For the first time since the 2001-2002 season, the Jefferson High School wrestling team brought home a trophy Saturday from the large Badger Invitational Wrestling Tournament in Cascade.
Out of 25 teams in the highly competitive two-day tournament, the Panthers captured third place. “We definitely proved that Jefferson is a team to watch this season,” said Coach Troy Humphrey.
“With 30 wrestlers on the squad we are one of the biggest in Class B and it really showed as we had the largest contingent of fans at the tournament. We wrestled in close to 100 matches during the tournament and our performance made me really proud to be part of the Panther wrestling program.”
Twenty-two Panthers saw action at the tournament, and nine of them placed in the top six of their weight class to make the winners’ stand. As a team, the Panthers amassed 180 points.
Jacob Travis (138 pounds), Nate Brunett (170) and Nick Workman (205) each wrestled their way into the championship bouts and finished in second place for the tournament. All three opened their efforts with pins in round one and repeated the feat in round two, guaranteeing themselves a spot on the awards stand.
Rounding out their first day of competition, Travis, Brunett and Workman continued their winning ways with pins in the semifinals. Though the championships in each of those weight divisions went to the opponent, Travis, Brunett and Workman finished strong.
Other Panthers finishing in the top six were Emma Brown, Michael Mitchell, Cody St. Clair, Brett Hale, Derek Nygaard and Nathan Rasch.
The Panthers started the tournament in the pig-tail round in which the wrestlers needed to win the match to stay in the varsity tournament. Jayzic Beaupre, Zach Carter and Gracie Olds at 138 pounds, and Miles Dodge, Joe Campagna and Dakota Dorn at 205 pounds competed in that round, with only Dorn securing a win. In the first regular round, Emma Brown (103), Michael Mitchell (113), Cody St. Clair and Rutger Shultz (120), Asher Oliver (160), Brett Hale (170), and Nathan Rasch (285) all advanced in addition to Travis, Brunett and Workman. Winning by pin were Mitchell, St. Clair, Shultz, Travis, Hale, Brunett, Workman and Rasch.
Next came consolation matches, which marked the end of the tournament for Taysen Skolrud (145). Eli Hauptman (132) and Drake Schake and Derek Nygaard (182) plus Dorn each picked up a pin to advance. Asher Oliver also won by decision.
Quarterfinals next brought the competitors to the mats. Mitchell, Travis, Brunett, Workman and Rasch each recorded a pin to gain a spot in the semifinal round.
In the second consolation round, Shultz, Oliver, Schake and Dorn were eliminated. The next consolation round would advance a wrestler into the second day of action and guarantee them a topsix finish. Brown, St. Clair, Hale and Nygaard each picked up a win by pin.
The Jefferson wrestlers finished the first day of competition with 151 team points and in a solid third place out of the 25 teams. With nine wrestlers still in the mix, the Panthers were well positioned for a strong finish.
Saturday began with a mixer format for the wrestlers eliminated Friday. Collecting wins for Jefferson in the mixer were Rutger Shultz (one pin), Gino Dalbec (two pins), Jayzic Beaupre (two decisions), Taysen Skolrud (three pins), Asher Oliver (one decision) and Caleb Allen (one pin). Also competing in the mixer were Dakota Dorn, Drake Schake, Joe Campagna, Miles Dodge, Zach Carter and Eli Hauptman.
Saturday’s varsity action started with the consolation semifinals. Brown, St. Clair and Nygaard won to advance to the consolation finals while Mitchell, Hale and Rasch were defeated.
In the fifth and sixth place matches, Mitchell and Rasch won to place fifth while Hale finished sixth. Brown won her match in the third/fourth place round to take third while St. Clair and Nygaard finished in fourth.
The day finished with the championship matches featuring Travis, Brunett and Workman.
Jefferson was able to narrow the gap on second place Townsend in the team standings, but ultimately could not catch up to their Elkhorn rivals and finished in third place.
Jacob Travis has been selected by his coaches as the JHS Panther Wrestler of the Week. Besides earning three pins and valuable points for the team, he exceeded expectations by entering as a third seed and then avenging a loss from last year’s divisional tournament to finish in second.
Rutger Shultz was selected JHS Panther Junior Varsity Wrestler of the Week. Battling hard in all of his matches, he collected a pin and some points in the varsity tournament and grabbed another pin in the mixer.
Nathan Rasch had the quick pin of the tournament for the Panthers when he pinned his opponent in 26 seconds.
Next action for the Panther wrestlers is a home mixer Thursday, December 7, against Cascade, Manhattan and Three Forks. The competition begins at 6 p.m. in the JHS gym. Friday and Saturday the Panthers travel to the Whitehall Dual Team Tournament. Action there gets underway at noon Friday and resumes Saturday at 10 a.m.
