Sauk Prairie wrestlers shine

It was all about quality and not quantity when Sauk Prairie hosted its annual Eagle Invitational last Saturday. Sauk Prairie saved its best for last as seniors Marcus Hankins, Simon Patterson and Austin Rider closed out the final three weight classes of the meet on top off the podium as tournament champions. The trio combined for eight of the Eagles’ 15 pins that tied for the team-lead in the tournament. “We have that trio at the upper weights, and it’s fun to watch them feed off each other. Marcus (Hankins) starting it, and Cheese (Rider) ending it,” Sauk Prairie coach Matt Gaffney said.  “We’ve got good things going with the upper weights right now, and it’s exciting to watch them grow and continue to have success.”    Sauk Prairie finished with 209 points to trail only tournament champion West Bend East, which finished with 255 points to top the 18-team field. Monroe (184), Ithaca/Weston (183.5) and Pecatonica/Argyle (183) rounded out the top five. The defending champion Eagles were able to fill only eight of the 14 weight classes. However, Sauk Prairie placed seven competitors on the podium and recorded six top-four finishers. “That was a good way to end the day, getting three champs,” Gaffney said. “It was a solid day with the guys we had. They wrestled well.” Hankins (24-2) got the championship run started for the Eagles at 195 pounds, pinning his first two opponents and then finishing off a perfect day with a 16-7 major decision over Beloit Memorial’s Tyler Sireci, who was a state qualifier last season. “Us three, we work the hardest in the room,” said Hankins, who was an injury scratch at the meet a year ago. “We’re always competing with each other, wrestling with each other. We’re always making things competitive. It’s making us better and showing up on the mat.”  Hankins, who is also a returning state qualifier, said a successful football season — where the Eagles qualified for the WIAA playoffs for the first time in 12 years and he was a two-way all-conference lineman — set the table for his stellar start on the mat. “Football season was great,” said Hankins, who was a co-captain in football and is a two-time co-captain for the Eagles in wrestling. “We got a taste of winning for the first time in a long time. I feel it’s my obligation to carry it over between seasons being part of that football team. I feel that’s working.”  Patterson (14-4), the defending champion at 170 pounds, earned his second straight Eagle Invitational title after pinning his way through at 220. He recorded all three of his pins in the second period of his matches, capping the day by pinning Monroe’s Kelsey Domingez in 3:18. “It was a really good feeling to come back and do it again,” Patterson said of his repeat title. “It would have been a letdown to lose it after winning it last year. So I was pretty pumped for that.” Rider (24-2), who was knocked out of the Eagle Invitational a year ago at 182 pounds due to an injury default in the consolation round, earned some redemption with three straight pins at 285, including making short work of Ithaca/Weston’s Jonah Marchwick in just 51 seconds in the title match. “All three of us are doing pretty well this year. We have the attitude that we want to be as good as each other,” Rider said of his friendly competition with Hankins and Patterson, who also serve as practice partners.  Despite being an undersized heavyweight — giving up anywhere from 50 to 70 pounds — Rider is having the time of his life. “I like being up there, it’s fun,” he said of competing in the heavyweight class. Junior Carson Saladis (13-9) fell short of taking first at 138 pounds, pinning his first three opponents in a combined time of 3:34 before losing by technical fall to Poynette’s Gunnar Hamre in 4:34. Other placewinners for Sauk Prairie included sophomore Tyler Uselman (22-4), who was third at 106 pounds, senior Dawson Enge (8-3), who placed fourth at 120, and senior Sam Vils (14-13), who was fifth at 152. Gaffney was pleased that the Eagles were able to have a solid day, especially the seniors who were competing in their last invitational on their home mats. “It was good for the seniors,” Gaffney said. “To place second (as a team) with only eight guys, you can’t ask for anything more.” • On deck: Sauk Prairie hosts Baraboo in a Badger North Conference dual on Friday at 7 p.m. and travels to DeForest for a league dual on Jan. 14 at 7 p.m. Sauk Prairie will also host a JV qualifier for state on Saturday beginning at 9 a.m.    Jan. 4 Sauk Prairie Eagle Invitational Team scores: 1, West Bend East, 255; 2, Sauk Prairie, 209; 3, Monroe, 184; 4, Ithaca/Weston, 183.5; 5, Pecatonica/Argyle, 183; 6, Seymour, 171.5; 7, Wisconsin Dells, 130; 8, Poynette, 110.5; 9, Lake Geneva Badger, 109.5; 10, Kettle Moraine, 107; 11, River Valley, 100; 12, Columbus, 98; 13, Dodgeville, 83; 14, Mauston, 77; 15, Madison La Follette, 68; 16, Cambria-Friesland co-op, 51; 17, Sugar River co-op, 50; 18, Beloit Memorial, 34.   Sauk Prairie results 106: Colton Uselman (22-4) placed third and scored 26 team points. Championship Round 1 -- received a bye; Quarterfinal – pinned Richard Gilbert, RV, 0:50; Semifinal – lost by pin to Jack Dubach, Mon., 2:43; Third-place – pinned Irie Jackson, MLF, 0:41. 120: Dawson Enge (8-3) placed fourth and scored 20 team points. Champ. Round 1 -- received a forfeit, SR; Quarterfinal – pinned Kyle Haldiman, Mon., 1:21; Semifinal – lost by dec. to Jimmy Jennings, RV, 6-3; Third-place match – lost in overtime to Cael Pionkowski, WBE, 8-6, SV-1. 126: Dylan Breunig (5-11) didn’t place. Champ. Round 1 – lot by tech. fall to Dan Ciriacks, WBE, 3:02 (15-0); Cons. Round 1 – lost by pin to Lincoln Manning, I/W, 1:31. 138: Carson Saladis (13-9) placed second and scored 32 team points. Champ. Round 1 – pinned Lilly Foreman, P/A, 1:00; Quarterfinal – pinned Kasey Gish, WBE, 1:02; Semifinal – pinned Austin Peter, LGB, 1:32; Championship match – lost by tech. fall to Gunnar Hamre, Poy., 4:34 (16-1). 152: Sam Vils (14-13) placed fifth and scored 15 team points. Champ. Round 1 – pinned Kyle Attoe, Poy., 3:02; Quarterfinal – lost by pin to Marty Koenig, WD, 3:16; Consolation Round 2 – dec. Max Patterson, Mon., 5-3; Cons. Semifinal – dec. Zander Brunker, P/A, 8-4; Fifth-place match – dec. Max Raymond, C/F co-op, 2-0. 195: Marcus Hankins (24-2) placed first and scored 38 team points. Champ. Round 1 -- received a bye; Quarterfinal – pinned Adam Northington, MLF, 0:51; Semifinal – pinned Tayvon Hayes, Col., 3:17; Championship match – maj. dec. over Tyler Sireci, BM, 16-7. 220: Simon Patterson (14-4) placed first and scored 39 team points. Champ. Round 1 -- received a bye; Quarterfinal – pinned Preston Backhaus, WD, 3:06; Semifinal – pinned James Roche, Col., 2:52; Championship match – pinned Kelsey Domingez, Mon., 3:18. 285: Austin Rider (24-2) placed first and scored 39 team points. Champ. Round 1 – received bye; Quarterfinal – pinned Emerson Ninham, Sey., 1:01; Semifinal – pinned Liam Thelen, Col., 0:24; Championship match – pinned Jonah Marchwick, I/W, 0:51.