Wrestlers notch two wins

First-year head wrestling coach Matt Gaffney has had his share of ups and downs during a rollercoaster season for the Sauk Prairie wrestling team. But there was some light at the end of the tunnel last week after the Eagles swept a pair of Badger North Conference duals following an 0-3 start to the league dual-meet season. Sauk Prairie needed just 17 minutes to dispatch host DeForest, 54-30, in a dual on Jan. 14 that included nine combined forfeits and five pins.      “It was the quickest dual I’ve ever been a part of, that’s for sure,” Gaffney said. “The guys wrestled well. It was nice to get that first conference dual win.” The Eagles then won 10 of 14 bouts to cruise to a 55-18 victory over visiting Mount Horeb on Parents’ and Senior Night last Thursday. “We wrestled real well,” Gaffney said after Sauk Prairie finished with six pins against the Vikings. “It was a good atmosphere and a good crowd. It was too bad that two of our seniors got forfeits. But other than that, it was a great dual win.” To open the week, senior Dawson Enge, sophomore Dylan Breunig and senior Marcus Hankins all recorded pins to help the Eagles make quick work of DeForest.  Only five matches were contested, all ending in pins. Sauk Prairie (1-3 Badger North) received six forfeits, while DeForest (0-4) received three forfeits. Sauk Prairie senior Austin Rider opened the meet at 220 pounds and received a forfeit as did Eagles’ junior Connor Warren, who was making his season debut at 285. Sophomore Colton Uselman then gave Sauk Prairie an 18-0 lead when he received a forfeit at 106 before DeForest received its first forfeit at 113. Enge earned the Eagles’ first pin, dispatching Luke Barske in just 37 seconds at 120 before DeForest’s Jacob Larson pinned freshman Grant Sorg at 126. But Breunig pinned Austin Schuster in 48 seconds at 132 pounds to push Sauk Prairie’s lead to 30-12. Sauk Prairie then received three straight forfeits at 138, 145 and 152 to extend its lead to 48-12. After DeForest won the next three weights, two by forfeit, Hankins pinned Jagger Lokken in 1:36 at 195 pounds to close out the scoring. “A win is a win, and a conference win is a conference win,” Gaffney said. “It was a good night.” Sauk Prairie then closed out the week by honoring its five seniors — Enge, Sam Vils, Hankins, Simon Patterson and Rider — with its second straight conference dual victory.  Enge (120) and Patterson (220) received forfeits while Sam Vils (152) earned a major decision and Hankins (182) and Rider (285) recorded pins in their penultimate home dual. “Overall, I feel this was the best we’ve wrestled as a team at a dual meet,” Gaffney said. “It might not be the toughest team that we’ve faced. “But just the momentum the guys had from winning Tuesday night. (Sophomore) Riley (Minette) stepped up and got a pin at 113. He came through big there. The kids did great.” Junior Carson Saladis opened the dual at 138 pounds and pinned Cody Anderson in 3:38 to get the Eagles off to a great start. After Mount Horeb received a forfeit at 145, Sam Vils posted a 15-6 major decision over Dylan Baccam at 152 for a 10-3 lead. Mount Horeb then took advantage of back-to-back forfeits at 160 and 170 to pull in front 15-10. But the Eagles earned three pins and a forfeit over the next four matches to take the lead for good at 34-15. Hankins got the pin party started when he ended Jared Leuzinger’s night in 3:01 at 182 pounds. Freshman Nolan Vils then made quick work of Dylan Brandemuehl at 195, pinning him in 1:01. Gaffney said he was pleased to see Nolan Vils perform well. “It’s nice to have him in the lineup now,” Gaffney said, which allows Hankins to move down to 182 for the postseason. “Nolan’s got a lot of potential being a freshman and being that size. He’s going to keep growing and keep getting better. He will keep getting better technique and will be a force if he keeps it up.” Patterson won by forfeit at 220 and Rider followed with a pin of Joey Behling in just 39 seconds at 285. Mount Horeb’s Jaxon Pernot defeated Uselman 5-2 at 106 to trim its deficit to 34-14. But the Eagles ended the meet with four straight victories. Minette pinned JJ Poarch at 113 in 4:35 before Enge received a forfeit at 120. At 126, Breunig pinned Austin Ringgenberg in 1:22. Junior Luis Elizondo then ended the meet with an 11-7 decision over Hanna Errthum, at 132. The victory put the Eagles in position to gather some momentum heading into the Badger Conference tournament hosted by Watertown on Feb. 8. “We’ve only got two forfeits now and maybe we can catch some of those teams that beat us in duals,” Gaffney said. • On deck: Sauk Prairie hosts Beaver Dam in a Badger North Conference dual on Youth and ‘Take Down the House’ Night on Thursday at 7 p.m. The Eagles will then compete at the TKO Open hosted by Fort Atkinson on Saturday at 9:15 a.m.   