Muskego reaches semifinals, best among Milwaukee-area programs at WIAA state team wrestling

MADISON - The WIAA team state wrestling tournament's Division 1 quarterfinal and semifinal rounds were held Friday at UW Field House, with five Milwaukee-area teams competing. None of the five advanced past the semifinal round to Saturday's finals, as Kaukauna and Wisconsin Rapids Lincoln advanced to the D1 title match.

Here are the highlights from bouts featuring Muskego, Mukwonago, Hartford, Arrowhead and Homestead.

Muskego falls, 37-28, in semifinals to Wisconsin Rapids Lincoln

It seemed all but over for No. 2 seed Muskego with five weight classes remaining in the semifinal round, trailing 28-15 to No. 3 seed Wisconsin Rapids Lincoln. However a run of three victories in four matches put the Warriors back within striking distance. Ryker Morgan (175 pounds) won a 16-6 major decision, Zach Current (215) managed a third-period pin and Dominic Schnier (285) won 10-4 to pull Muskego within 33-28. The Warriors came up short at 106 however in a 5-0 decision, falling 37-28.

"It takes 14 guys, and we might have been a guy short tonight, or whatever the case is," Muskego coach Sean Fortmann said.

A loss at 126 loomed large in the absence of WIAA individual state wrestling's fifth-place 120-pound finisher Cale Zelinski, who had fought through an injury sustained at individual state to even compete in the quarterfinals. Zelinski earned a 5-3 win to contribute to the quarterfinal win before being unable to continue for the semifinals.

"Doesn’t take away from everything that he obviously has meant to the team," Fortmann said. "One of the top wrestlers in the state. He’s done a heck of a job and hopefully he can get healthy soon."

Also contributing to Muskego scoring in the semifinal bout were pins by Thomas Mattsen (126) and JT Brandstatter (138), as well as an 8-2 win for Cole Reid (150). WRL built an early 13-6 lead on a 6-2 win at 113, followed by tech fall victories from Landyn Freeman (120) and Carter Freeman (132).

Muskego made its third straight WIAA team state appearance and 12th overall. Despite the loss, Fortmann said momentum is nonetheless starting to build in the program.

"They’re really bought into the concept of the team and a rising tide lifts all boats. They have kind of put us back on the map I think as far as wrestling goes," Fortmann said. "Eternally grateful to them and everything that they’ve given to our program and each other, it’s just been a blast to coach them."

The Warriors were the lone area team to advance past the quarterfinals, defeating Arrowhead 47-24. Muskego took four of the first five classes over Arrowhead, including pins by Brady Austin (113) and Mason Techmeier (120), Zelinski's decision win and Nathan Schanen' 16-1 victory to get the Warriors out to a 20-3 start. Brandstatter (138) broke up pins at 138 and 150 for Arrowhead with one of his own. Mason Drout (165) scored a sudden victory 6-4, and Muskego took pins in three of the final four classes that included Morgan (175), Current (215) and Schnier (285).

Mukwonago suffers 35-26 quarterfinal loss to Menomonie

No. 5 seed Mukwonago shuffled the back end of its lineup in hopes of a late comeback against No. 4 Menomonie but was unable to stem the tide in their quarterfinal.

The Mustangs won four of the first five classes, which came on a 5-3 sudden victory at 106, pin at 113, 12-3 major decision at 126 and 11-3 major decision at 132. Brian Whipple (120) provided the sole Mukwonago win during that stretch, a 10-0 major decision that broke up a 17-4 start for Menomonie. The teams traded pins at 138 and 144, as Wendell Brausch (138) earned Mukwonago's. An Adam Whittier (150) 6-5 win pulled Mukwonago back within 23-13, but consecutive decision wins at 157 and 165 pushed the lead for Menomonie back out to 29-13. The 157 match came down to the final seconds of the third period, when an escape and takedown in the last 10 seconds flipped the script in a 5-4 Menomonie win. Mukwonago head coach Jon Wierzbicki said some lineup moves towards the latter third of the lineup were made to try and pick up points and make a comeback.

"We moved 175 up to 190, and he had almost a fall but it got called potentially dangerous. At the end we just put ourselves in a position where we had to win those last four after we lost a close one at 165 and of course 157, where it was a buzzer-beater they got us on," Wierzbicki said.

A Wyatt Newman (175) 6-4 win and Hayden Chitwood (190) 11-3 major decision win brought Mukwonago within 29-20, before a Menomonie pin at (215) clinched the win for the Mustangs. Grant Stromberg (285) finished the program's 12th appearance on a strong note, pinning his opponent to round out the evening.

Mukwonago graduates individual state podium finishers Hayden Chitwood (175, sixth) and Grant Stromberg (285, third), but should return Gavin Meinecke (106, sixth) and benefit from momentum gained by second consecutive team state appearance.

"There’s tons of foot soldiers and people in our community that really care about wrestling, and the fact that we’re back at the barn with maybe a younger team on paper, it was a thrill as far as the end of the year," Wierzbicki said. "The expectation is to get here every year, and that’s a really neat thing for our kids to buy in to and be a part of."

