Dogs Win First Peshtigo Invite Title in 20 Years

Peshtigo won the 52nd Peshtigo Wrestling Invitational over the weekend, besting local rivals like Oconto Falls, Crivitz, Gillett/Suring and Marinette as well as visitors from schools like Oostburg and Wausau East. It was the first Peshtigo Invite win for the Bulldogs since 2003.
Four Bulldogs won their weight classes, with Reese Yunke (138), Ethan Brissette (145), Kyle Rupert (182), and Connor Thomas (220) all topping the podium.
Thomas pinned all four of his opponents, all in three minutes or less and the first three in less than two minutes each. The first-place match was against Wausau East’s Aiden Haugen, who Thomas pinned in 2:47.
Rupert (182) pinned his first two opponents in 27 seconds and 4:22, with the latter being against Oostburg’s Devan Laganowski.
After a major decision against Oshkosh West’s Juan Heredia, he drew Laganowski again, who he beat in 64 seconds this time.
Brissette (145) went 5-0 on the day. He pinned three opponents, including one in just 10 seconds, and beat another by tech fall. In the first-place match, he beat Oostburg’s Connor Mentink by 12-5 decision.
Yunke (138) pinned two opponents to start the day, then beat Oconto Falls’ Parker Peterson by 5-3 decision and Oostburg’s Collin Kelly 7-2 to wrap up the title.
Lincoln Nemec (152) took second with a 3-1 record. After winning his first three matches, he was beaten by Oostburg’s Nash Banko, who is undefeated on the season.
Jazleen Fong-Baake went 2-2 and took third at 120, Brenden Conn was 3-2 to finish third at 126, losing in the championship bracket by sudden victory, and Ethan Suennen was 3-2 with a 15-14 decision win in the third-place match.
Cole Berth (160) took fifth with a 3-2 record, winning his last three matches via pin after starting 0-2. Zach Sherman took fifth at 138 with a 2-2 live record.
Levi Nemec (132) took fifth, losing his first two matches before winning his final two via pin.
Caleb Klimek (195) took fourth with a 1-3 record, Evelyn Hurley took fourth at 106 with a 1-3 record, Carson Patterson (285) took sixth with a 1-4 record, and Tristan Krejcarek went 2-2 to take seventh at 138.
Nathen Kleikamp (170) went 2-2 to take ninth. Malakai Yakel took ninth at 145 with a 2-2 record. He pinned his final two opponents. Peshtigo Coach Kory Weed was very happy when asked about his teams title winning performance. “It’s been 20 years so it’s been a long time coming”, said Weed. “It didn’t look like we were going to take it today. The way we started the first couple of rounds wasn’t where we needed to be. The kids really turned it around about the half way point and put a statement down in the last half of the tournament. It was great to see the fruits of their labor today.”
Oconto Falls took third out of 11 teams. Three Panthers won their weight classes.
Taylor Whiting (106) and Garrett Ganter (113) both pinned all four of their opponents.
Whiting is now 9-0 after pinning four opponents in 3:06, 1:06, 3:28, and 5:25.
Ganter got a couple of late pins, beating opponents in 5:08, 1:23, 3:50, and Evan Kaufman of Crivitz in 5:50 in the fifth round.
Cole Bozile won the 132-pound weight class. He tech-falled his first opponent and pinned his next two before a 4-0 decision win against Wausau East’s Maddox Rye in the first-place match. Rye is 29-3 on the year.
Brenner Cole took second at 285. After pinning four straight opponents in a minute or less, Cole was finally beaten by Oshkosh West’s Eric Christofferson by pin in the championship match.
Landon Magnin (120) took second as well. He pinned two opponents and beat another by major decision. His only loss was to Oostburg’s Rigoberto Tellez, who is 21-1 this season.
Hunter Bozile (126) took second. He pinned three opponents and beat another by major decision, then lost to Oshkosh West’s Damarion Williams in the final by a 5-4 decision.
