LA CROSSE — The Holmen High School boys wrestling team was nursing a 15-point lead over Bay Port in a WIAA Division 1 state semifinal at the La Crosse Center when it sent junior Colin Griffin to the mat for a 175-pound match.
Vele controlled most of that bout as he tried to keep his Pirates in contention, but a Griffin takedown with 36 seconds left put him in the lead. That left 36 seconds for Griffin (29-17) to ride Vele (32-13) and give his team an 18-point lead with three matches left.
Vele was able to get out of bounds with 11 seconds left to get himself back to the middle of the mat for a tying escape, but just like he did before, Griffin didn’t let it happen.
Second-seeded Holmen’s 37-34 victory over Bay Port hung squarely on Griffin’s late takedown and 5-4 victory at 175.
“Colin’s match was the difference in the dual,” Holmen coach Justin Lancaster said. “I’m super proud of him for stepping up in a big moment. He stayed in position right to the end, and he took attacks, which he needed to do in order to win.”
The second-seeded Vikings (16-0) will now face top-seeded Kaukauna (23-2) for the Division 1 championship at 3 p.m. today. The Ghosts are trying to win their sixth consecutive title and won their semifinal 68-12 over Brown Deer/Messmer.
Holmen lost the first match in a dual that started at 106, but freshman Brendan Henderson (53-2), sophomore Rex Lancaster (48-5) and Brock Needham (51-6) all followed with pins at 113, 120 and 126 to put the Vikings in control for the rest of the dual.
Henderson finished his match in 1:48, Lancaster his in 2:31 and Needham his in 1:16.
Sophomore Nathan Henderson (138) also posted a dominant 16-1 technical fall in 3:07 at 138 to bounce back from a loss he took in the quarterfinal dual against Muskego on Friday.
Seniors Noah Henderson (36-11, 150) and AJ Alesch (47-9, 157) also won matches for Holmen. Henderson won by pin and Alesch by technical fall.
The Vikings have twice finished second in the team state tournament but have never won. They now have the chance to get that win against a very prolific program.
“It’s great for our community to be in the finals with this being the first year the tournament is here (at the La Crosse Center),” Lancaster said. “Kaukauna is really tough, and we’ll do what we can and see how it ends.”
