Brock Schlough dominates in run to state wrestiling championship

MADISON — “You’re a scrambling machine Schlough, a scrambling machine,” beamed Boyceville head coach Jamie Olson to Brock Schlough just minutes after the youngster had pocketed his first state wrestling title.

The freshman phenom, behind a trio of dominating performances at the 73rd annual WIAA State Wrestling Championships held this past weekend at the Kohl Center in Madison, claimed the 2016 division 3 138-pound state crown.

Schlough’s run to the gold that included an impressive 8-3 win over Fennimore junior Justin Tollefson in the finals Saturday night, February 28 was reminiscent of the one current teammate and junior Micah Johnson assembled two years prior in winning the same weight class.

Even when he found himself in a bit of trouble, which wasn’t often, Schlough simply scrambled out of it and scored points in the process, particularly in the finals.

“Brock was scrambling tonight like crazy and that is what won him the match,” said Olson of his championship victory over Tollefson. “Brock was in trouble a couple of times and he just came out of it and scored points.”

“He is an amazing freshman and a great athlete,” added Olson. “He has the power and agility.”

That athleticism, strength and agility were on display throughout the state tournament.

Schlough while happy was quite calm following his big win having already turned his focus to next season.

“Let’s get another one after this and be a four-timer,” said a somewhat breathless Schlough when asked what he was thinking just minutes after winning the state title.

And for his plan in the finals, well, it was succinct and simple.

“Just wrestle,”said Schlough, who lived up to his top seed in the pre-tournament polls.

“If I think about it too much I start to lose focus,” he added. “I just knew that I was a better athlete and had better technic and worked harder and that I could beat him in all situations.”

“Nothing phases him,” noted Olson. “He just goes to work and is fun to watch.”

“He (Brock) is a mature freshman,” Olson added. “It’s amazing how calm he is, he just goes out there and wrestles and is so athletic. He goes out there and scrambles.”

“He dominated all the way through,” continued Olson. “What a bright future he has and works hard and so deserving of this.”

That domination was evident in his first-ever state match Friday afternoon as he shut out Brandon Forseth, an accomplished senior from Mineral Point with a 38-11 record, 7-0 in the quarterfinals.

Schlough broke a scoreless deadlock with a takedown at the 1:16 mark in the quarterfinal’s match against Forseth.

Schlough controlled the next four minutes with top control. The Mineral Point wrestler took the down position to start the second period and Schlough turned him for a three-point near fall for a five to zip lead.

Choosing to stay on top in the third period, Schlough worked Forseth for another near fall – just one for two points – to secure the 7-0 win.

Later that evening, Schlough earned a berth in Saturday’s championship round as overwhelmed fellow freshman Ryan Neu of Dodgeland 14-2 in the semifinals.

Schlough had a takedown just nine seconds into the semifinal bout and added a three-point near fall before the first period had ended.

After Neu deferred his choice to the third period, Schlough took the down position and quickly worked another five-point combination – reversal and three-point near fall – to extend his lead to 10-0. Before the middle frame came to an end, Schlough had added a near fall for two more points and a 12-0 advantage.

Tired of being on his back, Neu took the top position to open the third period. Neu kept Schlough somewhat controlled until the Boyceville wrestler was hit with a pair of stall warnings that gave Neu a point. That’s when Schlough had had enough and flipped positions with Neu on a reversal giving him a 14-1 lead. Neu’s final point came from a third stall call as the period and match wound down and finished.

The major decision catapulted Schlough into Saturday night’s showdown between the top two seeded wrestlers at 138 pounds – Tollefson (#2) and Schlough (#1).

Tollefson went on the offensive several times but often ended up on the bottom as Schlough would scramble to the top for control.

Schlough turned a shot by Tollefson into a takedown of his own for a 2-0 lead just 39 second into the championship.

After selecting the down position for the second period, Schlough was given the escape for a 3-0 lead. Schlough tacked on another takedown as his lead grew to 5-0.

Tollefson chose to start the third period with both wrestlers on their feet. But Tollefson did not stay that way as Schlough took him to the mat with just a minute left. Tollefson finally scored on an escape with 26 seconds to go and added a takedown with ten ticks.

Schlough escaped as the match ended to claim a 8-3 win for the state title.

Schlough kept telling himself to just keep coming and to keep scoring.

“I wanted to break him so he didn’t come back,” said Schlough. “I didn’t want him to think that he had any chance.”

“We knew the kid (Tollefson of Fennimore) was going to come after us,” noted Olson. “And Brock countered every punch he threw at us and scored.”

“It was total domination from start to finish,” added Olson.

This is just the first part of Schlough’s ambitious four-year goal.

“When I was a little kid, everyone used to tell me that I had a lot of potential and I could be a four-timer and I didn’t really think about that until the beginning of this year,” Schlough said.

That’s when he saw all the pictures of previous Boyceville state champions on the wall of the practice facility.

“I knew I wanted to my get picture up there this year,” admitted Schlough. “Get four pictures up there, maybe.”

His coaches response was a bit more staid.

“One year at a time but it is a great goal to have,” Olson said. “And he will work very, very hard this spring and summer to get here next year to do it. He is a very determined and hard working kid.”

Olson added, “ I have been really fortunate to have some great freshman, three freshman (Schlough, Joles and Micah Johnson) the last three years in the finals.”