The Spartans finished 4th Thursday at the Badger State Invite behind team champs Owatonna (239 points), Sauk Prairie (186) and Campbellsport (161). Host Stoughton was one spot back of the Spartans in 5th place.
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Nick Winchel and Tom Tourdot each took home individual titles to lead the Spartans. Tourdot’s championship came in dramatic fashion as he won 4-3 in double overtime over the sixth-ranked wrestler in Minnesota’s Class AAA, which is equivalent to division one in Wisconsin. At 130 pounds, Nick Winchel was rarely pushed throughout the day as he picked up a pin in his first match, a six-point victory in his second match, a major decision victory in his third match and a 4-1 victory in the finals.
Toby Mosley and Morgan Leis each went 3-1 on the day to bring home third place. Leis’ only loss was by a score of 1-0 in the semifinals. In his 3rd place match, Mosley squeaked out a 1-0 win to improve to 14-4 on the year. At 140 pounds, Michael Murnane avenged his first-round 10-6 loss to Matt Hampson of Oak Creek by pinning Hampson in 4:24 in the 7th place match.
There were only two matches between Spartan and River Valley wrestlers on the day. At 103 pounds, River Valley’s Denver Hood defeated Dylan Winchel 19-12 and at 125, Joe Crook of River Valley took down Derek VonRuden 9-2 in the fifth place match. These matchups were important to note as these teams may very likely meet at team sectionals in February.
To see how each Spartan did on the day, check out the stats below. To see how every wrestler did in every match on the day, click here.
103 — Dylan Winchel, 7th Place, 3-2
112 — Tristan Zurfluh, 8th Place, 2-3 with a pin
119 — Bryce Nowaczyk, 8th Place, 2-3 with two pins
125 — Derek VonRuden, 6th Place, 3-2 with two major decisions
130 — Nick Winchel, 1st Place, 4-0 with a pin and major decision
135 — Paul Vantassel, 7th Place, 3-2 with a pin and major decision
140 — Michael Murnane, 7th Place, 3-2 with two pins
145 — Toby Mosley, 3rd Place, 3-1 with a pin
152 — Morgan Leis, 3rd Place, 3-1 with a pin
160 — Alex Hemmersbach, 8th Place, 2-3 with a pin
171 — Xavier Lopez, Did Not Place, 1-2 with a pin
189 — Kyle Burkhalter, Did Not Place, 0-2
215 — Tom Tourdot, 1st Place, 4-0 with two pins
285 — Chris Beeler, 4th Place, 2-2 with two pins
Next up for the Spartans is the Spartan JV Tournament six days from now on Wednesday, December 29th here in Sparta. Head on up to the high school to check out the action if you can. The varsity is off until Tuesday, January 4th when they take on Weston at home.
