Big Foot-Williams Bay wrestlers place 10th overall
By Dan Truttschel
Correspondent
Big Foot-Williams Bay senior wrestler Will Utesch is starting to get on a bit of a roll.
Utesch ran his overall record to 21-3 Saturday to finish first at 220 pounds at the 11-team Badger Invitational.
Big Foot was 10th overall with 104 points. Milton won the team title with 328 points, followed by Badger with 352.5, Middleton with 262, Sun Prairie with 241.5 and Waterford with 231.5.
Rounding out the team scores were Homestead with 185 points, Antioch (Ill.) with 179.5, Union Grove with 140, Racine Park with 124.5, Big Foot and Oregon with 65.
The Chiefs’ highlight came from Utesch, who swept all three of his matches en route to the individual title.
After an opening-round bye, Utesch posted the first of three pinfall wins, as he defeated Sun Prairie’s Sam Presser in 1:45.
In the semifinals, Utesch pinned Milton’s Gavin Chesmore in 1:50, followed by a pin in just 41 seconds over Badger’s Logan Mitchell in the finals.
Big Foot also had a fourth-, fifth- and sixth-place finish.
James Welsh (120) finished fourth with a 2-3 record that moved his season mark to 14-8 overall. Welsh opened the tournament with a 7-4 win over Oregon’s Samuel Pieper, before he dropped three straight matches, all by pinfall.
Welsh lost in 39 seconds to Badger’s Robby Mutimer, in 1:19 to Antioch’s Nathan Dlugopolski and in 147 to Union Grove’s Brett Kieslich. In his fifth match of the day, he won by injury default over Waterford’s Justin Ratkovec.
Travis Berryman (106) split is first four matches before he forfeited his fifth and placed fourth overall. Berryman now is 23-8 overall.
In the first round, Berryman won by major decision 10-0 over Middleton’s Colton Best, but fell 3-0 to Milton’s Dalton Shea in his second match. He bounced back with a 5-3 win over Waterford’s Sam Winski, before he fell 6-5 to Homestead’s Joey Fischer.
Finishing sixth for the Chiefs was Raul Reyes (160), who was 3-1 to improve to 11-6 overall. Reyes dropped his first match by pinfall in 2:45 to Homestead’ Tyler Denmark before he won his last three.
In the second round, Reyes defeated Union Grove’s Clayton Mauer 13-11, followed by a pinfall win in 20 seconds over Oregon’s Joshua Tanner. After a bye in the fourth round, he closed out the day with a 12-8 victory over Sun Prairie’s Jack Haraldson.
Mickey Setteducate (145) had the Chiefs’ other top effort, as he posted a 2-2 overall record. Titus Frederick (113) was 0-5, while Logan Chase (132) was 0-4.
Chiefs earn conference win
Big Foot opened its week with a 39-28 Rock Valley Conference win Jan. 16 over visiting Clinton.
Earning victories for the Chiefs were Welsh (126), by pin in 2:47; Ronald Weber (132), 10-4; Reyes (170), by pin in 1:50; Utesch (220), by pin in 2:55; and Berryman (106), by pin in 26 seconds. The Chiefs also picked up a forfeit victories at 145 and 138 pounds.
Frederick (113) fell by major decision 13-6 for Big Foot’s only loss on the mat. The Chiefs forfeited matches at 106, 160, 195 and 285 pounds. Both teams forfeited at 152 and 182 pounds.
Big Foot was back in action Thursday night at Beloit Turner. The Chiefs will compete Saturday at the Monroe Invitational at 9:30 a.m. Joining the Chiefs will be Parkview, Clinton, Cuba City, Poynette and Monroe.