Hartford competes early in 41-22 loss to WRL

Things were looking good for No. 6 seed Hartford after three weight classes against No. 3 Wisconsin Rapids Lincoln, but an early advantage would quickly dissipate.

Gavin Wolters (106) got the Orioles started with a 7-3 win, which Parker Neu followed with an 8-7 win. Lincoln Flayter (120) rounded out a 12-0 start with a pin, but Wisconsin Rapids Lincoln responded convincingly with the core of its lineup. Four consecutive pins at 126, 132, 138 and 144, as well as wins of 10-2 and 23-7 pushed the lead to 33-12. Jacob Kidder (165) ended the run of losses for Hartford with a 7-2 win, which Caleb Pekrul (175) followed with an 11-1 win to get the margin back to within 33-19. An 18-3 win for Wisconsin Rapids at 190 clinched a date in the semifinals. The teams split the final two classes on decisions that went 2-1 to Ayden Grulke of Hartford at 215 and 5-0 at 285 to WRL.

Qualifying for team state was vision the Hartford staff implored athletes to buy into early in the season, assistant Getsew Shument said, and he credited the athletes for realizing that vision. The Orioles made it for the ninth time but first since 2012.

"Individual state is fun, but there’s nothing like having 27 other guys next to you, cheering for the smallest points and the biggest moments, and in the middle of matches anything can happen," Shumet said. "(The result) is not what we wanted, we’ve got some seniors leaving us, but we’re super excited for some of the guys to experience it and come back next year for sure."

Hartford projects to return a relatively young core, led by three individual state podium finishers: Wolters (106, fourth), Flayter (120, third) and Grulke (215, fifth).

"The older guys, especially the juniors now know, ‘Hey I’ve got one more shot to be able to do this, and it was super fun.’ I do think we have the team to be able to do it, and the state’s starting to take notice," Shumet said.

Arrowhead falls, 47-24, to Muskego in quarterfinal

The Warhawks saw their 12th appearance at state end in a 47-24 loss to Muskego in the quarterfinal. Arrowhead earned pins from Collin McDowell (138), Wyatt Duchateau (150) and Luke Driedric (190). Two other classes were taken by decision, including Jaden Torres (106) winning 6-1 and Ramon Gulmatico (157) winning 9-3.

"We’re one of eight teams in the state to get to this point, and I think we have a lot to grow from," head coach Jeremy Miller said. "Proud of our seniors for their leadership," Miller said. "Whenever you go through a tournament and don’t win it, there’s going to be disappointment, so most of the teams are going to leave disappointed. It’s unfortunate we couldn’t hold off, but very proud of our kids. They worked hard and they got to this point."

The meet was the last for senior individual state podium finishers Duchateau (150, first) and Ramon Gulmatico (157, second), but the Warhawks project to return state-qualifying talent including Jaden Torres (106), Cole Dechateau (126), Colin McDowell (138, fourth), Chase Fish (144) and Xavier Fallon (285). Miller said the leadership of the upperclassmen this season will be invaluable to the program going forward.

"We’ve got a lot of younger guys on the team as well. That senior leadership coming in and mentoring, being a part of that, not only sets them up for this season, but helps us grow and continue throughout the years. It’s a great group and I’m just proud of them," Miller said.

Homestead falls, 49-17, to Kaukauna in quarterfinal

No. 8 seed Homestead faced long odds against top-seeded Kaukauna, but there was an early window created for an upset with two wins in the first four classes. Trailing 9-0 after a decision loss at 106 and a pin at 113, George Jones (120) got Homestead on the board with a 14-1 major decision. Shemi Seigel (126) followed with a back-and-forth 14-10 win to pull Homestead within 9-7. The next four classes went to Kaukauna, which included a 19-4 tech fall at 132, pin at 138, 10-5 decision at 144 and 7-1 decision at 150 to increase the lead to 26-7. Charlie Millard (157) broke the streak with a pin to pull Homestead back within 27-13, but Kaukauna answered with a 15-0 tech fall win at 165. The final Homestead win of the match came from Guy Fraley by 10-1 major decision, before the final three classes were taken by Kaukauna on pins at 190, 215 and 285.

The meet was the final one in the 34-year coaching career of Homestead's Ernie Millard, a culminating season of historic achievements that included a first conference championship, first team state appearance and only the second time in program history that multiple wrestlers (Millard, first, 157; George Jones, sixth, 120) placed at individual state.

"I can’t walk away and be disappointed in these kids. I’ve gotten to spend a lot of time with these seniors and my son, and it’s been a storybook season for us," Ernie Millard said.

Getting to see through the high school career of son Charlie provided one more highlight for Ernie.

"When Charlie came off the mat, he put his arms around me and he said, ‘Thanks for being my coach.’ I don’t know what else … there’s nothing else to ask for," Ernie Millard said.

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Muskego reaches semifinals at WIAA state team wrestling