LANCASTER— The Darlington/Black Hawk and Belmont/Platteville wrestling teams kicked off the new year by participating at the 51st annual Lancaster Invitational on Saturday, Jan. 7.
    The WarBirds got team points from each of their 12 wrestlers competing on the day to finish third overall at the loaded event with 118.5 points, while the Braves finished ninth on the day with 51 points despite filling just eight of the 14 weight classes.
    Sparta rolled to the team title with 201.5 points after sending seven wrestlers into the finals and crowning three champions. Iowa-Grant/Highland was a distant second with 152.5 points, and the Panthers also had three champions.
    Belmont junior Isaac Wiegel (22-2), who is ranked #1 in Division 2 at 113, turned in a dominating performance on the Lancaster mats as he pinned his way to the title at 113-pounds.
    First-period falls over Lancaster’s Matthew Crosby (1:02), Dubuque Wahlert’s Liam Dolehide (:58) and Madison West’s Paxton Yang (1:53) secured Wiegel’s spot in the finals, and he captured the crown when he stuck Sparta’s Jakob Larson in 3:19 of the championship match.
    Platteville junior Lucas Fugate also came into the day ranked #1 in D2 at 182 for the Braves, but he suffered a setback when he was pinned by WarBird junior Tyler Mosley in 4:32 of their quarterfinal match at 182-pounds.
    Fugate (21-3) bounced back with a 16-1 technical fall over Boscobel’s Preston Baker and registered pins over Brodhead’s Tyler Hoesly in 1:57 and Lancaster’s Troy Klein in 4:49 to finish third in the class.
    Mosley (5-5) lost a 16-0 technical fall to eventual champion Boone McDermott of Dubuque Wahlert, and then dropped a 4-2 decision to Klein and was pinned by Hoesley to finish sixth in the class.
    Junior Paul King (7-2) was runner-up at 126 and sophomore Kolbe Ubersox (8-2) followed by taking second at 132 for the WarBirds. King used a bye and a 5:57 pin over IG/H’s Noah Pennekamp to make the finals at 126, but he fell by a 13-2 major decision to West’s Robert Cooper. K. Ubersox, ranked #10 in D3, used a 3:08 pin of Lancaster’s Logan Schneider and a 15-0 technical fall over Sparta’s Kyle Erickson to make the finals at 132, but settled for second after dropping a hard-fought 7-5 decision to Brodhead’s Jackson Hauri (18-2, ranked #10 in D2).
    Freshman Cayden Milz (8-2) went 3-1 on the day with two pins and a decision to place third for the WarBirds at 120, while his brother, junior Brody (6-3), went 2-2 with a pin and a decision to take fourth at 195.
    Sophomore Hunter Bredeson (8-3) went 3-2 at 138 and juniors Grady Rielly (7-4) at 145 and Lance Ubersox (6-5) at 170 each went 2-2 to add fifth-place finishes for the WarBirds. Freshmen Tristen Gilbertson (7-6) finished fifth at 106 with a 1-2 mark.
    Adding sixths for the WarBirds were freshmen Cody Blosch (6-5) at 113 and Carson Lobdell (5-5) at 152, junior Curtis Blosch (5-4) at 160 and senior Jacob Tuescher (1-5) at 285  
    At Cuba City, on Friday, Jan. 6, Darlington/Black Hawk returned to the mats for competition for the first time in 24 days and shook off the rust by posting a 56-6 SWAL victory over the Cuba City-Southwestern/Benton tri-op.
    The WarBirds (2-0 overall, 1-0 SWAL) won 11 of the 13 contested matches on the night. Paul King at 126 and Hunter Bredeson at 138 registered pins, while Grady Rielly and Brody Milz posted major decisions and Connor Novak at 152 and Curtis Blosch at 160 added wins by decision.
    The WarBirds also picked up forfeit wins at 113, 120, 132, 170 and 182.
    Darlington/Black Hawk has a SWAL dual against Riverdale at Black Hawk High School on Friday, Jan. 13, and another at Fennimore in a make-up match on Tuesday, Jan. 17. Then, on Saturday, Jan. 14, the WarBirds in participate in the Madison LaFollette Invitational, on Saturday, Jan. 14, starting at 9 p.m.
    At Belmont, on Thursday, Jan. 5, Isaac Wiegel, Josh Taber and Will Schaefer all registered pins and Lucas Fugate added a decision for Belmont/Platteville in a 50-21 dual meet loss to Richland Center in a Southwest Wisconsin Conference match.
    The Braves (2-2, 0-2) have a SWC dual meet at Dodgeville on Thursday, Jan. 12, and then return home to host the Belmont/Platteville Invitational on Saturday, Jan. 14, starting at 10 a.m.
   
