Calm, smooth, collected. That’s what Brock Polhamus looked like throughout his 138-pound division two semifinal victory against Ellsworth’s Tristan Mueller. Now, the junior is one win away from a state championship.
Polhamus will get his shot at a state championship after his 4-3 victory over Ellsworth’s Mueller (33-11). Awaiting Polhamus (42-7) in the finals is Two Rivers’ Chris Yauch (46-9). Since 2010, Sparta has seen four wrestlers qualify for the state finals (Matt Tourdot in 2010, Dylan Winchel and Kyle Burkhalter in 2013 and Polhamus in 2014) with only Tourdot coming away with a state championship. Brock has the opportunity to become Sparta’s fifth individual champion.
Luck wasn’t on the side of Sparta’s other semifinalist, John Roddick, as he ran into Ellsworth’s Jens Lantz for the second straight year in the semis. This time Lantz won 18-3 as he is on a mission to win his fourth state title. Roddick will wrestle tomorrow for a place in the third place bout against Freedom’s Cody Walrath (40-5).
At 113, Christian Lamon’s season came to an end with two losses. In the quarterfinals, Lamon dropped a 9-2 decision to Wrightstown’s Dillan Micke (42-8) before falling to Lodi’s Jason Clapper (42-4) in the wrestleback round. Christian finishes a very successful freshman campaign with a 33-12 record. Congrats, Christian!
Joining Roddick and Polhamus on the podium tomorrow will be Jaden Winchel after he came up with a big win in the wrestleback round. Before that happened, Winchel wrestled Wrightstown’s Josh Verbeten (36-16) and got the first takedown before Verbeten turned Jaden and pinned him in 2:55. That didn’t keep Winchel down for long as he rebounded with a huge 2-0 victory over last year’s 3rd place finisher at 132 pounds in Stanley-Boyd/Owen-Withee/Thorp’s Robert Csukker (46-3). Winchel will now face Chilton/Hilbert’s Patrick Breckheimer (40-8) for a chance to wrestle in the third place match. Winchel is guaranteed a top six finish since a loss would send him to the 5th place match.
At 220, Logan Degenhardt lived and died by the edge smallest of margins. His quarterfinal match went to an ultimate tie breaker that he ended up dropping to Wisconsin Lutheran’s Bryce Roberts (36-8). Degenhardt would rebound in the wrestlebacks with a 1-0 victory over Sheyboygan Falls’ Brady Koller (31-14) to secure a place on the podium. If Degenhardt defeats Almond Bancroft/Pacelli’s Jack Lawlis (29-14) tomorrow, he will advance to the third place match, but if he loses, he will wrestle for fifth.
Let’s see how the tournament has gone for Sparta so far…
D2-113 – Christian Lamon (33-12) place is unknown and scored 2.00 team points.
Champ. Round 1 – Christian Lamon (Sparta) 33-12 won by decision over Bennett Marchant (Campbellsport) 28-14 (Dec 13-9)
Quarterfinal – Dillan Micke (Wrightstown) 42-8 won by decision over Christian Lamon (Sparta) 33-12 (Dec 9-2)
Cons. Round 1 – Jason Clapper (Lodi) 42-4 won by decision over Christian Lamon (Sparta) 33-12 (Dec 6-2)D2-126 – John Roddick (42-9) placed 6th and scored 9.00 team points.
Champ. Round 1 – John Roddick (Sparta) 42-9 won by fall over Scott Cook (New London) 33-14 (Fall 4:16)
Quarterfinal – John Roddick (Sparta) 42-9 won by decision over Cody Chelminiak (Delavan-Darien) 40-6 (Dec 6-0)
Semifinal – Jens Lantz (Ellsworth) 40-1 won by tech fall over John Roddick (Sparta) 42-9 (TF-1.5 5:11 (18-3))D2-132 – Jaden Winchel (37-14) placed 6th and scored 7.00 team points.
Champ. Round 1 – Jaden Winchel (Sparta) 37-14 won by major decision over Ryan Engel (East Troy) 36-11 (MD 10-1)
Quarterfinal – Josh Verbeten (Wrightstown) 36-16 won by fall over Jaden Winchel (Sparta) 37-14 (Fall 2:55)
Cons. Round 1 – Jaden Winchel (Sparta) 37-14 won by decision over Robert Csukker (Stanley-Boyd/Ow.-Wi./Tho.) 46-3 (Dec 2-0)D2-138 – Brock Polhamus (42-7) placed 2nd and scored 16.00 team points.
Quarterfinal – Brock Polhamus (Sparta) 42-7 won by decision over Mason Berceau (Luxemburg-Casco) 35-10 (Dec 5-2)
Semifinal – Brock Polhamus (Sparta) 42-7 won by decision over Tristen Mueller (Ellsworth) 33-11 (Dec 4-3)D2-145 – Dylan Winchel (26-17) place is unknown and scored 0.00 team points.
Champ. Round 1 – Dewey Krueger (Oconto Falls) 41-2 won by fall over Dylan Winchel (Sparta) 26-17 (Fall 1:50)D2-220 – Logan Degenhardt (39-10) placed 6th and scored 4.00 team points.
Quarterfinal – Bryce Roberts (Wisconsin Lutheran) 36-8 won in the ultimate tie breaker over Logan Degenhardt (Sparta) 39-10 (UTB 6-5)
Cons. Round 1 – Logan Degenhardt (Sparta) 39-10 won by decision over Brady Koller (Sheboygan Falls) 31-14 (Dec 1-0)
Roddick, Winchel and Degenhardt will being wrestling in the round starting at 11am tomorrow and then will wrestle their placement matches later in the afternoon. Polhamus will wrestle during the finals round starting at 6pm. Great job Spartans on a great second day of wrestling. We will continue to keep you updated with posts on the Sparta Wrestling Facebook page throughout the day. Big thanks to Mike Montgomery for the quick page updates following each match.
