Cheeseheads let their lights shine in the Sunshine State

They brought the most fans even though  the tournament was 1,300 miles from home and requested the hotel open its pool despite staff claiming it was too cold outside.

The Cedar Grove-Belgium wrestling team made some noise on the mat at the Ricky Gullet Invite in Bradenton, Fla., last weekend, too.

The Rockets scored 267 points and finished third of 27 teams

Seth Race at 177 pounds provided the biggest highlight. He won his bracket, earning 18-3 and 16-1 technical falls, a 14-1 major decision and a pin in 2 minutes, 44 seconds in the finals.

“He dominated the whole bracket,” coach Quinn Hoopman said. “He’s constantly working.”

Carsen Voskuil got second place at 138 pounds and eclipsed 150 victories. He is at 153 and moving up the Rockets’ all-time wins list. Voskuil pinned three foes before losing a back-and-forth finals match, 8-7.

Chase Heimerman got third at 113 pounds and Josh Anzia was third at 215 pounds. Ben Duwell was fourth at 126 and Seth Kessen was fourth at 132 pounds.

Hoopman loved the effort of his team, even some of the junior varsity wrestlers.

“A couple of times we were down eight points going into the third period. Our guys just kept wrestling. I don’t know what it was, but we would just get moving in the third period,” he said.

They had loud support.

“It is really neat to take a trip down to Florida and you look in the stands and you have the largest number of fans. We  took up a quarter of the bleachers,” Hoopman said.

“It’s just really neat to see people care. It felt like we were wrestling at home, but we were in Florida.”

The Rockets also had fun off the mat, going to a beach and Universal Studios, as well as playing in the hotel pool despite the temperature being around 60 degrees.

“Pools are kept at 82 degrees. They were looking at us like we were crazy,” Hoopman said.

The team also squeezed in a practice at a nearby high school.

“I don’t let them get too far without having them work a little bit,” Hoopman said.

Team bonding was a secondary reason for the trip.

“Competing is fun, that gives you the reason to go,” Hoopman said. “It’s just a unique opportunity and I’m glad that we were able to do it.”

The Rockets’ wrestling club covered most of the cost of the trip. Players volunteer at youth tournaments and other club events to give back.

Hoopman, who remembers taking trips as a member of the Concordia University Wisconsin of Mequon wrestling team, said he is thankful for everyone’s effort in making the trip possible and would like to do something similar in the future.

The Rockets host a double dual at 5:30 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 22, before competing in a Wisconsin Dells invitational on Saturday, Jan. 31.