Prairie du Chien wrestling team headed to Team State Tournament
Members of the Prairie du Chien High School wrestling team are, front row: Manager Gabey Lenzendorf, Austin Vogt, Drew Hird, Drake Ingham, Mason Ihde, Bryce Lenzendorf, Aydan Ihde, Rhett Koenig, and Manager Sheyenne Ronnfeldt. Row 2: Ryder Koenig, Jackson Perkins, Connor Olson, Brogan Brewer, Kurt Wall, Mason Baumgartner, Luke Kramer, and Maddox Cejka. Row 3: Coach Cory Koenig, Coach Jake Heuston, Head Coach Mike Rogge, Coach Kevin Lenzendorf, and Coach Bradyn Saint. Row 4: Blake Thiry, Cole Halverson, Ty Wagner, Dylan Wright, Alex Gibbs, Jack MacEachern, Jeremiah Avery, and Byrce Priebe. (Photo by Lindsey Ludvik Photography)
For the third consecutive year, the PDC Blackhawk Wrestling Team has qualified for the WIAA D2 Team State tournament. The Hawks, via their Regional Championship on Saturday, travelled to River Valley Tuesday evening for Team Sectionals with a berth to the Team State tournament on the line. Qualifying for State this year would be no small task, as the semifinals matched #5 ranked PDC vs. #6 ranked Lodi. These two teams met a few weeks ago in a dual, with Lodi prevailing with a 35-33 win. Both teams have several highly ranked individuals and returning State Placewinners/Qualifiers. One of the early highlights was at 132#, where Rhett Koenig would toe the line with a returning State Placewinner. With three takedowns and an escape, Koenig would win 7-2. At 170#, two ranked wrestlers would also square off, with Maddox Cejka securing a 9-2 decision with part of his scoring coming from three takedowns. At 195#, Ty Wagner was down 8-3 when he would pin his opponent to ignite the crowd. At 220#, two more ranked wrestlers would battle it out, as Blake Thiry would move up a weight. Thiry would take his opponent to sudden victory, but would come up short. At 285#, Dylan Wright would pick up a 5-4 decision in quite possibly the most exciting match in the dual. Wright's win secured the victory for the Hawks. Once the dust settled, the Hawks would advance to the Finals with a 31-24 victory, winning 9 of the 14 matches. In the finals, the Hawks would battle #7 ranked Evansville, who defeated #10 ranked Whitewater 53-19 in the other semifinal. These two teams also met a few weeks ago in a dual, with PDC winning 42-37. Like the Lodi dual, both teams have several highly ranked individuals and returning State Placewinners/Qualifiers. In one of the early featured matchups of two ranked wrestlers, Ryder Koenig would wrestle his Evansville opponent a hard six minutes, but lose by two. PDC would then get falls from Rhett Koenig (132#), Drew Hird (138#), and Luke Kramer (145#) in succession. At 160#, two more ranked wrestlers would battle. Maddox Cejka would win by decision 6-5 in a pivotal match. 182# and 195# would also see ranked matchups. At 182#, Brogan Brewer wrestled last year's State Runnerup, but would lose by technical fall, however, save a bonus point. At 195#, Blake Thiry would crank up the intensity and score a major decision. Ty Wagner would follow with a big victory in sudden victory. Heading into the final match at 113#, PDC held a slim 28-25 lead, which meant Mason Baumgartner had to win to secure the victory and send the Hawks to the State Tournament. The match would come down to the last 10 seconds, with Baumgartner trailing 7-4. Baumgartner, trying to get a takedown, would force his opponent into his third and fourth stalling calls as time expired to tie the match at 7-7. Because of the two-point stall call, Baumgartner would have choice in sudden victory, where first point scored wins. Baumgartner would take down and get an escape in thirteen seconds to win. The escape would send the crowd into a frenzy and send the Hawks to Team State!
The Team Sectional Championship moves the Hawks on to the State Meet, which will be held on Saturday, March 5, in Madison at the Fieldhouse. The other three teams will be Amery, Luxemburg-Casco, and Winneconne.
PDC vs. Lodi
113#: P Heintz (LO) over Mason Baumgartner (PDC) by fall in 1:59. PDC 0, LO 6.
120#: Drake Ingham (PDC) over B Dorshorst (LO) by decision 16-9. PDC 3, LO 6.
126#: O Breunig (LO) over Ryder Koenig (PDC) by decision 8-5. PDC 3, LO 9
132#: Rhett Koenig (PDC) over C Curtis (LO) by decision 7-2. PDC 6, LO 9.
138#: Drew Hird (PDC) over E Stevenson (LO) by decision 5-4. PDC 9, LO 9.
145#: Luke Kramer (PDC) over D Finney (LO) by major decision 10-2. PDC 13, LO 9.
152#: Jeremiah Avery (PDC) over K Clemens (LO) by decision 5-2. PDC 16, LO 9.
160#: Z Licht (LO) over Cole Halverson (PDC) by fall in 1:35. PDC 16, LO 15.
170#: Maddox Cejka (PDC) over M Lane (LO) by decision 9-2. PDC 19, LO 15
182#: Brogan Brewer (PDC) over N Johnson (LO) by decision 6-3. PDC 22, LO 15.
195#: Ty Wagner (PDC) over I Groskopf (LO) by fall in 3:51. PDC 28, LO 15.
220#: W Ripp (LO) over Blake Thiry (PDC) by decision 3-2 in sudden victory. PDC 28, LO 18.
285#: Dylan Wright (PDC) over B Beyer (LO) by decision 5-4. PDC 31, LO 18.
106#: L Ness (LO) over (PDC) by forfeit.
PDC 31, LO 24.
PDC vs. Evansville
120#: D Heiser (EV) over Drake Ingham (PDC) by technical fall 15-0 in 3:47. PDC 0, EV 5.
126#: C Staver (EV) over Ryder Koenig (PDC) by decision 5-3. PDC 0, EV 8.
132#: Rhett Koenig (PDC) over W Nelson (EV) by fall in 0:26. PDC 6, EV 8.
138#: Drew Hird (PDC) over C Miller (EV) by fall in 5:20. PDC 12, EV 8.
145#: Luke Kramer (PDC) over M Kaether (EV) by fall in 0:57. PDC 18, EV 8.
152#: Jeremiah Avery (PDC) over L Jorgensen (EV) by decision 7-1. PDC 21, EV 8.
160#: Maddox Cejka (PDC) over R Braunschweig (EV) by decision 6-5. PDC 24, EV 8.
170#: C Braunschweig (EV) over Cole Halverson (PDC) by disqualification. PDC 24 (-3), EV 14.
182#: O Heiser (EV) over Brogan Brewer (PDC) by technical fall 16-1 in 4:37. PDC 21, EV 19.
195#: Blake Thiry (PDC) over L Speich (EV) by major decision 9-0. PDC 25, EV 19.
220#: Ty Wagner (PDC) over B Crull (EV) by decision 8-6 in sudden victory. PDC 28, EV 19 (-1).
285#: T Peterson (EV) over Dylan Wright (PDC) by major decision 11-0. PDC 28, EV 22.
106#: B Frey (EV) over Mason Ihde (PDC) by decision 9-2. PDC 28, EV 25.
113#: Mason Baumgartner (PDC) over G Katzenmeyer (EV) by decision 8-7 in sudden victory.
PDC 31, EV 25.
