By Tim Wester
Sports Correspondent
In just 10 seconds, Waterford High junior Max Fisher accomplished more than many wrestlers did at the Northern Exposure Tournament at Merrill last weekend.
Fisher pinned Cody Stolt of Eau Claire North in a mere 10 seconds on his way to a perfect 7-0 weekend. Fisher, along with Justin Ratkovec at 113 pounds were unbeaten last weekend and helped propel Waterford to a 12th place finished out of 24 teams in the tournament.
Waterford went 3-2 in pool play and 0-2 in the third bracket.
“Overall we wrestled ok first day, but came out flat against Mineral Point,” Waterford wrestling coach Nick Weinkauf said. “But our second I day I wasn’t happy with the way we wrestled.”
Weinkauf, however, was happy with the way Fisher wrestled.
“Max just dominated every match he had,” Waterford wrestling coach Nick Weinkauf said. “He took care of business and is building confidence.”
Fisher had three pins in the tournament, including a pin in 1:09 over Waunakee’s Ben Frawley, the fifth ranked wrestler in the state. Fisher also pinned William Haddix of New London in 13 seconds and then racked up two technical fall victories and two major decisions.
Ratkovec, meanwhile, pinned three wrestlers including Eau Claire North’s Chase Bergner in 13 seconds and Mineral Point’s Grant Rose in 38 seconds. He also earned a 4-0 decision over Waunakee’s Preston Ernst at 120 pounds.
“Justin is really fluid on his feet and just kind of mentally breaks down opponents on top,” Weinkauf said. “Justin and Max continue to lead they way for us.”
Senior Nick Mastrocola also had a successful weekend with a 6-1 record at 220 and 285 pounds. Mastrocola racked up four pins, including two at 285 pounds over Jack Carruth of Eau Clair North and Tyler Hoke of Mineral Point.
“Mastrocola’s performance was a bit of a surprise,” Weinkauf said. “He came out and started to believe in himself. He had been beating himself in matches before, but we have been working with him to stay focused and make things happen.”
On top of Matrocola’s effort, Tanner Cadman’s 5-2 record at 152 and 160 pounds and Austin Thomas’ 4-3 record at 126 and 132 pounds also stood out. Cadman earned three pins on the weekend, while Thomas posted a dominating 10-2 decision over Skyler Moderson of New London.
“Some of our freshman including Austin Thomas and Tanner Cadman had an eye opener to wrestler for two days,” Weinkauf said. “They wrestled well and are starting to learn what it takes to be successful at the varsity level.”
Waterford (8-8 in dual meets) has the weekend off before returning to the mat Thursday, January 9th at Westosha Central.
“The break couldn’t come at a better time because it gives our guys time off to refocus and also gives our injured guys a chance to heel up,” Weinkauf said. “The break couldn’t come at a better time. We start back up on Thursday with practice and hopefully we can get some things corrected before we take on Westosha in a meet we should win.”
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