If you didn’t get a chance to see a breakdown of the top ranked wrestlers and toughest weight classes at this weekend’s sectional tournament in Richland Center, check it out here. Or just scroll to the post below this one. Today, we’ll look at each Spartan’s first round match and if Sparta has seen action against any wrestlers competing Saturday. First, let’s look at the matchups from earlier this year…
- 113 – Dylan Winchel pinned Nate Rutherford of Adams-Friendship in 32 seconds at the Sparta Invite.
- 145 – Michael Murnane defeated Monroe’s Kevin Klopfenstein 4-2 at the Reedsburg Scramble. River Valley’s Joe Crook defeated Michael Murnane 10-4 at Badger State.
- 170 – Greg Skon won by technical fall over Adams-Friendship’s Rylan Burrows at the Sparta Invite.
- 182 – Kyle Burkhalter pinned Collin Faretta of Adams-Friendship in 1:31 at the Sparta Invite. Kyle Burkhalter defeated Monroe’s Dusty Burkhalter 1-0 at the Reedsburg Scramble.
Then there was regionals last weekend.
Now let’s look at how each Spartan’s bracket stacks up this weekend…
- Dylan Winchel (113) – Winchel has a tough bracket, but he certainly wound up on the good side. Top ranked JJ McClelland (41-1), Dodgeville’s Trevor Wunnicke (33-4), Marshall’s Jensen Langer (40-6) and Edgerton’s Sonny Schmidt (34-4, not ranked how?) are all on the top half of the bracket while Winchel (22-4) is on the bottom half. His first round match is against Prairie du Chien/Wauzeka-Steuben freshman Clayton Beers (29-5). Beers was a third place finisher at Bi-State losing to New Richmond’s Shane Blackman by pin in 1:25. He finished second at his conference meet losing by pin to Wunnicke in 5:01. He got his revenge the next week with a 6-4 victory over Wunnicke at regionals. On the year, he beat Wunnicke twice, the first time at Bi-State. Beer’s path to the regional finals was padded with two byes.If Winchel beats Beers’, he will face either Brodhead Juda’s Justin Sangmano (25-10) or Columbus’ Gattlyn Molnar (22-11).
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Some quick stats on the other guys in Winchel’s bracket. Wunnicke placed 7th the last two years at Bi-State. In 2010, he was a state qualifier, but did not place. Langer, a freshman, won his conference meet and the Rocket Scramble earlier this year and won his regional with a 48 second pin against Gattlyn Molnar. Winchel was ranked 1st or 2nd at this weight class all year until McClelland moved up to 113 to avoid what many consider the strongest contingent of 106 pounders in any division. He was previously ranked third at 106, but his move up placed him atop the D2 113 pound weight class while Winchel’s loss to McClelland dropped him to a 7th ranking, which I would argue is much too low. Winchel’s four losses include two to top-ranked wrestlers in McClelland and La Crosse Central’s Ben Thornton. In the case of McClelland, Winchel beat him last year. His other two losses were during an off weekend when he didn’t make weight on the second day at the Cheesehead so we know he wasn’t his typical dominant self.
. - John Roddick (120) – Roddick has the toughest bracket in terms of ranked wrestlers with six. His opening round match is against Evansville/Albany’s Brandon Robinson. He advanced to sectionals with a pin in 2:28 over Brodhead/Juda’s Coty Knudtson. A second place finisher in conference, Robinson will bring a 26-5 record against the 36-10 Roddick. If Roddick wins, he will have either Marshall’s Josh Murray (29-6) or Prairie du Chien/Wauzeka-Steuben’s Tyler Rieck (17-17). Murray, a regional champ last year, finished 4th at sectionals and barely missed the state tournament. Murray advanced to sectionals with an impressive 15-10 victory over Lodi’s John Joutras (36-5). Roddick has had difficulty in the past with Joutras. Last year, Joutras defeated Roddick 6-3 at the team sectional dual and 8-1 at sectionals so the match with Murray figures to be a tough one.
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On the other side of the bracket is Joutras from Lodi, Dodgeville’s Austin DeVoss (35-5), Brodhead/Juda’s Coty Knudtson (30-13) and Adams-Friendship’s Trevor McManus. McManus beat Roddick 10-6 at regionals, finished 5th at Bi-State and was a second place finisher at conference losing 9-4 to Mauston’s John Maki. Roddick defeated Maki 6-4 at regionals. Dodgeville’s DeVoss was a regional champ, did not place at Bi-State and finished third in his conference meet. Finally, there is Brodhead/Juda’s Coty Knudtson who lost by pin in 2:28 to Roddick’s first round opponent Brandon Robinson.
