Boyceville wrestlers reload for championship hunt

BOYCEVILLE — Over the past 25 years, Boyceville has produced several lauded, accomplished and well-decorated wrestling teams.

Last year’s squad was, arguably, one of the most talented to have donned a Bulldogs’ singlet. Five wrestlers went to state and three earned medals including a pair of state silvers – Austin Wolfe and Garrett Joles. It featured nine all-conference grapplers, six regional titlists and eight members with 25 or more wins on the season.

Despite all the individual accolades and an impressive 16-5 dual meet mark, Boyceville was unable to secure a single team title. In two of its most important showdowns – conference and regionals – the Bulldogs finished second to their nemesis from Spring Valley/Elmwood. The Cardinals used their Dunn-St. Croix and Regional championships as spring boards to capture their first Division 3 State Team Wrestling title, a year after finishing as the runner-up.

“We fell short of our goals of winning a conference and regional championship,” said Boyceville head coach Jamie Olson, who is entering his 17th season with the Bulldogs.

Boyceville had to say “Good Bye” to seven members of that squad, including a pair of state qualifiers.

Lost to graduation this past May were Austin Wolfe, a 119-match winner that qualified for state three consecutive years and was two-time place winner including a runner-up finish at 106 pounds last season when he finished 40-5, state qualifier Logan McAbee-Thomas, Tyler Stroo, Zach Smith, Alex Lovett, Jake Erickson and Dylan Lamm.

Serious losses that would cripple most teams’ title aspirations, but not the Bulldogs’.

Boyceville simply looks to reload for another championship hunt as it returns 18 letter winners, eight with 20 or more varsity wins from a season ago, to a squad that will begin the season later this week ranked 12th in the Division 3 preseason polls.

“We have some talented and hard-working boys in the (wrestling) room,” stated Olson.

Headlining that impressive list is a trio of state qualifiers, two of which have multiple state medals between them.

Junior Micah Johnson returns after capping a injury-plagued sophomore season with a third-place finish in the state 152-pound D3 weight class. Johnson won the 138-pound title as a freshman.

Garrett Joles quickly became one of the area’s most dominate wrestlers in his freshman debut last season. Like Johnson, he overcame an early-season injury and went on to finish as the WIAA D3 state runner-up at 170 pounds. Joles looks to take the podium’s top spot this season.

James Palmer has a pair of state tournament appearances and an 81-12 mark after just two years of varsity wrestling including 38-8 last year. The first-team all-conference selection looks to add to that impressive record.

Those three will be joined by a stable of highly-regarded letter winners including Brock Swenson (23-15), Dyllon Johnson (26-13), Cody Frederick (28-15), Justin Malean (21-17), Jordan Morse (25-15), Noah Novotney (15-19), Brandon Windsor (26-10), Sam Retz (1-2), Jason Swanepoel (11-2), Tyler Krueger (11-6), Jarod Nelson (10-3), Alec Schaffer (11-8), Tanner Anderson (0-6), Brandon Hakanson (7-4) and Trey Brinker.

“Brock (Swenson) has become our leader and he is doing a great job of motivating the guys,” said Olson of the senior.

Once again, Olson and the Bulldogs welcomed a talented batch of freshmen. First-year members are Nick Goodell, Brock Schlough, Gage Brown, Braxton Ludke, Dylan McNew, Eli Swanson and Josh Briese.

“All of our guys have put in the time that it takes for us to become a top-notched team,” Olson stated. “They are very motivated to succeed as individuals and to take this team to the next level.”

Although Olson admits that this year’s squad does lack some depth in certain weight classes, it is highly motivated to succeed.

“We want to compete at a high level every night in the (practice) room and on the mat,” Olson said. “We have set high goals but our priority is to continue to get better every day.”

And the Bulldogs’ toughest competitor is, who else, Spring Valley/Elmwood.

Olson simply says of the Cardinals, “they are tougher than last year and loaded with talent”.

Corey Day, Paul Greene, Doug Palmer and Evan Palmer will be assisting Olson.

It should make for one interesting wrestling season which gets underway this Friday evening, December 4, when Boyceville travels to Cumberland for a non-conference dual.

2015 Boyceville Roster (by weight classes)

106 – Nick Goodell (9) and Eli Swanson (9)

113 – Braxton Ludke (9)

120 – Dyllon Johnson (10)

126 – Brock Swenson (12)

132 – Jason Swanepoel (10) and Josh Briese (9)

138 – James Palmer (11), Jarod Nelson (11), Trey Brinker (11) and Christian Schulz

145 – Brock Schlogh (9), Tanner Anderson (10) and Sam Retz (11)

152 – Cody Frederick (10), Dylan McNew (9) and Brandon Hakanson (11)

160 – Tyler Krueger (11)

170 – Justin Malean (10) and Jordan Morse (12)

182 – Micah Johnson (11) and Alec Schaffer (12)

195 – Garrett Joles (10)

220 – Noah Novotney (10)

285 – Brandon Windsor (12) and Gage Brown (9)