January 24, 2020 at 1:01 p.m.
Hodag wrestlers down Mosinee 54-16, move to 2-2 in GNC
Hodag wrestlers down Mosinee 54-16, move to 2-2 in GNC
Joe Fugle got the run going with a pin at 160 pounds. Walker Hartman added a pin at 170 to give Rhinelander the lead at 21-16 and the Hodags cruised the rest of the way.
"It's all about getting better this year and we're getting better," said Paul Ellenbecker, who picked up his 100th dual meet victory as Hodag head coach. "We're almost piecing together a full lineup every night, which is a huge step for this year. We're a pretty raw, young team, that's the big thing. Mosinee has some pretty good wrestlers and we won some pretty nice matches against them head-to-head. That's the kind of thing you look at in this."
It was a night of pins from unexpected sources as Fugle and Cole Lehman - both first-year wrestlers - recorded falls for the Hodags. Lehman stopped Peyton Cline 1 minute, 9 seconds into the 126-pound bout and Fugle, in position to earn a technical fall at 160, finished off Noah Meshak in 4:18.
"Cole wrestled a newer kid for them, but Cole's a new kid himself," Ellenbecker said. "Cole's got the potential and Cole's really growing as a wrestler. Every single week he gets better. I think the dual meets are big stages for him and he does better at tournament. Tonight was nice for him to get off the schneid of the dual meets, go out there and not be so intimidated.
"Joe was up a weight class, but it was awesome to go out in a dual meet like that and come out and help us out and get rewarded in front of the crowd. He kind of beat on the kid a little bit and then got a pin at the end of it. He's a worker, a good athlete and a tough kid. He's just going to keep getting better."
Unlike last Thursday at Lakeland when the Hodags had to rally from down 24-0 to win 40-33, Rhinelander jumped out to an early lead thanks to a decision by Hugh Wiese at 120 and Lehman's pin at 126.
Wiese, who sealed the Hammer match win at Lakeland with a pin, earned an 8-5 decision over Mosinee's Logan Johnson. Trailing 5-3 late in the second period, Wiese hit a last-second takedown to tie the match at five and then was conceded an escape after he chose the down position to begin the third, giving him a 6-5 lead. Wiese recorded a takedown with 43 seconds left and rode out Johnson the rest of the way to earn the win.
"Probably the best match of the night was Hugh's match right away," Ellenbecker said. "Hugh beat a kid that knocked off the Tomahawk kid (Luke Knight), who's ranked in the state and pinned Hugh earlier in the year. Hugh comes back and beats the kid. Just a great way to start the match, especially compared to how last week's match started."
The closet bout of the night occurred at 182 where Rhinelander's Connor Lund trailed virtually the entire match before recording a takedown with three seconds remaining to stun Mosinee's Ben Folwarski, 6-5.
"You never know what you're going to get out of Connor but you know you're going to get extreme effort and the other kid's going to be in for a fight," Ellenbecker said. "It's always a fight, always a battle and you just never know with Connor, but it seems that he has a lot more heart than the other guys because he wins them close matches all the time."
Rhinelander's three ranked wrestlers made short work of their opponents. Walker Hartman, honorable mention in Division 1 at 170 pounds according to Wisconsin Wrestling Online, pinned Jaydon Cheek in 3:31. Trevor Knapp (honorable mention, D1, 195) stopped TJ Obremski in 52 seconds, and Tim Fox (No. 8, D1, 113) pinned Kade Kmosena (honorable mention, D2, 113) in 1:37.
Rhinelander took advantage of some holes in Mosinee's lineup as the Indians forfeited at 220, 285 and 106 pounds. Both teams forfeited at 152.
Mosinee led 16-9 at the time of the double forfeit after winning three straight matches. Chase Kmosena (No. 11, D2, 126) and Cole Coppock earned pins while Tristan Iczkowski earned a major decision over Cayden Neri at 145.
The win moves Rhinelander to 2-2 in the GNC and give the Hodags a chance to move into third in the conference next Thursday when it hosts Antigo at the Miazga Gym.
"Any time you beat a conference team, you're happy. It sets us up for next week and a big match to be in the top half of the conference against Antigo," Ellenbecker said. "We're going to have to try to find a way to win that match. If we can do that, we can position ourselves pretty nice to have a nice year. A realistic goal is if we can be top three, that's a heck of the year considering all the new wrestlers and all the people that left."
Rhinelander is back in action today at the Wausau East Invite.
Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].
Comments:
You must login to comment.