LANCASTER INVITATIONAL
Team Standings: Sparta 201.5, Iowa-Grant/Highland 152.5, Darlington/Black Hawk 118.5, Cashton 101, Dubuque Wahlert 101, Brodhead 92.5, Lancaster 92, Dubuque Senior 87.5, Belmont/Platteville 51, Boscobel 46.5, Madison West 45, Cuba City/Benton/Southwestern 36, Parkview 22, River Ridge/Cassville 22.

Darlington/Black Hawk Individual Results: 106-pounds- NW; 113- 6- Cody Blosch, 1-3; 120- 3- Cayden Milz, 3-1; 126- 2- Paul King, 2-1; 132- 2- Kolbe Ubersox, 2-1; 138- 5- Hunter Bredeson, 3-2; 145- 5- Grady Reilly, 2-2; 152- 6- Carson Lobdell, 1-3; 160- 6- Curtis Blosch, 1-3; 170- 5- Lance Ubersox, 2-2; 182- 6- Tyler Mosley, 1-3; 195- 4- Brody Milz, 2-2; 220- NW; 285- 6- Jacob Tuescher, 1-3.

Belmont/Platteville Individual Results: 106-pounds- 5- Tristen Gilbertson, 1-2; 113- 1- Isaac Wiegel, 4-0; 120- Chris Gillen, 0-2; 152- Joshua Taber, 0-2; 182- 3- Luke Fugate, 3-1; 195- Will Schaefer, 0-2; 220- Chris Spoor, 0-2; 285- Venkat Reddy, 0-2.
At LHS, on Saturday, Jan. 7

DUAL MEETS
DARLINGTON/BLACK HAWK 56,
CUBA CITY/SOUTHWESTERN/BENTON 6
Individual Results: 106-pounds- Double forfeit; 113- Cody Blosch, D/BH, won by forfeit; 120- Cayden Milz, D/BH, won by forfeit; 126- Paul King, D/BH, pinned Corwin Emery, CCSWB, 1:41; 132- Kolbe Ubersox, D/BH, won by forfeit; 138- Hunter Bredeson, D/BH, pinned Wylie Niles, CCSWB, 3:03; 145- Grady Rielly, D/BH, major dec. Tyler Reuter, CCSWB, 13-2; 152- Connor Novak, D/BH, dec. Brad Goffinet, CCSWB, 5-1; 160- Curtis Blosch, D/BH, dec. Abe Meier, CCSWB, 4-2; 170- Lance Ubersox, D/BH, won by forfeit; 182- Tyler Mosley, D/BH, won by forfeit; 195- Jake Neis, CCSWB, dec. Karl Seffrood, D/BH, 8-4; 220- Brody Milz, D/BH, major dec. Francisco Garcia, CCSWB, 12-4; 285- Aaron McCarthy, CCSWB, dec. Jacob Tuescher, D/BH, 1-0.
At Cuba City, on Friday, Jan. 6
       
Richland Center 50,
Belmont/Platteville 21
Individual Results: 220-pounds- Peters pinned Chris Spoor, BP; 285- Schieldt, RR/C, pinned Venkat Reddy, BP; 106- Schmidt tech fall Tristen Gilbertson, BP, 17-0; 113- Jones dec. Christopher Gillen, BP, 10-9; 120- Double forfeit; 126- Isaac Wiegel, BP, pinned Hill; 132- Wolf pinned Autumn Chapman, BP; 138- Miller pinned Brady Johnson, BP; 145- Morris, RC, won by forfeit; 152- Joshua Taber, BP, pinned Abdl-Halem; 160- Banker, RC, won by forfeit; 170- Thomas, RC, won by forfeit; 182- Luke Fugate, BP, dec. Coleman, 8-4; 195- Will Schaefer, BP, pinned Rynes.
At Belmont, on Thursday, Jan. 5