By Chris Bennett
Sports Correspondent
The Elkhorn Area High School wrestling team won the Norski Invite Jan. 14 at DeForest High School and remained undefeated in tournaments this season.
The Elks beat Badger 51-16 Jan. 12 in a Southern Lakes Conference dual meet at Lake Geneva.
The Elks wrestle at home tonight against Burlington in a SLC dual meet. Elkhorn wrestles Westosha Central at Paddock Lake Jan. 26 in the team’s final SLC dual meet of the season.
Elks coach Ken Reynolds said he challenged his team on Jan. 11 to wrestle better than in previous competitions.
“I was upset with my guys for being a little bit complacent,” Reynolds said. “I told them we’ve beaten teams below us, but we haven’t beaten anyone above us. I kind of challenged them.”
The Elks responded with a convincing tournament win at DeForest and a rout of Badger.
“We got tested,” Reynolds said. “It was good – we needed it. We needed to challenged and see how we stack-up with some really high-level guys.
Nine Elks wrestled in the final at DeForest, and three won titles – Grant Truesdale at 113 pounds, Benji Peak (132) and Danny Stilling (138).
Stilling is undefeated (28-0) and pinned his way through the tournament. Stilling pinned Evansville’s Gabe Dienberg in 1:44 in the quarterfinals and pinned Harrford’s Kobi Kirsch in 1:10 in the semifinals. Stilling pinned River Valley’s Cayden Robson in 59 seconds in the title match at 138.
Hunter Hummel (285), Richie Heidemann (220), Myles Schumacher (195), Riley Remington (182), Braeden Mohr (170) and Bryce Jacobson (160) finished second.
Quentin Woyak (106) and Coleman Karl (126) each finished third, and James Welsh (145) finished fourth.
The Elks improved to 15-0 overall and 5-0 in SLC dual meets after beating Badger. Jacobson (160), Mohr (170), Truesdale (120), Karl (126), Peak (132), Stilling (138) and Welsh (145) won contested matches against Badger.
