MCDONALD'S SWNEWS4U.COM GAME OF THE WEEK (Dec. 25–Jan. 1)
PREP WRESTLING: 42nd Annual Bi-State Classic
By Jason Nihles, The Platteville Journal
Belmont/Platteville shines at Bi-State Classic
LA CROSSE — The Belmont/Platteville wrestling team continues its season of reaching new heights Friday and Saturday at the 42nd annual Bi-State Classic.
Senior Kalie Davis won the girls’ 235-pound title, becoming the first female in program history to win gold at Bi-State. Freshman sister Jaycie Davis went 5–1 and advanced to the semifinals at 152 pounds in the girls 77-team tournament before finishing third.
The Davis sisters combined to score 80 team points, which was good for 20th place out of 77 teams in the one-division girls’ tournament. Kallie Davis (12–0, #2-ranked Girls 285), last year’s 165-pound WIAA Girls state runner-up, remained unbeaten this year with a dominating run to the 235-pound title at Bi-State.
Davis went 5–0 and won all five matches by pin, including a 2:58 fall of Eau Claire North’s Rainie Yang in Saturday night’s championship match.
Jaycie Davis (9–2) bounced back from an 8–3 semifinal loss to Wausau West’s Lana Borchardt (12–2) with back-to-back wins to place third with an 8–1 victory over Eau Claire North’s Aubrey Hilton (16–6).
“Kalie and Jaycie wrestled an incredible tournament from start to finish,” said BP girls coach Travis Droessler. “Kalie has continued her success and determination from last season. She showed again she is one of the top girls in the state going 5–0 with all pins and taking home her first Bi-State title.
“Jaycie showed a lot of heart especially trailing 7–0 going into the third period in her quarterfinals match. She didn’t give up and finished with a last second pin to put her in the semifinals. Being a freshman at a tournament this size, to come out, go 5–1, and come home with a third place medal is incredible.”
The Belmont/Platteville boys continued their own historic success, by earning six medals and scoring 155.5 points to finish third in Division 2, the highest Bi-State finish by any BP team. The Braves also finished 15th overall out of 70 boys’ teams.
“It was an incredible weekend, having six boys placers was great,” said BP boys’ head coach Emeric Williams. “Our goal going in was to stay in the top 5 for Division 2, so coming in third and taking home a team trophy was something we were really happy with.
“As for how we keep improving, it’s just a weekly reminder that we can’t be complacent and have to keep our foot on the gas, especially with the regional we have, there is no choice but to keep improving. The boys are doing a great job of not settling and are constantly looking for ways we can get better.”
Freshman Briggs Weigel at 126 and junior Dylan Weigel at 144 both reached the semifinals and eventually placed fourth to lead the Belmont/Platteville boys.
Briggs Weigel (23–4) reached the semis with a first-round bye, a second-round pin and back-to-back one-point victories, including a 9–8 decision over Kiel’s Logan Schad (20–4) in the quarterfinals.
After a 5–0 semifinal loss to eventual runner-up Jon Sterweis (20–3) of Marshfield, Weigel defeated Auburndale’s Zade Grassel to reach the third-place match. He ended his tournament run with a narrow 2–1 loss to Adam Parish (19–3) of Cannon Falls/Randolph (Minn.).
Dylan Weigel (20–4, D2 #3 ranked) began his run to the semifinals with three-straight dominating victories — two tech falls and an 11–1 major decision — before a 7–5 victory in the quarterfinals.
Weigel was sent to the consolation bracket with a 4–2 loss to eventual champion Roen Carey (20–0) of Mineral Point, the top-ranked wrestler in Division 3.
Weigel bounced back with a 7–3 decision over Prairie du Chien’s Mason Hird (20–5) before a 1–0 loss to Luke Kamish of New Richmond in the third-place match. The Weigels combined for 62 of BP’s 155.5 team points, 31 each.
Junior Tyler Kisamore at 150 and senior Kadyn Davis at 175 placed ninth, while seniors Mason Oellerich at 157 and Mason Mandurano at 215 finished 12th for the co-op. Kisamore (23–5) went 6–2 and scored 25 points with his ninth-place finish. Kadyn Davis (22–5, D2 #8) also went 6–2 and scored 22.5 team points, ultimately placing ninth at 175. Oellerich (13–8) went 5–4 at 157 and Mandurano (18–7, D2 9th) went 4–4 at 215.
Sophomore Aiden Weigel (12–8) went 3–2 at 120, senior Cam Spensley (9–6) went 2–2 at 138, and junior Thomas Kastner (10–5) went 2–2 at 285, each won multiple matches over the weekend but did not finish among the top 12 for Belmont/Platteville.
Coach Williams’ team will return to action Friday, Jan. 10 at Prairie du Chien for the annual Southwest Wisconsin Conference Duals tournament, which will decide the SWC’s regular season champion.
