Five Black Hawks bring home mat medals

Ryan Gartman may have made Grafton High School history over holiday break.

The freshman who wrestles at 106 pounds placed sixth at the On the Water Wrestling Classic in Oshkosh on Dec. 29 and 30.

“I think he’s the first freshman possibly ever who placed at Oshkosh,” coach Mike Dodge said of the 64-team tournament. “That’s a pretty big accomplishment for him. He’s wrestled solid all year.”

Gartman went 5-3 at the tourney. He won by technical falls, 15-0 in 3 minutes, 27 seconds, 16-1 in 1:00 and 15-0 in 4:27, won a 10-2 major decision and 6-2 decision.

He was pinned in 5:47, lost a 6-2 decision and in the fifth-place match lost a 3-2 decision to Eldon Roth, a junior from Stevens Point.

“He had an awesome tournament and he just continues to do what he has all season. He goes after people and wins matches,” Dodge said.

“He lost a couple of tight matches he could come out on top of if they wrestle again.”

Senior Tom Schumacher at 165 pounds came into the tournament battling illness and injury but managed to finish as the Black Hawks’ other place winner. He went 4-3 and finished 11th.

Schumacher won by pin in 4:00, a 15-0 technical fall in 4:51 and a 12-9 decision. He lost by pin in 3:04 and 2:56, and by a 19-3 technical fall in 3:39.

In the 11th-place match, Schumacher beat Leo Pluido of Chippewa Falls by medical forfeit.

“For him to come out of there and place at that tournament says a lot about him and the time he puts in,” Dodge said.

Six of the other eight Black Hawks at the tourney were either sophomores or freshmen.

“The rest of the young team fought hard, and we had some guys win some matches and who were close to winning some other matches,” Dodge said.

The experience gives the place-winning duo and other wrestlers vital information.

“This is the measuring stick for them to say, ‘Hey, we did some good things up to this point in the season and now we’ve got some things to work on.’ Both will come into the room and work hard,” Dodge said.

“It also gives our young squad, freshman and sophomores, the idea that ‘I’ve seen this tournament now, I won a match or was close.’ Next year we’ll come in here and win some matches.”

Grafton scored 40 points and tied Brookfield Central for 48th. Hortonville won with 223 points, followed by Coleman’s 206.

Girls batting .750 in medals at Bi-State

Grafton’s four-girl wrestling squad brought home three medals at the Bi-State Classic in La Crosse on Dec. 29 and 30.

Senior Audrey Hanson went 5-1 and finished third at 138 pounds.

She won by pins in 1:51 and 3:31, an 18-1 technical fall in 4:31 and a 6-1 decision. She lost by pin in 3:31.

In the third-place match, Hanson (23-2) pinned Madelynn Lee (18-4) of Wausau West in 4:23.

That, Dodge said, was one of the biggest stories for the squad at the tournament. Hanson bumped up five places after finishing eighth at the Bi-State Classic last year.

Dodge also praised senior Maddie Hatfield (19-6), who went 5-3 and finished eighth at 132 pounds. She won by pins in 1:52, 2:36 and 2:44, won a 14-4 major decision and an 8-3 decision. She lost by pins in 2:36 and 47 seconds. 

In the seventh-place match, Kaytlynn Lambries (16-5) of Holman pinned Hatfield in 57 seconds.

At 126 pounds, senior Ellie Federl went 3-3 and placed 11th. She won by a 22-2 technical fall in 4:27 and a 4-0 decision. She lost by pins in 4:40 and 2:35, and in a 14-0 major decision.

In the 11th-place match, Federl won a 15-0 technical fall in 4:05 over Ihlee Schniepp-Duffy of West Salem Bangor.

“She had a solid tournament and wrestled some tough girls,” Dodge said.

Senior Amelia McQuinn at 145 pounds went 3-2 and got 16th, nearly cracking the top 12 medal winners in her second year of wrestling.

Grafton scored 84.5 points and tied for 20th with Brillion in the 73-team meet. Bay Port won with 281 points, followed by Chatfield, Minn., with 225.

Both the boys’ and girls’ teams performed well at challenging tournaments, Dodge said.

“When you sit back and look at this —  five medal winners for Grafton wrestling right there,” he said, adding the boys didn’t win any at the On the Water Classic last season.

Both teams also got to bond during the overnight trips.

“Packing everybody into minivans, driving up there and listening to the chatter, that’s all part of it,” Dodge said. “That’s another reason you do these tournaments.”

The boys and girls were to wrestle at Nicolet on Wednesday, Jan. 7. The boys compete in a tournament at Valders on Saturday, Jan. 10.