Three Waupaca wrestlers won individual championships Dec. 14 at the six-team Akey Duals in Weyauwega.
Levi Petroske was named the meet’s most valuable wrestler after posting a 5-0 record and tying for first place at 160 pounds with Chilton/Hilbert’s Josh Hannan. Meanwhile, Logan Bernhardt and Mitchell Rotta also went 5-0 on the day and placed first at 113 and 152, respectively.
The Comets posted a 2-3 record on the day, with the wins coming over Weyauwega-Fremont and Fox Valley Lutheran.
Waupaca is also off to a 2-0 start in Eastern Valley Conference dual matches.
After opening conference play Dec. 6 with a 54-27 win over Berlin, the Comets handed Clintonville a 42-33 defeat Dec. 9.
“We’re doing pretty well right now, we just need to keep working hard in the wrestling room,” coach Tom Reif said. “We have a lot of young kids on the team, but we do have some senior leadership with Levi Petroske and Joe Balicki. We just need to keep building on what we’re doing and see how everything ends up at the end of the year.”
The Comets are counting on a successful season from Petroske, a senior who qualified two years ago for the State Individual Wrestling Meet in Madison.
“He has a lot of experience and he’s a hard worker who wrestles hard,” Reif said. “It’s good for the younger guys to have him in the room. He’s been at a lot of different places and has won a lot of big tournaments. It’s good to have him here.”
Injuries have already taken a toll, according to the second-year coach.
“We have a couple of injuries right now, but we just have the guys that are wrestling battle as hard as they can,” he said. “Hopefully, we’ll overcome some of those forfeits by pins.”
Waupaca competes in the Eastern Valley Conference, but Reif doesn’t want to speculate which teams can contend for a championship.
“Right now, we’re just working on getting better,” he said. “I’m not going to look at that right now. I’m just trying get our guys better every day in practice and see where we end up.”
Waupaca will face Fox Valley Lutheran, Little Chute and Ripon at 5 p.m. today (Thursday, Dec. 19) at an EVC quadrangular at FVL before heading to Green Bay Preble Saturday, Dec. 21, for the Willard Schmidt Scramble, which gets under way at 10 a.m. The Comets will also compete Friday and Saturday, Dec. 27-28, at the Oshkosh on the Water tournament at the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh.
Waupaca 2013-14 Wrestling Schedule
Varsity
Friday, Dec. 6 – at Berlin, 6:30 p.m.
Saturday, Dec. 7 – at Antigo Invitational, 9:30 a.m.
Monday, Dec. 9 – vs. Clintonville, 6:30 p.m.
Saturday, Dec. 14 – at Akey Duals, Weyauwega, 9:30 a.m.
Thursday, Dec. 19 – vs. Fox Valley Lutheran, Little Chute, Ripon at Fox Valley Lutheran, 5 p.m.
Saturday, Dec. 21 – at Willard Schmidt Scramble, Green Bay Preble, 10 a.m.
Friday, Dec. 27 – at Oshkosh on the Water Invitational, UW-Oshkosh, 10 a.m.
Saturday, Dec. 28 – at Oshkosh on the Water Invitational, UW-Oshkosh, 9 a.m.
Saturday, Jan. 4 – at Manawa Invitational, 10 a.m.
Thursday, Jan. 9 – vs. Winneconne, 6:30 p.m.
Saturday, Jan. 11 – at Cutler Bulldog Classic, New London, 9:30 a.m.
Thursday, Jan. 23 – at Freedom, 6:30 p.m.
Saturday, Jan. 25 – at Laconia Invitational, Rosendale, 9:30 a.m.
Junior Varsity
Saturday, Dec. 7 – at Antigo Invitational, 9:30 a.m.
Saturday, Jan. 11 – at Cutler Bulldog Classic, New London, 9:30 a.m.
Saturday, Jan. 25 – at Appleton West JV Invitational, 9:15 a.m.
Saturday, Feb. 1 – at Weyauwega-Fremont JV Invitational, 10 a.m.