East Troy wrestlers take on D1 schools a Pewaukee Duals
By Dan Truttschel
The East Troy High School wrestling team stepped up a rung on the competition ladder Saturday at the Pewaukee Duals.
And the Trojans more than held their own.
East Troy faced five Division 1 foes and came away with a 2-3 overall record. The Trojans defeated Madison Memorial (60-18) and Cudahy (54-25) and dropped decisions to Pewaukee (42-23), Ashwaubenon (52-27) and Oconomowoc (48-24).
“(We) hammered on the first two teams,” East Troy coach Mike Howard said. “We typically are not outscoring our opponents by this much, but the kids were ready to go early in the morning. We wrestled the other D1 schools pretty tough, but they are stronger than us throughout their lineups.”
Three wrestlers finished with perfect 5-0 records – Jake Dessart (170/180), Wyatt Kegley (106) and Cole McPherson (113) – while Tommy Larson (113/120) was 4-1.
Howard was pleased with Dessart’s effort throughout the day.
“Jake Dessart wrestled solid for the day and didn’t keep any of his matches close,” he said. “He looked very tough against his Pewaukee opponent with a lightning quick blast double move as he swept a solid wrestler off of his feet and was able to put a half (nelson) in on his way down for the pin. (It was) a very impressive move).”
Larson, ranked first at 113 pounds in Division 2 and last year’s 106-pound state champion, had his only blemish in a showdown with Ashwaubenon’s Cody Minor, who currently is ranked fifth at 120 pounds in Division 1.
The match was scoreless through regulation before Minor finally broke the deadlock in overtime.
“For a zero-zero match (before overtime), it was pretty exciting to watch,” Howard said. “Tommy was disappointed he did not come away with the win, but I know matches like this will pay big dividends down the road at the state level.”
East Troy also welcomed Jackson Dedick back to the lineup from injury, and he finished with a 3-2 record at 170 pounds.
“It’s good to see him back in the lineup,” Howard said.
East Troy begins its postseason journey Saturday morning at the Rock Valley Conference Tournament, beginning at 9 a.m. at Beloit Turner.
Evansville/Albany enters as the defending champion, while East Troy was second a year ago and Whitewater was third. Larson won the 106-pound title last season, and Dessart was the champion at 170 pounds.
Trojans fall at Turner
East Troy opened its week with a 45-34 loss Jan. 24 at Beloit Turner.
Winning matches for the Trojans were Max Hudson (285), by pin in 1:58; McPherson (113), by pin in 3:10; Larson (120), by major decision 12-2; Mason Orgas (145), by pin in 3:05; and Dessart (182), by pin in 1:32.
The meet had been rescheduled twice because of bad weather and then moved to the Beloit Middle School because of a conflict – but those weren’t excuses, Howard said.
“We just need to wrestle better and win the matches we are winning,” he said. “If we are winning a match, we certainly shouldn’t be turned and give up a pin. (We’ve had) too many of these matches, and it’s hard to come back for the win. This was another lesson to learn, but we keep pushing forward.”
