It’s a moment that has haunted Oconto Falls High School senior Dewey Krueger for almost 10 months.
With a chance to win back-to-back state wrestling titles, Krueger lost in the final 10 seconds of the WIAA Division 2 145-pound championship match in March.
“Second place to me isn’t good enough,” Krueger said. “It’s definitely what drives me to succeed this year. I want to make sure it’s definitely not going to happen again.”
Krueger is on a mission to have his senior season end in his second state title.
“That was a big disappointment, obviously,” Krueger said. “Taking first sophomore year and then lowering one place is not a good feeling.”
Krueger won the 132-pound state championship as a sophomore and finished 42-1.
Oconto Falls tri-head coach Marc Kinziger has seen Krueger bring the extra motivation into the wrestling room this season.
“He knows one got away from him last year, and he doesn’t want to take anything for granted,” Kinziger said. “He’s definitely putting in the work and the hours and all that again to come away with a state championship.”
Krueger (152), who has a career record of 127-12, was off to an 8-0 start, as of Dec. 22.
“He’s got to push himself, he knows that,” Kinziger said. “It’s easy to take it easy when you think, ‘Yeah, you know, I am the best out there.’ He’s got to push himself. He’s got to continue to push himself. He’s got to stay hungry for that.”
“I’ve been trying to push myself harder and harder every day and trying to get as much as I can out of the practices,” Krueger said.
Kinziger believes Krueger, who is the top-ranked wrestler at 152 pounds by wiwrestling.com, is the favorite to win the state title.
“When you put him pound for pound anywhere, he could certainly be one of the top recruits out of that class,” Kinziger said.
Since he’s had such a successful prep career, there has always been a bull’s-eye on Krueger’s back. He never lets it affect him on the mat.
“Last year, I felt a little pressure to win a second one, but now that that didn’t happen, I don’t have anything to lose,” Krueger said. “I might as well just go out and work my hardest and get it done.”
Krueger trains for wrestling year round and knows what it takes to be a champion. When he’s not working out in the OFHS wrestling or weight rooms, he likes to head to X Factor Elite Wrestling in Manitowoc.
As a kid, Krueger used to travel around the country with his grandparents and compete in wrestling tournaments, facing the best in the nation. His journey as a young wrestler had him transfer from Gillett to Oconto Falls his freshman year.
Kinziger has watched Krueger mature before his very eyes.
“He came in as such a skinny little kid, now he’s a man,” Kinziger said. “He always had the credentials. From a young age, they knew he was going to be a very good wrestler.”
Krueger has gotten bigger over the years, but this year Kinziger has started to see a difference from his star wrestler.
“If he had a weakness, it was weakness — he had to get stronger,” Kinziger said. “I think he might have learned that from Jake (Morrissey) and those guys when they went on to college that they needed to hit the weight room more. Dewey has begun to do that a little bit.”
One major reason Krueger lost in the state title match last season was because Southern Door’s Jacob Englebert was stronger. The Oconto Falls program hired a strength coach this year to help get the wrestlers in better shape.
“I can definitely feel the difference,” Krueger said. “Instead of outworking everybody, I feel a lot stronger and a lot better.”
Along with his dedication in the weight room, Krueger has really become a leader for his teammates. He’s always been a lead-by-example type guy, but he’s been a little more vocal this year. As a senior, it’s a role that he has embraced.
“I told him when we got back to school in the fall, ‘Whether you want to be or not, you’re their leader. They look up to you,’” Kinziger said. “’You can be a good leader or a bad leader, but both require the same amount of energy.’ He decided he wanted to be a good leader.”
With so many things to think about on the mat, Krueger is also going through the college process to try and figure out where he will wrestle next season.
Krueger has gotten some Division I interest from Northern Illinois, where he has taken a visit, and Eastern Michigan. Division III powerhouse Augsburg, in Minneapolis, which has won 11 national championships, also is interested.
“I haven’t really been talking to anybody in depth,” Krueger said. “I’m kind of open right now.”
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