Onward, upward

It has been a season of firsts for Austin Rider. The Sauk Prairie senior won the Sauk Prairie Eagle Invitational and recorded a runner-up finish in the Badger Conference tournament. Now, Rider has a regional championship to display, as well. Rider won the heavyweight division at the WIAA Division 1 Holmen Regional last Saturday. Rider pinned Tomah’s Hayden Larson in 1 minute, 57 seconds in the 285-pound title match. “He’s tough to beat,” Sauk Prairie first-year coach Matt Gaffney said of Rider, who improved to 40-4 in his first season competing in the heavyweight class despite being outweighed by 50 or more pounds in many of his matches. Rider, who was recently ranked eighth at 285 in the WIwrestling.com poll, received a bye in the quarterfinals. He then pined Onalaska/Luther’s Damion Tracy in just 49 seconds in the semifinals before also dispatching Larson in the first period in the finals. “He’s pretty efficient,” Gaffney said. “He takes care of business.” Seventh-ranked Holmen captured six individual championships to finish with 241.5 points and win the regional team title. Tomah was second with 182.5 points, while Baraboo (164.5) was third and Sauk Prairie (162) placed fourth. Holmen advanced to meet Waunakee at Middleton in a team sectional on Tuesday. The top four finishers in each weight class advanced to sectional competition at Verona on Saturday beginning at 10 a.m. Senior Dawson Enge (113 pounds), senior Marcus Hankins (182), freshman Nolan Vils (195) and senior Simon Patterson (220) all finished as a runner-up in their respective weight classes as the Eagles finished with seven sectional qualifiers. “To get five in the finals in a tough regional like that, I was pleased,” Gaffney said. “The guys wrestled hard. To get seven out of 11 to sectionals in a regional like that is impressive.” A returning state qualifier, Hankins (40-5) kept his dream of a second appearance at the Kohl Center alive. Hankins lost to Baraboo’s John Gunderson for the third time this season, getting pinned in 5:07. But Hankins, who was ranked fifth at 182, rebounded to pin Holmen’s Carson Westcott in 55 seconds in their second-place match. Enge (21-8), who is also a returning state qualifier, was pinned by Holmen’s Sam Smith in 4:54 in the first-place match. He earned second-place by rule, after defeating Tomah’s Caleb Pollack in the semifinals. Nolan Vils and Patterson kept their hopes of earning their first individual state berths alive, too. Vils (11-2) continued his late-season surge winning two of his three matches. He was pinned by Holmen’s Drake Schams in 47 seconds in their first-place match. But Vils also earned second-place by rule, after defeating Baraboo’s Ben Florencio in the semifinals. Patterson (29-7) lost a tough 2-1 decision to Sparta’s Madden Connelly in their first-place match. Patterson then secured second-place after a medical forfeit by Baraboo’s Tyson Fry. Rounding out the sectional qualifiers for Sauk Prairie were sophomore Colton Uselman (32-12), who took third at 106 pounds, and junior Luis Elizondo (24-13), who placed third at 132. “Luis wrestled pretty good, he was pretty offensive,” Gaffney said of Elizondo. “I was pleased with his performance.” Gaffney was hoping the Eagles could also qualify an additional wrestler for sectionals. But junior Carson Saladis (24-13) was pinned by Tomah’s Nate Boulton in 3:58 in their fourth-place match. “I felt bad for him. I feel he was in the toughest weight class overall as far as the kids in his bracket,” Gaffney said of Saladis, a sectional qualifier a year ago. “He was coming off being sick and missed conference due to an illness. It wasn’t the season he wanted, but he’ll be back next year and he’ll be good.” • On deck: Sauk Prairie will compete at the WIAA Division 1 Verona Sectional on Saturday beginning at 10 a.m. The top two individuals at each weight class qualify for the state tournament, which begins on Thursday, Feb. 27 at the Kohl Center at 3 p.m. “You’ve got to win that first match otherwise you’re done,” Gaffney said of the sectional competition. “You want to get to the finals, not banking on a wrestleback. “It will be a fun and exciting weekend. When you lose and the season ends, especially for a season, there’s a little bit of tears. It’s an emotional sport. I’m looking forward to sectionals.”    Feb. 15 Holmen Regional Team scores: 1, Holmen, 241.5; 2, Tomah, 182.5; 3, Baraboo, 164.5; 4, Sauk Prairie, 162; 5, Sparta, 133; 6, Reedsburg Area, 130.5; 7, La Crosse Logan/La Crosse Central, 57; 8, Onalaska/Onalaska Luther, 29.   Championship matches 106: Kratochvill, H, dec. Finch, T, 7-3. 