February 17, 2017 at 2:59 p.m.
Hodag grapplers seek multiple state berths
Hodag grapplers seek multiple state berths
So far so good for the Hodags who will send seven wrestlers to a WIAA Division 1 sectional Saturday in River Falls with hopes of locking up multiple state tournament berths.
Despite seeing their three-year reign atop the Great Northern Conference come to an end, the Hodags have reason to be optimistic following a runner-up performance in the regional round which saw them take home three individual titles and three second-place finishes. After several years of sending only one wrestler to the state meet, the Hodags would like to bring a van full of wrestlers to the Kohl Center in Madison next week.
"It should be a lot of fun and, if we wrestle like we can, we could send a lot of guys to state," coach Paul Ellenbecker said. "It would be quite a treat for a bit of a rough year to end the year with multiple people going ... This year I feel (the chances) are as high as they been in any program I've been around. I think our kids are wrestling well, they're healthy, they're happy, they're adjusted to their weights and it would suck not to get multiple guys down there this year."
A few points to consider regarding the Hodags heading into the sectional round which gets underway at 10:30 Saturday morning:
How to qualify
Sixteen wrestlers from across the state qualify for state in each weight class at the Division 1 level. To make it to Madison, a wrestler has to finish either first or second in his or her weight class.
Each sectional has an eight-man bracket, with a wrestleback for second, third and fourth positions. Lose in the quarterfinals and your season is over, much like happened to Hodag hopeful Connor Johnson as a sophomore back in 2012. Though he won a regional title, he suffered a concussion in a quarterfinal loss and was eliminated from tournament contention.
Just because a wrestler qualifies for the championship match doesn't mean he or she can breathe easy. The winner of the championship bout earns a berth to state, while the loser has to await the outcome of the third-place match. If the loser of the championship match beat the winner of the third-place match earlier of the day, that wrestler advances to state by rule. If not, the two wrestlers grapple for second and a trip to the WIAA state tournament.
The easier path
The brackets at sectionals are seeded by the regional results. The champ from one regional takes on the fourth-place wrestler from the other. Second takes on third and so on down the line. Because the Hodags took three firsts and three seconds at regionals, the majority of their wrestlers will be the upper seed in the win-or-else quarterfinal matches.
"We put ourselves in great position with first and seconds," Ellenbecker said. "To have an opportunity to advance guys to the state tournament it's there. It's right in front of us and it looks favorable. There's not like any brackets where you see two or three guys that are just horses like there used to be."
Only one Rhinelander wrestler will face a ranked opponent right out of the gate. Eric Grulke, who finished third in the 138-pound bracket last Saturday at Merrill, will face eighth-ranked Brandon McClure of Superior in the quarterfinals.
Familiar surroundings
Grulke is also the only member of the Hodags' sectional contingent who has not reached the sectional round at least once previously in his career. Of the other six, Jacob DeMeyer returns with the most experience. The 145-pound junior qualified for the WIAA state meet as a freshman and a sophomore.
Rhinelander's two other regional champs from last weekend - Alec Bess (160) and Alec Kurtz (182) - return to sectionals this year after finishing third and barely missing out on a trip to state a season ago.
The setting is a familiar one for the Hodags, too. River Falls High School is the host of the Northern Badger Invitational that is held over the Christmas break. Rhinelander has been to the tournament several times over the past few seasons, but had to miss the invite this year due to the pertussis outbreak that nixed all RHS extra-curricular activities for 2 1/2 weeks in late December.
"It's kind of an advantage, too, wrestling in the River Falls gym," Ellenbecker said. "We are basically familiar with the gym. We're familiar with River Falls from going there. That's not going to hurt us either. We're definitely excited about it and the kids are pumped up. It's just a golden opportunity to compete and have a chance to do something they'll remember the rest of their lives."
Apfel factor
The members of the Hodag wrestling team will be competing with heavy hearts Saturday, as they mourn the loss of coach Mark Apfel, who passed away unexpectedly last Sunday.
Apfel wasn't a wrestling coach, but he had ties to all seven sectional qualifiers through other sports.
"He coached them in football. He coached them in baseball. He was a good man that really rooted these guys on in all three sports that they participated in," Ellenbecker said. "Even though he didn't coach wrestling, he was at our meets. He was up here last week. He had a nice talk with Colton Krueger up here just two weeks ago. He's always been around our program and he's always been a really good friend of mine. I've been really close to him and our whole team has been close. We're going to wrestle well and I think a lot of the kids, he'll be looking out for us Saturday. That motivation too, knowing we've got him up there looking down on us, we have all the stars aligning for us."
Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].
Comments:
You must login to comment.