Meet comes down to final match
By Greg Seubert
Waupaca’s wrestling team picked up a North Eastern Conference dual meet win Jan. 25, but didn’t seal the victory until the final match.
John Schmidt’s 9-6 win at 106 pounds over Fox Valley Lutheran’s Jonah Gagnon sealed the Comets’ 41-34 win over the Foxes on Parents’ Night.
Waupaca led 38-34 heading into the matchup of freshman wrestlers and Schmidt trailed 6-4 heading into the third period, but outscored Gagnon 5-0 over the final two minutes.
FVL took an early 6-0 lead after the Comets forfeited the 113-pound match to Charlie Ziegler.
Benjamin Pacheco-Rojas tied the score at 6-6 after pinning Dylan Cootway in 53 seconds and Waupaca took the lead for good after the Foxes forfeited to Tanner Johnson, Colby Bernhardt and Ron Mason at 126, 132 and 138, respectively.
Jesse Frisk added to Waupaca’s 24-6 lead by pinning Evan Wichman in 4:55 at 145, but the Foxes cut the deficit to 30-16 with Mackenzie Kading’s 17-7 win over Garret Miller at 152 and Jacob Jungwirth’s pin of Jacob Pankratz at 160.
Waupaca’s Kyle Hamm handed Chase Lin an 8-4 loss at 170 before the Comets forfeited the 182-pound match to Adam Schneider.
Mark Kilcoyne gave the Comets a 38-22 lead with a 19-3 technical fall win over Ainen Leary at 195.
A pair of forfeits to FVL’s Cameron Milner at 220 and Cody Thelen at 285 cut Waupaca’s lead to 38-34 to set up the final match between Schmidt and Gagnon.
Waupaca will host Wrightstown at 6:30 p.m. Monday, Jan. 29, in a NEC match originally scheduled for Jan. 11.
