Peacy procures place at state

Port Washington High School senior Jacob Peacy had big expectations cut short by a shoulder injury last wrestling season, and he desperately missed his favorite sport.

That provided all the more motivation he needed to return to state this year after getting a taste as a sophomore.

At the Oshkosh North Division 1 sectional on Saturday, he needed barely three minutes to earn the title at 220 pounds and punch his ticket to Madison.

“I expected to win it. I’m happy that it took me three minutes to get through everyone,” Peacy said.

He was a little nervous coming in — he  woke up at 2:30 a.m. for the 6:30 a.m. bus — but his dominance calmed him throughout the day.

Peacy (39-9) pinned Samuel Brunke (16-17) of Fond du Lac in 55 seconds and Jeremiah Chmielewski (26-15) of Oshkosh North in 1 minute, 40 seconds in the semifinal. Coach Angelo LaRosa said he was a little concerned with that match. Peacy gave up an early takedown, “and then Jacob kind of squashed him,” he said.

In the final, Peacy pinned Ben Buehring (19-9) of Oshkosh West in 27 ticks.

“He just blew through everybody,” LaRosa said. “He has pinned everyone in the last three weeks.”

Peacy didn’t enjoy his prosperity for long. His mind was already moving ahead while he was on top of the podium holding his medal and the bracket board of everyone he beat.

“Let’s celebrate the moment while it lasts. Let’s enjoy this bus ride home and let’s get back to work the next day,” Peacy said.

He is eager to help Port return to its wrestling glory days and become its first state champ since Noah Rosado in 2014.

“I want to bring Port back to that dominant time,” he said.

He has worked for the moment, wrestling as a Jaguar at Thomas Jefferson Middle School, and he really blossomed soon after joining Askren Wrestling Academy a couple of years later and competing in the sport year-round.

Using his state experience two years ago, Peacy said, will help him control his emotions at the Kohl Center, and because he is familiar with the logistics he can focus better. He plans to bring teammates — he calls them “Peacy’s posse” — to cheer him on and give them a look at the state tournament in hopes they can compete there someday.

Despite being one of eight sectional champs, Peacy was ranked 12th in the 16-man bracket. This is the first time the state tournament has been seeded, and many coaches have expressed reservations about how the system worked.

The low seed only motivates Peacy. He won the Bi-State Classic as an 11 seed.

“I’m just happy I get to prove them wrong over and over again,” he said.

Peacy and LaRosa wish more Pirates were coming to state. The top two finishers in Division 1 sectionals advance. Five Pirates finished third.

“That’s tough,” LaRosa said. “I really felt for those guys.”

Brandon Grabowski (30-15) at 145 pounds went 2-1, but his loss was a 7-5 decision to Eli Rabideau (32-16) of Germantown, an opponent he pinned in 32 seconds the week before at the regional meet.

Grabowski’s wins included a 40-second pin over Archie Hughes (15-23) of West Bend West and a 9-8 decision over Aaron Cummings (31-10) of Hartford.

Kaiden Schumacher (34-13) at 126 pounds won a 13-1 major decision over Elijah Geffers (16-8) of Oshkosh West, was pinned by Quintin Wolbert (44-2) of Oconomowoc and won a 5-3 decision over Liam Pionkowski (33-12) of West Bend East.

Brady Krueger at 138 pounds won a 6-0 decision over Logan Schmitz (16-19) of Fond du Lac, was pinned by Talan Schutte (42-2) of Germantown in 3:43, pinned Carter Henschel (27-20) of West Bend East in 3:32 and lost a 17-10 decision to Nate Druckrey (34-11) of Arrowhead in the second-place match.

J.D. Brahm (31-15) at 182 pounds pinned Dylan Gliniecki (18-21) of West Bend East in 4:43, was pinned by Sam Behrndt (30-5) of Hamilton in 53 seconds and won a 6-4 decision over Tanner Theisen (28-15) of Arrowhead.

Nick Bensen (26-11) at 195 pounds won a 16-7 major decision over Bryaden Klauer (5-7) of Oshkosh North, lost a 13-0 major decision to Roman Martell (36-7) of Oshkosh West and won a 6-5 decision over Dylan Polczynski  (26-19) of Arrowhead.

Aiden Drotzur (24-16) was fourth at 160 pounds.

Brodie Brecke (16-11) at 113 pounds, Nick Gonzalez (18-20) at 132, Diego Armendariz (8-13) at 170 and Ever Armendariz (25-14) at 285 didn’t place.

Grafton’s five fall short of state

None of Grafton’s five wrestlers advanced from the Division 2 Waupun sectional on Saturday.

The best chance was Nathan Krause (37-13) at 220 pounds, but he got hurt and lost via injury to Zander Totzke (23-14) of New Holstein.

“It was a tough one because the guy he beat in regionals — he pinned him in three minutes — ended up going to state,” coach Andrew Wagner said.

At 182 pounds, Ben Birch (24-22) was pinned by Chase Kurcek (36-12) of Berlin in 3 minutes, 11 seconds.

At 152 pounds, Daniel Fandler (9-7) was pinned by Joey Clemm (34-17) of Winneconne in 3:12.

At 132 pounds, James Volkmann (8-18) was pinned by the No. 2-ranked wrestler in the state, Brody Hart (39-2), in 56 seconds, then by Sam Koth (36-15) of Campbellsport in 2:57.

At 106 pounds, Ethan Timothy was pinned by Hunter Heller of Chilton/Hilbert (27-4) in 12 seconds, then by Chase Sernard (41-9) of Winneconne in 58 seconds.

“For each one of the five guys, it was their first time qualifying for sectionals,” Wagner said.

“The results we wanted were not there. I’m proud of how they wrestled.”

Fandler is the only senior in the group. He returned from an ankle injury midseason, then took more time off when it flared up. He came back just in time to win his regional.

“He kind of pushed through and had an impressive end to his season,” Wagner said.

For the rest, advancing to the sectional and picking up that experience is “something we can build off of,” Wagner said.