Postseason play may be on the front of a lot of wrestlers’ minds at this time of the year. But that certainly isn’t the case for the Waunakee Warriors boys’ wrestling team just yet.
On Friday, Jan. 30, the Waunakee Warriors hosted the Milton Red Hawks in their final Badger-Large Conference dual meet of the season.
This dual meet wasn’t like any typical dual meet. It was a chance for the Warriors to flex their dominance and go undefeated in dual meet competition against their conference foes. Consequently, it would help increase their odds to win the conference outright when competing at the Badger-Conference Tournament next week.
In front of a jam-packed crowd on Senior Night, the Warriors’ depth and versatility were on full display, defeating the Red Hawks by a final score of 48-30 to put a bow on the regular season, sweeping their conference foes.
For Waunakee head coach Mark Natzke, the Warriors’ ability to consistently perform well against Badger-Large opponents speaks to their ability to have different guys rise to the occasion — and to do so on any given day.
“You have to show up every week,” Natzke said. “We’ve had different guys pitch in on different nights…We’ve been able to do that throughout the year. When somebody needs to come out if we’ve had a guy out of the lineup, somebody stepped up.”
Early on in the dual meet, the Warriors found themselves facing a 12-0 deficit until senior Mason Spear (120 lbs) secured a gritty pin in three minutes and five seconds to put the Warriors officially on the board.
Immediately, success would follow over to junior Brett Farrell (126 lbs), who steadily built a 9-3 lead going into his third period before scoring a 13-3 major decision.
In the 132-pound weight class, senior Connor Custinger was locked in a battle against Milton’s David Bilhorn. Neither side would budge through two periods as Custinger took a slim 8-7 lead going into the third period. Bilhorn pinned Custinger with just 17 seconds remaining in the match to steal the victory.
Despite the hard-fought loss for Waunakee, it may have been the spark they needed. The Warriors then rattled off four straight victories to suddenly take a 31-18 lead.
Senior Payton Schutz (138 lbs) and sophomore Gibson Guralski (148 lbs) each scored pins before senior Braydon Barbian (150 lbs) used a monster third period to win by a 13-6 decision. Senior Gabriel Metzler (157 lbs) needed just one minute and 22 seconds to pin his opponent, igniting the crowd and his teammates.
Moving up the weight classes, the Warriors continued their momentum, this time, with an 18-1 win by technical fall from junior Logan Boyle (175 lbs).
After junior Sawyer Ellis (190 lbs) scored a pin in four minutes and 25 seconds to officially seal the victory, senior McCoy Smith (215 lbs) needed only 20 seconds to pin his opponent to give the Warriors 48 points and ultimately a 48-30 victory.
With the final conference dual meet in the rearview mirror, now comes postseason play. Now comes the good stuff, such as the conference tournament, individual sectionals, team sectionals, and hopefully, an appearance at the Kohl Center in Madison.
“Now it’s the fun time,” Natzke said. “Every time we wrestle, it’s going to matter because if you don’t perform, you go home.”
The Warriors will begin their postseason play at the conference tournament on Saturday, Feb. 7, at Fort Atkinson High School, starting at 9 a.m., according to Waunakee Athletics.