2:26.
Losiewicz finished her sophomore year at 42-9.
“She’s a sophomore,” Marcis said. “We have time yet and we talked about that. A setback is more like a set up for a comeback. We have two years yet to go and hopefully this is the motivation that gets her there. We always talk about how there’s no guarantees in wrestling. The only time you really lose is when you stop trying.
“We’re still proud of her and all of the great things she’s done. She’s such a good kid. I hope she uses this as fuel for the fire for the future.”
Top-seeded Lillie Banks of Menasha (46-1) won the 132-pound state title, beating second-seeded Hayli Fletcher (455) of Fort Atkinson 6-3 in the final.
The inevitable sets in for Wisconsin Lutheran wrestler Dakota Allen as she is about to be pinned by Medford’s Avery Losiewicz in a WIAA 132-pound first-round match at state competition Thursday in Madison. PHOTO BY ELLE GAUERKE
Cornell-Gilman-Lake Holcombe wrestler Taydyn Angell tangles with Sawyer Swiggum of North Crawford-Seneca during their 215-pound consolation match Friday in Madison. Swiggum pinned Angell, who wrestled with an injured shoulder, in 4:08. Angell, who was fifth at state last year, finished his sophomore season at 40-4. PHOTO BY ELLE GAUERKE
