Introduction and Holiday Tournament Roundup
posted by Derick Kelly at 1/20/2009
Hello all and welcome to the first Takedown Blog post regarding Wisconsin High School Wrestling. We will be highlighting major happenings around the state including key duals, important tournaments, the best wrestlers in the state and more.
Seeing as we passed the halfway point of the season a few weeks ago, it would be important to highlight the major holiday tournaments in Wisconsin and those involving teams from Wisconsin. Among the larger annual holiday tournaments held in Wisconsin were
Northern Exposure in Merrill which was won by Lodi,
the Mid-States Classic hosted by UW-Whitewater which was won by Muskego,
On The Water Tournament hosted by Oshkosh Lourdes which was won by Mosinee, the
Janesville Craig Invitational which was won by Elkhorn and the
Northern Badger Classic which was held in River Falls and won by Marshfield.
The biggest holiday tournaments that involve Wisconsin teams usually come down to two tournaments; the Bi-State Classic hosted by Holmen High School at the La Crosse Center in La Crosse and The Clash in Rochester, MN.
The Bi-State Classic involved 55 teams from Wisconsin and Minnesota and it offered its place as one the best places to evaluate wrestlers and teams at the half-way point of the season. The individual two-day tournament was won by Bloomington Kennedy of Bloomington, MN
who outdistanced 2nd place Hudson and 3rd place Fond du Lac.
The Clash dual tournament though is a major stepping stone for any team looking to get their squad noticed on the national level or just trying to face some of the best talent from around the United States. The two-day dual tournament held at the Rochester Community Center included 32 teams from California, Colorado, Georgia, Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, New Jersey, Ohio, Oregon, South Dakota, Virginia and Wisconsin. The tournament included many teams that are currently ranked by
Amateur Wrestling News and it included 3
rd ranked and Clash Champion Apple Valley, MN, 8
th ranked Christiansburg, VA who finished 4
th, 9
th ranked Simley, MN who finished 2
nd and 10
th ranked Ballard-Huxley, IA who finished 3
rd. Other ranked teams who competed at The Clash were 13
th ranked St. Edward, OH, 17
th ranked Montini Catholic, IL, 21
st ranked Collins Hill, GA, 26
th ranked Hastings, MN, 27
th ranked Wausau West, 28
th ranked Wisconsin Rapids, 30
th ranked High Point, NJ, 31
st ranked Roseburg, OR, 34
th ranked Iowa City West, IA and 39
th ranked Don Bosco, IA.
These rankings don’t even include the teams at the tournament who are not be ranked on the national level at the moment but are multiple time state champs in their own states. As for Wisconsin, teams that also competed and represented the state alongside Wausau West and Wisconsin Rapids were Kaukauna and Luxemburg-Casco, two very tough and successful programs as well. Wausau West fared the best among Wisconsin teams
by finishing 7th overall while Wisconsin Rapids finished 9
th overall. Kaukauna placed 26
th overall and Luxemburg-Casco finished 31
st in one of the toughest tournaments in the country.
This concludes the wrap-up of the holiday season in Wisconsin High School Wrestling, come back later as we recap the key action in Wisconsin that has kicked of 2009 so far.
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