Former state champ coaching in Amherst
By Greg Seubert
Waupaca High School’s only state wrestling champion had a front-row seat for this year’s WIAA State Individual Wrestling Tournament.
Charlie Wanty, who won a Division 2 119-pound championship for the Comets in 2008, wrapped up his second season as Amherst’s wrestling coach with Josh Rieck, who competed at 189 pounds for the Falcons in Division 2 at the Kohl Center in Madison.
“Being a state champ down here and being a returning champ and not placing, I’ve kind of been in both places mentally,” Wanty said. “I’ve gone through all the nerves and I’ve seen guys turn into heroes down here and other guys turn into zeros.”
His brothers, Jerry and Jake, also competed at state for Waupaca.
“Just being down here has helped in the mental game and prepare my guys mentally,” Wanty said. “This is a mental tournament down here, it’s not so much a physical tournament.”
Amherst sent a pair of wrestlers to the Division 3 finals last year before moving up a division this season. Bryce Holderman won the 220-pound title, while Max Villnow made it to the 285-pound championship match.
“Getting two guys into finals in my first year as coach was a tremendous experience,” Wanty said. “Anytime you can have two guys in the finals back-to-back and not have to move seats is a good thing.”
Wanty replaced longtime coach Dave Peterson, who’s still on board as assistant coach.
Rieck, a senior, competed at state for the first time with only a handful of matches under his belt.
He pinned Westby’s Conor Vatland in 2:50 in the preliminary round before giving up a late takedown to Catholic Memorial’s Brian Flanagan and coming out on the short end of a 6-5 score in the quarterfinals.
That loss placed Rieck in the wrestleback round and his season ended after Spooner/Webster’s Sam Melton pinned him in 3:31. Melton went on to place third, while Flanagan finished fifth.
“He only had 13 matches as a freshman until he broke his arm and didn’t come out as a sophomore,” Wanty said. “He only had 13 matches last year as well. He was a 13-13 wrestler coming into his senior year. He said right away when he came out, ‘I want to make it to Madison.’
“That was his goal,” he said. “It’s a little different mindset with him because this experience is something that sticks with you for a lifetime. I’m glad he came back out and now he has this experience.”
Rieck came into the meet with a 34-11 record.
“What I tell my guys is, ‘If you punch your ticket down here, anything can happen,”’ Wanty said. “I’m just happy he made it. He reached his goal and was 15 seconds away in the quarterfinals from making the podium.
“He wrestled his heart out and peaked at the right time,” he added. “These last two weeks are the best he’s looked all year. That’s all you can really ask.”