9:22 pm — Nekoosa/Port Edward’s Gage Ferkey pinned Sparta’s Kyle Burkhalter in 5:20 to bring Sparta’s 2010-11 season to a close. It was 2-0 at the end of the first, but a takedown followed by a quick two-point nearfall quickly put Burkhalter behind 6-0. Burkhalter was able to get in on Ferkey’s legs, but had trouble finishing his moves.
While I know this was not the outcome Derek and Kyle had hoped for, a big congrats goes out to these two individuals for qualifying for their first ever state tournaments. Derek will try to qualify for his second state tournament next year as a senior while Burkhalter will come back as a junior and try to do the same.
Photos of tonight’s action will be posted to Spartanwrestling.com later tonight…
9:08 pm — Kyle Burkhalter’s match is underway…
9:00 pm — Kyle Burkhalter is on deck on mat 3 at the Kohl Center. You can watch Burkhalter thanks to Fox Sports North by clicking on the following link and then clicking Mat 3. It’s a black mat. Here’s the link…
http://www.foxsportswisconsin.com/pages/wiaastream
8:06 pm — Derek VonRuden’s season came to an end tonight with a first-round loss against Amery’s Kyle Larson (36-9). VonRuden finishes the year with a record of 38-12. Down 4-3 with 15 seconds left, Larson snapped VonRuden down and spun around to secure the deciding takedown and win. A first-round loss in the division two state tournament bracket does not provide any chance for a wrestleback. Next up for Sparta is Kyle Burkhalter at 171 pounds.
7:53 pm — Derek VonRuden’s match is underway…
6:23 pm — We will have updates from Derek VonRuden’s and Kyle Burkhalter’s first round matches tonight as soon as each of them are completed. We’ll also have photos of the guys in action coming later tonight or early tomorrow. Go Spartans!!!
