Glenwood City wrestlers give dominating performance in dual victory over Boyceville
PROTECTED CONTENT
If you’re a current subscriber, log in below. If you would like to subscribe, please click the subscribe tab above.
Username and Password Help
Please enter your email and we will send you a password reset link.
TOPPER senior Steven Booth shot a single leg and scored a takedown against the Bulldogs’ Mark Knopps in a 175-pound match that was part of the Glenwood City-Boyceville dual on Thursday, January 25. The Hilltoppers won 13 of the 14 matches for a 65-6 victory. —photo by Shawn DeWitt
GLENWOOD CITY — For a second straight year, there was little suspense or doubt in the final outcome when the Hilltoppers and Bulldogs renewed their rivalry on the wrestling mat last Thursday, January 25 in Glenwood City.
The Hilltoppers once again dominated their annual Dunn-St. Croix wrestling dual showdown with the Bulldogs, winning 13 of the 14 matches for a convincing 65-6 triumph over Boyceville who won just one match on the evening, a pin at heavyweight by state-ranked Zach Hellendrung.
With that lopsided win, Glenwood City secured a share of its third consecutive Dunn-St. Croix Conference wrestling championship as it improved to 3-0 in conference duals. Boyceville slipped to 2-1.
“Coming into the dual, we knew Boyceville was very well coached and would push us for six minutes in every match. Our message to the kids was do your job and focus on your individual match,” stated Glenwood City head coach Shane Strong.
The Topper wrestlers were focused as they won seven matches with pins, another via a technical fall and three hard-fought decisions.
“We have some great leaders in our room right now that have established an expectation on how we work in the practice room,” continued Strong.
“That level of effort and commitment really helps us when we are competing in a big dual like Boyceville. Our kids feel prepared and confident to compete at their best,” he added.
Boyceville head coach Jamie Olson realized Thursday’s dual in Glenwood City would be a difficult challenge for his young charges.
“I’m disappointed in our performance, but overall our kids battled,” said Olson
BULLDOG senior Paul Kurschner tried to score points on Topper freshman Abe Draxler in the 150-pound match that concluded the annual Glenwood City-Boyceville wrestling dual that was held Thursday, January 25 in the Toppers’ gym. Draxler was eventually awarded the win by injury default when Kurschner injured his hand and was not able to continue wrestling. The Hilltoppers defeated the Bulldogs 65-6.
—photo by Shawn DeWitt
“We have a pretty young and inexperienced team with only three guys that have more than one year of experience,” Olson continued. “Going in, I knew we were only favored in one weight class.”
“Glenwood has had some good teams over the years, I would say this team ranks up there with some of the best. Coach Strong and Miller have done a nice job of getting their kids spread out, you can see their kids are big for their wt classes,” added Olson. “If they can stay healthy, I see this team competing for a team state berth.”
The dual opened with five straight Hilltopper wins.
Junior Mitchell McGee, a 30-plus match winner and ranked eighth in state at his weight class, got the Hilltoppers quickly rolling with a dual-opening pin at 157 pounds. McGee needed just 1:02 to put fellow junior Jack Gruenhagen to his back.
Will Standaert, just one of four seniors on the Glenwood City roster, built a 7-0 lead through two periods of a 165-pound battle against his senior counterpart from Boyceville, Zach Kersten. Midway through the final frame, Standaert finally turned Kersten over and secured the pin at 4:55.
THE REFEREE signaled the pin as Topper sophomore Landon Obermueller (top) put the shoulders and back of Bulldog junior Rony Ramos to the mat during a battle at 113 pounds. Glenwood City won the home dual versus Boyceville 65-6. —photo by Shawn DeWitt
At 175 pounds, another Glenwood City senior, Steven Booth, held a slight 4-3 advantage on Bulldog junior Mark Knopps at the end of the first period. Booth gave Knopps the escape to open the second period, which tied the score at four, but earned two takedowns by match’s end to secure an 8-4 decision.
Senior Conner Gross was next to step on the mat for the Hilltoppers as he faced off against Boyceville freshman Liam Moore-Girard at 190 pounds. Gross scored a takedown within the opening 30 seconds of the match and then stuck Moore-Girard with 13 ticks left on the opening-period clock.
Jackson Logghe would give Glenwood City a 24-0 lead when he earned a hard-fought 6-2 decision versus another Boyceville freshman, Isaiah Romero, at 215 pounds.
With an illness sidelining its senior heavyweight, Parker Coombs, Boyceville moved its state ranked 215-pounder, Zach Hellendrung, up to face Hilltopper junior Blake Fayerweather at 285 pounds. Fayerweather was able to keep Hellendrung at bay through the first period which ended in a scoreless tie. Hellendrung chose to take the down position to start the second period and worked a quick reversal that ultimately resulted in a pin 27 seconds into the middle frame.
