Let’s wrestle at the…

Cheesehead Invitational

Participants: Bay Port, Belvidere (IL), Boyceville, Cashton, DeForest, Heartland-Arrowhead, Iowa-Grant, Kaukauna, Luxemburg-Casco, Merrill, Milton, Mineral Point, Montini (IL), River Valley, Seymour, Stoughton, Wausau West, Westby, Wrightstown

Format: Individual Tournament

Date: Friday, January 6^th - Saturday, January 7^th

Location: Kaukauna High School

And just when I thought I’d watched two days of wrestling loaded with talent, along comes the Cheesehead.  Unlike my regular attendance of Bi-State each year, I have not once been to the almighty Cheesehead.  I do not use the term “almighty” lightly.  Bi-State was impressive with its 81 ranked wrestlers within 51 teams, but I am stunned at the numbers for Cheesehead.  This weekend promises 82 ranked wrestlers within only 17 Wisconsin teams, plus additional talent from Illinois teams Belvidere and Montini, who is #12 in the nation and #2 in Illinois‘s Class AA.  Thirteen schools hold Wisconsin Wrestling rankings:

Division I:  #2 Kaukauna, #3 Merrill, #4 Stoughton, #6 Wausau West, #7 Heartland-Arrowhead, HM DeForest

Division II:  #1 Luxemburg-Casco, HM Westby

Division III:  #1 Iowa-Grant, #2 Cashton, #3 Wrightstown, #4 Mineral Point, #5 Boyceville

Individually, the tournament boasts 13 #1-ranked wrestlers, three of whom are projected to be at the 140-pound weight class (!).  Let’s take a look at this weekend weight-by-weight.

103:  From DI come DeForest’s #3-ranked Darren Langer and Kaukauna’s #3-ranked 112-pounder Adam Van Schyndel.  Other ranked wrestlers include #6 Adam Zehren of Luxemburg-Casco, #6 Cameron Flock of Cashton, and #7 Stephen Schnurer of Wrightstown.  Also at 103 is Montini’s Joey Norton, a 22-6 senior who placed 3^rd last year at the tournament.

112:  Look for the most impressive performance at this weight class from D3 Cashton’s #1-ranked Andrew Dahl.  His competitors include #6 Brodie Altfillish of Merrill, #6 Hunter Burghy of Iowa-Grant, #7 Seth Moe of Seymour, #8 Andrew Zwirlein of Heartland-Arrowhead, #9 Dylan Shaffer of River Valley, and #10 Derek Rauls of DeForest.  Also one to be noted is the unranked and underestimated Steven Monk of Wausau West, a freshman who holds a record of 19-0 and won the Mid-States tournament this past weekend with five pins.

119: The top contenders in this weight class should be #2 Ryan Renon of Wrightstown, #3 Arik Yde of Heartland-Arrowhead, and #3 Garret Kite of Iowa-Grant.  The #1 seed is Carson Beebe of Montini, a 12-4 junior who placed 5^th at Cheesehead last year.  Toss in #8 Glen Meyerhofer of Kaukauna, #8 Jeff Crooke of River Valley, #9 Shawn Perry of Merrill, and #10 Tyler Mlsna of Cashton, who pulled a win over Yde at Bi-State, and you have another impressive bracket.

125: #1-ranked Alex Dahl of Cashton secures the #1 seed this weekend with his 20-0 record and a Bi-State championship under his belt.  Joining him will be #3 Nate Coulliard of Kaukauna, #4 Chris Senner of Heartland-Arrowhead, #6 Matt Schneider of Merrill, #7 Chris Seidel of Luxemburg-Casco, #7 Kyle Schneider of Wrightstown, and #10 Darrin Hampton of Iowa-Grant.

130:  This weight class could show a battle between two #1-ranked wrestlers: Josh Kyle of Wausau West and Curtis Fiedler of Mineral Point, both undefeated so far this season.  Other ranked wrestlers at this weight include #6 Brad Larson of Stoughton, #7 Tony Cleary of DeForest, #9 Bret Klopp of Wrightstown, and #10 Nick Hucke of Heartland-Arrowhead.

