Jan. 23
Shawano 39, New London 38
Shawano boys wrestling coach Mike Homan told his team New London would be a tough opponent as the Bulldogs have some heavy hitters. The night was going to be a constant uphill battle before Shawano pulled off a 39-38 victory to remain unbeaten at 5-0 in conference action.
Shawano started the night with a major decision at 150 by Kody Popelka. He wrestled a back-and-forth match until taking control in the third period.
At 157, Kian Morstad was down late in the third period, but he scored a takedown as time was running out to lose by a 12-6 decision instead of a 12-3 major decision.
Marcus Brezgel came up huge in his match at 165. Both wrestlers were scoreless in the first period and Marcus chose neutral in the second.
“He got into a double undertook tie, jacked it up and threw his opponent to his back,” Homan said. “He transitioned to headlock and earned the fall in 2:48. That was a big match for Marcus. We really needed that match. He has been wrestling so much better during this second half of the year. He is really coming into his own, and it is exciting to watch.”
Then, at 175, Drew Chelberg wrestled a tough match that found him down 3-1 going into the third period. Chelberg earned an escape, and then with less than a minute left, he worked in on a takedown and moved his opponent onto his back and secured a fall in 5:57.
“Drew securing that pin with only three seconds to spare really set us up for a chance at a team win,” Homan said. “Those were big points we needed as we moved into the upper weights.”
Shawano had to forfeit 190 and 215 due to injuries.
At 285, Brayen Boivin wrestled well until the third period where he was reversed to his back and pinned by his opponent.
Going into the lightweight matches, Shawano picked up some points by taking forfeits with Teagon Gerrits, Dylan Gartner, and Dane Hodkiewicz at 106, 113 and 120, respectively.
At 126, Nicholas Wausau competed in his first varsity match.
“Nicholas has been doing a good job for us this year, and he earned a technical fall in 3:07 over Henry Auer,” Homan said.
In the next match, at 132 Austin Stickney was pinned in 2:28.
At 138, Dominick Thorson wrestled against William Christopher, one of New London’s best wrestlers.
Thorson knew if he could stay out of bonus points that Shawano would win the dual. He survived a great effort by Christopher, and in the last 30 seconds fought off of his back hard to give up a victory by technical fall. Even though Thorson lost his match and gave up five team points, the one point he saved proved to be the difference in the dual.
“Dominick did a great job understanding what his job was, and he executed it perfectly,” Homan said. “That took a lot of heart, and Dominick fought for his teammates and himself as he helped earn a team win.”
In the last match of the night, Braxon Beyersdorf was pinned in 1:27.
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