The Bi-State holiday wrestling tournament in La Crosse is a large-scale invite that brings in a lot of good teams and a lot of good wrestlers. Just placing, making the top 12, is a major accomplishment. Each weight features 50 of 60 kids. The 2022 Bi-State invite notably saw Caledonia/Houston win its team weight class. Chatfield also brought home a team trophy, taking third in its division. Three area wrestlers made their respective championship matches and nine total guys placed. There was also the girls tournament.
Warriors Win Team D-II, Ginther Finishes as Runner-Up
Highlighting the “Journal 11” wrestling efforts were the Caledonia/Houston Warriors. Shay Mahoney’s group had four placers. Eight total guys won at least three matches. Their collective efforts caused the Warriors to win the 26-team Division II narrowly (189) over Zumbrota-Mazeppa (188) and Prairie du Chien (184), a special feat. Leading the cause were top six placers Tucker Ginther (145), Owen Denstad (138), Ayden Goetzinger (195), and Braxton Lange (120). Ginther had the highest finish. He got a bye, then authored a pair of pins to make the quarters. He then wrestled three straight decision matches. Ginther beat D-III #7 Tyson Imhoff (18-5) of Iowa-Grant/Highland by 11-4 decision in the quarters and Mineral Point’s D-III #1 Tarrin Riley (20-1) by 5-3 decision in the semis. Tucker had two takedowns plus an escape in the latter match while Riley only escaped thrice. It put Ginther in the championship match, where Marshfield’s D-I #2 (at 152) Hoyt Blaskowski won a 4-1 decision to claim 145-pounds. Blaskowski (21-0) stayed undefeated. Ginther, ranked #1 at 145 in Class A, suffered his first loss (12-1). He finished as 145-pound runner-up (of 58). Owen Denstad (138) won his first three matches all by fall. In the quarters, the junior won a 6-5 decision over Marshfield’s D-I #2 Brett Franklin (20-2). In said match, Denstad trailed 3-2 after two periods only to author two third period take-downs. He then fell in the semis to Mineral Point’s D-III #1 Lucas Sullivan (the eventual champ) by 3-1 decision. Sullivan broke a 1-1 tie with a third period takedown. Denstad then won two decisions, 3-2 and 4-1. The latter was in overtime (tiebreaker-1) over Luxembourg-Casco’s D-II #5 Easton Worachek. Said win allowed Denstad (15-2), ranked #3 at 132, to take third place (of 62). Ayden Goetzinger authored two pins and a 12-3 major decision over Hudson’s D-I #6 Ben Draveling to make the quarters. Goetzinger then fell in overtime 5-2 (by ultimate tie-breaker) to Prairie du Chien’s D-II #4 Blake Thiry (18-1). Said match was 1-1 after three periods and 2-2 after three overtimes before Thiry prevailed. Goetzinger rallied, winning three consecutive matches in the consolation bracket. He notched an 8-7 decision over Aquinas’ D-III #6 Tyson Martin (14-3), a 6-3 decision win over Baraboo’s D-I #4 Luke Statz (22-3), and 1-0 decision over Lancaster’s D-III #3 Ryan McCartney (14-5). Goetzinger was down versus Martin (6-3 in the third) and versus Statz (3-0 in the second) while a second period Goetzinger escape was the only point versus McCartney. All that work earned Goetzinger a rematch with Thiry for third place. Thiry was again better though, posting a 3-2 decision win. A third period takedown was the winning move (made it 3-1). Wrestling eight total matches including five decisions, beating four ranked guys, Goetzinger went 6-2 and took fourth place (of 53). The senior (15-3) is ranked #2 at 195. Finally, Braxton Lange (120) used a bye and three straight wins (pin, 5-2 decision, 8-2 decision) to make the semis. His two decision wins were over guys just outside the rankings in Wisconsin. Lange then fell thrice, first by 3-2 decision to Mineral Point’s D-III #1 at 126 Roen Carey (18-2), then by 8-0 major to Cannon Falls’ #5 in AA Gavin Peterson (18-2), and finally by 3-2 decision to Pulaski’s D-I #7 Ethan Eggert (19-3). Lange trailed 3-0 to start his losses to Carey and Eggert. Braxton wrested six matches, going 3-3 in taking sixth place (of 51). Ranked #6 at 120, he is now 13-4. No other Warrior placed, but Aiden Burns (#8 at 106 > 13-2), Cory Scanlan (152 > 12-3), Simon Seymour (160 > 12-3), and Jacob Francis (170) each wrestled to 3-2 records. Twelve of 14 Warriors scored team points. Cal/Hou took fourth at last year’s Bi-State. Denstad (5th at 132), Goetzinger (6th at 195), and Seymour (12th at 120) placed a year ago. Ginther (8th at 126) placed in 2019.
