The Weyauwega-Fremont wrestling team spent the Christmas holiday in Merrill Tuesday and Wednesday, Dec. 28-29, at the Northern Exposure Dual Team Tournament.
The matmen turned in their best performance of the season at the 24-team event by placing 13th with a 4-3 record.
After a 1-3 start, W-F won three duals in a row. Wisconsin’s top-ranked Division 2 teams met in the championship round, with Luxemburg-Casco defeating Oconto Falls 37-27.
W-F was placed in a six-team pool with defending Division 2 state champion Oconto Falls and four Division 1 schools: Appleton West, Lake Geneva Badger, West Allis Central and Merrill.
The Indians started with a 44-30 win over Appleton West, followed by three straight losses to Oconto Falls, Lake Geneva Badger and West Allis Central. In the last match of pool play on day one, W-F defeated Merrill 43-27.
On day two, W-F was matched with the three other teams that finished 2-3 in their pools on day one. The Indians defeated Clintonville 51-21 and Menomonie 45-30.
Individual records were Isaac Danke, 2-5 at 103 pounds; Nick Thomas, 3-4 at 112; Dylan Hansen, 4-3 at 119; Jared Gruetzmacher, 6-1 at 125; Brandon Loehrke, 3-4 at 130; Tre Blohm, 0-3 at 130 and 135; Trevor Potratz, 3-1 at 135 and 140; Andy Pribbernow, 1-4 at 135 and 140; Casey Lenz, 2-5 at 145; Devon Starks, 1-6 at 152; Ben Fox, 3-0 at 160; Jackson Stearns, 2-4 at 171; Nick Stelzner, 4-2 at 189; Jacob Chimielewski, 4-3 at 215; and Casey Haase, 5-2 at 285.
“Our team took a beating after the first match of pool play and could have shut down at that point, but our boys rallied together and won three matches in a row against bigger schools with more depth than us,” coach Tim Potratz said. “The team fought back hard and found a way to win the close matches and come from behind in matches and win.
“Every kid on the team came up with big wins in different duals that allowed us to win that dual,” he added. “The boys should be proud of their effort and the determination they showed. It was a lot of fun.”
The Indians will open Central Wisconsin Conference action at 7 tonight (Thursday, Jan. 6) by hosting Bonduel.