Lake Catholic wrestling trio headed for U.S. Open in Las Vegas
Apr. 4—Chance Wuhr, Danny Zmorowski and Tyler Ineman love donning Lake Catholic's green and gray wrestling singlets.
The chance to wear America's red, white and blue? That would rival everything else.
Wuhr, Zmorowski and Ineman are gearing up for the U.S. Open wrestling tournament April 23-28 at the South Point Casino venue in Las Vegas. Wrestling in the U17 bracket, the trio of Lake Catholic student-athletes are hoping to come home with first-place gold medals around their neck, which would earn them spots on the United States' U17 world team.
"That would mean, wow, so much," Zmorowski said of the prospect of representing his country. "It would be another step toward my goal of going to the Olympics someday. If you win this tournament, you're on the U.S. world team. That would be a great accomplishment."
Though certainly not easy. The trio will be going up against some of the best young wrestlers in the nation for national glory. All three will be participating in freestyle, while Zmorowski will also be taking part in the Greco-Roman portion of the event.
Both Wuhr and Zmorowski are freshmen at Lake Catholic, while Ineman is in eighth grade. Wuhr is coming off a freshman season in which he went 32-17 and placed sixth in the Division III state tournament at 106 pounds, while Zmorowski went 43-7 and placed third at 215 pounds. Ineman wrestled a high-level junior high schedule, placing fifth at the Super 32 in Greensboro, N.C., and sixth at the Iowa nationals.
When Lake Catholic coach Nate Skonieczny took over the head coaching position at Lake Catholic in March 2023, he said the goal of his program was to set the bar high individually and as a team. Having three wrestlers in the US Open follows that mantra.
"Our bar is set for these kids to make the world team. That's as high as it gets at this level," Skonieczny said. "These are kids who wrestle year-round and want to compete in events like this. It's not just talk. We have the kids and we are going to do this.
"These kids believe in themselves and I believe in them. They're all competitors."
The trip to Las Vegas will be the farthest journey Wuhr has made for a tournament. He said that last year's schedule when he went to Fargo, N.D., and took part in freestyle and Greco-Roman tournaments gave him confidence. Placing sixth at the state tournament in March ramped up that confidence even more.
He will wrestle at 45kg (99 pounds) at the U.S. Open.
"Wrestling folkstyle at the beginning of the season, I wasn't doing real well," he said. "I was so much smaller than most (at 106 pounds). Ending sixth at state made me realize I AM able to wrestle with those bigger kids."
Zmorowski will wrestle in the US Open in the 110kg class (242 pounds). As he was throughout the high school season, he will weigh-in at a considerably less weight that those he'll be going up against. But strength and quickness are his allies.
"I'm more on the lighter side, about 210 pounds right now," he said. "I don't think weight matters as much. I'm really confident in my speed. When you get down to it, wrestling is wrestling. I just have to go out there and wrestle."
Ineman will wrestle in the 60kg class (132 pounds).
Regardless of how it works out for the Lake Catholic trio, the benefits of wrestling in a high-level tournament such as the U.S. Open will only benefit them.
"You know those guys always have their eyes set on doing big things," Skonieczny said. "Win or lose, they're always moving forward and looking to compete against the best kids in the country. There's no secret formula. If you wrestle the best kids consistently, you're going to become one of the best kids."