Quinton McDonald (160) took third place. He won three of five matches, all by pin. Parker Peterson (138) was also third, winning his first three matches. After a 5-3 decision loss to Peshtigo’s Reese Yunke, he won the third-place match in 41 seconds.
Jeremy Earley (152) took fourth with a 2-2 record, Ethan Zielinski was 2-3 and placed sixth at 126, and Faith Thurman was eighth at 126 with an 0-5 record.
Marinette took sixth, led by a first-place performance from Logan Paris at 195.
Paris pinned all four of his opponents, including TJ Mueller of Crivitz in the first-place match in 3:13. Mueller is 27-3 on the season.
Isaac Hermanson (106) took second, winning three of four matches, all by pin. His loss came to undefeated Taylor Whiting of Oconto Falls in round two.
Jaxon Smith (182) ended up third, having pinned his first three opponents. After a 4-3 decision loss to Oostburg’s Devan Laganowski in the championship bracket, he finished with a 5-0 iwn over Oshkosh West’s Juan Heredia.
Grace Holguin (113) took fourth with a 1-3 record, Marvin Alexis (120) took fourth with a 1-4 live record, Skylar Allman (138) took sixth with a 1-3 live record, Nicolas Baldwin (145) came in sixth with a 2-3 live record, Ian Treptow (152) took fifth with a 3-2 live record, and Benjamin Rickaby took fourth at 160 with a 2-3 live record.
Crivitz was seventh, getting a win from 160-pounder Dominic Thoreson.
Thoreson pinned all five opponents, and none of the matches were particularly close. He beat opponents in 14, 25, 87, 88, and 39 seconds, including Wausau East’s Garrison Stockwell in the final.
TJ Mueller took second at 195. He pinned three opponents, each in the first round, before a loss to Marinette’s Logan Paris in the final.
Evan Kaufman was also second at 113, pinning opponents in 29 and 44 seconds and winning another via 8-0 major decision. He was pinned with 10 seconds left in the final round against Oconto Falls’ Garrett Ganter.
Sean Krueger (152) took third. He went 3-1 with three pin victories.
Parker Scheuerman (152) was 1-3 in live matches to take seventh, Austin Doyen (145) took eighth with a 1-4 record, and Brody MacNeil (182) took sixth with a medical forfeit win.
Menominee placed 10th. Ethan Primley-Nerat was the team’s top wrestler, taking second at 170. After losing in the first round against Clintonville/Marion’s Trystan Krueger, he pinned his next three opponents, then lost to Krueger again in the first-place match.
Lucas Thoune took fourth. He was 2-3 with two pin victories in the 285-pound weight class.
Ian Johnson (132) was eighth with a 1-4 record, Gabby Ellery was ninth with an 0-2 record, Alayna Hodge (160) took eighth after going 0-5, and Tucker Boxley took 10th at 170 after an 1-3 day.
Suring/Gillett came in 11th as a team, with Keegan Rattin (145) the team’s top individual.
After three wins to start the day, he ended up fourth after losing his final two matches, including an 11-9 heartbreaker in the third-place match against Wausau East’s Marquell Wraggs.
Michael Pecanas (170) took seventh with a 2-3 live record, Lillie Taylor took ninth at 132 with an 0-2 live record, Parker Zahn went 1-3 and placed 10th at 145, and Shylah Hisey was 0-4 and came in 11th at 170.

Cougars Claim Cutler
Classic Invite Title
The Coleman Cougars continued to rack up wrestling accolades in the 2022-23 season after winning last weekend’s Cutler Classic Invitational in New London.
Coleman and Random Lake were the two teams in contention for the victory, and despite wrestling a bit short-handed, the Cougars got the team victory with all 12 wrestlers earning top-eight finishes.
Five Cougars made weight class finals and four won their individual weight classes.
