RICHFIELD – The Howard Lake-Waverly-Winsted wrestling team left with some hardware after competing at the Charley Turner Duals this past weekend in Richfield. The Lakers rattled off three consecutive wins over Orono, Richfield, and Bloomington Kennedy to take first place.
After a tough start to the season with some grueling matches, the Lakers got things rolling in the right direction as they dominated the competition on their way to winning the title.
“Our first week of the season happened to be one of our toughest weeks in regards to competition,” HLWW coach Joe Puncochar said. “It’s nice to go to a tournament like this and remind ourselves, we’re pretty good.”
The Lakers did just that. A 45-30 win over Orono in the first round sent the Lakers to the quarterfinals. That set up a dual with Richfield, and HLWW kept things rolling with a convincing 55-16 victory.
After a pair of wins against Orono and Richfield, the Lakers closed things out in style with a 49-29 victory over Bloomington Kennedy to win the championship.
While winning the title was nice for HLWW, Puncochar was even more impressed with how his young wrestlers handled themselves on a busy day. Steven Heber and Porter Matheson both went a perfect 3-0 on the day, helping the Lakers get rolling early-on in the duals.
“Heber and Matheson both won big matches for us against Orono and Bloomington Kennedy,” Puncochar said. “Our team’s success will hinge on the improvements of our young wrestlers like Heber and Matheson are able to make.”
Heber and Matheson aren’t the only young wrestlers making waves for the Lakers. Caleb Boese, a seventh-grader, was also a perfect 3-0 on the day and has been a key piece for HLWW.
“Caleb Boese is as good as we hoped he’d be at 106,” Puncochar said. “He’s off to a great start at 6-1.”
Another key young wrestler for HLWW has been Colton Long. With injuries striking the Lakers, Long, an eighth-grader, has been forced into a bigger role and has been holding his own.
“Colton wrestled at 220 for us this weekend,” Puncochar said. “We are dealing with a ton of injuries in the upper weights. and Colton is responding very well by being thrown out there every match and competing.”
HLWW might be young, but they are also talented. A big win at a tournament like this could propel the Lakers forward as they look to get healthy and improve each day.
“We are so young, but our young guys are so talented,” Puncochar said. “We had seven varsity wrestlers go 3-0 on the day, and all of them are freshmen or younger. If we can get healthy in the upper weights, we will only get tougher.”
Charley Turner Duals
HLWW 45, Orono 30
106: Caleb Boese (HLWW) over Daniel Musgjerd (Orono), (Fall 1:46). 113: Frankie Stevenson (Orono) won by forfeit. 120: Porter Matheson (HLWW) over Dominick Kariniemi (Orono), (Fall 1:46). 126: Steve Heber (HLWW) over Mason Pankonin (Orono), (Dec 13-9). 132: Mitchell Mallak (HLWW) over Blake Ament (Orono), (Fall 0:38). 138: Wiley Wiegert (HLWW) over Eli McKown (Orono), (Fall 3:46). 145: Remington Albright (HLWW) over Gustavo Cano Garnica (Orono), (Dec 12-9). 152: Isaac Busse (HLWW) over Oliver Stevenson (Orono), (Fall 0:37). 160: Collin Boese (Howard Lake-Waverly-Winsted) over Jacob Schmid (Orono), (SV-1 15-10). 170: Noah Arneson (Orono) over Liam Eberhard (HLWW), (Fall 0:46). 182: John McCuskey (Orono) over Ryan Tuchtenhagen (HLWW), (Fall 5:14). 195: David Wilfert (Orono) over Matthew Fleischman (HLWW), (Fall 0:55). 220: Colton Long (HLWW) over Ivan Fernandez (Orono), (Fall 0:37). 285: Griffin Reiner (Orono) won by forfeit.
HLWW 55, Richfield 16
106: Caleb Boese (HLWW) won by forfeit. 113: Double Forfeit. 120: Porter Matheson (HLWW) won by forfeit. 126: Steve Heber (HLWW) over Cole Linders (Richfield), (MD 10-2). 132: Wiley Wiegert (HLWW) over John Hughes (Richfield), (Fall 3:21). 138: Mitchell Mallak (HLWW) won by forfeit. 145: Hunter Decker (HLWW) over Jace Pulkrabek (Richfield), (Dec 13-7). 152: Collin Boese (HLWW) over Rafael Estrada (Richfield), (Fall 1:03). 160: Isaac Busse (HLWW) won by forfeit. 170: John Woida (Richfield) over Liam Eberhard (HLWW), (MD 19-11). 182: Davion Taylor (Richfield) over Matthew Fleischman (HLWW), (Fall 3:41). 195: Ryan Tuchtenhagen (HLWW) over Steven Cooper (Richfield), (Fall 0:26). 220: Colton Long (HLWW) over Joseph Thompson (Richfield), (Fall 3:29). 285: Juan De Dios-Molina (Richfield) won by forfeit.
HLWW 49, Bloomington Kennedy 29
106: Caleb Boese (HLWW) over Zach Greenhouse (Bloomington Kennedy), (Fall 4:27). 113: Gabe Brovillard (Bloomington Kennedy) won by forfeit. 120: Porter Matheson (HLWW) over Parker Elftmann (Bloomington Kennedy), (MD 10-2). 126: Steve Heber (HLWW) over Derrek Eager (Bloomington Kennedy), (Fall 2:10). 132: Mitchell Mallak (HLWW) over Christian Cortez Torres (Bloomington Kennedy), (Fall 0:42). 138: Wiley Wiegert (HLWW) over Mason Scott (Bloomington Kennedy), (Fall 1:59). 145: Remington Albright (HLWW) over Leighton Gabler (Bloomington Kennedy), (Dec 8-3). 152: Collin Boese (HLWW) over Aner Melgar Gomez (Bloomington Kennedy), (Fall 1:55). 160: Joe Jeans (Bloomington Kennedy) over Isaac Busse (HLWW), (Fall 1:19). 170: Billy Reineccius (Bloomington Kennedy) over Liam Eberhard (HLWW), (TF 22-6). 182: Isaac Grams (Bloomington Kennedy) over Matthew Fleischman (HLWW), (Fall 0:42). 195: Ryan Tuchtenhagen (HLWW) over Quincy Miller (Bloomington Kennedy), (Fall 3:15). 220: Colton Long (HLWW) over Kaimana Lorick (Bloomington Kennedy), (Fall 0:59). 285: Valiant Taylor (Bloomington Kennedy) won by forfeit.