Eagles send two wrestlers to state

VERONA – Rock star Meat Loaf had a hit song with ‘Two Out of Three Ain’t Bad’. But it was a bittersweet moment for Sauk Prairie wrestling coach Matt Gaffney when the Eagles advanced two out of their three prized upper weight competitors to state out of the WIAA Division 1 Verona Sectional last Saturday. Seniors Marcus Hankins and Simon Patterson will compete at the individual state tournament at the Kohl Center beginning on Thursday at 3 p.m. Hankins (42-6) finished second at 182 pounds to earn a return trip to state, while Patterson (32-7) won the 220-pound title and will make his state tournament debut. “It’s incredible because you never know,” Hankins said of earning his second trip to state. “People improve so much in the off-season, it’s crazy. You always have to be ready to compete as hard as you can. It was harder this year. It’s my senior year, my last one. There was a lot of pressure.” Sauk Prairie 285-pound senior Austin Rider (42-6) came up just short, with a third-place finish. The top two finishers in each weight class advanced to the individual state tournament. “I’m happy for Marcus and Simon and disappointed for Austin,” said Gaffney, who was the last Sauk Prairie state champion when he won the title at 130 pounds as a senior in 2008. “It’s been a great year for our upper weights.” Holmen won the team championship with 149.5 points and had six state qualifiers, including five champions. Waunakee took second (130.5) with five qualifiers, all runner-up finishes. Baraboo (121.5) took third and had four qualifiers, including three champions. Tomah (94) with three state qualifiers, and Sauk Prairie (76) rounded out the top five. Hankins pinned Middleton’s Mason Engelien in 1 minute, 29 seconds in the quarterfinals and earned a 7-4 decision over Waunakee’s Daniel Ford in the semifinals. “It’s my last sectional tournament, and I wanted to go out and make it a special one,” said Hankins, who qualified at 195 pounds as a junior, but lost his only match at state. “I did come up short, but I’m still going to state. I had a good day. I wrestled tough. I know my season continues.” Unfortunately, Hankins ran into nemesis John Gunderson of Baraboo, who recorded an 8-0 major decision in their first-place match, his fourth victory in four meetings with Hankins this season. Gaffney said the end result is all that matters for now. “He’s back at the state tournament and having a year of experience there he will be coming in comfortable,” Gaffney said of Hankins. “He and Gunderson will be on opposite sides of the bracket. Maybe they will meet again. “I’m real proud of Marcus. He put in a lot of work this year and the off-season. He was ready. I’m hoping for big things from him at the state tournament.” Patterson continued his breakout season with a pair of pins and a decision in his three matches. He got the day off to a great start, pinning Middleton’s Adham Elshaboury in 53 seconds in their quarterfinal match. “It doesn’t seem real right now,” Patterson said of earning his first trip to state. “It’s a dream come true. A lot of hard work went into that one. “The first match, there were a lot of butterflies. It was a guy I knew I could beat, but still with the adrenaline pumping through, it was just the first step.  I knew what I had to do. I got done and moved onto the next one. I just worked my way through and took it one match at a time.” Patterson pinned Holmen’s Adam Quam in 3:02 in the semifinals to set up a rematch with Sparta’s Madden Connelly in the finals. Patterson, who lost to Connelly, 2-1, in their regional first-place match, got his revenge with an 8-2 decision for his first sectional championship. “It was some payback,” said Patterson who admitted he had a different mind-set in the rematch. “I went in last week not sure of myself, not sure of what he was doing. He had a different style than me, one that I wasn’t comfortable with. I let him control the match. “Today, I dictated the match. I had a different mind-set going into it. That allowed me to push through. Even when it was hard and I wanted to give up I pushed through it.” Gaffney was impressed with Patterson’s performance in his first-place match. “I knew if he wrestled him again, it would be a different story,” Gaffney said. “I’m really happy for Simon to make it to the state tournament.” Added Hankins: “Simon has the ability to wrestle with anyone in the state. It’s all about the attitude and mind-set.”  