Bulldogs’ Micah Johnson finishes fourth at state; three others fall in prelims

MADISON — For all state wrestling qualifiers, the dream and the goal of a championship title is so tantalizingly close and yet so elusive and difficult to capture.

Just as four of Boyceville’s six state participants realized when their championship dreams evaporated before they could reach the finals.

Junior Micah Johnson knows the exultation of winning an individual state title and the anguish and disappointment when you don’t.

After capturing the Division 3, 138-pound state crown as a freshman, Johnson’s attempts to return to a state championship match have been thwarted the past two seasons. He finished third at 152 pounds last year and took fourth at 170 pounds in this year’s WIAA State Wrestling Championships held this past weekend (February 25-27) at the Kohl Center in Madison.

The state tournament for three other Bulldog wrestlers ended almost as quickly as it began. Junior James Palmer and sophomores Cody Frederick and Dyllon Johnson suffered losses in Thursday night’s Division 3 preliminaries that brought a sudden end to their participation in the 73rd annual state high school wrestling tournament.

Micah Johnson had entered his third state meet on a roll with a 20-2 record and impressive title runs at both the regional and sectional tournament the previous two weeks.

But getting back on top would not be an easy undertaking. The 170-pound weight class in division 3 read like a who’s who in Wisconsin High School wrestling featuring six previous state qualifiers, four of which, including Johnson, had placed in last year’s tournament.

Johnson embarked on his quest for a second state title in Friday’s quarterfinals against Lance Buckles of DeSoto. The Demons’ senior, a state qualifier at this weight last year, battled Johnson from start to finish.

Micah grabbed a 2-0 advantage on a takedown that came with just over 30 seconds gone from the first period. It did not take long, however, for Buckles to get free. Then with just 26 seconds left, the DeSoto senior scored the takedown to hold a 3-2 lead over Micah Johnson after the first two minutes of wrestling.

Micah would retake the lead, 4-3, with a two-point near fall in the middle frame. He extended the margin to two points when Buckles gave him the escape to start the third period. Johnson was hit with a penalty point after an illegal hold but held off Buckles for the 5-4 win and a spot in that evening’s semifinal match.

But like last year, Micah Johnson’s return to the championship match was halted by a semifinal’s loss. Freshman Drew Hennessey from Iowa-Grant/Highland caught Johnson and pinned him just 40 seconds into the Friday night fight. The loss sent Micah to the consolation side of the bracket for a second straight year.

Micah Johnson looked rejuvenated in Saturday’s consolation semifinal draw against Amherst sophomore Bryce Holderman. Johnson went after Holderman at the whistle and broke through to score a takedown just six seconds into the match. Holderman escaped but his reprieve was short-lived as Johnson took him back to the mat and pinned him with 24 seconds still remaining in the first period which are only a minute long in the consolation round.

Johnson would face a familiar foe for third place. Mineral Point’s Scott Pittz had beaten Johnson, 4-2, in last year’s 152-pound semifinal en route to a second place finish. Pittz, a senior, once again held sway over Johnson winning 7-1.

Pittz had a quick takedown but Johnson broke free with two seconds left in the first period to cut the deficit to 2-1. But Johnson would not score again. Pittz increased his lead to 5-1 in the second with an escape and takedown before adding the final points with a third-period takedown.

“Micah couldn’t get it going against Pittz who is big and strong,” said his coach Jamie Olson. “They have wrestled three or four times and Micah has not been able to beat him. Pittz got it going and we just could not stop him.”

“Micah had a great tournament and I’m proud of his accomplishments,” added Olson. “He will be back.”

Three other Bulldogs’ time under the Kohl Center lights were all too brief. Tough draws coupled with some hard-hitting moves brought an end to the outstanding seasons and state tournament runs of Dyllon Johnson, James Palmer and Cody Frederick as all three lost their Thursday night preliminary matches and were eliminated from the competition.

“It was a tough round,” said Olson of Thursday’s match losses. “We had tough draws and got caught in a couple, caught in a cradle and got caught in a head lock, two big moves.”

Dyllon Johnson and James Palmer both got caught in pinning moves while Frederick lost to a previous state placewinner.

Dyllon Johnson was the first Bulldog to hit the mats for the 2016 state tournament as he faced off against Bill Condon, a fellow sophomore from Horicon at 120 pounds.

Johnson scored a takedown just 13 seconds into the preliminary round match. Condon got the reversal to tie it midway through the first period but Johnson secured his own reversal with 12 ticks left for a 4-2 lead. The Horicon wrestler scored an escape as the first period ended to close the gap to a point.

Condon took the down position to start the second period. He scored a reversal and eventually the pin when he caught Dyllon Johnson in a cradle that stopped the match at 3:16.

“Dyllon was winning that match and got caught. The kid was long and lacky and wrapped us up in a cradle,” said Olson. “Dyllon tried to counter it but you could see that the kid had been in that position quite a few times and got his hips in the right position and planted us.”

Dyllon Johnson finished his second varsity season with a 32-14 record.

The third time proved to be no charm for Boyceville junior James Palmer as the three-time state qualifier was victimized by a pin in his 132-pound preliminary match.

Cal Hansen, a junior from Deerfield, headlocked Palmer and put him to the mat for the pin fall at 1:15.

“It was an unfortunate situation with Palmer,” said Olson. “He was headlocked. What do you do?”

“To draw him first round was tough,” continued Olson. “But we figured that James could beat him but when you get caught you get caught.”

“James works so hard and I feel really bad for him,” said Olson. “He has one more year left to do it. Three-time qualifier, that’s a great accomplishment right there. He lost to really good kid who I think will be in the finals and could win it. I just wish we would have had six minutes with the kid, the match may have turned out different.”

As it turned out Olson was right.

Hansen made it through to the finals where he lost 5-3 to three-time state titlist Hunter Dischler, a senior from Ithaca/Weston.

The season-ending loss prevented Palmer from picking up his 40th win of the season as he capped the year with a 39-6 mark.

Cody Frederick also lost his first state tournament match to an eventual place finisher.

Coleman junior Jordan Blanchard scored a 5-1 decision over Frederick in the 145-pound preliminary match Thursday night. Blanchard went on to place fifth while Frederick ended a fine sophomore season with 38 wins.

“Cody wrestled a really good kid, a Coleman kid that has been here for the last three years and has placed. It was a tough draw too but he (Frederick) wrestled him tough.”

Blanchard’s early takedown was the lone score of the first period. The Coleman wrestler would build on that 2-0 lead in the second period, adding an escape and another takedown to hold a 5-0 advantage over Frederick heading in to the third period. Frederick chose to start the period in the neutral position in search of an opportunity for a takedown but it never materialized. Blanchard blunted Frederick’s attacks throughout the final two minutes. The only score Frederick managed to get was a stalling point with just eight second left in the match as he fell 5-1.

“Dyllon, James and Cody  wrestled fine,” Olson noted. “It is tough down here (state). You have to stay in good position at all times and be careful and we got hit with a couple of tough moves that are hard to get out of.”

Despite the setbacks, Olson had nothing but praise for his wrestlers.

“All had great seasons and gave it everything that they had and that is all that you can ask.”