Grafton is young on the mat but still has experience

By 
MITCH MAERSCH
Ozaukee Press Staff

Longtime coach Mike Dodge is back at the high school helm to help redevelop Grafton’s wrestling program.

Dodge has been with the program since 2000 and was head coach for about 20 seasons before taking a three-year break to lead the middle school and club programs.

“We have a lot of young guys, some who came up through our club, so that’s good,” Dodge said.

“We have freshmen and solid athletic kids who are out for the first year and they’ve been practicing hard. With that youth comes inexperience and we’re going to learn some things.”

Now he’s back, and Dodge and his coaching staff already know most of the team’s 27 wrestlers.

“When you look at it that way, we’ve got a lot of experience in the room,” Dodge said.

“We pulled some physical and athletic kids brand new to the sport, but if I look at what those freshmen and sophomores are doing after just a couple of weeks, it’s pretty neat.”

The Black Hawks hope to fill 12 of the 14 weight classes and learn on the fly.

“You’re going to hear me say the word development a lot with this group,” Dodge said.

They also have four junior girls on the team, two who qualified for the state meet two years ago in Audrey Hanson and Ellie Federl. Both have wrestled in the offseason, Dodge said.

The girls will practice with the boys but wrestle in girls’ meets as much as possible, he said.

“As the sport progresses and as the way we want them to develop, we want them to wrestle girls,” Dodge said.

Hanson is projected to wrestle at 126 pounds. Federl is at 132 and Maddie Hatfield at 138. Amelia McQuinn is in her first year of wrestling and Dodge will see where she fits in.

The projected boys’ lineup is:

106 — Freshman Eli Parker who has experience.

113 — Senior Ethan Timothy is back after a two-year break. “He’s got some skill. He’s been putting in some good work in practices,” Dodge said.

120 — Empty.

126 — Senior Jacob Quint is back after a deep run in the sectional meet last season. “He’s pretty solid. I would expect him to do that again. He’s capable,” Dodge said.

132 — Junior Aiden Poore “puts in some solid stuff in practice. He’s got some potential, “Dodge said.

138 — Sophomore Oliver Hofland “comes in and brings a lot of energy and he’s got some skill,” Dodge said.

144 — Empty.

150 — Freshman Bohdan Gartman “has come up through our club, has some experience and works hard,” Dodge said.

157 — Sophomore Jacob Butler “came through our club and is doing some great things in the room. He’s got some potential,” Dodge said.

165 — Junior Tom Schumacher went deep into last year’s sectional. “He has put in a lot of time in the offseason. The superstition in me says don’t talk about that place we want to go,” Dodge said.

“He works really hard in the weight room and in the practice room. Like Ellie and Audrey, he’s kind of a sponge and is asking questions.”

175 — Freshman Caleb Butler, Jacob’s younger brother. “He has some wrestling experience but we’re going to have to see how he deals with the varsity,” Dodge said.

190 — Junior Nathaniel Kahmann got varsity experience last season. “He’s doing some good things in the room. He’s another good leader for us,” Dodge said.

215 — Junior Caleb Ernst “like Tom, has put some time in the (Askren Wrestling Academy) and you can see that,” Dodge said.

285 — Empty.

Dodge said the goal is to win some North Shore Conference duals.

“I think we have kids who are working hard. We’re going to be ready to wrestle and we’re going to bring it,” he said.

Grafton starts at a dual-meet tournament in Stoughton on Saturday, Dec. 7. The Hawks wrestle a double dual at Slinger on Wednesday, Dec. 11.

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