By Dan Truttschel
Correspondent
A tough Rock Valley Conference road dual meet last week became even more of a challenge for the East Troy High School wrestling team even before he first match.
And while the Trojans did what they could, in the end it just wasn’t enough.
East Troy won seven matches on the mat, but gave up four pins and three forfeits in a tough 42-39 setback.
“It definitely was a tough loss,” East Troy assistant coach Joe Dedick Sr. said. “Whitewater is a well-coached team.
“They have a talented lineup. We knew going into the dual it was going to be close.”
With the three forfeits, Dedick said the team knew it had an 18-point hole to fill before the meet even began.
That meant it was important to get as many pinfall victories – and the Trojans did just that in six of their seven wins.
“We had to put points on the board by scoring bonus points,” he said. “Winning a match is one thing. Pinning your opponents is a different mindset.”
Earning pinfall victories for the Trojans were Charlie Ward (113), in 4:50 over Jamison Quass; Cody Vogel (126), in 1:49 over Tommy Cushman; Gabe Braam (138), in 36 seconds over Jimmy Cushman; Chase Coleman (152), in 1:09 over Victor Fernandez; Jeremy Dedick (160), in 4:04 over Thomas McManawry; and Kyle Storandt (220), in 1:29 over Bryce Peche.
Joe Moede (106) defeated Tyler Gamble 9-8 for East Troy’s other victory.
Falling for the Trojans were Jakob Rose (132), by pin in 3:44 to Michael Fernandez; Seth DeMara (145), in 1:09 to Ismael Barajas; Kelcye DeMara (170), in 2:44 to Max Reid; and Travis Cadman (182), in 330 to Jimmy DuVal.
East Troy gave up forfeits at 120, 195 and 285 pounds, as injuries forced those wrestlers to miss the meet.
Even in defeat, all wasn’t lost, Dedick said.
“We were really pleased with how the boys wrestled,” he said. “We just came up short.”
East Troy returns to action Dec. 29 and 30, when it travels to the two-day Merrill Tournament. Joining the Trojans at that meet are Kewaskum, New Berlin West, Waukesha South, West Allis Central, Oconto Falls and Merrill.
“We are going to run into some tough teams,” Dedick said. “The northern style is very different than what we see in southeastern Wisconsin.
“It is much more physical. They really try to wear you down (and are) mostly strong, farm kids. We are looking forward to seeing how we match up.”
