Posted: Feb. 22, 2010 |(0) Comments

Having moved on the best it could from a slew of injuries that some thought would cripple them, the members of the Muskego wrestling team hammered home the point that they are the best team in the NOW coverage area and still a state force.

A NOW-area best and school record-tying seven Muskego participants at the Oconomowoc Sectional on Saturday advanced to the WIAA Individual State Tournament, to be held Thursday through Saturday at the Kohl Center in Madison.

"It's disappointing we don't have Derek (Olson) to lead us in there. He definitely would have been number eight," Muskego coach Ted Price said. "But they're a good group and we're excited. We're going in there expecting to win a lot of matches, and we're excited to see how our guys stack up."

Olson, a state-champion caliber wrestler, was lost to a shoulder injury earlier this season, but seven of his teammates finished first or second at the sectional to move on to state.

Among them are returning state place-winners Tyler Quartullo and Roland Dunlap.

Quartullo (36-4), who was fifth last year at 119, won the 130-pound title with a 7-4 decision over Sun Prairie's Chase Stiener (44-3) in the title match, Quartullo's third win of the day.

Dunlap, who was fifth at 171 last year, improved to 22-1 since returning from a shoulder injury with three wins as well, the third of which was a 7-2 victory over New Berlin's Nick Binder in the championship match at 171.

Also winning sectional titles for Muskego were Justin Scherkenbach at 112, Jordan Lau at 140 and Jordan Gruettner at 189. Scherkenbach and Gruettner are returning to the state tournament for the second straight season.

In the finals, Scherkenbach (42-4) downed Waterford's Austin Christenson, 9-2; Lau (39-6) edged Oconomowoc's Jake Morrison, 8-5; and Gruettner (42-4) earned a 26-13 major decision over Mukwonago's Damon King.

Lau continues to impress Price.

"Jordan has been wrestling incredibly the last month," Price said. "He's been wearing guys out. At the beginning of the season, we knew he had a possibility to go to state, but now he's wrestling like he's on a mission."

Jordan Sowinski (22-4), now recovered from a broken hand that sidelined him for a month, took second at 145 and is making his second trip to state. Tyler Sinda (34-14) is making his first state trip after taking second at 103.

"All of them look at it like they definitely want to place and all are capable of placing," Price said. "Thursday night will be a big night for us because a lot of those guys have some big matches. We're going to know right away if the weekend will be a good one. It's the state tournament and you have to expect to beat some great athletes to place."

Muskego's Alex Kehoe (30-13) faced a difficult road at 215 and finished fourth with two losses in three matches, both coming to foes with 38 or more wins and both by three or fewer points.

Two New Berlin athletes survive

Two of seven New Berlin participants at the Oconomowoc Sectional survived as well.

Zach Brucker at 135 and Binder at 171, New Berlin's most successful wrestlers all season long, were both runners-up by going 2-1 in their respective weight classes Saturday.

"Both Zach and Nick are going with the expectation to place," New Berlin coach Nick Patenaude said. "Both of them received good draws and have the ability to wrestle their way onto the podium in Madison. They have both had a great run of matches here at the end of the season, so hopefully they will be able to build off those and have their goals of being state place-winners achieved."

Before losing to Muskego's Dunlap in the championship match, Binder (40-7) joined the 40-win club with an injury default victory in the first round and a 9-4 decision over Elkhorn's KC Verhoeven in the semifinals.

Brucker (38-8) picked up an 8-1 win over Fort Atkinson's Cody Foerster and downed Mukwonago's Jordan Treuer, 11-5, in the semis before being edged by Oconomowoc's Taylor Mommaerts, 5-2, in the finals. Brucker is returning to state for the second straight season.

New Berlin's Hlu Vang (33-10) was third at 103 after a shoulder injury forced him to retire and Heng Vang (29-17) was fourth at 112.

New Berlin's Ross Riopelle (119), Jonny Schmidt (130) and Zach Reuteler (215) and Muskego's 30-match winner Ryan Leighton (285) lost in the first round.

Team sectional

SCORE: Muskego 45, Mukwonago 30

WHEN: Feb. 16

WHERE: Elkhorn Area High School

MUSKEGO PINS: Tyler Sinda (103), Tyler Dotzler (112), Tyler Quartullo (130), Roland Dunlap (171) and Jordan Gruettner (189)

LOWDOWN: The Warriors qualified for the WIAA Team State Tournament for the third straight season and ninth time overall. The tournament runs March 5-6 at the UW Field House in Madison. Muskego faces Milton in the quarterfinals at 7 p.m. March 5 and the winner will take on either West Allis Central or Franklin in a semifinal at 9 a.m. March 6. The final is at 6 p.m. later than night.