Boyceville wrestling opens season with split at Cumberland Duals

CUMBERLAND — The difference between victory and defeat was razor thin for the Boyceville wrestling team in its season-opening matches at the Cumberland Island City Duals December 2.

The outcomes of all four of the Bulldogs’ duals at Cumberland High School last Friday evening were determined by three points or less.

Wrestling with three, and at times four, open weight classes, Boyceville opened with back-to-back three-point losses to River Falls, 41-38, and Baldwin-Woodville, 42-39. But the Bulldogs were able to flip those results around in their final pair of duals to earn a split in the six-team, dual tournament format as they narrowly beat Hayward, 42-30, and host Cumberland, 42-41.

Any of the matches could have went the other way even after the Bulldogs fell behind early in all four duals.

“Every dual meet we wrestled came down to the wire, which provided a great atmosphere,” said Boyceville head coach Jamie Olson. “The competition was good and we had to battle to the end to get two wins; a very nice tournament filled with great parity.”

“We have to find a way to fill some holes at the bottom (of our lineup),” added Olson. Giving up 3-4 forfeits every dual puts us in a situation where we had better win the flip and get every match up possible.”

Despite the holes in their lineup, the Bulldogs still found success in Cumberland last Friday especially on the individual side.

Five Boyceville wrestlers finished the tournament unbeaten. Nick Goodell, Brock Schlough, James Palmer, Garrett Joles and Noah Novotney posted unblemished records of 4-0. Schlough and Joles, who are defending state champion and runner-up respectively as well as pre-season top tens, registered three pins. A feat that Palmer, Novotney and Justin Malean, who finished 3-1 on the evening, equaled.

“These six wrestled with confidence and toughness getting us big pins when we needed them,” noted Olson.

“Justin Malean looked in mid-season form,” continued Olson. “I moved Noah up to heavy weight three times against three quality opponents and he responded with three pins.”

“And Palmer, Schlough and Joles are just plain tough,” Olson said. “These guys amaze me on how hard they work and how talented and how humble they are.”

“Nick wrestled extremely well,” said Olson of Goodell, who moved up four weight classes from last year.

Jason Swanepoel went 2-2 with a pair of pins while Eli Swanson and Shiann Wagner both finished 1-3 against some tough lower-weight competition and Trey Brinker went 0-4 at 152 pounds.

Olson had nothing but praise for all four regardless of outcomes.

“Eli, Shiann, Jason and Trey did excellent jobs,” Olson stated. “The four of them all played huge roles in winning two duals and giving us a chance to win all four.”

“It was simply fun to watch our wrestlers,” said Olson. “Our upper weights carried us and the lower weights gave us a chance.”

Olson also have kudos to junior varsity wrestlers Austin Benson, Dylan McNew, Addison Mertz and Tanner Anderson who he said “all wrestled hard and gained valuable experience”.

Boyceville welcomed Clear Lake for the home opener on Tuesday evening, December 6. The Bulldogs will then travel south to the Wisconsin Dells and Chula Vista Resort to partake in the annual Dells Duals on Saturday, December 10.

River Falls Dual

Forfeits and pins helped River Falls build a 41-9 advantage over Boyceville.

The Wildcats used four forfeits, a pair of pins and a technical fall to build their lead. But the Bulldogs gained ground quickly in the upper weights as Brock Schlough, Justin Malean, Garrett Joles and Noah Novotney scored falls and James Palmer had a technical fall in the final five matches to narrow the final deficit to just three points at 41-38.

River Falls 41, Boyceville 38
285 – Mitchell Williamson (RF) receives forfeit; 106 – Bennet Cernohous (RF) pinned Eli Swanson (BV), 5:24; 113 – Spencer Cernohous (RF) pinned Shiann Wagner (BV), 0:52; 120 – Cooper Andrea (RF) received forfeit; 126 – Logan Schretenthaler (RF) received forfeit; 132 – Nick Goodell (BV) dec. Leonard Robinson (RF), 7-1; 138 – Nathan Fuller (RF) received forfeit; 145 – Jason Swanepoel (BV) pinned Gavin Naughton (RF), 4:53; 152 – Connor Hines (RF) tech. falled Trey Brinker (BV), 23-8; 160 – Brock Schlough (BV) pinned Shihab Adam (RF), 1:54; 170 – Justin Malean (BV) pinned Tyler Johnson (RF), 2:52; 182 – James Palmer (BV) tech. falled Chance Kamrowski (RF), 15-0; 195 – Garrett Joles (BV) pinned Zac Ottarson (RF), 1:18; 220 – Noah Novotney (BV) pinned Joshua Langlois (RF), 2:43.

