Joles caps stellar season with second straight state silver

MADISON — It wasn’t the ending that Boyceville’s Garrett Joles wanted to script.

After finishing second in the division 3 170-pound weight class one year ago as a freshman, Joles was ready and poised to take the next step, that final step, and become a state champion.

He put together a pair of winning performances in Friday’s quarter- and semifinals matches to earn a spot in the 2016 state tournament finals at 182 pounds.

All that was standing between Joles and a coveted individual state title was Stratford junior Kamren Bornbach, the defending state champion.

Despite a herculean effort, Joles was unable to dethrone Bornbach who retained his title with a thrilling and heartbreaking 4-3 win in the championship match Saturday night, February 27 at the 73rd annual WIAA State Wrestling tournament held in Madison’s Kohl Center.

“We were in a position there on a scramble to score and were so close to getting two there and even some back points but couldn’t get our hips around,” said head coach Jamie Olson of Joles’ final period attempt to score.

With time and opportunities dwindling in the final two minutes of action, Joles went low and appeared to have broken through Bornbach’s defensive guard. But the wily state champion was able to catch and keep one of Joles’ legs and foot preventing him from completing the move and taking the lead.

Instead, the pair battled – Joles to finish and Bornbach to hold tight – for several seconds before action was whistled to a stop on a stalemate near the edge of the mat.

“The kid was a state champion,” Olson stated. “He held on and knew where he was at and the position he was in and what he needed to do to stay there. It was so close, just so close.”

Another opportunity did not avail itself to Joles and Bornbach held on to the state 182-pound championship with the one-point decision.

“Garrett wrestled a great match,” Olson said. “We got caught a little bit right away but Bornbach hit a great shot and Garret reversed him so we were good.”

Bornbach was quick and on target on his only takedown of the match. He took Joles to the mat for the two-point score near the midway mark of the first period. But Joles countered with a reversal just ten second later to knot the match at two all.

Bornbach did not stay down for long. He worked free to take a 3-2 lead by the period’s end.

“We traded three points for two in that first period on a takedown, a reversal and an escape,” noted Olson. “And that was kind of the difference.”

Joles, who went down for the middle frame, registered an escape for the only point of the second period.

Likewise, Bornbach went to the mat to start the third and scored what would be the winning point on an early escape.

When Joles’ push to take down his opponent in the final minute was thwarted, Bornbach emerged victorious, a second state title in hand. The Stratford wrestler also finished fifth at the 182 pounds in 2014.

“Garrett did not back down and I thought he was the aggressor and thought he outwrestled Bornbach,” said Olson. “It was a great match with two great wrestlers going at it.”

“The effort was there but came up a little short,” Olson continued. “Proud of him, he has had a phenomenal season.”

But in order for Joles to even make it to a second consecutive state championship bout, he had to win not once but twice on Friday.

And that he did.

Joles opened this year’s tournament with a 7-3 victory over Mason Gomm of Schiocton in Friday’s quarterfinal round. Later that evening, he had to rally for a 7-5 victory against New Lisbon senior Kyle Woodward to secure a berth in his second straight division 3 championship.

In his first appearance of the 2016 tournament, Joles found himself in a dog fight with Gomm, who had pinned his way into the quarterfinals the previous night.

Joles scored first off a takedown 20 second into the match. The Shioction senior was able to escape and cut the lead in half. Starting down for the second period, Joles worked nearly the entire period before Gomm surrendered a reversal that gave Joles a 4-1 advantage. But Gomm returned the favor with a reversal of his own in the third stanza. Opting to try for a takedown, Gomm released Joles, who now lead 5-3.

Joles sealed the win with a late takedown for a 7-5 score.

The Boyceville wrestler found himself in unfamiliar territory trailing 5-1 to New Lisbon senior Kyle Woodward through nearly two-periods of his 182-pound semifinal match.

Woodward was the first to score when he broke through Joles’ defense for a takedown with 32 seconds remaining in the opening period. It took Joles just 10 seconds, however, to work an escape and make it 2-1.

With 30 seconds gone in the middle period, wrestling came to halt when Joles took Woodward off his feet and put him down hard on the mat. The move was deemed an illegal slam by the mat official and gave Woodward a point and a 3-1 lead. A few minutes later, Woodward took to his feet and the match continued. The New Lisbon wrestler eventually scored a reversal for a 5-1 lead.

That’s when Joles kicked his effort into high gear.

With under 30 seconds left in the middle period, the Boyceville sophomore worked an escape. Joles then took Woodward to the mat with just 14 ticks left and closed the gap to a single point at 5-4.

Joles took the down position to start the third and final period and, in no time, he broke free to knot the match at five. Then with 1:14 remaining, Joles scored the decisive and match-winning takedown for a 7-5 lead, his first of the match, and held on for the victory.

That win sent Joles to the finals against Bornbach.

“Two more years to do this,” said Olson of Joles attempts for the state title. “His goal was to win it this year, his goal was to win it last year and he is crushed.”

“He is one of those kids you feel for because he puts so much time and effort in to this, now he’s crushed. It hurts but he gave it everything he had and can’t hang his head.”

“He was ready, warmed up well and focused and knew what he had to do,” concluded Olson. “It was a battle and he simply lost to a good kid.”

The sting of the championship loss will likely serve to steel Joles’ resolve and determination to take that final championship step.