Undefeated Elks boast 7 individual champions
By Mike Ramczyk
PADDOCK LAKE – Three-time Southern Lakes Conference wrestling champion Benji Peak could’ve bragged about his individual accomplishments.
After all, the junior 126-pounder is 35-2, ranked third in the state of Wisconsin, and is coming off a third-place finish at last year’s state tournament.
But the 6-foot wrestling dynamo was more interested in his team winning its first SLC outright title since 2011 moments after the final match Saturday at the Southern Lakes Conference tournament at Westosha Central High School.
“I was expected to win, but I like the team aspect a lot more,” Peak said roughly an hour after winning his third consecutive conference championship. “Winning as a team just felt 20 times better. We click. We’re together, and everyone tries hard in practice. I’ve been to a lot of practices with several teams, but our practices get us mentally prepared. Our practices are hands-down the hardest in the state. Anything we do on the mat is easier than what we do in practice.”
“Crazy” conditioning drills, along with live wrestling matches when most of the guys have nothing left, are two key reasons why Peak believes the Elks are unblemished this season at 17-0.
Their dominant regular season carried over to Saturday’s conference tournament, as expected, with seven individual champions, including Peak (126), Bryce Jacobson, Grant Truesdale, Richie Heidemann, Danny Stilling, Riley Remington and Hunter Hummel.
Elkhorn won the event with 277.5 points, followed by second-place Waterford at 230 points. Lake Geneva Badger was third with 167.5 points, and fourth-place Burlington placed fourth with 162.
Waterford added four champs, Sam Winski (120), Jordan Danowski (160), Jared Krattiger (182) and Jack Trautmann (195).
Badger had three champs, state-ranked Beau LaDu at 106, Michael Sanders at 138 and Douglas Reuss at 145.
Perhaps the most riveting championship match came at 132, where Burlington freshman Max Ehlen pushed Stilling, ranked third in the state, to the limit.
Ehlen led by five points, but Stilling stormed back to tie it at 9-9 and send into overtime. Early in the overtime, Stilling completed the comeback with a takedown to win, 11-9.
Krattiger, ranked second at 182 pounds, dominated Burlington’s Nate Crayton, 12-1, in the title bout. The undefeated powerhouse has much bigger goals than conference.
“It wasn’t easy, Nate is a really good competitor,” Krattiger said Saturday afternoon. “I knew his game plan, and I kept the pace up. That’s what I do best.”
“My shots were crisp today, and my pace was good. My goal is to stay with my commitment to work hard every day. That will lead to my goal of possibly winning a state title. I always want to win. You have to have a good mindset and have fun with the sport. That’s how you improve.”
Trautmann jumped to a 7-2 lead over Elkhorn’s Myles Schumaker and cruised to a 7-4 championship victory. Trautmann missed considerable time this season with a serious knee injury, but he said he’s 100 percent heading into the postseason.
“Last year, I should’ve won, but it feels pretty good to get my first conference title,” he said. “I want to place at state. Jared is a great practice partner, and he always pushes me. I never beat him, and he definitely has a chance to win state. He’s way stronger than last year, and since he’s been wrestling more with clubs, his technique is more crisp. I used to be able to get a shot in against him, but I can’t anymore.”
It was Trautmann’s 14th match, as he tore his medial collateral ligament in his left knee, and he was out until two weeks ago. He said both knees are sore, but he has battled through adversity.
Along with Ehlen, Burlington had Crayton (182), Ben Kumprey (120) and Max Travis (285) reach the finals. Kumprey hung tough in a 11-7 defeat, while Travis was tied late at 2-2 but eventually was pinned with 9 seconds remaining on the clock.
Union Grove took sixth as a team, but Bubba Rewolinski (160) advanced to the title bout before falling, 8-4, to Jordan Danowski. Rewolinski isn’t ranked but has been a bright spot for the Broncos.
“I was disappointed today, but I’ve been working hard this season,” Rewolinski said. “My teammates and my coaches push me. We’re getting a lot better. I want to get to state.”
It’s a family thing
From the coaching staff, like junior varsity Coach Behrens who pushes the Elks to their brink with loads of conditioning and drills to improve mental toughness and focus, to the parents, who doused the conference champions with photos and support Saturday afternoon after the other teams had left, it’s a family atmosphere for the Elkhorn wrestling squad.
“We’re a family,” freshman Quentin Woyak simply stated when asked why the team has been so successful.
At 17-0, the Elks haven’t lost an invite or a dual, which means a perfect 7-0 mark during the regular season despite a close scare against Lake Geneva Badger.
Head coach Ken Reynolds spoke with enthusiasm after the conference tournament about his wrestlers, including two-time conference champ Grant Truesdale, who won, 5-2, at 113 pounds.
“It feels good,” Truesdale said. “It’s been a lot of hard work. Last year, I grinded it out, but this year, I knew I was coming in on top in my class. I would like to get to state and do some damage.”
“Everyone is in this together, and we all want to make it to team state, something Elkhorn has never done before. We’re ready to knock off Stoughton. We all want the same goal.”
Stoughton has been the arch-nemesis standing in the Elks’ way, as the Vikings have knocked off Elkhorn at team sectionals on several occasions.
Jacobson, who earned a pin in 3:47 to win his second straight conference title at 152, said the Elks have what it takes to break through this year and get to the next level.
“It’s all preparation and hard work each day, mentally and physically getting ready for each match,” said Jacobson, who wants to place at state. “Practices are way harder than matches, that’s how it should be.”
“The goal was to win everything, but to see it come to fruition, is special especially for my senior year. It started in kids’ club, we’ve been wrestling together for 10 years. We’re more than a team. We want to win regionals, beat Stoughton and make a dent at state. Stoughton’s tough, they’re No. 1 in the state right now, but we match up really well with them.”
-
-
-
-
-