Both Warriors wrestling teams competed in the Badger Conference tournament on Saturday, Feb. 8. The boys’ team placed fourth and the girls’ team placed 12th. Gabe Metzler and McCoy Smith were crowned conference champions. Kit Alsaker, Ellie Lenzendorf, and Jackson Lenzendorf earned conference runner-up.
To start off the meet for the boys was Brett Farrell in the 113 weight bracket. Farrell earned third place and a 31-8 finish. Farrell won in the quarter finals against Anthony Ballweg (Monona Grove/McFarland) by technical fall. Bryson Busler (Watertown) defeated Farrell in the semifinal, but Farrell bounced back to win the next two rounds of competition.
In the third place match, Farrell defeated David Bilhorn (Milton) by a 7-1 decision. Mason Spear followed up with a third place finish of his own in the 120 weight bracket. Spear (28-13) defeated DeForest and Baraboo opponents in the first two rounds of competition. In the semifinal, Aiden Slama (Milton), who is 33-2, defeated Spear by fall in 3:03 seconds. In the final two rounds, Spear won by technical fall and major decision to secure third place.
Connor Cutsinger had a fifth place finish in the 126 weight bracket. Cutsinger had two losses in four rounds of competition. To secure fifth place, Cutsinger defeated Colin Reabe (Beaver Dam) by fall in three minutes. Payton Schutz placed eighth after defeating Andrew Pachon (Baraboo) and Lukas Hartberg (Stoughton) in five total rounds of competition. In the seventh place match, Rylan Heine (Fort Atkinson) defeated Schutz by technical fall. In the 144 weight bracket for Waunakee, Braydon Barbian finished seventh by defeating three opponents out of five matches. To secure seventh place, Barbian defeated Ricky Sevilla (Mount Horeb) by fall in 3:31 seconds.
In the 150 weight bracket, Gabe Metzler secured a win and a conference championship. After a first round bye, Metzler defeated Conway Knox (Sauk Prairie) by fall in 1:09 seconds. Metzler secured another fall victory in the semifinal round against Skyler Hanke from Reedsburg. In the championship match, Metzler (33-3) defeated Gage Gross (Milton) by decision. Waunakee’s Ian Martin had one victory in three rounds by defeating Carter Wubben from Stoughton in the 157 weight bracket.
Sebastian Mejia-Gonzalez and Collin Ubersetzig both placed eighth in their respective weight brackets. Mejia-Gonzalez won in the first round against Camden Wood from Oregon by decision. In the third round of competition, Mejia-Gonzalez secured his last victory of the bracket by defeating Noah Fosshage (Sauk Prairie). Max Johnson (Portage) defeated Mejia-Gonzalez by fall for seventh place. Uebersetzig won two matches against Milton and Fort Atkinson opponents. In the 190 weight bracket, Sawyer Ellis (21-17) placed seventh with victories against Mount Horeb and Reedsburg opponents.
McCoy Smith won the 215 weight bracket to go 37-4. After a first round bye, Smith defeated Kadin Marz (Baraboo) by fall in 23 seconds. In the semifinal, Smith won by fall over Logan McIntyre (Sauk Prairie) in 32 seconds. Smith closed it out in the championship match against Gatlin Empey (Stoughton) by decision. The win by Smith tallied 28 team points for Waunakee. Jackson Lenzendorf fell to Deangelo Clay (Monona Grove/McFarland) in the championship match by decision. In the first two rounds, Stoughton and Reedsburg opponents by fall. The second place victory by Lenzendorf scored 24 team points for the Warriors.
For the girls, Kit Alsaker and Ellie Lenzendorf had second place finishes in their weight brackets. Sophia Fisher finished seventh in the 132 weight bracket.
After a first round bye, Alsaker defeated Emily Kramer (Oregon) by fall to advance to the championship match. Alsaker was defeated by the undefeated Madi Peach from Milton by fall. Ellie Lenzendorf defeated Makayla Mittelstaedt (Reedsburg) by major decision in the semifinal. Amelia Soltis (Mount Horeb) defeated Lenzendorf in the championship match by fall to round out the event for Waunakee.