Five wrestlers win regional titles
By Dan Truttschel
Correspondent
Six East Troy wrestlers took the next step toward a possible state berth after a strong outing at last week’s WIAA Division 2 regional.
Now it’s on to attacking the next goal.
Host East Troy had five individual champions and one second-place finisher en route to fourth in the team standings with 172.5 points. Wisconsin Lutheran won the regional title with 251 points, followed by Whitewater with 234.5 and Delavan-Darien with 176.5.
“The overall performance for the kids (who) competed was great,” East Troy coach Mike Howard said. “We had five champions, and this was more than the second-place team and tied with the first-place team.”
Winning regional crowns were Wyatt Kegley (106), Tommy Larson (113), Jackson Dedick (160), Jake Dessart (170) and Jacob Price (220). Max Hudson also qualified with a second-place finish at 285 pounds.
After a first-round bye, Kegley (34-8 overall) pinned Big Foot-Williams Bay’s Ashton Robinson in 4 minutes, 8 seconds, followed by a 15-0 technical fall victory over Delavan’s Mason Hennessey in the title match.
“Wyatt made a couple mistakes in the semifinals, but wrestled well to make it to the finals,” Howard said. “He wrestled his best match of the year in the finals and showed what he has been working on throughout the season. (He) is certainly peaking at the right time.”
Larson, last year’s 106-pound state champion, improved to 39-3 with pins in 18 seconds and 3:45 over Whitewater’s Braulio Belmudez and Wisconsin Lutheran’s David Carson.
“Tommy continues to dominate and will do so as long as he sets the tempo for each match going forward,” Howard said.
At 160 pounds, Dedick (17-8) advanced with a 9-2 win over Wisconsin Lutheran’s Samuel Oertel in the semifinals, followed by a pin in 5:30 over Greendale Martin Luther’s Peyton Smith.
“Jackson Dedick had the best tournament of his season and is ready for the opportunity Saturday,” Howard said. “He just keeps gaining momentum, so it will be fun.”
Dessart (39-4) and Price (31-10) each advanced with a pin in the semifinal and a decision in the title matchup.
At 170, Dessart pinned Martin Luther’s David Farness in 3:49, followed by a 5-1 victory over Whitewater’s Amaru Casas. Price advanced with a pin in 29 seconds over Whitewater’s Fabian Gonzalez, followed by an 8-5 win over Wisconsin Lutheran’s Jacob Grabczyk.
“Jake Dessart continues to improve from the top position,” Howard said. “He has always been dominant from his feet and bottom. If he can continue that dominance, good things will happen.
“Jacob Price is improving every day and has found his stuff here lately. As long as he sets the tempo and uses his pressure and athleticism, he is going to be tough to beat.”
Hudson (23-17), just eight months removed from a torn ACL, advanced to the final with a 2-1 victory over Whitewater’s Arturo Franco. He was pinned in 1:46 by Wisconsin Lutheran’s Isaiah Hahm in the finals.
“The more experience he gets, the better he gets,” Howard said.
Finishing fourth were Cole McPherson (120), Mason Orgas (145) and John Veselka (152), while Logan Roberts (195) was fifth. East Troy competed without A.J. Hall and Nik Moat because of injury.
East Troy’s sectional qualifiers will travel to Campbellsport today, beginning at 10 a.m. The top three finishers in each weight class will advance to next week’s WIAA State Meet at the Kohl Center on the UW-Madison campus.
“The six kids need to focus on what works for them and execute that,” Howard said. “If they can do that, they will all be wrestling in the Kohl Center (at) state, which is always the goal.”
