It came down to just six points, but the Wittenberg-Birnamwood High School wrestling team edged Coleman for the Shawano Holiday Classic title Saturday.
“The boys are stepping up,” Wittenberg-Birnamwood coach Troy Ostrowski said. “Every week it is about getting better.”
Bonduel finished third in the 12-team tournament. Other area schools competing were Clintonville, which finished eighth, and Shawano, which finished last.
Bonduel coach Chris Rank was happy with how his wrestlers performed.
“Wittenberg-Birnamwood and Coleman have great teams,” Rank said. “We get out of here in third. Right up and down the line there’s only one or two matches today that I can look back and say, ‘Geez maybe we could have won that one.’”
Senior Jacob Wudtke (14-0), who is ranked No. 4 in Division 3 by Wisconsin Wrestling Online, won Bonduel’s only championship on the day, taking the 170-pound weight class with a 3-0 decision over Wittenberg-Birnamwood freshman Alex Peplinski.
“It ended up being a great match in our favor,” Rank said. “Wittenberg-Birnamwood has a great team along with a great freshman there. He’s going to have a great career.”
The two wrestlers went scoreless through the first two periods, but Wudtke managed a near fall before the end of the third period and then rode it out to the end to take the win.
“Coaching Jacob over the years, I know he’s a confident young man,” Rank said. “I felt he was going to be OK. I felt he could at least ride him out, didn’t know that he was going to put him on his back.”
Bonduel’s Garrett Siolka (13-1) suffered his first loss of the season in the 120-pound championship match, a 10-4 decision to Wittenberg-Birnamwood’s Ben Vosters.
Bonduel’s Dan Tauchen (13-2) lost the championship match at 152 pounds, getting pinned in 1:10 by Coleman’s Trevor Seewald.
Both Wittenberg-Birnamwood, ranked No. 5 in Division 2, and Coleman, ranked No. 2 in Division 3, had five champions.
In addition Vosters’ title, Wittenberg-Birnamwood’s Braxton Potrykus (19-1), ranked No. 2 in Division 2, pinned Coleman’s Dextor Karban, who is ranked No. 2 in Division 3, in 3:13 to win the 160-pound bracket. Stetson Potrykus (18-1) won the 106-pound championship by beating Oconto’s Aiden Wusterbarth in a 8-2 decision. Hunter Kreger (17-2) beat Rhinelander’s Adam Woebbeking, 3-2, to take the 182-pound championship. August Peplinski (17-3) won the 195-pound championship with a pin of Berlin’s David Meza in 45 seconds.
Also for W-B, Bobby Uttecht (18-2) lost to Coleman’s Marc Lansin in a marathon championship match at 132 pounds. Knotted at 0-0 after four periods, Lansin scored a near fall in the final period to get the 3-0 decision.
Heavyweight Jayce Hinkfuss (12-6) put in the best performance for Shawano on the day. Hinkfuss placed fifth, winning the fifth-place match by pinning Berlin’s Zach Wilson in 1:34.
Two Clintonville wrestlers won their third-place matches: senior Jake Reiter (15-1), who pinned Bonduel’s Bennett Gunderson (9-6) in 1:10 at 195 pounds, and Charlie Poppe (15-3), who defeated Adams-Friendship’s Rylan Burrows 12-8, at 182. Tim Jerabek (11-7) won his first three matches at 145 pounds but then lost to Peshtigo’s D.J. Messenger and Lansin to finish third.
Shawano Holiday Classic
1. Wittenberg-Birnamwood 386, 2. Coleman 380, 3. Bonduel 278, 4. Rhinelander 197, 5. Peshtigo 191, 6. Oconto 182, 7. New London 170, 8. Clintonville 142, 9. Berlin 140, 10. Antigo 103, 11. Adams-Friendship 82, 12. Shawano 67
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