The Mukwonago Wrestling Club traveled to Elkhorn to compete in their regional tournament, hoping to peak at the right time of the season and show that hard work pays off. 39 wrestlers from the Club completed for a chance to qualify for the Wisconsin Kids Folk style state tournament in Madison. The Club qualified 18 wrestlers who claimed a berth by finishing 1st or 2nd. 2 more wrestlers finished in third place, making them a state alternate and waiting for a possible invitation.
In the 2004/05 age division, Mukwonago qualified 3 wrestlers with Zachary Eliszewski@ 54lbs, Alex Jacobi @69lbs and Josie Stachowski @50lbs (girl’s div). Jacobi earned a 10-0 win in the semis and solidified his championship with a 4-3 victory. Stachowski needed a single victory winning 7-1 to secure her regional championship. Eliszewski reached the finals by winning his first 3 matches; he lost the championship match on a decision to earn 2nd. Also competing but not obtaining a top 3 finish were Carson Taylor and Cody Goebel @57lbs both had 2 victories and Aaron Lewis competing at 80lbs.
In 2002/03 age division, the Grizzlys qualified 5 wrestlers starting with Michael Josephson@110lbs who defeated all 3 opponents to earn a regional championship. Luke Garvens@69lbs worked his way to the championship with 2 pins and a major, then lost the championship match pitting him in a true 2nd place match where he earned a 4-0 victory. Tyler Goebel@75lbs also beat 3 straight opponents only to also lose the championship match pitting him in a true 2nd place match where he secured a spot in Madison with a 2nd period pin. Luke Stromberg@100lbs secured the Grizzlys 4th qualifying spot with 2 pins in a 4 man round robin. Hailey Porter@105lbs 2001-03 girls also placed 2nd with tough wrestling earning a ticket to Madison. Aaron Schmitz finished the day in 3rd place after 6 matches; he lost a tough 3-2 decisions to the eventual champion, then won 4 straight matches not giving up a single point, but the state dream ended as he lost a true 2nd place match. Amos Weide’s fate ended in a similar way, he opened with 3 wins to reach the championship match, then unfortunately could not get a win in either the championship nor true 2nd place match finishing with a 3rd place medal. Jake Adams, Braden Schreiber, Cole Hansen and Haiden Baxa all got quality wins in their large bracket but were unable to place in the top 4.
In the 2000/01 age division, Mukwonago qualified 6 more wrestlers, starting with Aaron Schulist@88lbs who made short work of the day with 3 pins to win a regional championship. Jake Schulte@76lbs at the Fond du Lac Regional won 3 straight matches to earn a championship. Lucas Benn@67lbs earned his 5th trip to Madison finishing the day with a pin and a 2nd place finish. Jake Garvens@76lbs followed suit @76lbs with a major decision to earn 2nd place and a ticket to state. Luke Eliszewski@70lbs earned the final qualifier spot at going 3-1 with 12-1 major decision to earn 2nd place. Justin Eichler and Mike West finished in 4th place both going 3-2 for the day. Also competing Saturday, wrestling well but running into tough competition were Josh Garvens, Benjamin Stein, Ben Adams and Andrew Lewis.
In the 1998-99 age division; the Grizzlys added 5 more led by Jake Matson@170lbs who pinned all his opponents to earn 1st place. Carter Olson@145lbs and Nicholas Beilfuss@190lbs both earn runner up finishes with 2 wins each. Andre` Lirette@145lbs traveled to the River Valley Regional and came home with 2nd place by winning 3 of 4 matches to punch his ticket. Jake Mariani@88lbs traveled to the Waunakee Regional and won 2 of 3 matches to also earn a runner up spot. Jacob Stachowski, Tyler Jacobi and Dennis Mahoney all finished the day 3-2 and in 4th place. Brandon Wozny, Michael Dudek and Brandon Eichler had significant wins but were unable to earn a top 4 places.
It was exciting and proud to coach all our wrestlers as they all worked hard all year. The state tournament will be held at the Alliant Energy Center in Madison on March 22nd / 23rd.