Bulldogs compete in Raider Wrestling Challenge
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ARCADIA — In their only competition of the week, the Boyceville wrestlers traveled to Arcadia last Saturday, January 25 to compete in the 2025 Raider Challenge.
The Bulldogs finished eighth out of 18 teams after accumulating 227 points. The effort was highlighted by half a dozen top five individual finishes which included a second-place showing by junior Zach Hellendrung and a bronze-medal performance by freshman Kayla Frett.
Hellendrung, ranked seventh in the Division 3, 285-pound state poll by Wisconsin Grappler, went 4-1 at the event with three first-period pins to run his season record to 30-5.
Hellendrung opened his heavyweight competition with a pair of impressive sub-one-minute falls as he bested Medford’s Jackson Mayer in 36 seconds and then stuck Kriss Vazquez of Arcadia in just 23 ticks. Hellendrung scored a third consecutive fall when he put Benjamin Hansen of Gale-Ettrick-Trempealeau/Melrose-Mindoro (G-E-T/M-M) to the mat in 1:17.
Those three pins propelled Hellendrung into the championship bracket. He won a 7-2 decision over Aiden Isaacson of Mondovi/Eleva-Strum to earn a berth in the 285-pound championship match. There he squared off against Menomonie’s Bryce Shepard who prevailed 8-2, leaving Hellendrung to take home the silver.
In the girls’ 114-pound weight class, first-year varsity wrestler Kayla Frett finished in third place. In the opening round, Frett lost to former state champion Iszybelle Sonnentag of Cadott via a 12-second pin. Frett also lost on a first-period pin in her second-round match against Peyton Craig of G-E-T/M-M. In her round-three contest for third place, Frett scored a 1:26 pin over Madison Mahutga of Arcadia.
Cole Retz placed fourth at 190 pounds after he finished 2-3 in the tournament. He scored a 1:17 opening-round pin over Austin Fernholz of Arcadia and also posted a 3-1 victory against Medford’s Ashton Noland. Mondovi/Eleva-Strum’s Alex Coffey majored Retz, 16-5, in the match for third place.
Boyceville had a trio of fifth-place finishers in Arcadia. Victor Pattermann (132), Mark Knopps (165), and Isaiah Romero (215) all earned fifth place with identical 4-1 finishes in the Challenge.
Liam Moore-Girard finished seventh at 175 pounds, Jack Gruenhagen placed ninth at 157 pounds, Alex Obermueller took tenth at 150 pounds and John Frett finished in 16th place at 126 pounds.
Gale-Ettrick-Trempealeau/Melrose-Mindoro amassed 511 points to capture first place in the team standings. Menomonie was a distant second with 394 points just ahead of Cadott which finished third with a score of 383. St. Croix Central tallied 372.5 points to take fourth and host Arcadia rounded out the top five with a 351.
Boyceville will travel to Durand this Thursday for a Dunn-St. Croix Conference dual. Then, next Tuesday, February 4, the Bulldogs head to Cadott for a non-conference dual versus the Hornets.