MCDONALD'S SWNEWS4U.COM GAME OF THE WEEK (Dec. 13–20)
PREP WRESTLING: Richland Center Invitational
By Jason Nihles, The Platteville Journal
Shorthanded Panthers win Richland Center Invitational with just 12 wrestlers for second tourney title this year
HIGHLAND — The Iowa–Grant/Highland wrestling team opened last week with three dual meet wins at its own quadrangular on Tuesday, then closed it out by winning the 17-team Richland Center Invitational on Saturday.
The Panthers (6–2, 1–0 SWAL) scored non-conference wins over Waterloo, 59–18, and Ithaca/Weston, 66–18, last Tuesday at Highland High school, then closed out the night with a dominating 78–6 conference victory over the first-year Boscobel/Wauzeka–Steuben co-op.
Seven different Panthers went 3–0 Tuesday, led by sophomore Tyson Imhoff, who notched three pins at 145 pounds.
Sophomore Lucas Christianson (120, two pins), freshman Hunter Stevens (126, two pins), junior Elliott Biba (132, two pins), senior Caden Lindner (138, two pins), freshman Jackson Busse (160) and senior Hudson Brown (285) each collected three wins for the co-op. Senior Dax Smezler went 2–0 with a pin and a forfeit win at 145.
The IG/H lightweights dominated the competition at Saturday’s Richland Center Invite (despite not having a 106- or 113-pounder), as Stevens (126), Biba (132), Lindner (138) and Busse (160) each won individual titles, and Imhoff finished second at 145 for the champion Panthers racked up 294 points to hold off the Gale–Ettrick–Trempeleau/Melrose–Mindoro co-op (272.5) for the team title.
Reedsburg (245) and Riverdale (234) and finished third and fourth.
“It was a great team effort on Saturday,” said Panthers’ head coach Ryan Allen. “Not having a wrestler at 106 or 113 did not make it easy for our guys. But, we knew we would need all the bonus points we could. And that is exactly what the boys did. We had a lot of pins and guys were really going after the extra points.”
Stevens (12–0) remained unbeaten in his debut season going 4–0 Saturday with a bye, two pins and a 3–0 championship match victory over fellow freshman Dylan Weigel of Belmont/Platteville.
Biba (13–2) used a first-round bye, a 54-second pin, a narrow 1–0 semifinal victory over Tomah’s Cameron Finch to reach the finals, where he scored a 7–4 victory over River Valley’s Noah Radtke (9–2).
Lindner (12–3) scored a team-high 39 points on the day with a bye and three pins. He second-period fall at the 2:40 over Jackson Blaken of G–E–T/Melrose–Mindoro) in the 138-pound championship match, was a key win that helped the Panthers clinch the team title.
Busse (10–2) used a bye and a pair of 50-second pins to reach the final, where he gutted out a 7–5 victory over Tomah’s Gavin Finch in the 152-pound final.
Imhoff went 3–1 with a bye and two pins, before dropping a 6–0 decision to River Valley’s Landon Radtke (14–2) in the 145-pound final.
“I thought our upper classmen did a great job leading by example and our younger guys followed suit,” added Allen. “It seems like physically and mentally were are in a good place right now and we need to keep doing what we are doing, but better. Our schedule is only going to keep getting tougher so that is exactly what we are going to do; keep getting tougher. We are at PDC on Tuesday night and they are a very good team this year. That will be a great opportunity for our guys to compete with one of the best teams in Wisconsin this year. And then we go to Bi-State, one of the biggest tourneys in Wisconsin. That should be a great measuring stick for us to see where we are at.”
After Tuesday’s non-conference clash at Prairie du Chien, Allen’s Panthers will return to action Dec. 29–30 at the Bi-State Classic in La Crosse after Christmas.
Richland Center Invitational
(from Saturday, Dec. 17 @ Richland Center)
Team scores — 1.Iowa–Grant/Highland 294, 2.G–E–T/Melrose–Mindoro 272.5, 3.Reedsburg 245, 4.Riverdale 234, 5.River Valley 191.5, 6.Richland Center 180, 7.Ithaca/Weston 144.5, 8.Cashton 132, 9.Tomah 128, 10.Belmont/Platteville 110, 11.Monroe 78, 12.Baraboo 77, 13.Westby 51, 14.Cochrane–Fountain City 38, 15.Hillsboro 33, 16.Bosocbel/Wauzeka–Steuben 22, 17.River Ridge 11.
Iowa–Grant/Highland individual results
120: Lucas Christianson (10-5) went 2–2 placed 4th and scored 20.0 team points.
3rd Place Match - Jayce Stetzer (Gale-Ett-Tremp./Melrose) 9-2 won by decision over Lucas Christianson (Iowa Grant/ Highland) 10-5 (Dec 4-0)
126: Hunter Stevens (12-0) went 4–0 and placed 1st and scored 37.0 team points.