113: Smith, H, pinned Enge, SP, 4:54. 120: Pellowski, H, pinned Schneider, R, 2:55. 126: Beers, H, pinned Bemis, T, 0:55. 132: Cad. Fry, R, dec. Polhamus, S, 3-2. 138: Jesse, Bar, dec. Coplien, R, 7-1. 145: Davidson, B, pinned Schinker, R, 2:37. 152: Vetsch, Hol, pinned Klass, S, 3:18. 160: Hauser, S, pinned Linzmeier, T, 1:08. 170: Fritsche, T, pinned Estes, B, 0:34. 182: Gunderson, B, pinned Hankins, SP, 5:07. 195: Schams, H, pinned Vils, SP, 0:47. 220: Connelly, S, dec. Patterson, SP, 2-1. 285: Rider, SP, pinned Larson, T, 1:57. Second-place wrestlebacks 138: Coplien, R, dec. Jahn, H, 5-4. 170: Estes, B, pinned Ranaivoson, H, 0:26. 182: Hankins, SP, pinned Westcott, H, 0:55. 220: Patterson, SP, won medical forfeit over T. Fry, B. Third-place matches 106: Uselman, SP, dec. Miller, R, 6-4. 113: Pollack, T, tfall Schneider, R, 15-0. 120: Bemis, T, pinned Rodriguez, S, 4:55. 126: Haney, LCL, dec. Goorsky, B, 8-2. 132: Elizondo, SP, dec. Griffin, T, 12-5. 138: Jahn, H, pinned Boulton, T, 4:23. 145: Ellefson, LCL, dec. Boulton, T, 3-1. 152: Van Houten, B, pinned Deal, LCL, 3:05. 160: Langeberg, B, dec. Veenstra, LCL, 7-5. 170: Ranaivoson, H, pinned Pfaff, S, 2:20. 182: Westcott, H, pinned Pierce, T, 0:21. 195: Florencio, B, dec. Lass, T, 9-7. 220: T. Fry, B, pinned Quam, H, 2:59. 285: Finkel, R, pinned Tracy, On, 1:46. Fourth-place wrestlebacks 126: Goorsky, B, pinned Breunig, SP, 3:51. 138: Boulton, T, pinned Saladis, SP, 3:58. 170: Pfaff, S, pinned Olson, LCL, 1:29. 182: Cox, S, dec. Pierce, T, 1-0.   Sauk Prairie individuals 106: Colton Uselman (32-12) placed third and scored 10 team points.  Quarterfinal -- Received a bye; Semifinal – lost by pin to Gavin Finch, Tomah, 3:43; Third-place match – dec. Dylan Miller, Reedsburg Area, 6-4; Second-place match – Finch, Tomah, won by rule over Uselman.   113: Dawson Enge (21-8) placed second and scored 20 team points. Quarterfinal -- Received a bye; Semifinal – Pinned Caleb Pollack, Tomah, 2:31; First-place match – Lost by pin to Sam Smith, Holmen, 4:54; Second-place match – Enge, Sauk Prairie, won by rule over Caleb Pollack.   120: Riley Minette (4-11) placed fifth and scored 5 team points. Quarterfinal – Lost by pin to Esteban Rodriguez, Sparta, 5:10; Cons. Semifinal -- Received a bye; Fifth-place match -- Received a bye; Fourth-place match -- Esteban Rodriguez, Sparta, won by rule over Minette.   126: Dylan Breunig (13-19) placed fifth and scored 7 team points. Quarterfinal – Lost by pin to Braden Bemis, Tomah, 2:44; Cons. Semifinal – Pinned Caylee Fry, Reedsburg Area, 4:20; Fifth-place match – dec. Bryce Buchanan, Onalaska/Luther, 5-2; Fourth-place match – Lost by pin to Connor Goorsky, Baraboo, 3:51.   132: Luis Elizondo (24-13) placed third and scored 14 team points. Quarterfinal – Pinned Dakota Gruen, La Crosse Logan/Central, 2:41; Semifinal – lost by dec. to Vince Polhamus, Sparta, 9-2; Third-place match – dec. Caden Griffin, Tomah, 12-5; Second-place match – Polhamus, Sparta, won by rule over Elizondo.   138: Carson Saladis (24-13) placed fifth and scored 9 team points. Quarterfinal – Lost by pin to Tyler Jahn, Holmen, 1:00; Cons. Semifinal = Received a bye; Fifth-place match – Pinned Carson Kelsey, Sparta, 3:38; Fourth-place match – Lost by pin to Nate Boulton, Tomah, 3:58.   152: Sam Vils (21-20) placed fifth and scored 9 team points. -- Quarterfinal – lost by pin to Brody Deal, La Crosse Logan/Central, 1:20; Cons. Semifinal -- Received a bye; Fifth-place match – Pinned Tommy Strehlow, Reedsburg Area, 5:20; Fourth-place match – lost by rule to Deal, La Crosse Logan/Central.   182: Marcus Hankins (40-5) placed second and scored 22 team points. Quarterfinal – Pinned Donovan Olson, Onalaska/Luther, 1:02; Semifinal – Won by forfeit over Jairon Pierce, Tomah; First-place match – lost by pin to John Gunderson, Baraboo, 5:07; Second-place match – Pinned Carson Westcott, Holmen, 0:55.   195: Nolan Vils (11-2) placed second and scored 18 team points. Quarterfinal – Pinned Hayden Brueggeman, Sparta, 3:12; Semifinal – dec. Ben Florencio, Baraboo, 10-6; First-place match – lost by pin to Drake Schams, Holmen, 0:47; Second-place match -- Vils won by rule over Florencio, Baraboo.   220: Simon Patterson (29-7) placed second and scored 22 team points. Quarterfinal -- Received a bye; Semifinal – Pinned Adam Quam, Holmen, 3:14; First-place match – lost by dec. to Madden Connelly, Sparta, 2-1; Second-place match – Won by medical forfeit over Tyson Fry, Baraboo.   285: Austin Rider (40-4) placed first and scored 26 team points. Quarterfinal -- Received a bye; Semifinal – Pinned Damion Tracy, Onalaska/Luther, 0:49; First-place match – Pinned Hayden Larson, Tomah, 1:57.