Witt-Birn tops Bonduel in CWC wrestling dual

The Wittenberg-Birnamwood High School wrestling team picked up a 52-21 dual win over Central Wisconsin Conference foe Bonduel on Jan. 26 in Bonduel.

Bonduel later wrestled conference-leading Shiocton, falling 72-9.

The Witt-Birn vs. Bonduel dual began at 106 pounds, with Bonduel’s Kaitlyn Kroening earning a forfeit win.

Witt-Birn claimed the next three weight classes.

At 113 pounds, Witt-Birn’s Ben Miller earned a 10-1 major decision win over Jaxon Bogacz. Miller led 5-0 after one period, 8-0 after two and 10-0 in the third before Bogacz earned his point.

Witt-Birn’s Easton Davis pinned Hailey Berg in 3 minutes, 20 seconds in a 120-pound matchup. Davis led 5-0 after a period and 7-0 in the second before finishing off the pin.

Devin Wudtke also had a pin at 126 pounds for Witt-Birn, defeating Cooper Salerno in 2:31. Wudtke got four takedowns in the opening period to lead 8-3 before getting the pin.

Bonduel’s Matthew Walenta broke Witt-Birn’s streak of wins by pinning Luca Pelusi in 3:37 at 132 pounds. Pelusi had the lone points in the first period with a takedown, but Walenta started the second period in the top position and was eventually able to secure the pin.

Witt-Birn took control of the dual by taking the next three weight classes.

Andres Sanchez got the first win at 138 pounds, pinning Maddy Sokolski in 1:26. Sanchez had an early takedown before working toward the pin of the top-ranked girls wrestler in the state at 138 pounds.

Witt-Birn’s Nico Pelusi then topped Colin Fischer in an 11-5 decision.

Pelusi had the first takedown before each wrestler had a reversal. Pelusi led 4-3 after one period. Pelusi worked his lead up to six after a reversal and nearfall in the second period and then each wrestler had a reversal in the third to cap the scoring.

Chase Kitsemble earned a forfeit win at 152 pounds for the Chargers.

Bonduel’s Donovan Vigue and Witt-Birn’s Owen Schultz battled at 160 pounds, with Vigue earning a 7-0 decision win. Vigue led 2-0 after a period before an escape and takedown in the second made it 5-0. In the third, Vigue had another takedown to seal the win.

Witt-Birn’s Braeden Groshek then defeated Parker Perry in one of the tighter matches of the night at 170 pounds, claiming a 3-2 decision.

After a scoreless first period, Perry escaped in the second to grab a 1-0 lead. In the final period, Groshek escaped to tie things up, then took down Perry to go ahead 3-1. Perry escaped with about 30 seconds to go to tighten things up, but neither wrestler was able to score the rest of the way.

“My match tonight really came down to who wanted it more, as well as who had more gas left in the tank going into the third period,” said Groshek. “I knew going into that match, I was going to have to win to help the team run away with the ‘W’.”

Bonduel’s Tyson Bogacz controlled his 182-pound match against Bryson Schmid, getting a pin in 4:42. Bogacz led 2-0 after a period and 11-0 after two. He tacked on a couple more points in the third before getting the pin.

Witt-Birn sealed up its dual win with pins in the final three weight classes.

Nathan Waupekenay earned the first pin at 195 pounds against Evan Wilcox, getting the pin in 1:15. Dominic Weso pinned Kyler Novitski in 48 seconds, while David Gauderman pinned Willis Bloedorn in 42 seconds.

Each Witt-Birn wrestler got the pin after an early takedown.

After its dual win, Gauderman said the team learned that “you can never stop wrestling. When you stop for a second to catch your breath, it comes back and bites you.”

In its loss to Shiocton, the Bogacz brothers were the only Bonduel wrestlers to pick up wins.

Tyson Bogacz won by pin in 1:24 at 182 pounds, while Jaxon Bogacz claimed a 6-2 decision at 106 pounds to cap the night of wrestling.

“I just executed well on every position and just finished it when I got them in spots they were vulnerable in,” said Tyson Bogacz, on what he did well during his 2-0 night.

“It helps having these kind of matches so we’re ready for that tough competition (conference tournament and postseason) when we get there.”

All but one of Bonduel’s losses to Shiocton were by pin.

Kroening (113) was pinned in 1:52, while Berg (120) fell in 1:35. Salerno (126) was defeated in 2:36, Walenta (132) in 4:27, Sokolski (138) in 2:49 and Fischer (145) in 1:34.

After a forfeit loss at 152 pounds, Vigue (160) was pinned in 4:50 before Perry (170) fell in 3:48.

In between the Bogacz wins, Michael Keiler (195), Novitski (220) and Bloedorn (285) were pinned in 4:33, 20 seconds and 2:40, respectively.

“You don’t get to see that competition every week,” said Bonduel coach Chad Bogacz. “Usually you got a lot of forfeits. We had three full teams going at it tonight, so that was a lot of great wrestling for the fans to see — lot of state wrestlers, ranked, going at each other. It was a fun night.”

Along with competing in the two duals, the Bonduel wrestling program also celebrated senior night and hall of fame night.

Seniors Salerno, Vigue, Perry, Keiler, Bloedorn, Tyson Bogacz and manager Emily Hudson were recognized.

Stan Giese was inducted into the team’s hall of fame.

The 1998 state championship team — the school’s only team state title — also gathered and was celebrated on its 25th anniversary. Only the team’s managers and one wrestler from the team were not able to attend.

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