John Nowak (120), Ray Lemieux (132), Brady Gross (138), and Peter Kuchta (170) were each winners and Will Bieber (152) took second.
Kuchta wrestled perhaps the match of the tournament in the 170-pound final. Facing off with Wabeno/Laona’s Ryan Roy, a three-time state place-winner, Kuchta wrestled tough and won the match 12-11.
“It was one of the most exciting matches of the tournament. Peter was able to fend off some late takedown attempts and win 12-11,” Coleman coach Jason Champagne said.
Kuchta finished off his other two opponents in less than two minutes.
Nowak pinned his first opponent, beat his semifinal opponent 11-0, and narrowly edged Manawa’s Cash Botting by a 5-4 decision in the 120-pound final.
Ray Lemieux picked up a 48-second pin, a 15-2 major decision, and beat Random Lake’s Jackson Averill in the first-place match by a 7-0 decision, a particularly important win given it was against a Random Lake opponent.
Gross had to wrestle just two matches at 138, and he handled both comfortably, pinning Southern Door’s Trevin Veeser in 69 seconds and tech-falling Random Lake’s Seth Smallish in just over four minutes.
Bieber pinned his first two opponents before a matchup with Stone Pomeroy of Random Lake, a wrestler who has lost just once this season and took fourth at state in the Division 3 138-pound weight class last season. Pomeroy beat Bieber 4-1.
Parker Owens (106) went 1-3 and took fourth, Conner Markiewicz was 1-1 in live action and took third at 113, Chase Gruber (126) lost his first match by 4-2 decision but won the next two by decision to take fifth, Isaiah Nowak went 2-2 and placed fourth at 160, West Bieber (195) took fourth after a 1-2 day, and Devin Otto (220) was fifth with a 2-2 record. Adam Fonder placed eighth, winning once by medical forfeit with two losses.
“It wasn’t our most polished performance, but it was a gritty one,” Champagne said. “Sometimes I’d rather take those types of wins. We’re going to have to up our intensity as we get closer to regionals.”

Wildcats and Blue
Devils Compete at
Valders Scramble
Lena finished fifth and Oconto was sixth of 17 teams at the Valders Viking Scramble over the weekend.
Two Wildcats earned second-place finishes. Dylan Comins was second at 120 and Luke Misco took home silver at 132.
Comins won his first four matches four different ways, with a tech fall, major decision, decision, and pin over four opponents with combined 69-13 records.
In his final matchup, he was beaten 10-0 by Winneconne’s Trey Zemke.
Misco pinned his first two opponents in 13 seconds and 3:14 but was beaten 9-0 by Lourdes Academy/Valley Christian’s Mason Carpenter, Misco’s first loss of the season.
He finished off the way he started with two pins in 41 seconds and 1:48.
Max Peterson finished third in the 138-pound weight class with a 3-2 record. After two wins, including a 22-second pin, he lost his next two matches by pin before finishing with a 21-second pin victory in his final match.
Sam Peterson won three of four matches, all by pin, and took third at 106. His only loss was a pin by Campbellsport’s Karsten Krueger.
Lucas Heimke (138), Colt Miller (182), and Dylan Urbanek were each 2-3 to take fourth. John Hurtado (113) and Erik Kosch (145) took seventh with a 2-3 day.  
Zach Diedrich took 10th with a 1-3 record and Tim Benser went 1-4 to finish eighth at 285. Mirium Alberts (145) was 0-5 and took 10th.
Oconto had one weight class winner, Dominic Caylor (160). He pinned his first three opponents, dispatched of Pardeeville’s Caleb Mackey by 6-2 decision in the semifinal, and finished off Winneconne’s Brady Yonke by pin in the final to win the weight class.
Kyle Bowman (182) and Adan Ramirez (195) both took fifth place in their weight classes with 3-2 and 2-3 records, respectively.
Tyler Beekman, despite going 4-1 with four pin victories, took ninth, as his lone loss came in his opening match. He won three of those matches in 66 seconds or less.
