LA CROSSE — Tyson Martin’s final shot on a takedown was, fittingly, historical.
The Aquinas High School senior knew what was required of him as he stepped on the mat to wrestle Cedar Grove/Belgium’s Vadim Misiura for a 285-pound match in a dual to determine the WIAA Division 3 state champion.
Martin simply had to win. The Blugolds trailed by five points, and the Rockets weren’t able to put anyone on the mat for the final match at 106 pounds.
So, when Martin propelled himself at Misiura’s legs near the end of the mat with 43 seconds still remaining in the first period for a technical fall, he rose to his feet and screamed toward his teammates.
The South Dakota State commit was more subdued when winning an individual state championship at the Kohl Center last week, but the Blugolds had been chasing this 38-32 victory over the Rockets since before Martin joined the team.
“For an individual tournament, I can say that I don’t really care about the result,” said Martin, whose technical fall tied the score at 32 before teammate Ayden Lorenz was awarded a forfeit that broke the tie. “This was different. It was for my team.”
It was for more than all of that. Aquinas became the area’s first team state champion and the first private school to ever win a WIAA team championship.
Martin (48-1) scored 18 points in 77 seconds and won the 170th match of his career to maximize his team’s performance in the biggest dual meet of its existence.
“It was sad to see him end his season,” Aquinas coach Deke Stanek said, “but I’m glad he got to do it that way.”
The fifth-seeded Blugolds capped a 15-3 season by splitting 14 matches evenly with second-seeded Cedar Grove-Belgium and winning three of them by pin.
“I think gratitude is probably the best word,” Stanek said of the accomplishment. “I’m so grateful just to have the opportunity to compete at a level like this with these young men.”
Knowing the Rockets were without a 106-pounder, Stanek bumped freshman Peter White up to 113, and while he didn’t win, White denied state qualifier Chase Heimerman bonus points in a 12-5 decision.
Cedar Grove-Belgium won the first three matches and held a 19-6 lead after individual state qualifier Carsen Voskuil beat Lincoln Stanek by technical fall at 138.
Sophomore Tyler Paulson (38-9) followed that with a major decision over an individual state qualifier at 144, senior Roger Flege (38-5) won by pin at 150, and freshman Jacob Penzkover (39-11) beat another individual state qualifier via technical fall at 157.
The victory over a state qualifier was Penzkover’s second of the day. He also beat third-place Carter Birdyshaw of Weyauwega-Fremont in the semifinal dual.
“He’s a tough son of a gun,” Stanek said of Penzkover. “I think he’s kind of under people’s radars because he didn’t qualify for state. In my opinion, he’s a podium guy.”
Sophomore Martez Sheard also won by pin at 132 to complete a 37-2 season for the Blugolds.
After having its path to team state blocked despite very talented teams in recent years, Aquinas found a way to push through that obstacle but a way to win the whole thing.
“I think it speaks to our area clubs, I think its peaks to our area coaches, I think it speaks to our area schools, just the level of wrestling in this area,” Stanek said of the breakthrough championship. “I think we get overlooked a lot.
“… I think we showed (out) this weekend with G-E-T(/Melrose-Mindoro), which came down to the final match (of a semifinal loss) and Holmen wrestling very well.”
