Panthers have two champs, eight place-winners at Lancaster

     Eight place-winners, including one earning an Outstanding Wrestler award, made the trip to Lancaster, Wis. a fun one for the Monticello High School wrestling team.

     The Panthers took fifth place among 12 teams, most of them from Wisconsin, at the Saturday, Jan. 5 event. In the process, they crowned two champions. Chase Luensman earned the Outstanding Wrestler award after winning the 145-pound title, and Kain Luensman was the 126-pound champ.

     “Both wrestlers did a great job of attacking their opponents and staying in control throughout the tournament,” Monticello coach Ryan Luensman said. “Chase’s bracket had a very deep level of competition. He beat two wrestlers that placed in the top three in Wisconsin last season.”

     The award was voted on by all the tournament coaches, he added, “so it showed the level of respect he earned beating those high-level kids from an opposing state.”

     There were several other strong performances for the Panthers as well. Lake Stahlberg was second at 220 pounds, and Mark Sunlin was third at 106. Placing fourth were Owen Ray at 113 and Wade Picray at 285. Ethan Tallman finished fifth at 120, and Bo Kramer was sixth at 132.

     “Lake beat a tough kid in the semis from Lancaster, before losing to Wisconsin’s number one-ranked kid in the finals,” coach Luensman said. “Mark Sunlin took a tough loss in the semifinals and bounced back with a nice win.

     “Wade Picray, Ethan Tallman and Spencer Avery are getting more matches under their belts and the results are coming in. Owen Ray was doing well at 120, but with Ethan’s return he made the commitment to get down to 113. I’m excited to see how Owen competes at this weight class.

     “Lancaster is a fun tournament for the team due to the different competition that we face,” the coach concluded. “We had great matches throughout the day, and we learned a lot from the overall experience.”

Jan. 5

Lancaster, Wis. Inv.

TEAM SCORES

     1, Lancaster, Wis. 241.5; 2, Sparta, Wis. 181.5; 3, West Salem/Bangor, Wis. 160.5; 4, Darlington/Black Hawk, Wis., 153; 5, Monticello 147.5; 6, Iowa-Grant/Highland, Wis. 143; 7, Dubuque Senior 121; 8, Cuba City/Benton/Southwestern, Wis. 106; 9, Dubuque Wahlert 101; 10, Boscobel, Wis. 79; 11, Brodhead, Wis. 48; 12, River Ridge/Cassville, Wis. 36.

MONTICELLO RESULTS

     106 – Mark Sunlin (third place) received a bye; pinned Seth Mansfield, BRO, 1:02; was pinned by Mason Welsch, IGH, 3:20; pinned Cashton Hause, DBH, 2:13.

     113 – Owen Ray (fourth) received a bye; pinned Aidan McGuire, DBH, 3:04; lost to Sebastian Dorondo, DS, 4-0; lost to Carlyle Lyga, WSB, 7-2.

     120 – Ethan Tallman (fifth) received a bye; lost to Evan Wolfe, WSB, 6-3; received two byes; won by major dec. over Russell Waeffler, BRO, 12-0.

     126 – Kain Luensman (champion) received a bye; pinned Joseph Standaert, DBH, 1:29; pinned Alec Zimmer, IGH, 1:39; dec. Vince Polhamus, S, 10-3.

     132 – Bo Kramer (sixth) received a bye; was pinned by Blake Brooks, S, 3:57; received a bye; dec. Jimmy McDermott, DW, 2-0; was pinned by Adam Rogge, WSB, 1:43.

     145 – Chase Luensman (champion) received a bye; won by tech. fall over Brian McCullough, BRO, 19-3; dec. Kolbe Ubersox, DBH, 5-1; dec. Aaron Bahr, WSB, 7-0.

     170 – Spencer Avery pinned Keegan Pilling, IGH, 4:18; was pinned by DaShawn Tigges, DS, 1:56; lost to Blaine Berget, BRO, 9-6.

     220 – Lake Stahlberg (runner-up) received a bye; pinned Jake Neis, CCBS, 0:45; dec. Cole Zenz, L, 9-4; was pinned by Drew Hennessey, IGH, 3:02.

     285 – Wade Picray (fourth) received a bye; pinned Noah Benish, S, 1:53; lost by major dec. to Troy Leibfried, CCBS, 12-3; was pinned by Ben Withey, L, 1:37.