135:  Arguably the most talented weight classes of the tournament.  It includes #1 Dustin Perry of Merrill, #1 Cade Sarbacker of Iowa-Grant, #2 Kurt Bloemer of Wrightstown, #3 Brandon Arentz of Cashton, and #4 Nate Van Schyndel of Kaukauana.  From Illinois come two returning Cheesehead champions: 2x state champ Brian Martin of Montini and Dalton Bullard of Belvidere, ranked #1 in Illinois’s Class AA.  This will be an brutal fight for the championship.

140:  Not to be outdone by the previous weight class, 140 boasts its own share of talent.  It is the only weight to showcase the #1-ranked guys of each division: Brad Welter of Merrill, former state champ Zac Cibula of Luxemburg-Casco, and Greg Burke of Mineral Point.  Other contenders are #3 Brandon Marcis of Wausau West, #6 Brad Hucke of Heartland-Arrowhead, #6 Steve Kurshner of Boyceville, #7 Andy Iverson of Stoughton, #9 Justin Flock of Cashton, and #10 James Jordan of River Valley.

145:  Tyler Bollant of Iowa-Grant is the highest-ranked wrestler of his weight class this weekend; let’s see if his ranking can hold true.  He is joined by #4 Travis Brueggen of Cashton, 2x state place winners #5 Brad Zellner of Luxemburg-Casco and #8 Aaron Kersten of Boyceville, #9 Jake Poet of Bay Port, and HM Chris Limmex of River Valley. 

152:  The headliner of this weight class is Montini’s Mikey Benefiel.  He’s a 2x state champion and ranked #3 in the nation, undefeated so far this season.  He won Cheesehead last year - as a sophomore.  His competitors will include #2 Ryan Zellner of Luxemburg-Casco, #5 Danny Sullivan of Mineral Point, #7 Dave Hoy of Heartland-Arrowhead, and #9 Myles Elsen of Cashton.

160:  The 160-pound weight class includes #2 Denis Reckleberg of Luxemburg-Casco, #3 Travis Halverson of Iowa-Grant, #6 Eric Boylan of Wrightstown, #7 Joe Budi of Kaukauna, #9 Vinnie Pedretti of Westby, and HM Joe Perry of Merrill.  Montini also brings former state qualifier Chuck Pieritz.

171:  171 will lose a chunk of its talent with the absence of #1 Ryan Woods of Bay Port and #2 Brett Arendt of Luxemburg-Casco this weekend.  The weight class’s remaining competitors include DI’s #3 Andrew Budi of Kaukauna and #4 Matt Hoeft of Merrill, a potential showdown, and #6 Beau Carter of Wrightstown, #7 Jeremiah Hatfield of Cashton, #8 Jesse Roberts of Luxemburg-Casco, and #10 Andrew Olsen of River Valley.

189:  Just when I thought I’d seen an incredible showdown at 189 between #1 David Casper of Westby and #2 Nathan Clements of West Salem/Bangor, #1 Rory Edge of Iowa-Grant comes along to try his turn.  Aside from these two #1-ranked wrestlers, #5 Casey Gray of Merrill will also be seen at 189.

215: The 215-pound weight class showcases the fewest number of ranked wrestlers.  They are #3 Tyler Manning of Westby and #5 Mark Berghuis of Kaukauna.  The #1 seed, however, belongs to Montini’s 22-3 Garrett Goebel who placed 3^rd at Cheeshead last year.

275:  Ranked heavyweight wrestlers include #2 Derik Laufenberg of Cashton, #5 Cody Soderstrom of Iowa-Grant who was runner-up last year, and #10 Mike Gocker of Kaukauna.  Unranked Robbie Goldthrope of Mineral Point who beat out teammate #4 Brandon Blume earlier this year will also be at heavyweight.