Wrestling: Oconto Falls dominant in final regional tune-up

OCONTO FALLS — The Oconto Falls High School wrestling team turned in a strong showing at a home quad Friday in its last action before regionals, posting a 3-0 dual record and having several wrestlers shine on the mat.

Oconto Falls opened the night with a convincing 64-9 win over Sheboygan South before tougher wins over Green Bay Preble (45-24) and Kewaunee (42-28).

“I am happy with both the outcome and the effort at the quad,” said Oconto Falls coach David Brasier. “Our last couple weeks of the season, we have met with some pretty good competition — Luxemburg-Casco, Coleman, Wrightstown, Denmark and the Pulaski invite — and our guys struggled through. I believe the quad showed the benefits of wrestling that tough competition. We won most of the close matches, (three) in overtime, only gave up a couple pins and showed determination and grit — especially in the third period.”

Brasier also said the team’s showing was even more promising because a few starters were out with an illness or injury.

Sophomores Graeson Pankratz, Clayton Whiting and Jacob Kaminski, juniors Aidan Stary and Elijah Zielinski and seniors Brendan Konitzer and Tyler Budz all finished the night with perfect records for Oconto Falls.

“The night I had gives me a lot of confidence because I was working on particular moves at practice, and they worked for me,” said Budz, who is just two wins shy of 100 in his high school career.

In its win over Sheboygan South, Oconto Falls only dropped two weight classes, with one of those being a forfeit.

Konitzer (113), Budz (138), Kaminski (182), Zielinski (285), sophomore Weston Borkovec (145) and freshman Mitchell Kallies (220) all won by pin for the Panthers.

Freshman Luke Trepanier (126) and sophomore Jeremy Caldwell (195) came up clutch, each getting takedowns for sudden victories in overtime.

Stary (160) dominated on his way to a major decision win, while Pankratz (106), Whiting (170) and sophomore Jaden Ganter (120) all won by forfeit for the Panthers.

In Oconto Falls’ win over Preble, Ganter got the dual started with an overtime win at 120 pounds. Trepanier (126) then earned six points after his opponent had to concede with an injury before Budz (132) won a decision to give the hosts a 12-0 lead.

Oconto Falls dropped the next three weight classes — two of which were forfeits — before Stary and Whiting got the team back on track. Stary picked up a 9-8 decision win at 160 pounds before Whiting earned a pin in 1 minute, 10 seconds, at 170 pounds.

After losing by pin at the 182 class, Oconto Falls’ Kaminski earned a forfeit win at 195. Preble earned a decision win at 220 pounds, but the Panthers took the final three weight classes to come away with the dual win.

Pankratz (106) won by forfeit, while Zielinski (285) and Konitzer (113) each pinned their opponents in the first period.

“Having a 3-0 night for sure does give me a lot of confidence,” said Konitzer. “I just have to continue to work hard at practice and do what I set out for.”

In the Panthers’ final dual of the night, the team won eight weight classes.

Budz and Borkovec earned tight decision wins at 138 and 145 pounds, respectively, before Stary won by forfeit at 160. Whiting — the top-ranked wrestler in Division 2 at 170 pounds according to wiwrestling.com — followed with a pin in 1:32.

Oconto Falls sealed up its win with four pins. Zielinski (285) and Pankratz (106) both pinned their opponents in the first period, while Konitzer (113) got a pin in the second period and Kaminski (195) notched his pin early in the third period.

The next time Oconto Falls’ wrestlers take the mat, it will be for regionals. Antigo, Clintonville/Marion, Florence/Goodman/Niagara/Pembine, Marinette, Peshtigo and Seymour will fill out the Division 2 regional that Oconto Falls will host.

“This week, we are going to work hard like any other week — fix the things we need improvement on and get ready for regionals,” said Konitzer.

“In these next couple weeks heading into regionals and sectionals, we do our best to maintain a typical practice routine,” said Brasier. “Most important is to get and stay healthy.”

The first matches of the regional are set to begin at 10 a.m. Saturday.

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