Liam Brady (106) was 0-4 and took 11th, Cody Stamsa (113) went 1-4 and took eighth, Charlie Jordan (126) placed seventh with a 1-3 record, Jaymison Markham (132) went 2-2 and placed 10th, Ethan Wusterbarth (138) finished seventh with a 2-3 record, Anthony Mossakowski Jr. (145) took a 2-3 record to a sixth-place finish, Rex Pullen (220) was 0-3 and took 14th, and Alex Julka (285) was 0-4 to finish 11th.
Winneconne won the team title, followed by Campbellsport and Valders.

Bulldogs Sweep Teams
at Lena Multi-Dual
Peshtigo won all five of its team matchups at the Lena Multi-Dual on Thursday.
With greater numbers than any other team at the meet, Peshtigo beat Oneida Nation 78-0, Gillett/Suring 66-12, Florence-Niagara 51-13, Lena 58-24, and Crivitz 53-21.
The Bulldogs started off with a big win over Oneida Nation in which there was just one live match, a 75-second pin by Ethan Brissette against Hunter Webster at 145.
Peshtigo won most of the live action against Gillett as well in addition to five forfeits.
Ethan Suennen (132) pinned Lillie Taylor in 1:31, Lincoln Nemec (152) pinned Keegan Rattin in 5:36, Nathen Kliekamp (170) pinned Michael Pecanas in 37 seconds, Kyle Rupert (182) pinned Shylah Hisey in 41 seconds, and Caleb Klimek (195) pinned Carter Whisman in 5:49.
For G/S, Parker Zahn (145) pinned Radwa Farghali in 3:36 and Trent VanDenElzen (160) pinned Cole Berth in 57 seconds.
Of four live matches in Peshtigo vs. Florence/Niagara, the Storm actually won three of them. Sophia Wagner (106) beat Evelyn Hurley by 12-1 major decision, Caleb Krause (113) beat Jazleen Fong-Baake by 15-0 tech fall, and Caitlyn Kelley (120) beat Addisen Olson by 10-0 major decision.
Peshtigo’s Tristan Krejcarek pinned Cole Chitko by a 6-0 decision and the Bulldogs got eight forfeit victories.
Lena got four wins against the Bulldogs: Sam Peterson (106) pinned Hurley in 1:37, Luke Misco (132) pinned Suennen in 1:42, Sam Marquardt (138) pinned Krejcarek in 3:16, and Dylan Urbanek (285) pinned Carson Patterson in 35 seconds.
For Peshtigo, Olson (113) pinned John Hurtado in 1:32, Brenden Conn (126) pinned Zach Diedrich in 1:08, Brissette (145) pinned Max Peterson in 3:04, Levi Nemec (152) beat Erik Kosch by 11-0 major decision, Ruper (182) pinned Colt Miller in 1:11, and Connor Thomas (220) pinned Dylan Mazaba in 2:33.
Crivitz won four live matches against the Bulldogs as well. Evan Kaufman (113) beat Olson by a 4-2 decision, Dominic Thoreson (160) pinned Cole Berth in 1:30, Karson Bins (170) pinned Kleikamp in 39 seconds, and TJ Mueller (182) pinned Rupert in 3:54.
Brissette (145) tech-falled Austin Doyen 15-0, Lincoln Nemec (152) pinned Sean Krueger in 1:26, and Klimek (195) pinned Brody MacNeil in 40 seconds.
Lena won all of its other matches and celebrated Sam Marquardt’s 100th career win, achieved with a forfeit against Gillett/Suring.
Marquardt, a senior, won 30 matches over his first two seasons, the second of which was the COVID-shortened 2020-21 season. He won 39 matches last year as a junior and already has 32 wins this season.
Lena beat G/S 36-24. Colt Miller (182) pinned Michael Pecanas in 3:07 and Lucas Heimke (132) beat Lillie Taylor by a fall in 2:35.
