LA CROSSE — They were victories that changed momentum — one immediately and the other midway through the dual.
Aquinas High School freshmen Peter White and Jacob Penzkover were going to be involved in key matches as the Blugolds battled Weyauwega-Fremont on Saturday morning, but there may not have been many people banking on both to win against top-seeded Weyauwega-Fremont.
But White pushed his 106-pound match against a state qualifier to overtime before beating him, and Penzkover overwhelmed a third-place individual state qualifier to the tune of a major decision at 150 as fifth-seeded Aquinas beat the Warhawks 36-33 in a Division 3 semifinal dual at the WIAA team state tournament.
White (25-12) gave the Blugolds a spark in the first match of the dual with his overtime takedown of Zander Baehnman (43-13), and they kept that spark all the way through senior Tyson Martin’s technical fall over Jared Bohringer (36-14) at 285 that sealed the team victory.
Aquinas (14-3) will wrestle second-seeded Cedar Grove-Belgium (15-1) in a 3 p.m. championship match today at the La Crosse Center.
“We knew (Weyauwega-Fremont) was cutting weight to get kids where they were, and there couldn’t have been a better place to start for us than 106,” Aquinas coach Deke Stanek said. “We told Peter he needed to take it to the third (period) and to expect (Baehnman) to be struggling in the third.
“He wrestled exactly the way he needed to, got that win in overtime, and that fired us up.”
But Penzkover’s 9-1 win over junior Carter Birdyshaw (43-6) really impacted a match that Aquinas led 21-18 when it began.
Penzkover (35-11) led 6-1 before getting a final takedown in the closing seconds to get his team the major and extra dual point.
Aquinas teammate Roger Flege (33-5) beat Birdyshaw on his way to a runner-up individual state finish last week, and Weyauwega-Fremont opted to avoid a rematch.
“I knew that if I kept attacking and kept my pace high, I could wear him out and beat him in the end,” Penzkover said. “I was happy with the way I kept going and pushed him.”
The Warhawks led 18-3 after the first four matches before sophomore Martez Sheard (36-2) tapped back into White’s success with a pin at 132. Sophomore Tyler Paulson (35-8) followed with a pin over Jake Buss (40-7) in a battle between state qualifiers form last week.
Junior Grady Nicklay (19-18) also picked up a victory for Aquinas at 157 before the Warhawks won four straight and took a 33-31 lead going to the final match at 285.
Martin had pinned Jared Bohringer earlier this season and beat him by technical fall in just 2:37 this time to make the Blugolds semifinal winners.
“Before the match,” Aquinas coach Deke Stanek said, “I walked up to him, put my arm around him and said, ‘I’m glad I know you.'”
Isaac Miller losing by decision at 215 and not getting pinned or teched took pressure of the should off Martin, who won an individual state title last week. Martin dominated the match to give the Blugolds their chance at a first team state wrestling championship this afternoon.
