Schlough, Joles win Northern Badger titles, help lead young Bulldogs to top ten finish
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DOMINATING PERFORMANCE — Bulldogs’ sophomore Trett Joles pinned Arcadia’s Noah Schank during the first period of this second-round match at 182 pounds in last Friday’s 34 annual Northern Badger Wresling Classic at River Falls High School. Joles finished the two-day tournament with a 5-0 mark to win the gold medal. —photo by Shawn DeWitt
RIVER FALLS — After taking third place in the previous two Northern Badger tournaments, Boyceville’s ninth place finish in this year’s event might seem to be somewhat of a disappointment.
But, as they say, appearance can be deceiving as it was anything but that for this edition of the Bulldogs’ wrestling team.
Considering that Boyceville fielded only a dozen wrestlers for the 2018 rendition which included seven freshman and a pair of sophomores, the team’s 185.5 point tally for a ninth-place overall finish and a Division 3 (small school) title was actually quite amazing.
“I thought the team performed really well both days,” said a proud Jamie Olson, Boyceville’s veteran head wrestling coach. “Our goal was top seven and we just missed that. (But) Winning Division 3 was a nice accomplishment.”
St. Croix Falls captured its second consecutive overall Northern Badger Classic championship as well as the Division 2 title with 262.5 points. Cadott was a close second in the overall standings with a score of 256 followed, respectively, by the Division 1 champion, runner-up and third-place finishers Oshkosh North (243), Baldwin-Woodville (241) and host River Falls (207.5) in the 42-team tournament.
PUSHING HARD FOR POINTS — Boyceville senior Eli Swanson (on top) looked to score some back points during his 120-pound match against Camren Benesch of Northwestern at last Friday’s Norhtern Badger Wrestling Classic in River Falls. Swanson went on to score the pin and finished eighth in the tournament. —photo by Shawn DeWitt
For a second consecutive year, Boyceville had a pair of wrestlers return home with titles in tow after winning gold medals at the 34th annual Northern Badger Classic held last Friday and Saturday, December 28 and 29 at River Falls High School.
Senior Brock Schlough, the top ranked wrestler at 152 pounds and a three-time state wrestling champion, laid claim to an impressive third straight Northern Badger championship at the aforementioned weight after winning titles at 160 pounds in the past two tournaments.
Joining Schlough at the top of the awards podium was sophomore Trett Joles after he claimed his first Northern Badger gold at 182 pounds a year after finishing as the runner-up in that weight class.
After 5-0 runs in last weekend’s tournament, both Schlough and Joles unblemished season records improved to 21-0.
The pair’s championship runs also gave the Boyceville program its 33rd and 34th individual Northern Badger championships – an event record!
“River Falls has 29 and their the next closest to the most ever in the tournament’s history,” Coach Olson said of the record. “That says a lot about Boyceville’s program in the last 30 years.”
In all, Boyceville had six of its 12 wrestlers reach the medals stand this year. Freshman Josiah Berg finished fifth at 106 pounds, senior Eli Swanson copped eighth at 120 and senior Nick Goodell and sophomore Nate Stuart finished ninth at 145 and 126 pounds respectively.
LOOKING TO ESCAPE his opponent’s grasp with a Granby roll was Boyceville’s Ira Bialzik during a 132-pound match at the Northern Badger Wrestling Classic last Friday. The Bulldog freshman lost this match to Spring Valley/Elmwood’s Max Schmidt on a 12-3 major decision. —photo by Shawn DeWitt
Brock Schlough easily won a third Northern Badger crown as he dispatched his competition with a pair of pins, two technical falls and a major decision.
Beginning Friday’s opening round with a 56 second pin fall of Osceola’s Isaac Campeau, Schlough followed with 17-0, round-two win over Brandon Bruneau of Phillips and completed his day with a 14-6 major decision over Korey Katts, a Clear Lake senior that is receiving state honorable mention recognition.
Schlough second day of Northern Badger work included a 5:59 fall over Oshkosh West’s Connor Collins and a 23 to 8, 152-pound championship victory over Mike Smith, Division 2’s, fifth-rated wrestler from Amery.
Trett Joles, ranked second among the state’s Division 3, 182-pound wrestlers, also delivered several dominating performances in his run to the 182-pound title.
Joles registered a pair of first-period pins – against Josh Bair of St. Croix Central and Noah Schank from Arcadia – and a 11-3 major decision win against Shell Lake’s Carter Lawrence (honorable mention in the state polls) in his day-one matches.
It took Joles all of 25 seconds to earn a championship berth after pinning Baldwin-Woodville’s Blaine Gutherie in Saturday’s 182-pound semifinal.
The title match against Spooner/Webster’s Chase Melton, ranked fifth in the D2 state polls, proved to be Joles’ most difficult but the Boyceville sophomore still prevailed as he won a 6-2 decision for the gold.
The efforts of Joles and Schlough were not the only Bulldog performances to stand out last weekend.
Freshman Josiah Berg made a grand statement in his inaugural Northern Badger competition when he finished with a 5-1 mark to place fifth at 106 pounds,
“Josiah Berg performed at a high level also,” stated Olson. “Josiah’s only loss was a 5-2 decision to the eventual champion. He dominated everyone else and he continues to improve everyday with hard work and passion for the sport.”
The as-of-yet unranked Berg improved to 19-3 on the season and had a pin, two technical falls and a major decision among his five victories last Friday and Saturday.
As Coach Olson noted earlier, Berg’s lone loss came in his quarterfinal’s match against eventually 106-pound champ Alec Hunter of Oshkosh West.
Senior Eli Swanson finished eighth at 120 pounds despite going 3-3.
Fellow senior Nick Goodell and sophomore Nate Stuart collected ninth-place medals. Goodell compiled a 5-2 record at 145 pounds while Stuart went 4-2 at 126.
“I was also impressed with Nate Stuart, Eli Swanson and Nick Goodell,” added Olson. “These guys scored a lot of points in the wrestle backs and got on the podium.”
Other Bulldogs competing at the Northern Badger were Brice Evenson (1-2) at 113 pounds, Ira Bialzik (1-2) at 132 pounds, Tyler Dormanen (2-2) at 138 pounds, Nick Hillman (1-2) at 160 pounds, Keegan Plemon (1-2) at 220 pounds and Greg Moore (1-2) at heavyweight.
“Tyler Dormanen also had a nice tournament, losing a tough match in the placing round was disappointing,” Olson said. “Tyler is really coming on and I like where he is at right now.”
Freshmen Brice Evenson, Nick Hillman, Ira Bialzik, Keegan Plemon and Greg Moore continue to work hard and go out and battle for us,” concluded the coach.
The Bulldogs will head to Merrill High School this Saturday for an invitational. Boyceville will open its D-SC dual season next Thursday, January 10 when takes on Spring Valley/Elmwood in Spring Valley.