January 11, 2019 at 12:42 p.m.
Hammer heroics
Grulke's pin caps off comeback as Hodags defeat Lakeland 45-36 in inaugural Handrick Hammer match
Hammer heroics
In Rhinelander's most important dual of the season, and on a night when both teams honored one of their former coaches, it came down to the last match with the Hodags' one and only senior in the spotlight.
As the leading man, Eric Grulke delivered an Oscar-worthy performance, pinning Lakeland's Brady Edwards in the first period as the Hodags secured a 45-36 over Lakeland in the inaugural Handrick Hammer match at the Jim Miazga Community Gymnasium.
Both teams brought their best as they paid respect to Tom Handrick, who served as an assistant coach for both teams during his long wrestling career before passing away unexpectedly last March.
Undoubtedly, Handrick was smiling from on high, given the way the dual transpired. The match featured two overtime bouts and saw Lakeland erase a 27-6 deficit to take a 36-27 lead before Rhinelander pinned out the final three bouts to take a nine-point win.
"Tom Handrick was such a wonderful guy," said Rhinelander coach Nathan Piasecki, who was coached by Handrick when both were at Lakeland in the late 1990s. "(Lakeland's wrestlers) understand what this meant. They remember Tommy. Their parents knew Tommy pretty good. Both teams wrestled with the inspiration that Tommy would give. They were inspired by that. It was very cool to see. I know Tommy's real happy with the way things went today. Both teams went really hard."
The match, and Handrick's legacy, meant just as much to the Hodags. Much of Handrick's family was in attendance Thursday night and each Hodag wrestler, win or lose, made a point to find Handrick's widow, Kelly, and shake her hand as soon as they got off the mat.
"I knew Handrick as a person," Grulke said. "It was really big for us to win the Hammer for the first time. Very exciting."
Each of Rhinelander's first two GNC duals came down to the final match, with the Hodags losing both times. Leading by three with Grulke on the mat at 170 pounds, the third time proved to be the charm.
Grulke controlled Edwards in the first period, taking him down three times before putting the Lakeland wrestler to his back and pinning him with nine seconds remaining in the opening period.
"I was just really nervous. I didn't really know how I wanted to end it," Grulke said. "I just went through my moves, going through what I wanted to do. I thought I'd just go for the Oklahoma for the ending move because I really like that move."
It seemed only fitting that it came down to Grulke in his final home match as a Hodag.
"Eric has showed me he has the will and want to be a champion," Piasecki said. "He's at the point in his life where he's becoming a true man and it shows. Eric, he's taken some ups and downs this season, but most have been ups from what I've seen."
Trailing by nine points with three bouts remaining, there was no panic on the Rhinelander bench, mainly because the card was shifting to the heart of the Hodags' lineup. True to form, Rhinelander delivered in the middle weights. Walker Hartman dispatched Tanner Wildes in 54 seconds in the 152-pound bout. Freshman Gavin Ostermann made an athletic move for a reversal that led to a pin 17 seconds into the second period of the 160-pound match against Hunter Kanzelberger. That gave Rhinelander a 39-36 lead, setting the stage for Grulke in the finale.
"We honestly knew we were going to win at that point in time," Piasecki said, despite facing s 36-27 deficit. "Those guys have been pushing bodies so hard and have so much wrestling experience behind them."
Rhinelander would not have been in that position if not for some late heroics in a couple of matches earlier in the card. Connor Lund and Hugh Wiese both won matches that went beyond the six minutes of regulation.
Tied 2-2 entering the third period, Lund was called for a penalty and conceded an escape to Lakeland's Henry Evenhouse to fall behind 4-2 in the 195-pound match. The score stayed that way until Lund recorded a match-tying takedown with nine seconds remaining in the third period. Lund then recorded a takedown and a pin 13 seconds into overtime - a nine-point swing in a match Rhinelander won by nine.
"That was the match I was the most pumped up about there because I saw the heart of a real champion there," Piasecki said. "It's been a while since he's wrestled with his shoulder surgery. He stepped up to the challenge to wrestle a solid Lakeland wrestler. He fought off his back like a man and found a way to but him on his back and get the pin."
Wiese had a similar match against Lakeland's Sawyer Duir at 113. Up 7-6 after two, Wiese gave up a reversal to Duir with 1:08 left in the third to fall behind 8-7. After a couple of attempts at a go-ahead reversal, Wiese finally got an escape with 19 seconds left to tie the match. Wiese then got a takedown early in overtime to secure the 10-8 win.
"Hugh, with his execution in overtime, hitting and arm drag to a single-leg takedown, and finishing the match quick in the overtime, was just an amazing thing for him to wrestle a kid who has four, five, six years of wrestling experience underneath him," Piasecki said.
The wins by Lund and Wiese book-ended a 27-0 run for Rhinelander. Trevor Knapp added second-period pin at 220, Alex Olson won by forfeit at 285 and Tim Fox pinned Harry Nemcek 1:23 into the 106-pound match.
Lakeland turned the tables with the heart of their order in the lower weights. Ben Nemcek, Nazar Lenz, Tyson Coy and Jason Hilgart all recorded pins, and Rhinelander forfeited to Tim Burnett at 126, to give Lakeland a 36-27 advantage.
"I'm proud of Lakeland and their fight," Piasecki said. "They capitalized on situations and they figured out ways to slow us down I was impressed with. We have steps to still improve, but I love the way the guys wanted to win this dual."
Piasecki called Thursday night's win the sweetest he's had as a coach, given that he and his assistant coach, Jake Hairrell, are both Lakeland alumni.
"I would just really like to thank the supporting staff," he said. "This is not my win, this is (Rhinelander's) win. I want to thank all the coaches. They do a wonderful job. The parents are helping out really, really good. The kids are starting to train up to their potential."
Rhinelander returns to action today with a multi-dual invite in Stevens Point.
Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].
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