Indians place eighth at tournament

By Greg Seubert

A trip that took two years to plan finally took place this month, as the Weyauwega-Fremont wrestling team traveled to Orlando, Florida, to compete in the 28-team Bill Scott Memorial Holiday Tournament at Lyman High School.

The Indians placed eighth at the tournament, held Dec. 18-19.

“The trip was a great cultural and athletic event for the entire Weyauwega-Fremont wrestling community,” coach Tim Potratz said. “Fifty-five wrestlers, coaches, team personnel and family members rode a charter bus from Wisconsin to Florida and participated in a number of team bonding activities beyond the wrestling competition itself.”

Ten of the Indians’ 14 wrestlers won at least one match at the tournament, which featured teams from Florida.

“Seven wrestlers won at least two matches and five wrestlers placed in the top eight to earn a medal,” Potratz said. “We also finished tied for sixth in total pins earned in the tournament, which really helped in the team score race.”

Flemming Island won the championship with 259.5 points, followed by Riverdale (258.5), Winter Springs (204.5), Flagler Palm Coast (203) and Miami Columbus (143). W-F scored 102.5 points to place eighth, just one-half point behind Lake Mary High School.

Freshman Cian Fischer won the 106-pound title with a 7-3 decision in the finals, while junior Dylen Kicherer placed second at 195 after coming up short against a high school national champion from Flemming Island.

Freshman Justin Kempf placed sixth at 120 and Logan Kicherer and Kyle Loehrke placed eighth in their respective weight classes. Austin Baehnman, Ean Marker and Tyler Wetzel won two matches, while freshman Julius Sulprizio and Easton Groskreutz won one match each. “Congratulations to the boys who medaled and to all the boys who competed,” Potratz said. “The kids really came to wrestle and competed very well in a big tournament against unfamiliar competition. We did not know what to expect from the competition, but we handled the challenge very well.”

The Indians will return to Central Wisconsin Conference competition at 7 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 7, at Wittenberg-Birnamwood before heading to a tournament Saturday, Jan. 9, in Plymouth.