By Tim Wester
Sports Correspondent
After another impressive week on the mats, Union Grove wrestler Cade Willis is showing no signs of slowing down.
In fact, the freshman is getting stronger.
Willis pinned Lucas Johnson of Waterford Friday, Jan. 12 and then pinned five more wrestlers 14 hours later at the Lake Geneva Badger Invitational to lead the way for the Broncos last week.
The Broncos fell 60-12 to Waterford in a Southern Lakes Conference dual meet, before finishing fifth at the 12-team Lake Geneva Badger Invitational.
Waterford ran away with the tournament championship with 309 points, while Badger (209) was a distant second.
“Cade was in control in all of his matches,” Union Grove wrestling coach Andy Weis said. “He secured takedowns and near falls and is not afraid to go on offense, which has made him fun to watch this season.”
Senior Alex “Bubba” Rewolinski also had a strong week, defeating Dalton Danowski of Waterford by technical fall at 170, and then winning his first four matches the next day.
Rewolinski then dropped the first-place match to Bryce Schumacher of Little Chute by major decision, 17-5.
“Schumacher was ranked in the top 5 in division 2, so we knew he was good,” Weis said. “He came out and scored a couple takedowns and got Bubba out of his comfort zone.”
“Bubba found out that he’s got some things to work on and tighten up down the stretch of the regular season.”
While Willis and Rewolinski continue to lead the Broncos, another group of wrestlers are starting to emerge.
Sophomore Dillon Pagels outlasted Jacob Cherba of Waterford at 138 Friday and then won four out of his five matches on Saturday to finish sixth.
“Dillon has wrested at 152, 145, and is now settling in at 138,” Weis said. “He and other guys are quietly doing well in shadow of Cade and Bubba.”
Barron Masi also continued his solid season with a third-place finish at 220. Masi finished 3-2 on the day including an 8-4 decision against Gavin Adler of Middleton in the third-place match. Keith Storm-Voltz also went 3-2 and took third at 195. Storm-Voltz pinned Alex Haug of Sun Prairie in 1:13 in the third-place match.
“Barron is having a strong season,” Weis said. “He wrestles Keith in practice and then heavyweight as well, which is helping him with his development.”
“For Keith taking third in a bracket that had Jack Trautman of Waterford and Dion Huff Middleton was a strong effort”
Overall, Weis was pleased with his eight-man varsity team’s effort against elite competition.
“We took eight kids to a tournament that had two tough Lakes teams and some tough division 1 programs and finished fifth,” Weis said. and took fifth. We were Only six points away from fourth place Waukesha South.”
The Broncos look to build off their strong effort tonight when they travel to Homestead for the Hilltopper Invitational. The Broncos then host Burlington Thursday in a Lakes dual meet.
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