By David Paulsen
Corresp
ondent
With one first-place finish and a second-place, as well, the East Troy High School wrestling squad finished 15th overall among 43 teams at the Mid-States Wrestling Classic held Friday and Saturday at UW-Whitewater.
Head coach Mike Howard noted that he told his squad to shoot for a top-10 finish.
“We needed a couple more wins along the way (to achieve that),” Howard said.
Nevertheless, the event was a good test for the Trojan boys, showing them what they need to work on and where they are at this point in the season.
Joey Dedick won the 195-pound weight class with hardly a challenge.
“He pretty much went right through,” Howard said.
The biggest challenge came in the finals against Kaukauna’s Nick Dercks. Dedick pinned Dercks in three minutes 15 seconds.
“Joey didn’t have too much trouble with him,” Howard added.
Cody Vogel, at 113 pounds, took second, losing in the finals to Colin Kenyon of New Trier by a 10-8 decision.
“He wrestled very well both days,” Howard said. “He beat some tough kids to get to the finals.”
In the quarterfinals, Vogel defeated Riccardo Roman of Belvedere (Ill.) North 6-4 in double overtime. In the semifinals, he handed Justin Folley of Milwaukee Riverside his first loss of the season in an 8-6 decision. Folley was ranked No. 3 in the state in Division 1.
In the finals, Vogel fell behind Kenyon early and was unable to come back.
Ryan Engel (126), Andy Strey (138), Zach Lamb (152) and Oscar Donegan (182) were just one win away from placing in the top eight.
Howard took just 11 wrestlers to the event. All but one were victorious in at least one match.
As a team, East Troy tallied 86.5 points. Kaukauna, ranked No. 1 in Wisconsin Division 1, won the invitational with 179 points. Elkhorn was second with 175.
Schedule
The Trojans will host Edgerton on Tuesday, Jan. 8, in a Rock Valley Conference dual at 7 p.m.
