An 18-point deficit proved to be too much to overcome.
Traveling to Beaver Dam/Wayland Academy on Friday, Jan. 6, the Waunakee wrestling team dropped a road dual 44-30, as the home team jumped out to a big early lead.
Trailing 18-0, the Warriors started to rally, as Coltan Nechvatal was awarded a forfeit at 132.
“Gabe Guralski followed that up with a 9-2 win over a good quality opponent,” said Mark Natzke, head coach for Waunakee. “Gabe controlled the match the entire way and just kept putting points up the entire match wo pick up a quality win for us.”
The highlight of the night for Waunakee was Joe Kaney picking up a third period pin at 170.
“In a match where he was down early, Joe battled back never giving up and just got stronger as the match went along,” said Natzke. “He then took the lead in the third period and in the process put his opponent on his back and picked up a huge pin for us in the dual meet, to give us a chance late.”
In business-like fashion, Jack Schweitzer (195) and Jackson Lenzendorf (285) both pinned their opponents in the first period.
“Both of them were in a match where they were the better wrestler, and they went out and showed their dominance setting the tone right away in the match and taking care of business in the dual,” said Natzke.
Mason Spear capped the evening with a nice win at 106.
“Mason Spear finished the dual with a 7-1 win in a match that he took control from the start with the first takedown and then just kept scoring and dominating his opponent,” said Natzke. “The match wasn't as close as the score may have indicated.”
Waunakee’s girls team went to Kickapoo and finished second overall in a tournament.
Natzke said both Madison Mercurio and Katelyn Ottosen wrestled at 132 in a four-person round robin bracket.
“One of the girls got hurt in weigh-ins and ended up not competing, so they both picked up forfeit wins over her,” said Natzke. “Then in their other match they both picked up a pin over the girl from Kickapoo. Madison picked up a first period pin and Katlyn a second period pin. They were scheduled to wrestle in the last round, but we did not wrestle the match. It was an opportunity for both girls to get in some matches against other girls. Anytime you can get that opportunity you need to take advantage of it. They both continued their successful seasons and looked dominant in their matches that they wrestled. They are working at getting ready for the girls’ state tournament in February.”
At the junior varsity state qualifier in Sauk Prairie, both Quinn Pfeifer and Aiden Burns both placed first, qualifying for the Challenge Series finals in Wausau in two weeks.
“Both of the boys were just dominant in the path to the championship,” said Natzke. “Quinn picked up four pins in his four matches, and Aiden picked up three pins in his four matches.”