Tourtilott defeated in 1st round at state

Shawano’s Sam Tourtilott was pinned by Sparta’s Hayden Krein in 1 minute, 30 seconds during a 170-pound first-round match at the WIAA Division 1 state tournament in Madison on Thursday.

“Krein got some moves on Sam right away, and Sam pulled some good escape moves,” head coach Mike Homan said. “Ultimately, Krein got Sam’s legs tied and was able to get him on his back.”

With Krein posting a 40-6 record on the year and ranked No. 4 in the state in his weight class, Homan and Tourtilott (21-15) knew the first round would be a battle.

“Sparta’s a great team and has been dominating all year, and we knew (Krein’s) rankings and that he would be a very tough matchup to start the state tournament,” Homan said. “I think we did everything right coming into this match — we had a good practice this morning, good pre-match practice, good mindset — he just ran into a better wrestler.”

Despite the loss, Homan said wrestling in a state tournament at the Kohl Center is a priceless experience for the junior.

“Sam took it well afterwards,” Homan said. “He was very thankful to get down here and see what happens, and I think it was huge for him to be able to see what the state atmosphere is like.

“The lights are brighter here, the place is filled with the best wrestlers in the state. We’ve seen good competition this season, but nothing like the caliber of these wrestlers. So it’s great that we’ll be able to build off this opportunity going forward.”

“I’ve never wrestled in a place as big as the Kohl Center,” Tourtilott said ahead of the state tourney. “So I’m really excited to hear how loud it gets and have that many people watching me. The experience will be unlike anything I’ve had before.”

Tourtilott’s loss does not conclude his state run. Tourtilott will compete in the wrestleback Friday morning against Nolan Paar (44-3), of Oak Creek, who dropped a major decision to Krein in the second round.