Larson takes second at state
By Dan Truttschel
Correspondent
A lingering shoulder injury delayed the start of the 2019-20 season for East Troy senior wrestler Tommy Larson.
But he certainly made up for lost time.
Larson, who returned to the Trojans’ lineup for the Rock Valley Conference Tournament, took his final high school season all the way to the final match Saturday night at the WIAA Division 2 State Tournament.
And while his bid for a third straight state title fell just short, the NCAA Division I Cornell recruit certainly made a strong showing.
Larson, who had been sidelined with a lingering shoulder injury that also affected his back, rolled to two straight victories at the Kohl Center in Madison before he fell in the state championship matchup, 7-4, to Stanley-Boyd/Owen-Withee’s Blaine Brenner.
The loss closed Larson’s season at 12-1, while Brenner completed an unbeaten campaign at 45-0.
To get to Saturday night’s final, Larson easily dispatched his first two opponents via a pair of major decisions.
In the quarterfinal, Larson posted a 14-2 major decision over Luck/Frederick/Grant/Siren’s Taedon Nichols, followed by a 9-1 major decision win in the semifinal over Waupaca’s Kaleb Mannel.
Boys win finale
The East Troy boys basketball team had to work overtime in its regular-season finale last week at Rock Valley Conference foe Jefferson.
But that’s just what the Trojans did.
East Troy outscored the Eagles, 12-5, in the extra session to pull out a 75-68 victory and close its regular season at 20-2 overall and 17-1 in conference play.
A.J. Vukovich led the way with 31 points, followed by Chase Cummings with 15.
East Troy, seeded second in the Division 3 sectional and ranked second overall in the state by WisSports.net, will open its tournament run Friday night against the winner of Tuesday night’s first-round matchup between seventh-seeded Saint Francis and 10th-seeded Shoreland Lutheran.
That contest will be held at East Troy at 7 p.m.
The winner Friday advances to the regional final Saturday against either third-seeded St. John’s Northwestern Military Academy, sixth-seeded Lakeside Lutheran or 11th-seeded Saint Thomas More.
If East Troy wins Friday, the regional final also will be at home Saturday at 7 p.m.
Girls close season
The 2019-20 campaign came to an end last Tuesday for the East Troy girls basketball team with a 60-34 loss at Big Foot in a Division 3 regional quarterfinal.
East Troy trailed by 10 points at halftime before the Chiefs pulled away with a 26-10 advantage in the final 18 minutes.
The Trojans finished the year at 1-22 overall.
Emma Scurek led the way with 10 points, followed by Emily Aleckson with eight and Callie Nelson with seven.