. - Brock Polhamus (132) – The top ranked wrestler in his weight class, Brock Polhamus brings a 30-10 record to Richland Center and plans for a second straight state tournament birth. His first round match is against Richland Center’s Hunter Whitney (30-13). Whitney, a sophomore, was a regional runner up losing 11-4 to Cuba City/Southwestern’s Josh Donar (24-15). Whitney did not place at Bi-State, but finished in the top five at each tournament he entered this year excluding Bi-State and was 5-0 in the 132B weight bracket at the Tomah Scramble last year.
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If Polhamus defeats Whitney, he will face either Lodi’s Adam Phillips (14-5) or Evansville/Albany’s Jordan Meyer (25-5). Last year, Derek VonRuden pinned Adam Phillips in the second period at the team sectional dual. A regional champ, Phillips defeated Wisconsin Dells’ Willie Vandenlangenberg 12-4 in the finals. On the other end of the bracket is Donar, Mauston’s Jason Tomaloff (30-12), Monroe’s Aaron Hesgard (36-8) and Vandenlangenberg. Polhamus already beat Tomaloff 11-1 at regionals. A state qualifier last year, Hesgard looks to make his second straight state tournament appearance and improve upon his winless performance there last year. If you don’t remember, it was Hesgard who defeated Tristan Zurfluh last year in overtime in the sectional 3rd place match to advance to state. This year, Hesgard won his regional with a pin in 5:21 over Meyer and was an 11th place finisher at Bi-State. Hesgard is among the more experienced wrestlers in the bracket and should be the favorite to advance to the finals. There is also Vandenlangenberger who finished 2nd at the E.H. Stech Invitational, second at conference and 1st at the Royall Wrestling Invitational. Last, but not least, we have the famous wrestling last name appearing in the form of Josh Donar (24-15). Donar, a freshman, was a regional champ with an 11-4 win over Polhamus’ first round opponent Hunter Whitney. Donar did not place at Bi-State, was 7th in his conference meet, 4th at the Lancaster Invite, 3rd at the Raider Scramble and 2nd at the Monroe Invite.
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Polhamus should make it through to the second round and has a good chance of winning his second round match as well. I’m predicting a Polhamus-Hesgard final with Polhamus winning. While Brock doesn’t have the flashiest record in the bracket or the tournament, the level of competition the Spartans have faced all year is a part of that. Not many teams had as difficult a schedule like the Spartans plus a competitive absence due to skin issues also affected Polhamus’ record.
.. - Tristan Zurfluh (138) – Tristan’s first round opponent will be Monroe’s Kevin Klopfenstein (40-4). Klopfenstein wrestled a number of times last year against Derek VonRuden and went 1-1. This year, Klopfenstein suffered one of his four losses to Michael Murnane. Sparta’s 145-pounder beat Klopfenstein 4-2 at the Reedsburg Scramble. Watch that tape Tristin! If Zurfluh can get by Klopfenstein, he will face either Brandon Schilling (36-4) of Lakeside Lutheran or John Hentrich (20-13) of Belmont/Platteville.
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On the other side of the bracket is Lodi’s Kyle Clapper (20-12), Dodgeville’s Jasper Meeker (29-8), Turner’s Max Andrews (30-12) and Mauston’s Colin Dolata (35-5). Last year in the team sectional dual against Lodi, Zurfluh majored Clapper 9-0 and just last weekend, Dolata escaped with a 5-3 victory over Zurfluh in the regional final. Zurfluh is currently unranked at his weight class and that’s a minor travesty. With his arm injury keeping him out of action for the first two months of the year, Tristan wasn’t absent from the early rankings except for a brief appearance after the Cheesehead and then dropped out despite his respectable finish there. Andrews finished third at his conference meet and lost 4-1 to Klopfenstein in the regional finals. Finally, we have Dodgeville’s Meeker who was a state qualifier last year at 138 pounds, but did not place. Meeker defeated Hentrich 10-5 in the regional finals and defeated Mauston’s Jacob Schiller 10-2 at team sectionals. Murnane pinned Schiller a few days earlier at regionals in 5:21. I’d expect this bracket to come down to Klopfenstein, Dolata, Zurfluh and Schilling. Lots of talent here.
