Veteran coach tops former pupil

It wasn’t just another North Shore Conference wrestling match for Port Washington High School coach Angelo LaRosa when his Pirates went to Cedarburg last Thursday.

This was the first time LaRosa faced one of his former wrestlers as a head coach.

Josh Meins, a 2013 Port High grad who went undefeated in the NSC in all four years of high school and racked up 121 career victories, now coaches the Bulldogs. He is the youngest of four brothers that LaRosa coached.

“We were talking before and after (the meet). It was neat, kind of special,” LaRosa said.

“You still want to win.”

That Port did, 49-22. The Pirates went 5-2 on forfeits and 4-3 in matches wrestled.

At 126 pounds, freshman Kaiden Schumacher nearly beat junior Bryce Jankowski, who placed fourth at state last season.

“Kaiden was winning the whole match until the last 20 seconds or so. He got reversed to his back,” LaRosa said.

“We were really happy with his effort. He wanted a rematch tomorrow.”

Schumacher may get his wish, depending on how the seeds line up in the North Shore Conference tournament on Feb. 7.

At 106, Nick Gonzalez won a 9-2 decision over Oliver Grudzinski.

“Nick Gonzales had a great match. He’s another younger guy who’s working really hard in the room. He’s really a scrappy kid,” LaRosa said.

“He’s going to have a really good second half, I think. He’s really tall for his weight class.”

Pirate J.D. Brahm lost, 13-11, to Benjamin Erickson at 170 pounds, which was an improvement after losing, 14-7, at the Fond du Lac Invite on Dec. 21. LaRosa said Brahm is really a 160-pounder and gives up 10 pounds in the higher weight class.

“He’s making gains. He’s only a sophomore but he has a really bright future ahead of him. I think he’s going to be really good, one of our stronger wrestlers in the next couple of years,” he said.

Pirate Cody Pierron pinned Adrian Anderson at 160 pounds, and Brandon Grabwoski won a 17-3 major decision over Aaron Pokel at 145. Shem Castillo pinned Riley Gleba at 220 pounds.

The Pirates, LaRosa said, have been practicing hard and will begin to taper off late this month.

“A lot of guys are kind of sore and banged up,” he said.

The Pirates wrestle at Whitefish Bay on Thursday and at a Homestead invite on Saturday.

Grafton brings small lineup to Slinger

Grafton’s match at defending NSC champ Slinger last Thursday came during exam week, and coach Mike Dodge told his wrestlers it was OK if they needed to stay home and study.

The Hawks tried to move the meet to a different day when they realized it was during exams but couldn’t find another date with Slinger.

Four Black Hawk wrestlers made the trip and all lost. With the 10 forfeits, the final was 80-0.

“Academics is going to come first,” Dodge said.

The Owls won two matches by pin and one by technical fall.

At 152 pounds, Hawk Cameron Jacobs lost a 5-4 decision to Tyler Strupp.

“Cameron did a great job. He was battling hard. He got out of position and gave up a takedown late. He just couldn’t get away to score the point to tie it up,” Dodge said.

“He has been wrestling tough all season. He works hard, and we’ve been working on things to improve on and refine.”

The Hawks wrestle at Hartford on Thursday and at a Homestead invite on Saturday.

CG-Belgium wrestlers roll over league foe

Cedar Grove-Belgium last Thursday won, 56-17, at Elkhart Lake-Glenbeulah.

Jesse Burg, Winston Reichle, Dylan Teunissen and Aaron Duenk pinned their opponents. Jonah Morales won a 17-2 technical fall and Mason Hoopman won a 6-2 decision.

The Rockets won four forfeits.

They host Mishicot on Tuesday, Jan. 28.