Hodag wrestlers drop GNC dual against Tomahawk

The Rhinelander High School boys’ wrestling team won only one contested bout on Thursday, Jan. 8 as it fell to reigning Great Northern Conference champion Tomahawk 63-12 in a dual meet at the Jim Miazga Community Gymnasium.

The Hatchets (3-0 GNC) recorded five pins and three decisions on the night, and were also aided by four forfeits. Ivan Loka secured the only contested win for Rhinelander (0-2) while freshman Juan Diego Grage scored a forfeit win at 106 pounds. 

“They’re solid all the way through. They fill the weight classes, and their guys have a little bit of experience on us,” Hodag coach Scottie Arneson said. “We were in probably four matches that I see as winnable matches … We talked about afterward, that if we get to wrestle those same matches again, they can go the exact same way, they can go different. It’s whoever shows up on that specific day.” 

    Rhinelander’s Ivan Loka puts Tomahawk’s Zach Larson in a headlock in a 132-pound match during a GNC boys’ wrestling dual meet at the Jim Miazga Community Gymnasium Thursday, Jan. 8. Loka pinned Larson for Rhinelander’s lone contested victory in the dual meet. (Bob Mainhardt for the River News)
  

Loka found himself trailing Tomahawk’s Zach Larson 4-0 after a period in the 132-pound bout and started the second period on the bottom before turning the tables and getting a pin 55 seconds into the stanza. 

Arneson said Loka’s style, though unorthodox, results in the junior being able to fight off his back well and being able to turn around matches in which he is trailing.

“We call it the Loka, because you can’t teach what he does,” Arneson quipped. “It’s always exciting, and I try not to get too worked up during his matches, especially because it could be him turning the wrong way and then turning into the right thing for him. 

“Ivan, he’s a kid that just refuses to stop wrestling. He’s got weird shoulders, and people try to put him in pinning combinations, and I think he’s honestly gotten pinned twice in his first two years of wrestling, which is unheard off.”

The closest call elsewhere for the Hodags came at 150 pounds were senior Anthony Boldt jumped out to a 6-1 lead after a period over Tomahawk’s Mason Towle, but faded in the third period — allowing a takedown and a three-point near fall that allowed Towle to rally for a 7-6 decision. 

“He got two easy takedowns, and there are people in the stand (saying), ‘Holy cow, he’s smooth.’ It’s just, we gotta figure out how we can be smooth for six minutes,” Arneson said.

Two other wrestlers went the distance for the Hodags, but came out on the wrong end of decisions. Michael Tredupp lost 6-1 to Tomahawk’s Dawson Jones at 126, and Hoyt Dantoin gave up a pair of third-period takedowns in a 9-2 loss to Dane Islo at 138. 

The Hodags started the dual by forfeiting at 175, 190 and 215, giving the Hatchets an 18-0 lead. Brock Sternitzky (285), Noah Monk (113), Avrom Barr (144), Gage Anderson (157) and Jeffree Dupree (165) were all pinned in the dual. The Hodags also forfeited at 120.

Despite the loss, Arneson said he continues to see signs of improvement from a young roster that has only one senior. 

“Kids were going out there, letting it fly, we had guys that tried wrestling moves that we implemented Tuesday and Wednesday, and they were going out there, like we’ve practiced them for four months now. So that’s really encouraging to see. They’re trying things that we’re working on in practice, which, at the end of the day, that’s what you can hope for, with an inexperienced team, like we have,” he said. “We’re seeing good things. Now it’s just getting close to the end of the season where we gotta just capitalize on those positions that we know how to score. It’s just being able to stay focused for a six-minute match.”

Both Rhinelander’s boys’ and girls’ squads were in action at the Merrill Invite on Saturday, which concluded after press time for today’s edition. Visit RiverNewsOnline.com for a recap of that match and read a full report in Friday’s River News. 

Rhinelander travels to Lakeland on Thursday for the annual Handrick Hammer dual against the Thunderbirds. That will be contested as part of a triangular as both teams will also wrestle against Elcho in non-conference duals.

Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].