February 22, 2017 at 1:14 p.m.
Hodags have eyes on podium ahead of state wrestling meet
Hodags have eyes on podium ahead of state wrestling meet
Jacob DeMeyer will be making his third state tournament appearance for the Hodags. He'll be joined by three first-time qualifiers - Alec Kurtz, Alec Bess and Reuben Guzik - all of whom are gunning to finish in the top six of their 16-man brackets during the three-day event.
"I think all of our guys have a realistic shot of getting on podium," RHS wrestling coach Paul Ellenbecker said. "To go down there and get a couple of guys placing would be huge."
The last time that happened was three years ago, when Connor Johnson took fourth in the 195-pound weight class. But, this is no ordinary year for the Hodags, who are sending more than two wrestlers to the state tournament in the same season for the first time since 1992.
The first step toward making the podium is winning the preliminary match Thursday afternoon. That advances a wrestler to the quarterfinals and assures him or her of a spot in the wrestleback. Only the first-round losers who were defeated by quarterfinal winners make their way back into the consolation bracket.
Ellenbecker said practice has been light this week leading up to the state meet, basically a matter of keeping his wrestlers "healthy and happy."
"At this point, we're not adding anything," he said. "We are what we are. We'll try to watch a little bit of the other opponents maybe see what we've got on them. But it's just about staying the course."
Here's a look at the big story for each wrestler heading into state:
DeMeyer's determined return
Jacob DeMeyer's run at last year's state tournament lasted a mere 12 seconds before he was slammed to the mat and concussed by eventual state runner-up Jake Morgan of Wilmot High School.
DeMeyer insists he doesn't dwell on that moment, but his 40-0 record this year would suggest otherwise.
"It doesn't have too much influence on it, considering I only wrestled for a little while. But I'm a little bit more confident than I was last year," he said.
"I think it left him a little hungry," Ellenbecker said of last year's early exit. "Last year, we'll never know, but the way he was wrestling at the end of the year last year, I still think his first-round match with Morgan - and Morgan went to the finals - I believe he was going to win.
"We'll never know. It happened so fast and it's over and done with now, but he's ready," Ellenbecker added. "He's not afraid of anybody. That's the best thing with him. He'll go out there and wrestle anyone wherever and he believes in himself."
DeMeyer, the fourth-ranked wrestler in the Division 1, 145-pound weight class according to WIWrestling, has a pretty clear path on paper. He will face 14th-ranked senior Owen Gorges (31-10) of Milwaukee Hamilton on Thursday afternoon. Assuming he wins that match, he'll meet up with either 11th-ranked Subhan Umar of Racine Horlick (48-3) or 13th-ranked Mike Baumann of New Berlin West/Eisenhower (38-8) in the quarterfinals.
If the seeds hold, the showdown would take place Friday night in the semifinals against the only other undefeated wrestler in the bracket, top-ranked Jaden Van Maanen of La Crosse Central (45-0).
"Jacob, we know what he's been going through," Ellenbecker said. "A lot of people are looking at him and Van Maanen being undefeated and they're looking at that semifinal potentially. You don't want to look ahead, but everyone is looking ahead because they look at the records."
One thing is certain, DeMeyer enters the weekend with a load of confidence.
"I have a lot of confidence. My goal is to make the podium and that's all I can ask for," he said. "I think I've got a good chance. I think I've got a pretty good draw. Hopefully, it all works out."
Bess finally makes it
Alec Bess has racked up a lot of wins during his four-year run at RHS, but none bigger than a 29-second pin of New Richmond's Nathan Fehlen last Saturday in the sectional finals at 160 pounds.
In Bess' fourth and final chance to make it to Madison, the Hodag senior finally punched his ticket.
"When I got that pin, it was a pretty surreal moment. I don't know, I was just really excited," Bess said. "I just kind of put things together. All the little extra wrestling we do in the offseason is starting to payoff. I don't know, we are just clicking."
Bess, ranked fifth in the class, takes a 36-3 record into Thursday's first-round match against 16th-ranked Weston Verhoff of Appleton North (28-15). Though the Hodags and the Lightning met in a dual Jan. 21 in Wausau, Bess and Verhoff didn't compete against each other. Bess pinned Ihab Khatib in the first period at 170 while Verhoff defeated Scott Fox 5-0 at 160.
Should Bess get by that first round matchup, a potential quarterfinal bout with top-ranked Hayden Krein (32-1) of Sparta looms. No. 2 Tyler Dow of Stoughton (48-2) could await in the semifinals.
"Bess, it's just a matter of him believing in himself," Ellenbecker said.
Kurtz looking beyond 100
Junior Alec Kurtz picked up his 100th career win last Saturday on his way to a sectional championship at 182 pounds. Now, he's getting ready for his first state tournament experience.
"That was pretty nice to get," Kurtz said of win No. 100. "It's really exciting and not many wrestlers actually get that. It's really exciting when you finally get there."
Kurtz (36-5) just as well could have been talking about reaching the state meet for the first time, which he clinched with a 9-1 win over Wausau West's Jordan LaRue in last Saturday's sectional final. He finished one spot short last year, placing third in a brutal sectional bracket that included two eventual state placewinners.
"It really made me want to get there this year and made me push a little bit harder," he said of last year's experience. "I was so close last year, had such a good year, but I had two very good wrestlers in front of me. It was kind of depressing last year that I couldn't get there but, this year, I finally made it through."
The ninth-ranked Kurtz, like Bess, faces two potential studs on his half of the draw if he makes a deep run on the winner's side of the bracket. He'll face 12th-ranked Bennett Connolly of Slinger (30-10) in the first round, could see former state champ and second-ranked Jackson Hemauer of DeForest (45-1) in the semifinals and top-ranked Jared Krattiger of Waterford (46-0) could await in the semifinals.
"Alec Kurtz, he and Bess both have potential roadblocks in the second round," Ellenbecker said. "If they can win their first one, but it's the state tournament, you're going to wrestle good kids and you're going to have to beat good kids to move on."
Guzik not afraid of the challenge
Junior Reuben Guzik is the only one of Rhinelander's four state qualifiers who didn't win a sectional title. Then again, no one has been able to beat Stevens Point's Brady Koontz this year. But Guzik can claim something no other 113-pounder can against Koontz.
"He's only gotten taken down twice this year - both by me," Guzik said. "I'm one of the best in the state on my feet and I'm confident that I'm going to compete on that level this year."
Guzik (30-10) enters as a bit of an underdog, ranked 15th of the 16 wrestlers in his class at state by WIWrestling, and faces a stacked half of the bracket that features four of the top seven wrestlers in the state. His first-round opponent is seventh-ranked Cole Gille of Pulaski (35-3). If he wins that he'll have a matchup against either fifth-ranked Mason French of Kenosha Tremper (35-5) or ninth-ranked Dylane Herbrand (39-7) in the quarterfinals.
"Reuben's kind of got a bracket where a lot of guys are right there with each other. He's going to have to wrestle well," Ellenbecker said.
Typically wrestlers, especially in the lowerweights, move up in class as the high school years progress. Guzik went the other way, cutting from 120 at the start of the season down to 113 in time for the tournament. He said he dropped weight for one simple reason.
"My own personal goal was to make the state tournament," he said. "It's been my goal ever since wrestling started. Any of these kids could tell you that's the main goal. It just looked like that was the best chance (at 113)."
The first-round matches begin at 3 p.m. Thursday, with the quarterfinals to follow. The consolation rounds take place Friday and Saturday mornings. The semifinals are set for 7 p.m. Friday and the championship matches will begin at 5 p.m. Saturday.
Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].
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