EAU CLAIRE — The Holmen High School boys wrestling team placed second and West Salem/Bangor’s fifth during the 25-team Husky Invitational hosted by Eau Claire North on Saturday.
The Vikings scored 410 points and were beaten only by five-time defending WIAA Division 1 team state champion Kaukauna’s 533.5. The Catbirds finished with 329.5.
Holmen was led by a group of three bracket champions.
Freshman Brendan Henderson (9-0, 113 pounds), sophomore Rex Lancaster (7-2, 120) and sophomore Nathan Henderson (9-0, 138) all brought home titles, and junior Brock Needham (8-1, 132) placed second after a major decision put him in the finals.
Brendan Henderson, ranked second at 113 in Division 1 by Wisconsin Grappler, encountered little trouble in winning his bracket. He took care of state-ranked Trenton Van Schyndel (11-1) by an 8-2 score in the semifinals and pinned his way to the title win.
Lancaster, who is ranked third at 120, pinned top-ranked Mason Moody (9-1) of Hartland Arrowhead in the semifinal round and decisioned Simley’s Jacob Kranz 10-8 for the championship.
Nathan Henderson, ranked first at 138, recorded had to face two of the top three Division three technical falls and one pin on his way to winning the bracket. His only pin came during the second period of his semifinal match against eighth-ranked Wyatt Sandoval (9-1) of Arrowhead, and he won by technical fall over Neenah’s 13th-ranked Jaxon Ennis (11-1) in the finals.
Needham, ranked third at 132, lost his championship bout by technical to Menomonie’s Aiden Aure (6-0), who is ranked second at 138 and dropped down.
Freshman Brady Needham (6-4, 106), senior Noah Henderson (6-3, 150) and senior AJ Alesch (7-2, 157) all placed fifth for the Vikings.
The Catbirds had five wrestlers finish fourth or better, and four of those lost championship matches.
Senior Teghan Moore, ranked third in Division 2, had to face two of the top three Division 1 wrestlers in his semifinal and championship matches at 126. Moore (10-1) beat third-ranked Andrew DiPiazza (11-1) of Kaukauna 2-1 in the semifinal and lost a 13-7 decision to top-ranked Zahn Beal (10-0) in the finals.
Junior Jarett Plomedahl (6-3) was pinned by Division 1 seventh-ranked Jacksyn Thorpe (12-0) of Kaukauna after winning three matches comfortably to qualify at 150.
Senior Mason Chambers (9-2), ranked seventh in Division 2, was runner-up at 157 and beat Simley’s Aiden Mincey (11-2) 4-2 in the semifinals before Neenah’s Division 1 fourth-ranked Landen Sheppard (11-1) handed him a 9-2 defeat in the championship match.
Senior Caden Anderson (10-1) — ranked eighth in Division 2 — won twice by pin at 190, then blasted Division 1 eighth-ranked Kaden Roth (10-1) of Neenah in the semifinal round. He was pinned by Neenah’s Division 1 second-ranked Brady Sprangers (12-0) in the finals.
Senior Kaiden Stello (8-4) split four matches to place fourth at 285.
Logan/Central Invitational
LA CROSSE — Saint Croix Central claimed the team championship with 279 points as 14 teams competed at the Steve Hole Field House.
Logan/Central placed sixth with 112.5 points, and Onalaska/Luther was seventh with 97.
Logan/Central received championships from junior Calvin Arentz at 175 and sophomore Emerson King at 144 and received a fourth-place finish from freshman Eli DeLap at 113 for a good chunk of its points.
Arentz finished with four pins and King with three pins, a technical fall and a major decision in his championship bout.
The Hilltoppers were led by a championship from senior Maximus Todd at 190 and a fourth-place finish from senior Carter Beeler at 175.
Todd pinned all five of his opponents and just two of those matches last more than 3 minutes.
