February 26, 2020 at 2:01 p.m.
Rhinelander's Fox, Sinclair look to stay awhile at state wrestling tournament
Rhinelander's Fox, Sinclair look to stay awhile at state wrestling tournament
Hodag juniors Tim Fox and Ben Sinclair want to try to make some noise during the three-day event that starts this afternoon at the Kohl Center in Madison.
"I want to make it past the first round and see how far I can make it in, don't get knocked out right away," Sinclair said.
Added Fox, "I'm happy with getting there, but I'm not satisfied. I want to go down there, get my name out there, have people know who I am and what I'm about. I've just got to go down there and one match at a time is the biggest thing."
That will be easier said than done as both face potentially difficult paths as they look to gain a foothold in their 16-man state brackets.
Coach Paul Ellenbecker echoed that the two are not satisfied by qualifying for the WIAA tournament for the first time, but that the trip will provide some valuable experience heading into next year.
"I'm just looking forward to the opportunity for both of these guys, as juniors, to make it down," he said. "It's an awesome experience for them knowing they have another year. I'm just looking forward to getting it going and seeing what we've got."
Fox (32-8) was 12th in the final Division 1, 113-pound rankings released Monday by Wisconsin Wrestling Online, which ranked all 16 qualifiers in the state tournament bracket. His first-round draw is against sixth-ranked Quintin Wolbert, a freshman from Kettle Moraine who comes with a 39-2 record.
"I know some things about my first opponent," Fox said. "I've watched some film on him, but I've got to get past him before I can go anywhere else. That's the biggest thing.
"I just know I have to go out there and wrestle. Nothing changes. I made it to state, but it's just back to work, working hard. I'm really to go down there wrestle, stick to what I do best and hit my moves."
The draw was not any kinder to Sinclair (31-15), who has the second-most losses of anyone in the 220 bracket, behind only Neenah's Caleb Letson (23-17). He will face Shawano senior Keith Tourtillott (34-5) in the first round, who checks in at No. 4 in D1 at 220.
"I know a little bit about the Shawano kid," Ellenbecker said. "We watched him on film a little bit. He's a very strong, powerful kid, pretty explosive. It's a very talented wrestler Ben's got right away."
Because of how the brackets work at state, there is a good chance both Fox and Sinclair will need to win their first round matches in order to make it to the second day of the tournament. A win in the opening match guarantees advancement to Friday. A loss could spell elimination, as only first-round losers who are defeated by quarterfinal winners make the second day of the tournament.
In both cases, a heavy hitter could await in the quarterfinals. The winner of the Fox-Wolbert match would likely have to face top-ranked Alec Hunter of Oshkosh West (38-1) in the quarterfinals, while a date with second-ranked Ben Kawczynski of Oak Creek (41-2) likely awaits the winner of the Sinclair-Tourtillott match.
While both Fox and Sinclair are making their first trips to the WIAA state tournament, Ellenbecker said the experience will likely be different for the two. Fox, who has wrestled most of his life, was a multi-time qualifier for the Wisconsin Wrestling Federation Kids Folkstyle state tournament during his youth wrestling days.
"It's obviously a bigger tournament but, to me, it's just another tournament," Fox said. "You've got to go down there and wrestle. I know there's going to be a lot of people down there, but not all of them are going to be watching me. I've just got to go down, do my thing and do what I do best."
On the other side of the coin, for Sinclair, who did not start wrestling until middle school, the WIAA state meet will be the largest tournament of his young career.
"I think Ben's going to be a little nervous right away, seeing the bright lights, but with Tim's background and having him wrestle a lot more than Ben, he's going to be OK," Ellenbecker said. "They're both going to be fine. It's just a matter of getting down there early enough, walking around and seeing the place."
If Sinclair is nervous ahead of his first state experience, he was not letting on Monday at practice.
"I've heard the energy is completely different, but it sounds like I should be more excited to go to Mickey's and eat dinner afterward," Sinclair said, referencing a local Madison eatery. "I've never been one to be real uptight and worry about everything. Once you get down there, the best you can do is wrestle. You can't really do much after that."
Practice was light much of the week, with the two doing some fine-tuning of technique and a little bit of live wrestling Monday and Tuesday before a lighter workout Wednesday. Fox and Sinclair were far from the only ones in the wrestling room earlier this week. Much of the team practiced with the two state qualifiers - an experience Ellenbecker said benefits the program as a whole.
"It's awesome for the whole team. They're watching Tim and Ben get the attention. A lot of the team went to sectionals to support those guys and a lot of them are going to the state tournament to watch, too," Ellenbecker said. "Hopefully, when they go down to the state tournament, they realize this is something they want to work for. There's no gimmes in this sport. You're not going to get lucky and fall into it. You have to earn it. You've got to beat another kid that wants to be in that position. We're only getting better from this whole week."
The Division 1 preliminary round takes beings today at 3 p.m. Winners of the first round matches will take part in the quarterfinals this evening to determine which wrestlers advance to tomorrow night's semifinals and which wrestlers will take part in tomorrow morning's consolation rounds.
The placement rounds for third, fourth, fifth and sixth will take place Saturday morning with the championship matches set for Saturday night.
Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].
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