By Michael S. Hoey
Correspondent
The Lake Geneva Badger wrestling team lost a dual match to Union Grove 44-30 on Dec. 6. The Badgers also finished sixth at the Grant Schoen Memorial Invitational in Cedarburg on Dec. 8.
Against Union Grove, the Badgers got wins by pin by Josh Stritesky (106 pounds) and Jake Stritesky (132 pounds), and by decision by Robert Zilskie (126 pounds) and Kyle Freund (heavyweight).
Assistant coach Hank Peters said Zilskie had a tremendous performance and fought very hard for the win. Peters said Zilskie is beginning to realize he can score on his opponents when he wrestles with confidence.
In what Peters called the match of the night, Josh Stritesky, ranked fifth in the state, squared off against the third-ranked wrestler in the state at 106 pounds. Stritesky won by fall just over a minute into the match.
“It was impressive to see how confident Josh was with his attacks,” Peters said. “Josh opened a lot of eyes around the state with how dominant a performance he wrestled.”
The Badgers were hurt by having several holes in the lineup and gave up 18 points ion forfeits alone.
The Badgers tied for sixth in Cedarburg. Josh Stritesky won the 106-pound championship and Jake Stritesky won the 126-pound title. Kyle Freund also won the heavyweight title. Zilskie (120 pounds) and Patrick Keplar (195) took second. Jimmy Stackpool (195) and Dalton Creighton (220) took fourth.
Badger only took eight wrestlers to the event and five of them ended up in the finals matches. Peters said Jake Stritesky had an impressive first-round match against a state-ranked opponent and won three of his next four matches by pin.
Zilskie had another impressive performance, according to Peters. Peters said Zilskie continues to believe in himself and his confidence is paying off. Peters said Keplar also wrestled well with four pins in five matches. Freund, Peters said, has matured a lot in the heavyweight division and made a statement for himself in Cedarburg.
For more Badger High School sports coverage pick up the Lake Geneva Times.