Baldwin-Woodville Dual

Much like the previous dual, Boyceville found itself trailing by a large sum against Baldwin-Woodville.

The Blackhawks used four pins and three forfeits to take a 42-3 lead following the 152-pound match. They wouldn’t score another point.

Boyceville’s Austin Benson took a forfeit at 160 pounds and then Schlough, Malean, Palmer, Joles and Novotney all followed with pins to close out the dual. Unfortunately, the Bulldogs once again came up short as they lost by three points, this time the final score was 42-39.

Baldwin-Woodville 42, Boyceville 39
106 – Tanner Merriman (BW) pinned Eli Swanson (BV), 1:26; 113 – Jacek Nicowski (BW) pinned Shiann Wagner (BV), 0:55; 120 – Alex McCray (BW) received forfeit; 126 – Carter Newton (BW) received forfeit; 132 – Nick Goodell (BV) dec. Joe Garcia (BW), 8-2; 138 – Landon Lorentson (BW) received forfeit; 145 – Kody Hillstead (BW) pinned Jason Swanepoel (BV),l 0:30; 152 – Dakota Gartmann (BW) pinned Trey Brinker (BV) , 2:42; 160 – Austin Bensen (BV) received forfeit; 170 – Brock Schlough (BV) pinned Tshaj-Laug Lee (BW), 1:00; 182 – Justin Malean (BV) pinned Kendall Martino (BW), 1:35; 195 – James Palmer (BV) pinned Jake Heimer (BW), 0:35; 220 – Garrett Joles (BV) pinned Izaac Peterson (BW), 1:45; 285 – Noah Novotney (BV) pinned Muatxju Lee (BW), 0:37.

Hayward Dual

Boyceville would finally find the win column in its third-round dual with Hayward as it rallied to take a close 42-40 victory.

The Hurricanes and Bulldogs each received two forfeits in the first four matches. But the Canes used another forfeit, a fall and a major decision to forge a 28-12 advantage.

Brock Schlough scored a pin at 160 but Malean suffered his only loss of the day, a pin by Kyle Sorenson that gave Hayward a 34-18 lead.

But the Bulldogs rallied for a 42-40 win with two pins – Palmer and Novotney – and a pair of forfeits in the final five matches.

Boyceville 42, Hayward 40
113 – Shiann Wagner (BV) received forfeit; 120 – Jayden Windsor (H) received forfeit; 126 – Caleb Metcalf (H) received forfeit; 132 – Nick Goodell (BV) received forfeit; 138 – Clayton Lauritsen (H) received forfeit; 145 – Tim Coyne (H) pinned Jason Swanepoel (BV), 2:30; 152 – Dustin Stone (H) majored Trey Brinker (BV), 16-7; 160 – Brock Schlough (BV) pinned Fred Perfecto (H), 2:47; 170 – Kyle Sorensen (H) pinned Justin Malean (BV), 5:00; 182 – Dylan McNew (BV) received forfeit; 195 – James Palmer (BV) pinned Brian Mansheim (H), 0:24; 220 – Garrett Joles (BV) received forfeit; 285 – Noah Novotney (BV) pinned Nolan Keller (H), 0:43; 106 – Seth Beckman (H) pinned Eli Swanson (BV), 2:35.

Cumberland Dual

As in its previous three duals, Boyceville fell behind host Cumberland in their final battle of the tournament.

The Beavers took advantage of four forfeits, a pin and a technical fall to build a 35-6 lead at the mid-point of the match.

But the Bulldogs collected six straight wins including forfeits to Schlough at 170 and Eli Swanson at 106 and pins by Malean (182), Palmer (195), Joles (220) and Novotney (285) to secure a one-point win at 42-41 after Cumberland won the final bout at 113 pounds by fall.

Boyceville 42, Cumberland 41
120 – Aaron Gunderson (C) received forfeit; 126 – Matt Spry (C) received forfeit; 132 – Reid Olson (C) received forfeit; 138 – Nick Goodell (BV) pinned Connor Pasko (C), 5:43; 145 – Isaiah Skidmore (C) received forfeit; 152 – Adam Nyhus (C) pinned Jason Swanepoel (BV), 1:17; 160 – Bo Nelson (C) tech. falled Trey Brinker (BV), 16-0; 170 – Brock Schlough (BV) received forfeit; 182 – Justin Malean (BV) pinned Skyler Dox (C),1:06; 195 – James Palmer (BV) pinned Gio Torres (C), 1:42; 220 – Garrett Joles (BV) pinned Ryan Craine (C), 0:43; 285 – Noah Novotney (BV) pinned Tanner Newville (C), 1:30; 106 – Eli Swanson (BV) received forfeit; 113 – Logan Steglich (C) pinned Shiann Wagner (BV), 0:59.