Berg and Schott Finish as Runner-Ups to Lead Gophers
The Chatfield Gophers finished third as a team (162.5) behind La Crosse-Aquinas (250) and Mineral Point (198) in Division III. Eighteen teams competed in said grouping. Matt Mauseth’s group brought home a team trophy for the first time since 2019. Three Gophers placed: Javier Berg (106), Kail Schott (182), and Gage Bartels (126). Berg and Schott made their respective finals, the first Gopher finalists at Bi-State since Cael Bartels (2019). It is the first time ever Chatfield has had two Bi-State finalists. Berg used a bye, a fall, and a 10-0 major decision over Luxembourg-Casco’s D-II #1 Jake Jandrin to make the quarters. He then topped New Richmond’s Eden Henning (13-6) by fall and Eastview’s #4 at 113 in AAA Nolan Enderlein (17-3) by 9-2 decision to make the 106-pound finals. Berg scored points by takedown, reversal, near-fall, and escape versus Enderlein. In the finals, he fell to Hudson’s D-II #2 Liam Neitzel (22-0) by fall in the third period. Neitzel led 9-2 at the time. Berg went 4-1 to take second (of 51). Ranked #2 at 113, the sophomore is 14-1. Kail Schott ripped off five wins to make the 182-pound final. The junior had just one decision in that span, beating Luxembourg-Casco’s D-II #2 Trace Schoenebeck (21-6) 5-1 in the quarters. His other four wins were by fall twice and major twice (15-3, 17-4). The 17-4 win was over Prairie du Chien’s D-II #7 Brogan Brewer (12-4). He had a semifinal pin of La Crosse-Aquinas’ D-III #1 David Malin (14-2). It was his 100th win. In the finals, it took overtime for a verdict to be sealed between Schott and Eastview’s Class AAA #5 Ezra Formanec (19-0). Kail led 3-1 in the third, but suffered a take-down for the 3-3 tie. Formanec procured a take-down in sudden victory (first overtime) to notch a 5-3 decision win, to grab the 182-pound title. Schott (11-1), ranked #2 at 182 in Class A, took second (of 55). Gage Bartels was the third Gopher to place. He used a bye, a fall, and a 4-0 decision to make the quarters. The junior then won a 11-9 decision over Iowa-Grant/Highland’s D-III #3 Hunter Stevens (20-1) to make the semis. Bartels led 7-1 after two periods, but Stevens scored eight of 12 third period points (including three take-downs) to make it interesting. Z-M’s Jack Krier (12-1) then topped Bartels by 2-1 decision in a match devoid a take-down, and Krier led 2-0 heading to the third. Bartels then beat Holmen’s Turner Campbell (15-4) by 10-4 decision. Said bout was 5-4 in the third before a Bartels five-point sequence. In the third-place match, Bartels again faced Stevens, losing by 8-4 decision. Gage (12-3), ranked #4 at 120, took fourth (of 52). He moved up from 11th place finish at Bi-State last year. Z-M’s Krier won 126. No other Gophers placed, but Carson Rowland (145) just missed, going 4-2. Ayden Miner (138 > 3-2), Jack Dornack (152), and Thad Evans (160) also got close, going 3-2. Chatfield finished fifth as a team last year. Berg (4th at 106), Schott (5th at 170), and Bartels (11th at 120) each placed in 2021 too.
LARP Places Two
LARP wrestling had two guys place. Camdyn Anderson (160) was their highest finisher. Out of the blocks, the junior authored a 12-1 major decision and back-to-back overtime decision wins in SV-1. In his overtime matches, he won 6-2 over Wausau West’s Henry Glang courtesy of an extra session takedown and near-fall points, then 5-3 over Caledonia/Houston’s Simon Seymour courtesy of an overtime takedown. In the quarters, Anderson fell to Marshfield’s D-I #4 Garrett Willuweit (20-2) by 14-2 major decision. He rebounded with a 7-6 decision win in the consolation bracket, a third period stalling call the winning points. Anderson then lost by fall to Hastings’ #6 in AAA Aiden Erickson (16-3). Camdyn then won the seventh-place match by 3-1 decision. Going 5-2 for the tourney, Anderson is now 11-4. Sixty guys competed at 160. Owen Lange (113) was the second Screamin’ Eagle to place. Lange won (fall) and lost (19-2 tech fall to Stratford’s D-III #5 Collin Cournoyer) in the championship bracket. In the consolation bracket, he won by fall, then trailed 5-0 only to score six third period points to beat Luxemburg-Casco’s Michael Bostwick 6-5. Lange then fell back-to-back, by 12-1 major to Hutchinson’s #2 in AA Logan Schwanz, and by 9-6 decision. Owen finished with a 12-4 decision win. Going 4-3, Lange (12-4) took 11th place (of 43). Additionally, Christian Zibrowski (106) went 3-2. Both his losses came to ranked guys from Wisconsin. The Screamin’ Eagles finished 15th in the 26-team Division II. LARP did not place anyone last year.
Chatfield, GMLOS, and LARP Girls Compete in Showcase
The Bi-State tourney also had a girls “Showcase Scramble,” and athletes from GMLOS, Chatfield, and LARP competed. There weren’t weight winners or brackets specifically. The Bulldogs had ten girls compete. McKenna Hendrickson won her three matches. She prevailed by fall, 5-4 decision, and 7-5 decision. Mackenzie Armagost, Emma Hemman, Keyawin Stier, Paisley Schlee, and Delaney Alden all went 2-1. Armagost won by fall and 4-3 decision while losing by 9-0 major. Hemann won by fall and 8-1 decision while losing by fall. Stier and Schlee each won by fall twice while losing by fall. Alden won by fall twice while losing by 7-5 decision in SV-1. Six Gophers girls competed. Chatfield’s Eve Goetzinger went 3-0. She had two pin-fall wins and an 11-3 major decision. Chloe Berg went 2-1. All her matches were decided by fall. LARP had two girls compete. Taylor Oevering-Rothering went 2-1. She won by fall and medical forfeit while losing by fall. There are girls rankings. GMLOS’ Diann Smith is #1 at 138.
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