Rocket wrestlers take second in tourney

Mother Nature turned a 16-bracket Rebel Invitational into a scramble in Wabeno on Saturday, and the Cedar Grove-Belgium High School wrestling team felt the difference in unique scoring.

The Rockets tallied 147 points and finished second of six teams. Big East Conference foe Reedsville won with 172 points.

A snowstorm limited attendance, triggering the tournament’s format change.

Four Rockets won their brackets but point totals differed. Jesse Burg won one match by a 15-2 major decision and won the next by forfeit to win the 113-pound bracket, but he only received eight points.

Mason Hoopman was third at 138 pounds and scored 24 points because his bracket had more wrestlers.

Defending state champ Cael Erickson pinned five foes at 145 pounds and earned 26 points.

Diego Morales, a returning state qualifier, won his 285-pound bracket and scored 24 points.

The Rockets’ full lineup, coach Trevor Peterson said, didn’t help them in scoring.

Besides Hoopman, four other Rockets placed third: Deven Soerens, 220; Joe Schoeder, 182; Winston Reichle, 152; and Jack Skorik, 120.

“We got some good matches against some decent competition,” Peterson said.

The Rockets host Oostburg on Thursday, wrestle at Beaver Dam on Saturday and at Weyauwega-Fremont on Tuesday, Dec. 21.

Grafton picks up experience on the mat

Grafton scored 212 points and finished 17th of 20 teams at the Bob Downing Scramble in Sun Prairie on Saturday. Fennimore won with 715 points.

Nathan Krause was fourth at 220 pounds, pinning three of four opponents.

Ben Birch at 182 pounds finished sixth, going 2-2.

“At Sun Prairie, we saw quite a bit of success, especially those guys trying to get their first wins of the year,” coach Andrew Wagner said.

Last Thursday, the Black Hawks went 1-2 at a quadrangular dual in Cedarburg. They lost to West Bend West, 48-24; and Slinger, 68-12. They beat Cedarburg, 48-24.

The battle against West was special for Grafton’s new coach, who wrestled at West and coached the Spartans for a couple of seasons.

“It was a pretty emotional moment,” he said. “We just didn’t line up with them too well.”

The Cedarburg dual only saw six matches wrestled. The rest were forfeits. Grafton’s Lukas Blawat and James Volkmann got their first wins of the season.

The Hawks are prepping for the Kimberly Invite on Dec. 16 and 17.

A few wrestlers stand out for Ozaukee

Ozaukee lost its duals to Germantown, Hamilton, Wisconsin Lutheran and host Hartford on Dec. 11.

But Tayten Planter pinned three foes and beat another, 7-5. Mya Delleree went 3-1 with three pins. Tala Dybul, Skyler Mills and Jonny Melendez each had a pin, and Blake Cocanower went 2-2 with a pin.

Ozaukee was to wrestle Wednesday in Port, Saturday in Green Bay and Tuesday, Dec. 21, at Lomira.