Shorthanded wrestling team battles way to 4th place in high-profile tournament
For a wrestling team with a long sick list, the Port Washington Pirates did pretty well in a high-profile tournament last Saturday.
Despite having a shorthanded lineup, coach Angelo LaRosa’s squad placed fourth out of 25 teams at the annual Marty Loy Classic in Fond du Lac.
“Half of our team got sick. We had kids out with the flu, bronchitis or strep throat,” LaRosa said.
“We planned to have 31 or 32 guys up there for the varsity and junior-varsity, but on Friday I had to scratch 12 of them.”
The Pirates scored 143 points, trailing only Wausau West (284.5), Hudson (191) and Lake Geneva Badger (155).
Although Port failed to win an individual title, it had six top-five finishes.
Leading the way were second-place performances by brothers Noah Rosado (120 pounds) and Eli Rosado (138), who each went 3-1.
After scoring a pin in the first round, junior Noah Rosado won twice by decision before being pinned by Lodi’s John Joutras in the title match. The wrestlers were tied at 11-11 when Joutras scored a fall in 5 minutes, 26 seconds.
Senior Eli Rosado followed a first-round win by major decision with two pins before losing, 11-1, to Wausau West’s Joe Umlauf in the final. It was Rosado’s first loss of the season in 12 matches.
“They both wrestled well. They had tough opponents in their final matches,” LaRosa said of the Rosados.
The Pirates’ other place finishes included a third by Manny Rosado (3-1 at 106 pounds), fourths by Nate Schnell (2-2 at 145) and Josh Meins (2-2 at 170), a fifth by Quentin Lueck (5-1 at 160) and eighths by Tyler Brown (3-3 at 182) and Andy Fidler (2-3 at 285).
Manny Rosado, a freshman, won his first two matches before losing by decision in the semifinals. He defeated Badger’s Michael Peter, 5-3, in the fifth-place final.
“It was an up-and-down day for us with a lot of tough matches,” LaRosa said. “We had a rough time in the finals (going 3-7).”
Among the Pirates who missed the tournament were Zach Smith (120), Brandon Fleischmann (160), Cullen Bauer-Trottier (182), Aidan Wojciehowski (220) and Brandon Willms (220).
Port Washington 66, Nicolet 6
The host Pirates won 12 matches in a one-sided North Shore Conference dual meet Dec. 12.
Besides receiving six forfeits, Port got pins from Fidler (285), Noah Rosado (120), Meins (170) and Tyler Brown (182).
Winning by decision were Wojciehowski (220) and Manny Rosado (113).
Nicolet’s points came on a forfeit at 195.
This week, the Pirates were scheduled to face Whitefish Bay in a conference meet Tuesday.
Port’s next outing will be The Clash, a national duals tournament Dec. 28 and 29 at Rochester Community College in Minnesota.
Homestead 48, Grafton 32
Forfeits helped keep the host Black Hawks on the losing end of a North Shore Conference meet Dec. 13.
Although Grafton received 12 points on Homestead forfeits, it gave up 24 points by not filling four weight classes.
The Hawks got a pin at 182 pounds from Justin Rapp, who defeated Nick Pierret in 5:18.
“Pierret beat him three times last season, including a wrestleback to get to state,” Grafton coach Mike Dodge said.
“Justin has done a lot of off-season wrestling, and it paid off in this match.”
Grafton’s other wins included major decisions by Arturo Duran (106) and Billy Depies (152) and an injury-default victory by Sam Hoffman (160).
Duran defeated Doug Lennon, 19-11, and Depies defeated Zach Lennon, 13-2.
Receiving forfeits for the Hawks were Gary Ross (132) and Alex Marshall (220).
The Hawks forfeited matches at 113, 126, 170 and 195, but Dodge said he’s hopeful those weight classes will be filled after the holiday break.
Grafton’s next meet will be the Evansville Invitational on Dec. 28.
Image Information: TYLER BROWN scored one of four pins for the Port Washington wrestling team in its 66-6 win over Nicolet last week. Photo by Sam Arendt
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