MADISON — A small but vibrant celebration on the Kohl Center floor was followed by Gunnar Johnson’s exit from the arena and walk toward the locker rooms to recover from the match he’d just wrestled.
But recovery would have to wait as Johnson walked parallel to the workout mats provided because G-E-T/Melrose-Mindoro teammate Colton Koss was waiting to sprint at Johnson and hug him for a job well done.
Masterfully done, to be more exact.
Johnson didn’t figure many people gave him a chance to beat second-ranked Spencer Madsen (52-2) of Sturgeon Bay/Sevastopol in a Division 2 157-pound semifinal on Friday night, but he did … emphatically.
Johnson (50-7) took Madsen down and put him on his back with less than 50 seconds remaining to secure a 6-5 victory that put him in Saturday night’s championship round of the WIAA individual state tournament.
Koss (45-2) was there to congratulate his friend and bask in the glory of both of them getting the chance to wrestle for state championships.
Koss beat Whitewater’s Jarvis Procaro (40-7) in a 120-pound semifinal near the beginning of Friday night’s session.
As Johnson did interviews, a group of Titans — coaches included — giggled with excitement at the accomplishment.
Johnson spoke with confidence after his performance and talked about manifesting his fate all season. It endured ups and downs along the way — he spoke of the third-place sectional finish specifically — but became reality when he took Madsen down for the second time — more on that in a minute — after a Madsen escape to open the third period gave him a 4-2 lead.
Johnson appeared to take Madsen down for a 5-4 lead with 1:16 left on the clock, but the referee first awarded the three points, then took them away.
“I think that just pissed him off,” G-E-T/Melrose-Mindoro coach Pete Peterson said with a smile.
“It gave me more motivation to go and get another one,” Johnson said. “I just kept pushing the pace. I figured he might be slackin’ a little because he was bailed (out).
“I knew I’d get another one.”
The next throw came at another edge of the mat was good, and Johnson put Madsen on his back for good measure. Madsen did escape before the end of the match, but Johnson finished off the victory.
Koss earned his victory by twice answering the successful attack of Porcaro, and that isn’t something he has to do often.
Porcaro, who is ranked seventh by Wisconsin Grappler, got the first takedown of their match, but Koss responded. Facing a four-point deficit, Porcaro started the second period with a reverse to cut the Koss lead to two, but he was soon on his back and facing a much bigger point differential.
By the time the final whistle was blown, Koss was standing with his hand raised, a 16-6 victory in his pocket and a spot in Saturday night’s championship bout.
“It wasn’t really what I expected, but ya gotta fight back from it,” Koss said of giving up the first three points. “You can’t just give up when a kid gets a takedown.”
Koss (45-2), ranked third, now faces top-ranked senior Lane Anderson (38-1) of Amery in the finals. The two met once before this season, and Anderson emerged with a 1-0 championship victory at the Raider Challenge on Jan. 25 in Arcadia.
“It’s one of his losses on the year, so he is excited for the opportunity,” Peterson said. “He had a lot of chances to score, and a lot of stalemates came out of it. He actually rode us in that match, and nobody rides Colton, so it gave us some stuff to work on.”
Anderson placed third at 120 two years ago, and Koss was third last year.
Johnson meets top-ranked Evansville senior Danny Heiser (51-0), who is a three-time state champion, in his championship match.
While the lost takedown provided extra motivation for Johnson on Friday, it’s his third-place sectional finish that drives him more.
Heiser beat him by technical fall that day — the match lasted 1:25 — but a loss to Prairie du Chien’s Bryce Lenzendorf dropped him to third place.
“He was made at himself, but he took ownership,” Peterson said. “Gunnar never looks to put blame on anything or anyone else. All four years I’ve had him as a high school kid, that blame goes to him, and he tries to get better. It’s amazing.”
While the sectional performance provided motivation, it never shook Johnson’s confidence.
“I’ve been manifesting this all year,” Johnson said. “We’ve been pushing ourselves in practice for this, and here we are.”