Jan. 14 Sauk Prairie 54, DeForest 30 220: Austin Rider, SP, won by forfeit; 285: Connor Warren, SP, won by forfeit; 106: Colton Uselman, SP, won by forfeit; 113: Chase Shortreed, D, won by forfeit; 120: Dawson Enge, SP, pinned Luke Barske, 0:37; 126: Jacob Larson, D, pinned Grant Sorg, 3:50; 132: Dylan Breunig, SP, pinned Austin Schuster, 0:48; 138: Luis Elizondo, SP, won by forfeit; 145: Carson Saladis, D, won by forfeit; 152: Alex Katers, SP, won by forfeit; 160: Brody Hemauer, D, won by forfeit; 170: Kyle Blum, D, won by forfeit; 182: Isaah  Foges, D, pinned Blake Bermudez, 1:09; 195: Marcus Hankins, SP, pinned Jagger Lokken, D, 1:36.   Jan. 16 Sauk Prairie 55, Mount Horeb 18 138: Carson Saladis, SP, pinned Cody Anderson, 3:38; 145: Wesley Drager, MH, dec. Alex Katers, 5-2; 152: Sam Vils, SP, maj. dec. over Dylan Baccam, MH, 15-6; 160: Lorenz Sieber, MH, won by forfeit; 170: Neil Droster, MH, won by forfeit; 182: Marcus Hankins, SP, pinned Jared Leuzinger, 3:01; 195: Nolan Vils, SP, pinned Dylan Brandemuehl, 1:01; 220: Simon Patterson, SP, won by forfeit; 285: Austin Rider, SP, pinned Joey Behling, 0:39; 106: Jaxon Pernot, MH, dec. Colton Uselman, 5-2; 113: Riley Minette, SP, pinned JJ Poarch, 4:35; 120: Dawson Enge, SP, won by forfeit; 126: Dylan Breunig, SP, pinned Austin Ringgenberg, 1:22; 132: Luis Elizondo, SP, Hanna Errthum, 11-7.        HOCKEY  It was another successful week for the Sauk Prairie co-op hockey program. The Eagles swept a pair of games, including a key Badger North Conference matchup. Visiting Sauk Prairie opened the week with a 3-2 victory over the defending Badger North Conference champion Reedsburg co-op last Thursday.   Senior Camden Desroches, sophomore Nick Mast and freshman Luke Mast then each recorded a hat trick as the host Eagles routed the La Crosse Aquinas co-op 11-0 at the Sauk Prairie Area Recreation Center Ice Arena last Saturday. Sauk Prairie (10-2-0, 4-2-0 Badger North) extended its winning streak to three games and has now outscored its opponents, 71-17. The second-place Eagles trail league-leading Waunakee (6-0 Badger North) by two games with four games to play. Following is a recap of last week:  • Sauk Prairie co-op 3, Reedsburg co-op 2 — Camden Desroches snapped a tie with his second goal of the game late in the second period to lift the Eagles past the host Cheavers. Desroches opened the scoring with a goal at the 4 minute, 27 second mark of the opening period off assists from Nick Mast and senior Riley Jelinek. Nick Mast then gave Sauk Prairie (9-2-0, 4-2-0 Badger North) a 2-0 lead with a goal at 6:15 of the second period on an assist from Jelinek. Reedsburg (6-9-1, 2-4-0) got back-to-back goals from Danny Ely and Grant Marsich in 39-second span to tie the game at 7:18 of the second period. Desroches then converted an assist from Nick Mast at 8:13 of the second frame for the eventual game-winning goal. Senior goaltender Jordan O’Connor had 12 saves for Sauk Prairie. Cooper Oakes, who was peppered for nine goals in Sauk Prairie’s 9-1 victory over Reedsburg on Dec. 13, finished with 44 saves. • Sauk Prairie co-op 11, La Crosse Aquinas co-op 0 — Senior Dylan Andrews jump-started a six-goal opening period onslaught as the host Eagles trounced the Avalanche in a non-conference game last Saturday. Camden Desroches and Luke Mast each scored two of their three goals in the opening period and Riley Jelinek also found the back of the net. Desroches finished with three goals and four assists, brothers Nick Mast and Luke Mast each had three goals and one assist, and Jelinek chipped in with one goal and five assists as Sauk Prairie (10-2-0) outshot La Crosse Aquinas (2-13-1) 62-8, including 52-5 spanning the first two periods. Jack Coleman finished with 47 of Aquinas’ 51 saves. Jordan O’Connor needed to make just eight saves to notch her fourth shutout of the season. • On deck: Following a Badger North Conference game at Baraboo on Tuesday, Sauk Prairie will host Milton in a non-conference game on Friday at 7 p.m. The Eagles then travel to Monroe for a non-conference game on Tuesday, Jan. 28.   Jan. 16 Sauk Prairie co-op 3,  Reedsburg co-op 2 Sauk Prairie …........ 1 2 0 — 3 Reedsburg ….......…. 0 2 0 — 2 First period: SP — Camden Desroches (Nick Mast, Riley Jelinek), 4:27. Second period: SP — N. Mast (Jelinek), 6:15; R — Danny Ely, 6:39; Grant Marsich (Trevor Slaght), 7:18; SP — Desroches (N. Mast), 8:13. Saves: SP 12 (Jordan O’Connor); R 44 (Cooper Oakes). Penalties-minutes: SP 5-10; R 4-8.   Jan. 18 Sauk Prairie co-op 11, La Crosse Aquinas/Holmen 0 La Crosse  ….......... 0 0 0 —   0 Sauk Prairie ……... 6 3 2 — 11 First period: Dylan Andrews (Camden Desroches, Willy Hanson), 3:23; Riley Jelinek (W. Hanson, Luke Mast), 5:03; Desroches (Jelinek, Jay Liedtke), 11:44 (sh); Desroches (Jelinek, Nick Mast), 13:25; L. Mast (Erik Peterson, W. Hanson), 14:22; L. Mast (Jelinek, Desroches), 15:25 (pp). Second period: N. Mast, 7:11 (pp); N. Mast (Jelinek, Desroches), 9:30; Desroches, 12:53 (pp). Third period: N. Mast (Jelinek, Desroches), 4:24; L. Mast, 16:03. Saves: LCA/H 51 (Jack Coleman 47, Andrew Evenson 4); SP 8 (Jordan O’Connor). Penalties-minutes: LCA 3-6; SP 4-8.