December 6, 2022 at 7:00 a.m.
Hodag wrestlers 16th in opening invite
Hodag wrestlers 16th in opening invite
Mat time was the name of the game on Saturday in a format designed to create competitive matchups. Rhinelander had multiple entries in a couple of weight classes, sacrificing some team points for better individual matches.
"It allows us to get put in pools where we're able to get people that are at the same competitive level as we are," RHS boys' wrestling coach Scottie Arneson said. "It's good to have one of those tournaments at the beginning of the year to know where you're at with the team and get everybody five matches.
"We started very slow but, as the day progressed, we started wrestling better and better, which is what to be expected on the first meet - especially with how young our team is."
Sophomore Sean Boman had the best finish of the day for Rhinelander. He won his first two matches by pin to get into the top pod at 138 pounds. He lost his final three matches from there to take fourth in the weight class.
"He's got a little bit funkier style than most people are used to ... He doesn't move like a normal high school wrestler. He can really shock some people and put himself in positions to win and that's what he did today," Arneson said. "He won his first two, which put him in the highest-placing pool where we met some guys that were able to adapt to his style mid-match. Even then, I think we had everybody on their back at one point in those matches. We've just got to make sure we figure out a way we can capitalize on the other peoples' mistakes."
Two more sophomores, Aiden Ostermann and Dresden Klaver, overcame opening-round losses to finish ninth in their respective weight classes.
Ostermann was beaten by eventual 126-pound runner-up Cash Botting of Manawa in the opening round but came back to pin his next four opponents - including teammate Kyle Wiese - to finish ninth in the weight class. Klaver took a similar path. After dropping his first match he won four in a row to take ninth as Rhinelander's second entry at 138.
"Aiden and Dresden, coming back and winning the rest of their matches after a tough first round, that just shows the grit that they have and their desire to win," Arneson said. "I know Aiden was pretty disappointed that he lost that first one, but the difference is insignificant from ninth place at the John Roberts Scramble to where I know Aiden and Dresden both can be by the end of the year."
Freshman Cyrus Leisure was Rhinelander's top placer at 126, thanks to an opening round pin of Laona/Wabeno/
Three Lakes' Hayden Demerath in the opening round. He wound up eighth after dropping his final four matches of the day. Anthony Boldt (113), Delaino Zivko (132) and Joseph Evenson (195) scored ninth-place finishes. Wiese and Logan Schwinger were 10th at 126 and 182, respectively.
"We saw a lot of good things out of all three of those kids and really everybody. Even though we didn't squeak out as many wins, I saw a lot of fight," Arneson said.
Additionally, the John Roberts Scramble had a separate girls' tournament for the second year in a row. Senior Abby Swanson was the runner-up in her four-wrestler pod, scoring a pair of pins. Freshman Mya Swanson went 2-2 on the day to finish third in her pool.
The girls' tournament featured five round-robin brackets with wrestlers matched by weight as best as possible in a limited field.
"Some of the ladies that they saw today are not necessarily going to be in the exact same weight classes later in the season," Hodag girls' wrestling coach Eric Gobin said. "It was a good start for us, overall. All the wins that we had today were all pins. We've got some things we can tighten up in practice and looking forward to being able to continue competing."
Abby Swanson, who placed fifth at 185 pounds in the inaugural WIAA girls' state wrestling tournament back in January, scored first period pins over her first two opponents before falling to Ashland's Madison Burns in the final round. Burns placed fifth at 235 pounds at last season's state tournament.
Mya Swanson pinned Wrightstown's Ava Krueger and Hayward's Sam Chaon in her first two bouts. She was pinned by West De Pere's Bella Bolek and Florence's Caitlyn Kelley in the last two rounds. Kelley was the 120-pound girls' state champion last season.
"Both looked really good on their feet," Gobin said. "Abby had a nice crossface cradle that she pinned one of the ladies with and worked a bar for the other one. She's working really good on top, working some of her pinning combinations. Mya had some good throws today. I think her first match she actually pinned a girl with a head and arm and then the second was just a really nice half (Nelson) for her second win."
The Hodag boys will compete twice this week in Crandon, first in a quadrangular meet at Crandon High School on Thursday and then in the Rebel Invite at the Forest County Potawatomi Community Center in Crandon on Saturday.
The Hodag girls' next competition will be Dec. 17 at an invite in Shawano.
Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].
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