It was a different tune for Rider, though, who spent most of the year competing in a weight class where he was usually outweighed by at least 50 pounds in each match. Just like at last week’s regional competition, Rider made short work of the opposition to earn a berth in the finals. He pinned Madison West’s Burke Gustafson in 32 seconds in the quarterfinals and pinned Reedsburg’s David Finkel in 49 seconds in the semifinals. The tables were then turned on Rider when he met Tomah’s Hayden Larson in their first-place match.  Rider had recorded a first-period pin of Larson in the regional finals, but it was Larson who got the upper hand this time. Larson got Rider on his back and pinned him at the first-period buzzer. That sent Rider to the wrestleback round for second place to face Verona’s Jay Hanson. There, Hanson recorded a first-period takedown before Rider earned an escape point going into the second period. Hanson then got a takedown and got Rider on his back and pinned him in 2:52 to end his season. Patterson said it was important for the Eagles to continue their tradition of qualifying for the individual state tournament. “We were hoping to get Rider to be able to come with us and get the three big guys who have been putting in the work all year (to state),” Patterson said. “But us two will have to take care of it.”    Feb. 22 Verona Sectional Team scores: 1, Holmen, 149.5; 2, Waunakee, 130.5; 3, Baraboo, 121.5; 4, Tomah, 94.0; 5, Sauk Prairie, 76; 6, Sparta, 54; 7, Reedsburg, 52; 8, DeForest, 39; 9, Madison Memorial, 34; 10, Verona, 29; 11, Madison East, 18.5; 12, Mount Horeb, 17; 13, La Crosse Logan/Central, 10;  14, tie, Madison West, Middleton, Onalaska/Luther, 0. State qualifiers: Holmen 6; Waunakee 5; Baraboo 4; Tomah 3; DeForest 2; Sauk Prairie 2; Sparta 2; Madison Memorial 1; Mount Horeb 1; Reedsburg 1; Verona 1.   Championship matches 106: Kratochvill, Hol, pinned Pernot, MH, 0:55. 113: Smith, H, pinned Shortreed, D, 1:56. 120: Pellowski, H, injury default over Heinz, Waun. 126: Beers, H, pinned Bemis, T, 2:26. 132: Ca. Fry, R, dec. Lorenz, Waun, 2-1. 138: Jesse, Bar, dec. Ellis, Waun, 8-4. 145: Davidson, Bar, mdec. Statz, Waun, 12-2. 152: Reetz, MM, mdec. Vetsch, H, 14-4. 160: Hemauer, D, dec. Hauser, Spa, 8-7. 170: Fritsche, T, dec. Grindle, Waun, 9-5. 182: Gunderson, Bar, mdec. Hankins, SP, 8-0. 195: Schams, H, pinned Green, MM, 1:01. 220: Patterson, SP, dec. Connelly, Spa, 8-2. 285: Hanson, V, pinned Rider, SP, 2:00.   Second-place wrestlebacks 106: Pernot, MH, mdec. Freie, Wau, 10-0. 113: Shortreed, D, dec. Pollach, T, 10-6. 120: Heinz, Wau, pinned Xiong, ME, 4:44. 145: Statz, Wau, dec. Ellefson, LCL, 5-0. 160: Hauser, Spa, dec. Linzmeier, Tom, 9-2. 195: Florencio, Bar, dec. Green, MM, 5-3, SV. 285: Hanson, V, pinned Rider, SP, 2:52.   Sauk Prairie individuals 106: Colton Uselman (32-13) didn’t place. -- Championship Bracket – Lost by dec. to Jayden Freie, Waunakee, 5-2.   113: Dawson Enge (22-10) placed fourth and scored 8 team points. -- Championship Bracket – Pinned Coltan Nechvatal, Waunakee, 0:30; lost by pin to Chase Shortreed, DeForest, 5:25; Third-place match – lost by dec. to Caleb Pollack, Tomah, 5-0.   132: Luis Elizondo (25-15) placed fourth and scored 7 team points. -- Championship Bracket – maj. dec. over Mikel Myadze, Madison East, 9-1; lost by dec. to Caden Fry, Reedsburg, 6-2; Third-place match – lost by dec. to Vince Polhamus, Sparta, 7-1.   182: Marcus Hankins (42-6) placed second and scored 16 team points. Championship Bracket – Pinned Mason Engelien, Middleton, 1:29; dec. over Daniel Ford, Waunakee, 7-4; First-place match – lost by maj. dec. to John Gunderson, Baraboo, 8-0; Second-place match – Won by rule over Ford, Waunakee.   195: Nolan Vils (12-4) placed fourth and scored 8 team points. -- Championship Bracket – Pinned Joey Behling, Mount Horeb, 1:35; lost by maj. dec. to CJ Green, Madison Memorial, 13-2; Third-place match – lost by pin to Ben Florencio, Baraboo, 2:50.   220: Simon Patterson (32-7) placed first and scored 22 team points. -- Championship Bracket – Pinned Adham Elshaboury, Middleton, 0:53; Pinned Adam Quam, Holmen, 3:02; First-place match – dec. Madden Connelly, Sparta, 8-2.   285: Austin Rider (42-6) placed third and scored 15 team points. Championship Bracket – Pinned Burke Gustafson, Madison West, 0:32; Pinned David Finkel, Reedsburg, 0:49; First-place match – Lost by pin to Hayden Larson, Tomah, 2:00; Second-place match – Lost by pin to Jay Hanson, Verona, 2:52.