Coming off the high from winning its first-ever Bay Conference title, the Shawano wrestling team had a bit of a letdown Saturday while competing in the Division 1 Antigo Regional at Antigo High School.
While the team had six individual wrestlers place in the top four in their respective weight classes to earn spots at sectionals, Shawano finished the day with just 100.5 points to place seventh out of eight teams.
“We did not wrestle well today,” Shawano coach Mike Homan said. “The majority of the day was tough wrestling, and we did not perform well under the pressure. As a team, we need to get back to being aggressive — working for hand control, scoring out of the bottom position and finishing close matches. As a team, we finished well below the goal we set for ourselves (of placing in the top three). We have work to do.”
The Hawks did not have any wrestlers win their weight classes, but Wyatt Brandt (106) and Ben Carroll (145) each placed second. Gage Timm (152) and Keith Tourtillott (220) each placed third, while Sam Tourtillott (195) and Nick Kohn (285) finished fourth.
Those six wrestlers will compete Saturday at the Appleton North Sectional. From there, the top two finishers in each weight class will earn a trip to the state meet.
After a bye, Brandt opened his day with a 10-0 major decision win over Pulaski’s Ashten Kapla before dropping a 15-0 technical fall. Brandt was awarded second by rule over Kapla.
Carroll posted a 3-1 record to earn his second-place finish and spot at sectionals. He opened the day with a pin in 1 minute, 13 seconds before suffering a 13-5 major decision loss. He bounced back with a 4-3 tiebreaker win over Pulaski’s Mitchell Kitzman before earning a 9-7 decision win over De Pere’s Hunter Mashl in the second-place match.
Gage Timm finished with a 2-2 record on the day, while Keith Tourtillott went 1-2 after earning a first round bye.
Timm’s wins were by a 15-0 technical fall and 9-3 decision. Tourtillott opened his day with a pin in 2:37 before dropping his final two matches.
Sam Tourtillott and Kohn took similar paths to fourth-place finishes.
Tourtillott earned a 3-2 decision win over Pulaski’s Ray Niec before being pinned in back-to-back matches. Tourtillott was awarded fourth by rule over Niec. Kohn opened the day with an 8-7 decision win over Green Bay Preble’s Jakob Wolfe before losing a major decision and by pin. Kohn took fourth by rule over Wolfe.
Reef Anthony (138) and Crede Timm (170) each finished fifth for Shawano.
ANTIGO REGIONAL
Team scores: 1. Ashwaubenon 195.5; 2. Pulaski 181.5; 3. Green Bay Preble 157; 4. Bay Port 156.5; 5. De Pere 134.5; 6. Antigo 133; 7. Shawano 100.5; 8. Green Bay United 62.