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Bloomer/Colfax wrestling in the middle of the pack at Ladysmith

By Cara L. Dempski

LADYSMITH — Well, the team did not get first place, but it also did not get last place at Ladysmith this past weekend.

The Bloomer/Colfax co-op actually finished right in the middle, taking 11th out of 21 teams after accruing 185 total points at the 2018 Ladysmith Invitational, held January 13, off some solid performances by light- and middle-weight wrestlers.

Colfax’s Sawyer Best tipped the light end of the scale at 120 pounds to pick up 40 points for the team with his third-place finish. Best started the day with a fall over Flambeau’s Nate Rymarkiewicz at 2:26 for a win in the opening round, before besting Reedsville grappler Jordan Ingalls in the quarterfinal. The sophomore fell to Phillips’ Javyn Freeman in the semi-final match, losing on a 10-4 decision, before finishing the day with a 17-8 major decision over Jordan Penard of Amery in the third-place match.

A pair of Bloomer wrestlers, Ike Kramschuster and Cal Lueck, picked up fourth- and eighth-place finishes in the 126- and 132-pound weight classes to pick up 60 more points for the Blackhawk cooperative.

Another Colfax sophomore, Mitchel Harmon, took home third place at 138 pounds after getting a fall on Rice Lake’s Barry Larson in the first round, another on Barron’s Justin Bartlett in the quarterfinal, and then losing the semi-final to Reid Olson of Cumberland on a 12-3 major decision. He took on Jonathan Albrecht from Athens in the third-place match, winning the tussle with an 8-4 decision.

Junior Tommy Anderson earned second place at 170 pounds after taking down Spencer Keeble from Bruce at 3:01 for the fall in the first round, then doing the same to Prescott’s Ethan Luksich at 2:41 in the quarter-final, and Flambeau’s Bryce Best at 5:01 in the semi-final. The Colfax grappler was bested by Rice Lake’s Callub Paulson on a 10-2 major decision in the first-place match.

The Blackhawks were also to have held a dual January 11 at Colfax against Barron, but the competition was rescheduled for this past Monday evening, January 15 in Colfax. They will be at Flambeau January 23, and then Cumberland January 26. Bloomer/Colfax will then host the Heart ‘O North conference on Saturday, February 3.