LA CROSSE — The Aquinas High School boys wrestling team already owned a dual victory over Marathon from the regular season, but coach Deke Stanek knew things could unfold differently during a Division 3 quarterfinal at the WIAA team state tournament.
The Blugolds made sure it didn’t during a 45-30 victory over the Red Raiders at the La Crosse Center on Friday.
Aquinas, seeded fifth, won five of the first six matches — four of them by pin — to take quick control before forfeiting the final three matches.
Stanek said he didn’t have to send freshman Peter White out for a 106-pound bout after senior Tyson Martin won at 285 in a 40-second pin but opted for the safe call with a semifinal against second-seeded Weyauwega-Fremont (19-1) scheduled for 10 a.m. Saturday.
“I wanted to be the smart coach,” Stanek said of forfeiting the final three bouts after White’s pin of Alex Oelhafen gave the Blugolds a 45-12 lead. “I would have kicked myself in the rear end if one of my kids broke a finger in a meaningless match.”
Aquinas used an aggressive approach and had success bumping wrestlers up for more calculated matchups.
Sophomore Martez Sheard (36-2) started that trend by moving from 126 — where he won a Division 3 individual championship a week ago — to 132.
He pinned sophomore Dylan Behnke (29-23) in 1 minute, 53 seconds to set the tone.
Roger Flege (33-5), freshman Jacob Penzkover (35-11) and junior Grady Nicklay (19-18) did the same at 144, 150 and 157, respectively, to give the Blugolds a 24-3 advantage.
“I felt a lot more comfortable after 157,” Stanek said. “When Grady Nicklay pinned that young man, I thought that was a toss-up match.”
Senior Waylon Hargrove (36-8) also bumped up from 157 — where he was third at individual state — to 165 and handed senior state qualifier Tate Sonnentag a 7-2 defeat at 165.
Up next is a Weyauwega-Fremont team that sent nine wrestlers to individual state.
Potential matchups in that dual after the Blugolds beat the Warhawks 45-30 on Jan. 16 include Sheard against either Ryan Konen or Jake Buss — state qualifiers at 126 and 132, respectively — Weyauwega-Fremont third-place state finisher against runner-up Roger Flege at 144 and champion Collin Hamm against Hargrove at 157.
