Despite losses, wrestler proud of accomplishments

By Scott Bellile

Scott Cook has his arm raised after he defeated Kaukauna’s Nick Arnold in a 132-pound match. The junior has competed at state in all three of his seasons while wrestling for New London.
Greg Seubert photo

Scott Cook didn’t place at the WIAA Division 1 State Wrestling Tournament last week, but the New London athlete didn’t seem too bothered by it.

“Even though I didn’t come out on top, I still had a good time,” Cook said.

The 132-pound junior set a New London High School record Thursday, Feb. 25, by returning to Madison for his third consecutive state tournament.

“It’s an unbelievable feeling,” his father Mark Herter said at a pep rally for Cook Thursday morning prior to his departure. “It’s an accomplishment in itself. He loves to wrestle. Mom and Dad are proud of him. His whole family is proud of him. He amazes us every time he walks on that mat.”

Cook (42-4) won his first match over Nick Arnold (25-14) of Kaukauna by a 16-1 technical fall. Then he lost in the quarterfinal by a 10-5 decision to Jaden Van Maanen (46-1) of La Crosse Central, and again in the first consolation round by a 4-2 decision to Hayden Schlough (35-7) of Menomonie.

“He wrestled well the whole weekend,” New London wrestling head coach Glenn Butzin said. “It’s just we ran into some tough kids.”

“The kids I lost to, they were both very close matches,” Cook said. “The first kid I lost to got first and the second kid I lost to got third.”

Butzin said it hurt that Cook didn’t finish as well as last year. Last year Cook placed sixth in 132 pounds to make it onto the podium for his first time.

But Cook said despite this year’s outcome, this season felt better than last year’s.

“My matches were a lot smoother and I was a lot more consistent on my wins this year,” he said.

Between now and next season Cook said he’ll practice harder with his eye on the state championship. He’s also working toward the New London High School record for career wins. He now sits at 112 career wins, 14 shy of the 126-win record set by Mike Murphy.

Butzin said he thinks Cook can achieve it.

“Scott’s not only an amazing wrestler, he’s an amazing teammate,” Butzin said. “He pushes the guys in the room to make them better, and he’s willing to help them and work with them on his time that he could be making himself better. He’s definitely not selfish.”