. - Michael Murnane (145) – Murnane enters sectionals this weekend looking for his first trip to the Kohl Center. His first round match won’t be easy in Columbus’ Mitchell Hasey (31-5). Hasey lost in the regional finals to Marshall’s Devin Weber 6-2. A week earlier, Weber again beat Hasey 5-0 at their conference meet in the finals. Hasey won three tournaments this year with his worst finish an 8th place one at the Sauk Prairie Eagle Invite. There he lost to potential Zurfluh foe Jasper Meeker of Dodgeville by a 6-5 score. A regional champ last year at 132 pounds, Hasey went 1-2 at sectionals the next weekend and did not place. If Murnane can get past Hasey, he’ll have either Clinton’s Tim Clothier (31-7) or Prairie du Chien/Wauzeka-Steuben’s Tim Yager (18-11). Clothier won his regional last year, but fell one place short of state in 4th at sectionals. A regional champ again this year, Clothier defeated Jared Heil (27-8) of Edgerton 8-5 in the finals. A week earlier he pinned Heil in 4:21 in the finals of their conference meet. In 2011, Lodi’s Alex Ibinger beat Clotheir 4-2 in overtime. Sparta’s Nick Winchel defeated Ibinger the same night by a 10-6 score. Yager of PDC/WS did not place at Bi-State earlier this year, finished 4th at his conference meet and was a regional runner-up losing 9-0 to River Valley’s Joe Crook.
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Speaking of Crook (34-8), he joined Marshall’s Devin Weber (41-2), Mauston’s Jacob Schiller (11-12) and Edgerton’s Heil on the other side of the bracket. Weber of Marshall is one of those guys who has generated a lot of wins, but little noise at state. He has 41 wins this year, finished last year with 45 and 43 the year before. There is one guy responsible for much of his misery in not getting to state. Sparta’s Derek VonRuden defeated Weber 4-3 to advance to state in 2011 and 11-3 last year in the first round of sectionals. Weber enters the tournament ranked 4th and will look to finally capitalize on all those wins. Weber’s first round match will be against Mauston’s Jacob Schiller. Then we have River Valley’s Joe Crook. Crook has placed 6th, 9th and 5th the last three years at Bi-State. He defeated Derek VonRuden 9-2 in the 5th place match in the 2010 Badger State Invite and defeated Murnane 10-4 earlier this year in the semifinals of the Badger State Invite.
. - Kyle Burkhalter (182) – Burkhalter will look to match the program record set by Steve Kimpel, Troy Lietzau and Jared Rickert of three state tournament appearances. His first round opponent is Richland Center’s Silas Coleman (31-13). An 11th place finisher at Bi-State, Coleman was a regional runner-up losing 6-4 in overtime to Belmont/Platteville’s Vincent Anderson (24-7). Earlier this year, Coleman beat Tomah’s Garrett Serna 4-0 and Mauston’s Blake Hoffman by pin in 1:06. Spartan 195-pounder Daniel Dawley pinned Hoffman in the first period last weekend at regionals while Serna escaped with an unimpressive 3-2 win over Dawley in the dual against Tomah. Coleman also lost to Serna at Bi-State 3-2 in overtime. If Burkhalter makes it past Coleman, he’ll have either Lodi’s Logan Gordon (15-14) or Monroe’s Dusty Burkhalter (28-17). The Spartan Burkhalter already beat the Monroe Burkhalter 1-0 at the Reedsburg Scramble way back in early December and 8-3 a year ago at the same tournament. A 6th place finisher at Bi-State, D. Burkhalter was pinned in 2:32 by Brodhead/Juda’s Gavin Baade (26-5) in the regional finals. Lodi’s Logan Gordon is a regional champ who defeated Mauston’s Teague Fenwick 12-4 at team sectionals. Burkhalter pinned Fenwick in 44 seconds last weekend at regionals.
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On the other side of the bracket is Belmont/Platteville’s Anderson, West Salem/Bangor’s Tyler Shrake (34-10), Brodhead/Juda’s Baade and Marshall’s Kaleb Ward (15-8). Shrake fell 10-2 in the regional finals to Burkhalter. A state qualifier a year ago at 170 pounds, Shrake did not place at Bi-State and finished second at conference. At state last year, Shrake lost by pin in 1:38 to Luxemburg-Casco’s Matt Zellner. Last year at team state, Zellner pinned Sparta’s Greg Skon in 53 seconds. Next up is Brodhead/Juda’s Gavin Baade. The sophomore won his regional with a pin in 2:32 over the Monroe Burkhalter. Anderson of Belmont/Platteville enters his final sectional as a regional champ. Third at regionals a year ago, Anderson will look to qualify for his first state tournament. Favorites in this bracket are K. Burkhalter, Shrake and Baade.
