By Mike Ramczyk
With the majority of his starting lineup still in their first year of high school, Burlington head coach Jade
Gribble knew this season would be a learning experience for the young wrestling team.
But after another dominant Southern Lakes dual victory, the Demons capped off a strong dual meet regular season with a 4-3 record thanks to a 54-24 home victory over Union Grove Jan. 26 at Burlington High School.
The Demons finished the season 7-4 overall, as they gear up for Saturday’s SLC tournament at Westosha Central High School.
“We have a young team, so the kids are really learning and getting better,” Gribble said. “I knew the team we started with wouldn’t be the team we finished with. I was happy with our effort tonight.”
Gribble moved the lineup around to give younger kids some matches and avoid forfeits, like putting John Kubiak at 182 and moving standout junior Nate Crayton up to 195.
The Demons jumped to a 15-0 lead thanks to a strong freshman trio, including Max Ehlen’s decision at 138 and pins from Qwade Gehring (145) and Luis Guevara (152).
Union Grove earned a forfeit at 160, but Lance Otter answered with a pin in 3 minutes at 170 to push the lead up to 21-6.
At 182, Keith Storm-Voltz pinned Kubiak, but Burlington came back with three straight wins – a Crayton pin at 195, a Juanye Thornton major decision at 220 and a forfeit at 285.
“Juanye did some good things,” Gribble said. “He’s a strong, athletic kid.”
Crayton (23-2), ranked fifth in the state at 182 according to Wisconsin Wrestling, said it felt good to win since the team has been working hard.
“My key to success is conditioning,” Crayton said. “I go home after practice and condition every day. I don’t take many off days, and when I do I feel like crap. My go-to is jumping rope and pull-ups.”
“My personal goal is to place at state. I’ve always wanted that my whole career.”
In the lightweights, the Grove picked up two more wins, a Zach Myers pin at 106 and a disqualification of Burlington’s Zach DeRosier at 113.
But the Demons finished strong with a forfeit, a Ben Kumprey pin at 126 and a Jake Skrundz technical fall at 132.
“We got a handful of big pins,” Gribble said. “It was a good way to go out for seniors like Lance and Juanye.”
“I think we’re wrestling well. We only have one major injury (Nate Bousman at 195). We knew there would be some ups and downs, and we’re riding it out.”
Gribble said he hopes the team finishes in the top four at conference.
“It’s refreshing this year,” he said. “Being younger, these kids don’t have the pressure. They go out and get after it. They’re very coachable, and they keep working.”
Burlington (BURL) 54, Union Grove (UNGR) 24
138: Max Ehlen (BURL) over Colton Anderson (UNGR) (Dec 9-3) 145: Qwade Gehring (BURL) over Jake Anderson (UNGR) (Fall 1:00) 152: Luis Guevara (BURL) over Jack Betthauser (UNGR) (Fall 3:07) 160: Alex Rewolinski (UNGR) over (BURL) (For.) 170: Lance Otter (BURL) over Thomas Turner (UNGR) (Fall 3:00) 182: Keith Storm-Voltz (UNGR) over John Kubiak (BURL) (Fall 1:33) 195: Nate Crayton (BURL) over Barron Masi (UNGR) (Fall 1:23) 220: Juanye Thornton (BURL) over Clayton Esch (UNGR) (MD 10-2) 285: Max Travis (BURL) over (UNGR) (For.) 106: Zach Myers (UNGR) over Grant Zelechowski (BURL) (Fall 1:50) 113: Jon Sackman (UNGR) over Kyle DeRosier (BURL) (DQ) 120: Zach Weiler (BURL) over (UNGR) (For.) 126: Ben Kumprey (BURL) over Dylan Scacco (UNGR) (Fall 1:52) 132: Jake Skrundz (BURL) over Dylan Phels (UNGR) (TF 15-0 3:24)
Correction
In last week’s Burlington Standard Press, it was reported that Phoenix Horn is the first female wrestler in school history.
Horn is not the first female wrestler in school history, but she is the first female Demon to win the junior varsity state tournament.
According to Burlington wrestling coach Jade Gribble, Cassie Friend was the Demons’ first female wrestler, in the mid-2000s. Then, Nancy Lightfield also competed for Burlington.
-
-
-
-
-