Champ. Round 1 - Hunter Stevens (Iowa Grant/ Highland) 12-0 received a bye () (Bye)
Quarterfinal - Hunter Stevens (Iowa Grant/ Highland) 12-0 won by fall over Layne Fry (Gale-Ett-Tremp./Melrose) 6-5 (Fall 2:54)
Semifinal - Hunter Stevens (Iowa Grant/ Highland) 12-0 won by fall over Landen Bloom (Tomah) 11-5 (Fall 2:41)
1st Place Match - Hunter Stevens (Iowa Grant/ Highland) 12-0 won by decision over Dylan Weigel (Belmont/Platteville) 11-3 (Dec 3-0)
132: Elliott Biba (13-2) went 4–0 and placed 1st and scored 35.0 team points.
Champ. Round 1 - Elliott Biba (Iowa Grant/ Highland) 13-2 received a bye () (Bye)
Quarterfinal - Elliott Biba (Iowa Grant/ Highland) 13-2 won by fall over Jordan Parker (River Ridge) 3-5 (Fall 0:54)
Semifinal - Elliott Biba (Iowa Grant/ Highland) 13-2 won by decision over Cameron Finch (Tomah) 12-4 (Dec 1-0)
1st Place Match - Elliott Biba (Iowa Grant/ Highland) 13-2 won by decision over Noah Radtke (River Valley) 9-2 (Dec 7-4)
138: Caden Lindner (12-3) went 4–0 and placed 1st and scored 39.0 team points.
Champ. Round 1 - Caden Lindner (Iowa Grant/ Highland) 12-3 received a bye () (Bye)
Quarterfinal - Caden Lindner (Iowa Grant/ Highland) 12-3 won by fall over Evan Johnson (Tomah) 3-7 (Fall 0:20)
Semifinal - Caden Lindner (Iowa Grant/ Highland) 12-3 won by fall over Wyatt Nachreiner (River Valley) 7-4 (Fall 1:59)
1st Place Match - Caden Lindner (Iowa Grant/ Highland) 12-3 won by fall over Jackson Blaken (Gale-Ett-Tremp./Melrose) 8-3 (Fall 2:40)
145: Tyson Imhoff (13-2) went 3–1 and placed 2nd and scored 32.0 team points.
Champ. Round 1 - Tyson Imhoff (Iowa Grant/ Highland) 13-2 received a bye () (Bye)
Quarterfinal - Tyson Imhoff (Iowa Grant/ Highland) 13-2 won by fall over Jacob Anderson (Westby) 2-2 (Fall 0:32)
Semifinal - Tyson Imhoff (Iowa Grant/ Highland) 13-2 won by fall over Carson Koss (Gale-Ett-Tremp./Melrose) 9-2 (Fall 5:08)
1st Place Match - Landon Radtke (River Valley) 14-2 won by decision over Tyson Imhoff (Iowa Grant/ Highland) 13-2 (Dec 6-0)
152: Jaxon Busse (10-2) went 4–0 and placed 1st and scored 37.0 team points.
Champ. Round 1 - Jaxon Busse (Iowa Grant/ Highland) 10-2 received a bye () (Bye)
Quarterfinal - Jaxon Busse (Iowa Grant/ Highland) 10-2 won by fall over Kason Bode (Baraboo) 4-7 (Fall 0:50)
Semifinal - Jaxon Busse (Iowa Grant/ Highland) 10-2 won by fall over Talan Childs (Riverdale) 9-4 (Fall 0:50)
1st Place Match - Jaxon Busse (Iowa Grant/ Highland) 10-2 won by decision over Gavin Finch (Tomah) 14-2 (Dec 7-5)
160: Darren Laufenberg (10-6) went 4–1 and placed 5th and scored 21.0 team points.
5th Place Match - Darren Laufenberg (Iowa Grant/ Highland) 10-6 won by fall over Gunnar Johnson (Gale-Ett-Tremp./Melrose) 7-5 (Fall 0:50)
170: Gavin Hinderman (5-3) went 3–2 placed 7th and scored 10.0 team points.
7th Place Match - Gavin Hinderman (Iowa Grant/ Highland) 5-3 won by fall over Avery Hanusa (Baraboo) 5-7 (Fall 1:41)
182: Tucker Degenhart (10-5) went 2–2 and placed 4th and scored 20.0 team points.
3rd Place Match - Mitch Berg (Gale-Ett-Tremp./Melrose) 7-4 won by major decision over Tucker Degenhart (Iowa Grant/ Highland) 10-5 (MD 11-2)
195: Bode Brockhop (9-8) went 3–2 and placed 6th and scored 16.0 team points.
5th Place Match - Zach Eames (River Valley) 10-6 won by fall over Bode Brockhop (Iowa Grant/ Highland) 9-8 (Fall 0:19)
220: Hudson Brown (11-5) went 4–1 and placed 5th and scored 17.0 team points.
5th Place Match - Hudson Brown (Iowa Grant/ Highland) 11-5 won by decision over Kadyn Davis (Belmont/Platteville) 3-2 (Dec 2-0)
285: Bronson Mchone (3-2) went 3–2 and placed 7th and scored 10.0 team points.
7th Place Match - Bronson Mchone (Iowa Grant/ Highland) 3-2 won by decision over Owen Callahan (River Ridge) 5-5 (Dec 5-3)
