Injury to Brouillette puts damper on otherwise solid mat effort in Sheboygan Falls
Last Saturday’s Sheboygan Falls Duals left the Ozaukee wrestling team with a mixed bag of results.
Although the Warriors finished a strong second behind champion Sheboygan Falls in the six-team tournament, they also lost three-time state qualifier Ethan Brouillette to a shoulder injury.
Brouillette, a 152-pound senior, broke his collarbone in a match and will be out for an undetermined amount of time. Ozaukee coach Luke Gundrum said he hopes Brouilllette can return before the end of the season.
“That was a rough day,” Gundrum said.
Brouillette got hurt in Ozaukee’s only competitive dual meet of the day, a 35-31 loss to Sheboygan Falls.
In other meets, Ozaukee defeated Nicolet (60-15), South Milwaukee (61-18), Rio (77-0) and Berlin (54-21).
The Warriors were aided by a large number of forfeits throughout the day.
At 106 pounds, Ozaukee freshman Chase Kraus went 5-0 and never wrestled a match.
On Dec. 6, the Warriors defeated host Milwaukee Riverside, 45-18, in a nonconference meet that Gundrum said was closer than the score indicated.
“They’ve got some good kids that are very athletic and tough,” he said. “Even some kids who won big or got a pin, they weren’t easy matches.”
Scoring pins for Ozaukee were Kraus (106 pounds), Cole Large (126), Logan Smith (145) and Kevin Beckmann (170).
The Warriors have five wrestlers who have state-meet experience and will be strong again in lower weights but are likely to struggle in upper weights.
“It’s all about filling the weight classes, and that’s going to be our issue. We’re hurting on the top end again,” Gundrum said.
Ozaukee opened the season with a fifth-place finish at the 16-team Watertown Earlybird Scramble on Dec. 1.
Beckmann, a junior, took top honors at 160 pounds, going 5-0 with a pin in the title match.
Brouillette finished second at 152 with a 4-1 record, his only loss a 4-2 decision.
Smith, a senior, is coming off of a third-place state finish at 126 pounds and is slated for 145 pounds but could move to 138. In Watertown, he finished third at 145 with a 3-2 match record.
Large, a junior, placed fifth at state at 106 last year and will wrestle at 120 or 126 this season. In Watertown, he tied for second place at 126.
Ozaukee has several other proven wrestlers. Two-time state qualifier Ian Hughes, a senior, is back at 152 after an injury sidelined much of last season.
Taz Gottsacker is back for his junior season after qualifying for state as a freshman. He will likely wrestle at 132.
At 106, Kraus and Daniel Watry will vie for mat time. Watry is the younger brother of former Ozaukee standouts Scott and Brady Watry.
At 113, junior Colton Kraus, Chase’s older brother, is back after finishing third at regionals last season. He took third at Watertown.
Freshman Colin Hughes, Ian’s brother, will help bolster the 120-pound spot. “He’s a tough kid,” Gundrum said.
Sophomore Sam Schuette will wrestle at 170. The Warriors may have trouble filling the 182 spot.
At 195, freshman Grant Klas will learn on the fly. He won his final match by pin at Watertown after trailing by nearly 10 points.
Senior Tyler Klippel will wrestle at 220. The Warriors are open at heavyweight.
Gundrum said he expects Random Lake and Oostburg to again be the top teams in the Central Lakeshore Conference, but the Warriors could make some noise.
“I think we can be competitive,” he said.
This Saturday, Ozaukee will participate in the Green Bay Preble Scramble, a 24-team tournament, at 9 a.m.
THE SUCCESS OF this season’s Ozaukee High School wrestling team will depend largely on the performances of varsity veterans such as (front row, from left) Colton Kraus, Logan Smith, Cole Large, Taz Gottsacker, Ethan Brouillette, (back row) Ian Hughes, Tyler Klippel, Sam Schuette and Kevin Beckmann. Photo by Sam Arendt
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