Oconto Falls wins regional in dominant fashion

Updated: 11:45 a.m., 2/16

OCONTO FALLS — The Oconto Falls High School wrestling team dominated the Division 2 Oconto Falls Regional on Saturday, scoring 252.5 points to win the regional as a team and also advancing 12 of its 13 individual wrestlers in action to sectionals.

Graeson Pankratz (106), Clayton Whiting (170), Jacob Kaminski (182), Matt Loberger (195) and Elijah Zielinski (285) all placed first in their respective weight classes to lead Oconto Falls.

Brendan Konitzer (113), Jaden Ganter (120), Luke Trepanier (126), Tyler Budz (132), Weston Borkovec (152), Aidan Stary (160) and Alec Halvorsen (220) all took second place to earn their spots at sectionals.

All of the team’s first-place finishers started the day with at least one bye.

After his opening bye, Pankratz won a 15-4 major decision before winning the first-place match with a 6-0 decision.

Whiting remained perfect in his sophomore season with a pair of pins on the day. His pin in the semifinal came in just 52 seconds. Whiting had to work a little harder in the final, securing the pin 10 seconds into the final period.

Whiting, the No. 1 ranked wrestler in the Division 2 170 class according to wiwrestling.com, is now 40-0 on the season.

“My last two matches were like any other match — I treat them all like a state title,” said Whiting. “I constantly pressure my opponents, knowing that they will break mentally. Once they are broken, they just want to get the match over, so pinning them becomes much easier.”

Kaminski was guaranteed a spot in sectionals when he arrived at the high school, with only two wrestlers in the 182 class. He earned a pin in 18 seconds in his lone match of the day.

Loberger rolled to a 12-0 major decision win in the semifinals before pinning his opponent in 3:34 in the title match. Zielinski won by technical fall in his semifinal before earning a 5-3 decision win to take first.

Like Kaminski, Konitzer and Trepanier were guaranteed spots at sectionals regardless of their match outcomes. In their lone matches, Konitzer dropped an 8-1 decision, while Trepanier lost a 10-4 decision.

Budz started his day with a 4-2 decision win, which also was his 100th career high school win. The senior dropped a 7-1 decision in the final, but having already defeated the opponent he would have faced in the second-place match, Budz was awarded second place.

Stary and Halvorsen were awarded second in the same fashion.

Stary received a forfeit win to start the day before dropping a 6-4 decision in the final. Halvorsen opened his day with an 8-2 decision win before being pinned in the title match.

Oconto Falls’ other second-place finishes had to compete in wrestlebacks to claim their sectional spots.

Ganter opened his day with a pin in 46 seconds before losing a 6-0 decision in the final. He bounced back with a third-period pin to take second.

Borkovec pinned his first opponent in 48 seconds before dropping a 10-0 major decision in the title match. He responded with a third-period pin in the second-place match.

Oconto Falls’ 252.5 team points was well ahead of second-place finishing Antigo (160).

“We just went out there and did (wrestle well). Wrestling from start to finish — getting that extra takedown or that needed point. We went out there wrestling for a purpose.” said Pankratz of the strong team effort. “Our coach (Dave) Braiser couldn’t make it there today for other reasons. We wrestled hard so that he could be apart of it in the next level. That really motivated us to go out on the mat and get the win.”

By winning the regional, Oconto Falls will also compete in team sectionals against North Eastern Conference foe Denmark, which won the Division 2 Denmark Regional on Saturday. The dual between Oconto Falls and Denmark will be Tuesday at Wautoma High School.

Whichever team wins that dual will face the winner of a dual between Tomahawk and Wrightstown in a third dual match on Tuesday, with the winner of the third match advancing to team state on March 7.

Oconto Falls also hosts sectionals, so the 12 qualifiers will be in a familiar setting when trying to place in the top three in their respective weight classes to qualify for state. The Oconto Falls Sectional is set to begin at 10:30 a.m., on Saturday.

Sectional qualifiers

Oconto Falls: Graeson Pankratz (106); Brendan Konitzer (113); Jaden Ganter (120); Luke Trepanier (126); Tyler Budz (132); Weston Borkovec (152); Aidan Stary (160); Clayton Whiting (170); Jacob Kaminski (182); Matt Loberger (195); Alec Halvorsen (220); Elijah Zielinski (285).

Team scores: 1. Oconto Falls 252.5; 2. Antigo 160; 3. Seymour 150; 4. Marinette 140; 5. Clintonville/Marion 60.5; 6. Peshtigo 41; 7. Florence/Goodman/Niagara/Pembine 26.