MADISON — Holmen High School junior Aini Anderson held a one-point lead over Freedom junior Katherine Cook as they entered the third period of their 100-pound championship match in the WIAA individual state tournament on Saturday.
Anderson was the last hope for gold for the Vikings, who enjoyed a big weekend by sending four competitors to the finals at the Kohl Center.
All three of Holmen’s boys finished on the wrong end of their championship bouts, and Anderson was the last one with a chance to change that trend.
But Cook had other ideas. As Anderson ran out of gas in the third period, Cook made her pay before securing a 12-4 victory.
The Kohl Center is where wrestlers run into their best competition of the season, and that’s exactly what happened to Holmen on Saturday night.
It takes nothing away from the overall accomplishment. Holmen had four qualifiers — boys and girls — finish second, another finish third and another finish fourth.
All but one of them are back to compete next season if they so choose, which shows just how bright the future for the Vikings is.
“It’s all learning, right?” Holmen boys coach Justin Lancaster said. “You get these experiences, and I’m glad we had so many of us get to walk out in the parade of champions, got to compete in front of everybody and got to see where they are.
“It shows us what we can do well and what we need to get better at.”
Freshman Brendan Henderson (52-3) was the first one on the mat after the competition started with the 175-pound weight class for boys matches and at 120 for girls matches.
Henderson faced a 6-1 deficit by the end of the first period against Union Grove’s Camden Rugg (53-0).
Rugg was never able to pin or finish Henderson via technical fall and won the match by an 11-4 score.
It was Holmen’s first second-place state finish since Kalyn Jahn’s in 2019.
“He fought all the way through and gave everything he had,” Lancaster said of Henderson. “He was wrestling a great opponent, and sometimes you have to see that to know that there are other levels you can jump to.”
Sophomore Rex Lancaster (48-5) was up next at 120, and he squared off with Hartland Arrowhead sophomore Zahn Beal (43-5).
After a scoreless first period, Beal continued to use his quickness to avoid Lancaster’s shots and turned up the offense to the tune of a 19-1 technical fall.
“He is really powerful and explosive you have to be really careful,” Justin Lancaster said of Beal. “Giving up the takedown and near fall at the end of the second was a difference-maker. Once you get behind, it’s hard to get back against him.”
Junior Brock Needham (51-6) fell behind early to top-seeded Maximus Hay (32-0) of Brown Deer and couldn’t catch up in a 4-3 loss.
Hay scored a takedown 20 seconds into the match and led the rest of the way. Needham managed to escape twice and was awarded a point for stalling late but couldn’t close out a shot in defeat.
“That takedown right away caught Brock off guard a little bit, but he was still right there in the end,” Lancaster said. “I thought Brock wrestled, strategically, a really intelligent match.”
Anderson (45-3) gave up the tying escape 24 seconds into the third before Cook put things away by taking Anderson down and putting her on her back for four points 30 seconds later.
“My opponent saw and took advantage of my weak spots in that match,” Anderson said. “She used those weak spots to augment her strength with the takedowns that she had.”
FLEGE ADDS SILVER TO FOUR-MEDAL CAREER: Aquinas senior Roger Flege (35-5) nearly had a takedown late that would have given him the lead against Pardeeville sophomore Karrsen Bussan, but Bussan turned it around into a takedown of his own to complete a 7-2 victory in the Division 3 144-pound final.
Flege moved his career record to 157-31 and placed fourth at state both as a freshman and sophomore. He was third as a junior before finishing his individual career with his best state finish.
ALLEN SECOND, MEINERS FOURTH IN MINNESOTA: Caledonia/Houston sophomore Cooper Allen gave the area six runner-up finishes this weekend after advancing to the finals of the MSHSL Class A 215-pound bracket at Grand Casino Arena in St. Paul.
Allen (32-12) was denied a championship by Holdingford senior Jaxon Bartkowicz (42-1) in a 7-1 match.
Allen escaped after a reversal and was within 5-1 after two periods before Bartkowicz scored on an escape and stall call in the third.
Eighth-grader Kiplyn Meiners (31-15), who advanced to the semifinal round at 107, split two matches on Saturday and placed fourth. He advanced to the third-place match with a pin before losing by technical fall i the placement.