For G/S, Parker Zahn (145) pinned Mirium Alberts in 3:14 and Keegan Rattin (152) pinned Max Peterson in 5:41.
There were just three live matches in Lena vs. Florence/Niagara. Lena’s Dylan Comins (120) beat Caitlyn Kelley by 12-3 major and Heimke (138) beat Cole Chitko in a 4:20 pin. The Storm’s Caleb Krause pinned John Hurtado in 3:18.
Lena beat Crivitz 42-20.
The Wolverines’ Evan Kaufman (113) pinned Hurtado in 45 seconds. Austin Doyen (145) beat Erik Kosch 7-3.
For Lena, Peterson (152) pinned Sean Krueger in 2:37, Miller (182) pinned Brody MacNeil in 34 seconds, and Dylan Mazaba (195) won by injury default against TJ Mueller.
The only live match in Lena’s 48-0 win over Oneida Nation was Marquardt’s 70-second pin of Hunter Webster.
Crivitz beat Florence/Niagara, Oneida Nation, and Gillett/Suring.
Against Florence/Niagara, both teams won just one live match. The Wolverines’ Evan Kaufman (113) pinned Caleb Krause in 1:13 and the Storm’s Cole Chitko (145) beat Austin Doyen 10-1.
Oneida Nation won the only live match with Crivitz, with Webster (145) pinning Doyen in 3:45.
Against Gillett/Suring, Doyen (145) pinned Parker Zahn in 4:27, Dominic Thoreson (160) beat VanDenElzen 14-13, Karson Bins (170) pinned Shylah Hisey in 20 seconds, and Brody MacNeil (182) pinned Michael Pecanas in 1:13.
Rattin got G/S six points with a 1:52 pin of Sean Krueger at 152.
Having more wrestlers, Florence/Niagara beat Oneida Nation and G/S, 39-0 and 30-24, respectively.
The only live match in Suring/Gillett vs. the Storm was a 65-second pin of Chitko by Rattin at 145.
Chitko (145) beat Webster 12-5 against Oneida Nation.
Gillett/Suring beat Oneida Nation 36-6, but Webster pinned Parker Zahn in 23 seconds at 145 in the only live match.

Panthers Burn
Comets in Dual 39-30
Oconto Falls won five of six live matches over Waupaca in a 39-30 team victory on Thursday night.
Waupaca’s only live match victory was in the 120-pound weight class, where J.J. Azuara pinned Landon Magnin in 1:29. Waupaca got 24 points via forfeit.
The Panthers won two matches by forfeit and dominated live proceedings.
Garrett Ganter (106) pinned Nate Sherman in 1:35, Hunter Bozile (126) pinned Matt Schmidt in 3:16, and Ethan Zielinski (132) beat Noah Crane by an 8-3 decision.
Parker Peterson (145) pinned Bowe Bessette in 31 seconds and Jeremy Earley pinned Joey Mason in 63 seconds.

Vikings Out Duel
Marines in NEC Dual
Denmark beat Marinette comprehensively in a dual match Thursday night.
Marinette’s lone win was in the 138-pound weight class, where Skylar Allman pinned Isaiah VanNoie in 90 seconds.
Denmark won five weight classes by forfeit, as well as eight live matches. The closest of them was at 182, where Luke St. Peter beat Jaxon Smith by a 6-5 decision.
Gavin Zellner (106) pinned Isaac Hermanson in 1:26, Brady Vieaux (113) pinned Grace Holguin in 1:25, and Bo Alberts (120) pinned Marvin Alexis in 33 seconds.
Steven Kielpikowski (145) pinned Nicolas Baldwin in 47 seconds, Carson Peterson (152) pinned Ian Treptow in 2:34, Cole Czarneski (160) pinned Benjamin Rickaby in 37 seconds, and Jonah Goetsch (195) pinned Logan Paris in 4:28.