Bird, Tiedt, Crayton capture crowns, Josh Bird hoping to return Saturday
By Mike Ramczyk
Sports Editor
While any chance for a sixth straight Southern Lakes Conference team title was probably out of the question Saturday at the SLC meet, the Burlington wrestling squad still found a way to flex its muscles on an individual basis.
Jared Bird (132), Nathan Crayton (182) and Hegeman Tiedt (220) all won conference championships, and the Demons finished fourth on the day but tied for third place in the overall SLC standings.
Head coach Jade Gribble said the team is battling injuries, but he said having four kids make it to the finals was good. He said everyone finished at or above their seeds.
“We wrestled well for the kids we had here,” he said. “It seems we’ve been banged up all year. I was really happy with the effort. Some matches we lost earlier in the year, we were able to win some of those.”
Josh Bird, the No. 3 wrestler in the state at 138 pounds according to Wisconsin Wrestling Online, sat out of Saturday’s meet due to a knee injury. According to his dad, Josh is gearing up to begin his postseason run Saturday at regionals.
Bird is a two-time state champion, and the senior who will wrestle in college at Division 2 Chadron State has a lot of wrestling ahead of him, so the team isn’t trying to rush him.
“Josh wants to wrestle, but it’s all about him being ready,” Gribble said. “We can’t have him injured. He’s got bigger things on his plate with a college scholarship. We’re hoping he’s ready for regionals.”
“I don’t think anybody else will be back. We’ve got a broken collarbone, separated shoulder, Juanye (Thornton) has some medical issues. What we had today will be our team.”
Gribble said Tristan Lind and Thornton won’t be back for regionals. Burlington is also without Thomas Petrick.
At 120 pounds, Luke Iverson took second place, as he fell in the chamionship match Saturday by pin fall to Elkhorn’s Dan Stilling.
Jared Bird picked up a pin in the semifinals before edging Badger’s Robby Mutimer, 8-5, in the 132-pound title match. Jared finished the conference season 10-0.
Crayton wound up 7-2 at 182 thanks to three solid victories.
After a pin fall and a 4-0 decision over Union Grove’s Todd Willms, Crayton took care of Badger’s Nick Halpin, 7-2, in the championship match.
Tiedt, who finished the SLC season 9-1 at 220, dominated the competition.
He pinned Wilmot’s Seth Willis in 1:35 before pinning Badger’s Saul Gomez in only 1:02 in the title match.
At 160, Lance Otter placed third with a 6-5 decision over Badger’s Michael Peter.
“Our goal Saturday is to finish in the top four in order to move to sectionals,” Gribble said. “Some kids may want to win a match, and some may have a goal of state, so we should have some kids get through.”
Burlington will compete in the Muskego Regional, which includes the No. 1 team in the area, Mukwonago.
Waterford, which boasts the No. 1-ranked wrestlers in the state at 126 pounds (Justin Ratkovec) and 170 (Jared Krattiger).
“I’d like to think we can send anywhere from six to eight kids to sectionals,” Gribble said. “I didn’t know exactly who we’d have wrestling at conference, but the kids that did wrestled hard. I expect that to continue at regionals.”
If Josh Bird returns Saturday, it will be his first action since Jan. 22.
A possible must-see championship match could pit Bird against Mukwonago’s Nathan Smith, who is currently ranked No. 1 in the state at 138. Bird pinned Smith earlier this season.
Burlington results
106: Zeke Isaacson (4-7), fifth place, 8 team points. 113: Zack Weiler (5-3), fourth, 11 pts. 120: Luke Iverson (6-2), second, 20 pts. 126: Ben Travis (5-4), fourth, 12. 132: Jared Bird (10-0), first, 24. 145: Ryder Elliott (3-5), fifth, 7. 152: Connor Shimek (0-2), place unknown. 160: Lance Otter (7-4), third, 15. 170: Louie Hardesty (1-9), sixth, 3. 182: Nathan Crayton (7-2), first, 22. 220: Hegeman Tiedt (9-1), first, 26.
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