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State Wrestling Day 2 Notes

02/24/2018, 9:15am CST
By Nate Woelfel

Luxemburg-Casco's Bryce Bosman has advanced to the state finals once again

The semifinals of the individual state wrestling tournament always provide a high level of drama.

These matches are often stories of redemption for the winning wrestlers. Other times they are tales of new opportunity.

Friday night’s proceedings were no exception.

Below are a few short stories highlighting the action at the Kohl Center.

Division 1

170 pounds

It has been 363 days since Parker Keckeisen dropped a 4-2 decision to Jose Acosta of Manitowoc Lincoln in the 2017 Division 1 170-pound state championship match.

During that span, the junior from Nicolet spent a lot of time thinking about the loss. He even has a photo of him in the aftermath of that match as the background on his cell phone.

“Ever since last year, I’ve had this background. It’s me, losing in the state finals,” Keckeisen said. “It’s been on my mind every day since last year. So it means a lot.”

Saturday, he gets another shot at glory. A 10-4 win over Hayden Krein (Sparta) pushed Keckeisen back to the state title bout for the second consecutive year. And he is ready to seize the moment.

“I just have to go out there, wrestle my match and I should be fine.”

Keckeisen, now a three-time state place winner, controlled his semifinal match from the get-go, tallying five takedowns over a span of six minutes.

“Faking and snapping. Fake to the leg, snap that arm off and get him moving,” Keckeisen said of his strategy. “When I get people moving, that’s when you shoot. Get people moving, take them down.”

Holmen’s Kalyn Jahn (44-6) awaits Keckeisen (30-0) in the finals. In the lead up to the tilt, Keckeisen plans to follow a schedule similar to the one he used just about a year ago.

“Last year it worked out well. We got a workout in in the morning. I feel like that works pretty well,” said Keckeisen. “I keep my mind on wrestling. Then we go back to the hotel. I bring my PS4. We play video games, relax. Then come here and it’s strictly business.”

195 pounds

Beau Yineman’s high school wrestling career has followed a steady upward trajectory.

As a freshman, he failed to qualify for State. The following year, the Neenah standout made it to the Kohl Center, but did not place.

Last year, Yineman worked his way to the medal stand, finishing fourth.

Now, courtesy of a 10-6 win over Kimberly’s Alex Mischka Friday night, he is a state finalist.

“I’ve been wrestling since I was little,” Yineman said. “Once I got to high school, when I was a freshman looking at the state finals I was like, ‘I want to be there one day. I want to win this tournament.’ It’s really been a great journey from freshman year to senior year, just training hard every offseason, progressively getting better.”

Jack Trautman III (47-3) of Waterford will be Yineman’s opponent in the championship match.

Though it will be the senior’s first and only shot at a title, Yineman wants to approach Saturday’s bout as he has every other.

“Every match is the same,” said Yineman. “So I’m going to try to keep my head clear of the crowd and just worry about the match and not focus on anything else.”

Division 2

126 pounds

Luxemburg-Casco’s Bryce Bosman (47-2) is chasing his third state championship in as many seasons.

And for the third straight year, the young man standing in his way is Two Rivers’ Joey Bianchi (40-6).

In addition to his two wins at the Kohl Center, Bosman holds a career 5-1 record against Bianchi at regionals and sectionals.

Yet every meeting is a little bit different.

“I’ve wrestled him. He has wrestled me. We each know how to wrestle each other, so we have to keep changing it up,” Bosman said. “Because he is going to try and defend what I have been doing to him so far,” Bosman said. “I have to change it up otherwise it isn’t going to go the way I want.

Bianchi bested Bosman at regionals two years ago and held a late lead in their most recent meeting last Saturday. If he can avoid a similar mistake, he hopes to come out on top this time around.

“I’ve been working really hard on how he wrestles,” Bianchi said. “I came short last weekend. I was up 3-1 and I knew I could beat him. But I took a silly shot and he just used that for his advantage. So I think I can definitely come out on top this time. Third time’s a charm.”

132 pounds

Aidan Medora hasn’t lost often during his brief high school career.

The sophomore from Saint John’s Northwest Military Academy/Brookfield Academy is 71-4 with one of those losses coming in last year’s state championship match.

And while he plans to use his prior finals experience to his advantage Saturday night, his 2017 defeat in Madison is not his primary motivator.

Instead, Medora is driven by the success he had this past offseason while competing at the Cadet Freestyle Nationals in Fargo, North Dakota where placed second.

“Probably the biggest motivator for me wasn’t really that [the finals loss],” Medora said. “It was what I did in freestyle and Fargo. There was stuff I was doing that they [his opponents] weren’t. I was getting a lot better. So I think I can just go out there and dominate tomorrow.”

A 14-8 decision over Tanner Deist (Wautoma/Wild Rose) lifted Medora (33-0) into the state finals for the second consecutive year.

He tangles with Ben Durocher (41-6) of Wrightstown in the championship match.

Division 3

106 pounds

Clear Lake’s Ryan Anderson knows what it takes to win a state championship. He won the D3 crown at 106 just two years ago.

That’s why he’s extra thankful for an opportunity to wrestle for another title Saturday night.

Anderson battled an injury last season and ultimately went 0-2 at the 2017 state tournament.

When this campaign began, he was ready to climb the mountain once again.

“I knew that it wasn’t going to be easy,” Anderson said. “I worked my butt off in practice every day and just did what I could to get back. It’s my dream to be back on top.”

With a 3-0 win over Marathon’s Dane Klinger in Friday’s semifinals, Anderson earned himself another berth in the finals.

“It’s amazing to be back here,” Anderson said. “After last season, with the injury, I wanted more than anything to be back on top again.”

The senior, who sports a perfect 45-0 record, faces junior Manny Drexler of Stratford (42-3) in Saturday night’s D3 title bout at 106 pounds.

“Anything I can do, I have to give it my best,” Anderson said. “If I come up short, knowing I gave it my best, oh well. Props to the other guy, he deserves it.”

220/285 pounds

When Amherst heavyweight Max Villnow walked off the mat following his semifinal victory Friday night, one of the first people to greet him was his teammate Bryce Holderman.

Holderman had just clinched a state finals berth of his own at 220 pounds.

The pair of seniors are making their first championship appearances Saturday night. And, in fitting fashion, they will be doing so together.

“We’ve been doing this together ever since we were little, just tiny kids,” Villnow said. “We both started wrestling together in, like, kindergarten. We’ve been playing football with each other forever. Through both of those sports, we’ve done a lot of great stuff together.”

Holderman (40-1) scored a second-period pin against Jack Horihan (33-5) of Aquinas in the semis.

Villnow (44-1) powered himself to a 7-4 decision over Trey Kaiser (39-6) of Brookwood in his semifinal match.

Holderman is a three-time qualifier who has placed in each trip to the Kohl Center. His highest finish was a third-place showing a year ago.

He faces Clear Lake’s Noah Wieczorek (43-1) for all the marbles at 220

Meanwhile, Villnow is a three-time qualifier who is now a two-time place winner.

He will toe the line against Tanner Weber (43-0) of Markesan in the D3 285 title tilt.

Before their high school careers come to a close, Holderman and Villnow want to tackle one last piece of unfinished business.

“It’s just awesome how me and him both started together,” Holderman said. “We built each other up all the way to the top. And it’s awesome that we’re going to go out together, both seniors, hopefully at the top of the podium.”

Tag(s): News Archive  Wrestling  Nate Woelfel