December 29, 2011 at 10:02 a.m.
Iowa-Grant 2nd at Badger State
Division 1 annual power Merrill won the tournament with 184.5 points with the Panthers posting 164, finishing second just ahead of D1 Stoughton's 160. Then came Owatonna, Minnesota with 125.5, followed by D2 entrants River Valley and Sparta at 123 and 122.
The rest of the team scores were: Waukesha South 107.5, Waterford 106.5, Lomira 97, Sauk Prairie 89.5, Campbellsport 80, Waukesha West 54, Madison La Follette 53, Janesville Craig 42, Menomonee Falls 39, Oak Creek 32.5, Waunakee 18, Horicon 16.
Iowa-Grant's Logan Bollant and Blake Welu both improved to 13-0 with respective championships at 170 and 182 lbs.
Brandon Pierick (160) was second; Luke Nowak (126) took third; Larry Davidson (220) and Tucker Sarbacker (138) both finished fifth; Ben McFall (285) was sixth and Logan Mills (120) took seventh
Iowa-Grant coach Ryan Allen talked about the tournament: "I thought most of the team wrestled well. A few guys on our team are having a tough time consistently beating quality wrestlers. Those guys have to really focus on getting better, not getting frustrated, sticking to the plan, and keep working.
"There were some very good teams at this tournament and we were one of them. It's awesome when we can go to a tournament with many D1 ranked wrestlers, stick to our plan, and beat quality wrestlers. I think when you get second at a tournament like this it builds a lot of confidence and it kind of shows everyone a glimpse of our potential.
"Blake and Logan did an excellent job controlling their matches all the way to the finals. They dictated everything that happened in their matches, scored early and often, and stuck to their plan.
"Luke Nowak did an excellent job in getting third as a freshmen. Ben McFall did a good job and needs to keep working hard, as many people are now seeing his potential at HWT.
River Valley's Seth Liegel was 152 lb. champion, earning his 100th career victory and improving to 19-0 on the season.
RV's Austyn Alt was the 132 lb. title winner.
Nick Lechnir was third at 138; Joe Crook and Zach Koch were both fourth at their respective 145 and 220 weights; Garrett Reik took fifth at 170 and both Brandon Hogan (160) and Duane Pretch (220) finished eighth.
Iowa-Grant 68 Fennimore 9
Iowa-Grant lost just two matches in a 68-9 rout of visiting Fennimore in a SWAL wrestling match held Thursday night.
Tucker Sarbacker (126), Jake Yelinik (145), Cody Belken (152), Brandon Pierick (160), Logan Bollant (170), Derek Peat (195) and Larry Davidson (220) all registered pins on the night.
126-Luke Nowak (I-G) won by tech fall over Tyree Edge 17-1; 132-Tucker Sarbacker (I-G) won by pin over Justin Mulrooney 1:32; 138-Dillin Aide (F) won by pin over Murilo Luques 2:55; 145-Jacob Yelinek (I-G) won by pin over Dylan Behrens 1:47; 152-Cody Belken (I-G) won by pin over Brandon Ashmore 3:56; 160-Brandon Pierick (I-G) won by pin over Cory Fitzgerald 1:19; 170-Logan Bollant (I-G) won by pin over Logan Sheckles 2:45; 182-Blake Welu (I-G) won by major decision over Logan Chappell 12-2; 195-Derek Peat (I-G) won by pin over Ashton Linneman 2:32; 220-Larry Davidson (I-G) won by pin over Elias Cox 3:14; 285 Ben McFaull (I-G) won by forfeit; 106-Ty Davidson (F) won by decision over Jordan Jenks 4-1; 113-Shania Sarbacker (I-G) won by forfeit; 120-Logan Mills (I-G) won by tech fall over Blake Bender 20-5.
"I thought we wrestled well, but we still have a lot to work on," Allen said. "Especially our younger guys need to keep working on their basics. Welu wrestled well against Chappell and I'm sure we will get to wrestle him again this year sometime. Fennimore has a young team and should be tough in the next few years."