. - Daniel Dawley (195) – With is win in the regional second place match last weekend, Dawley reached the 30-win mark for the year. He will look to improve upon that total with a first-round matchup against Belleville/Monticello/New Glarus’ Jack Nelson (25-12). If Dawley wins, he will face either Lodi’s Cody Dolson (18-19) or Cuba City/Southwestern-Benton’s Brett Wilson (24-11). Dawley is on a side of the bracket that he could win out on. The guys with the more impressive records are on the other side of the bracket, but he will still need to take care of business. That business includes Wilson, a junior who did not place at Bi-State, was 2nd at the Monroe Invite, 5th at his conference meet and 2nd at regionals. Wilson lost to Evansville/Albany’s Ben Reed (30-9), who appears on the other half of the bracket, by a 7-1 score at the Raider Scramble in early December. Wilson also lost by pin in 3:41 to River Valley’s Zach Koch in their conference meet and was a regional runner-up losing again to Koch by pin in the second period. Lodi’s Cody Dolson pinned Mauston’s Blake Hoffman in 3:31 at team sectionals. Dawley also made quick work of Hoffman winning by pin in 1:31 to advance to sectionals. Wrestling in a weak 195-pound bracket at regionals, Dolson won his regional bracket with a pin in 2:38 over Wisconsin Dells’ Luis Garcia (4-15).
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On the other side of the bracket is West Salem/Bangor’s Nick Buisman (38-7), Evansville/Albanys’ Ben Reed (30-9), River Valley’s Zach Koch (33-10) and Garcia from Wisconsin Dells. Buisman defeated Dawley 5-3 in the regional finals last weekend so we know Dawley can hang with him. Dawley previously wrestled Reed at last year’s team sectional and pinned him in 5:43. Dawley should be able to make it to the finals. The favorite on the other side is Buisman so I’d be looking for a regional final re-match.
. - Chase Bernett (220) – Bernett enters sectionals with 29 wins and will be looking to reach 30 wins for the first time in his career and make his first trip to the Kohl Center. He has a tough, but not impossible bracket to accomplish these tasks. His first round match is against Jefferson’s Brendon Krull (21-9). If he wins that match, he’ll face Monroe’s Trevor Gorr (41-2) or Richland Center’s Jace Simonson (19-7). Gorr is the 4th ranked wrestler at 220 pounds in division two and a state qualifier a year ago. He beat La Crosse Logan’s Calvin Wright 9-8 at Bi-State, which is the tournament where Gorr suffered his only two losses on the year. In his conference tournament, Gorr beat Reedsburg’s Nick Noye 7-0 while Noye beat Bernett 8-4 at the Reedsburg Scramble in early December. Then there is Simonson. Last year, Simonson beat Dawley 9-3 at sectionals, two years ago Burkhalter beat Simonson by pin in 5:32 to advance to state.
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On the other side of the bracket is Lodi’s Ben Steuck (27-8), Mauston’s Lucas Casper (5-11), Cuba City/Southwestern-Benton’s Dusty Brant (31-9) and Brodhead/Juda’s Reave Lincoln (18-7). Steuck lost 4-3 to Michael Beeler in last year’s team sectional. Here is a short preview of Steuck from last year… “Ben Steuck (29-9), honorable mention according to Wisconsin Wrestling Online, pinned Tomah’s Lucas Stromberg-Windau in 39 seconds, Stromberg-Windau defeated Logan Degenhardt 7-3, defeated by Chris Beeler last year 3-0.” Mauston’s Casper enters sectionals as a regional runner-up losing by pin in 3:28 to Bernett. Brodhead/Juda’s Reave Lincoln was pinned in 1:17 by Gorr in the regional finals then beat Evansville/Albany’s Cody Meyer by rule to advance to sectionals. Earlier in the regional, Lincoln had pinned Meyer in 5:08. Last year, Michael Beeler defeated Meyer 9-3 at team sectionals. Finally, there is Brant from CCSB. Brant did not place at Bi-State, defeated Simonson 5-2 in the regional finals and pinned Aquinas’ Emil Walleser in 3:33 at Bi-State. In the dual against Aquinas, Bernett pinned Walleser in 2:43.
There are plenty of opportunities at sectionals to advance to state. If you lose your first match, you aren’t done. For the most part, Spartan wrestlers are on the good sides of their brackets. Seeing five or six guys wrestling in Madison next week is not a stretch. If you have anything you’d like to add to the research above, please add it to the comments.
Go Spartans!!!
