Burlington grapplers Josh Bird, Hornickle have eyes on state titles
By Mike Ramczyk
Sports Editor
A middleweight persevered through a knee injury.
A 132-pounder advanced through domination, and his little brother will join him.
Finally, a hungry senior has one last shot at state glory.
At Saturday’s Burlington Sectional, the Burlington wrestling team saw four of its 13 sectional competitors qualify for Thursday’s WIAA individual state, and each grappler has his own unique story.
Josh Bird (132) and Ben Hornickle (138) both cruised to sectional championships, and Jared Bird (126) and Wes Gavin (152) both earned second place in wrestle-back matches.
Josh Bird, who won a Division 1 state championship as a freshman at 120 pounds, and Hornickle have their eyes set on the grandest prize, a state title.
Jared Bird, a freshman, and Gavin, a junior, are just happy to be wrestling after suffering major injuries this season.
Burlington coach Jade Gribble said he was happy for his four qualifiers, but he was hopeful the Demons would send more than four to state.
“Going in, we were looking for more than four to make it,” he said. “A lot of guys lost tough matches, and I’m just sad for some guys who worked hard and didn’t make it.”
Josh Bird, who zipped through the competition Saturday with two pin falls, including one in the final, and a technical fall, said he is ready for the state’s biggest stage.
“I’m going to win state,” he said Tuesday night. “I’ve never worked so hard for something in my life and I can’t wait.”
“This year I know I’ve done everything I can to be the best, and I prepared correctly. I will just wrestle one match at a time.”
Josh Bird (42-1) was so dominant Saturday that he pinned his sectional final opponent, Milwaukee Pulaski’s Jose Gonzalez, in 30 seconds.
“He is more focused and more mature than ever, and he has set high goals for himself,” Gribble said about Josh Bird. “Hopefully, he’s peaking at the right time.”
Josh Bird is the No. 1-ranked wrestler in the 132 weight class according to Wisconsin Wrestling Online. He may have to face the state’s No. 2 grappler in the semifinals this weekend.
Hornickle (48-1) took a similar route to state with pure domination. He won by two pin falls and a major decision Saturday.
After advancing to state semifinals his freshman and sophomore seasons, Hornickle was hobbled by an ACL injury last year and was ousted in the first round.
Though his bracket is extremely difficult this weekend (it boasts the 126 and 132 champions from last year), Gribble said Hornickle has the ability to win it all.
“Ben is as focused as I’ve every seen him,” he said. “It’s one of the tougher brackets, but he’ll be ready to go. He’s worked incredibly hard, and he’s that talented to where he could win the title.”
Gavin (32-10) suffered a dislocated kneecap earlier in the season and had to miss some time. On Tuesday, he said his injury isn’t an issue, and he can’t wait to experience the Kohl Center.
“I dislocated my knee for the third time,” Gavin said. “I chipped my knee cap, tore some soft tissue and stretched out my ligaments. So it’s really prone to get re-dislocated.”
“But I’m thrilled to be at state, and I just have to put on my ‘A’ game to see the results I want to see.”
Gribble said Gavin is a “grinder.”
“He has real strong hips and is a good scrambler,” Gribble said. “He’s hard to score on. He’s not 100 percent. But people are banged-up at this time of year. He has really battled back. It’s exciting for him to be up there.”
Gavin beat Oak Creek’s Nate Mlodzik Saturday in a wrestle back. It was Gavin’s fifth win over Mlodzik this season.
Jared Bird, a freshman, fought his way into state by winning a wrestle back, 8-0, over Racine Case’s Jacob Lawson.
After missing two-thirds of the beginning of the season with an injury, Jared Bird is taking after his brother with a 19-4 record and an aggressive style.
In a first-place match, Jared Bird was beaten by an Oak Creek wrestler that he had beaten only four days earlier at team state.
“JT is a little bit of a goofball,” Gribble said. “He didn’t come back until there were only two weeks left in the season.”
Gribble said the goal for this weekend is to have each guy wrestle his best.
The wrestle-back blues
Burlington suffered five devastating wrestle-back defeats on Saturday.
At 113, Derek Koenen, a freshman lost by rule to Oak Creek in a “real close loss,” Gribble said.
Lucas Shenkenberg fell, 11-4, in a wrestle back at 145.
At 170, freshman Nathan Crayton had two pins before edging Union Grove’s Jack McCann, 4-3, in a third-place match. Then, in a second-place match, Crayton fell, 11-6.
Chris Marks lost a second-place match at 195.
At 220, junior Hegeman Tiedt held a 3-2 lead late into the third period against Kenosha Bradford’s La’Ryan Johnson.
But Johnson was patiently waiting to make his move, and at the 16-second mark, he shot low and picked up Tiedt and completed a takedown. Tiedt couldn’t escape in the end, and his season finished at 43-8.
“Hegeman made a small mistake in the semis,” Gribble said. “He gave every ounce of effort and everything in his power.”
The heavyweight ending wasn’t kind to Nick Otter. He was an escape away from winning in the first-place match, and then he lost 2-0 in a wrestle back.
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If you go
What: WIAA Individual State Wrestling Meet
Where: Kohl Center, 601 W. Dayton St., Madison
When: Thursday through Saturday
Cost: $8 per session
Can’t make it? Follow Sports Editor Mike Ramczyk on Twitter @mikeramczyk17 and LIKE the Standard Press Sports Facebook page, visit www.myracinecounty.com.
Demon schedule
(all matches 3 p.m. Thursday)
126: Jared Bird (19-4), BUR, vs. Bradley Prentice (35-5), Pulaski. 132: Josh Bird (42-1), BUR, vs. Jordan Weinzetl (33-8), Kimberly. 138: Ben Hornickle (48-1), BUR, vs. Isaac Lodise (41-8), Pewaukee. 152: Wes Gavin (32-10), BUR, vs. Jackson Hemauer (41-5), DeForest.
Burlington final records
113: Derek Koenen 26-14. 145: Lucas Shenkenberg 35-11. 160: Isaiah Brenner 22-21. 170: Nathan Crayton 31-16. 182: Tristan Lind 27-15. 195: Chris Marks 32-11. 220: Hegeman Tiedt 43-8. 285: 37-9.
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