SENIORS DUAL — Glenwood City senior Will Standaert worked to turn fellow Boyceville senior Zach Kersten to his back during the 165-pound match in the Thursday, January 25 dual at Glenwood City. Standaert won the match via fall at 4:55. The Hilltoppers won the dual 65-6. —photo by Shawn DeWitt
Hellendrung’s pin gave the Bulldogs their first points of the dual making it 24-6, but as it would turn out, they would be Boyceville’s only points of the evening.
Glenwood City would claim victories in the final eight matches including four via pin and another by injury default.
At 106 pounds, Toppers freshman Preston Arvey had methodically built a 6-0 before he pinned fellow Bulldog freshman Dallas Herdahl at 2:42.
Sophomore Landon Obermueller followed suit at 113 pounds when he pinned Bulldog junior Rony Ramos with just two second remaining in the first period to give Glenwood City another six teams points and a 36-6 lead.
Boyceville sophomore Zane Pierce took an early 2-0 advantage against Logan McVeigh with a takedown midway through the first period of the pair’s 120-pound match. The Glenwood City junior, however, knotted the score with a second-period reversal and then claimed a 5-3 victory with a three-point near fall in the third.
BULLDOG VICTORY — Boyceville sophomore Zach Hellendrung is shown moments before he pinned Glenwood City’s Blake Fayerweather in the 285-pound match during the January 25 dual in Glenwood City. Hellendrung’s win was the Bulldogs’ only triumph in the Dunn-St. Croix dual which was won by the Hilltoppers 65-6. —photo by Shawn DeWitt
Topper junior Wyatt Unser, ranked number one in the state for Division 3 126 pounders, looked to make quick work of Victor Pattermann. But, the Bulldog sophomore put up a scrappy defense and avoided the pin. Unser, however, racked up points and earned an 18-3 technical fall.
“I think Victor Pattermann was our highlight of the night, not getting pinned by Unser and scoring a reversal on him was a bright spot for Victor,” stated Olson.
Glenwood City would run the score to 56-6 with back-to-back pins. Freshman Brock Wood stuck sophomore Jack Kurschner in the second period at 132 pounds while junior Zeb Holden scored the first-period fall against Bulldog sophomore Landyn Leslie at 138 pounds.
Sophomore Alex Obermueller gave Boyceville faithful something to cheer about when he opened with a takedown of Topper junior Andrew Blaser at 144 pounds. Blaser, however, had worked an escape, a takedown and a two-point near fall by the end of the first period for a 5-2 lead. A third-period takedown had Obermueller within a point, but Blaser sealed the win with a late reversal and another two-point near fall to win 9-4.
In the final match of the dual at 150 pounds, Boyceville appeared to have something going once again when senior Paul Kurschner scored a quick takedown on Glenwood City freshman Abe Draxler. The match, however, ended suddenly when Kurschner dislocated a finger and was unable to continue wrestling thereby awarding Draxler a win by injury default which made the final score 65-6.
“It was unfortunate to end a tough night with the injury to Paul Kurschner,” said Olson. “Paul has been out all year with a knee injury and he finally was able to get back on the mat and that happens. I felt really bad for him, he’s a great kid.”
Both teams will close out their respective regular seasons this Thursday, February 1 with conference duals. Glenwood City will be in Mondovi to face Mondovi/Eleva-Strum while Boyceville host Spring Valley/Elmwood.
Glenwood City 65, Boyceville 6
157-Mitchell McGee (GC) pinned Jack Gruenhagen (BV), 1:02; 165-Will Standaert (GC) pinned Zach Kersten (BV), 4:55; 175-Steve Booth (GC) dec.. Mark Knopps (BV), 8-4; 190-Connor Gross (GC) pinned Liam Girard-Moore (BV), 1:47; 215-Jackson Logghe (GC) dec. Isaiah Romero (BV), 6-2; 285-Zach Hellendrung (BV) pinned Blake Fayerweather (GC), 2:27; 106-Preston Arvey (GC) pinned Dallas Herdahl (BV), 2:42; 113-Landon Obermueller (GC) pinned Rony Ramos (BV), 1:58; 120-Logan McVeigh (GC) dec. Zane Pierce (BV), 5-2; 126-Wyatt Unser (GC) tech falled Victor Pattermann (BV), 18-3 5:59; 132-Brock Wood (GC) pinned Jack Kurschner (BV) , 3:39;) 138-Zeb Holden (GC) over Landyn Leslie (BV), 1:25; 144-Andrew Blaser (GC) dec. Alex Obermueller (BV), 9-6; 150-Abe Draxler (GC) injury default over Paul Kurschner (BV).