Tuesday, January 9, 2018 was supposed to be the day when the PEM and Chatfield wrestlers would clash, to decide which team would sit in the driver’s seat in the chase for the 2018 Three Rivers Conference Championship. Unfortunately, Mother Nature had other plans, and instead, both teams stayed home and watched the snowfall, as both schools would cancel all classes and activities for that day. Finding a date in both team’s schedules to make-up the event proved to be incredibly difficult, which led to scheduling the meet on the very last day of the regular season, Saturday Feb. 10.
Now with the event rescheduled, both teams sported an unblemished 8-0 conference record heading into the meet. The winner of the meet would not merely be in the driver’s seat, but would win the Conference Championship outright. The Bulldogs knew they would have their work cut out for them, heading into the always raucous atmosphere of the Chosen Valley gymnasium. Making it especially difficult for the Bulldogs, was the fact that they would be without 3 starters lost to injury in the past 2 weeks.
The Gophers would take charge of the dual meet behind the strength of their lower weights with a decision victory at 106, followed by pins at 113 and 120 to take a 15-0 lead in the dual meet. At 126, PEM freshman Cooper Hofschulte would get the Bulldogs on the board with a 9-2 decision closing the team score to 15-3. Cael Marx followed with a 10-2 major decision at 132 to get the Bulldogs with 8 points of the lead at 15-7. At, 138 Chatfield got the 4 points back with a major decision of their own, but the Bulldogs’ Lafe Aarsvold was able to avoid getting pinned by the always tough Nathan Goldsmith, saving the Bulldogs two points that would prove to be critical later on.
At 145, sophomore Joe Stucky cruised through the first two periods, scoring 7 takedowns. Stucky was well on his way to a major decision and possibly a technical fall, but was thrown to his back in a 3rd period scramble, and in very real danger of getting pinned and losing the match. Showing some extreme grit, Stucky was able to overpower the larger opponent and get off his back. After Stucky got back to his base he was able to get a reversal and ride out his opponent for the 17-11 decision. After 145, the team score was 19-10 in favor of the Gophers. At 152, freshman Alex Rahman, down to 152 for the first time this season, picked up a crucial win for the Bulldogs. The most exciting part of the match happened in the 3rd period. Ahead 10-0 in the 3rd period, Rahman was trying to turn his opponent in a cradle when his opponent was able to plant his hand and break Rahman’s grip. The scramble landed Rahman nearly flat on his back. Once again the Bulldogs were in danger of getting pinned, but again Rahman was able to power off his back and hang on for the 10-5 decision, getting the Bulldogs back within 6 as team score would sit at 19-13.
The 6 point deficit would be temporary as the Gophers’ defending State Champion Jake Mandt would get a pin at 160 and double the Chatfield lead bringing the team score to 25-13. At 170, needing to win at least 4 more matches to win the meet the Bulldogs would send normal 152 lber Carter Marx up to 170 to take on Chatfield senior Davontae Goldsmith. Marx would hang on for the 3-2 win to get the Gopher lead back down to 9 and the team score to 25-16. Yet again, it would seem the Bulldogs would take 1 step forward and 2 steps back as the Gophers would get a pin at 182 to take a commanding 31-16 lead heading into the final 3 weights.
The Bulldogs knew they had to win all 3 of the final 3 matches to have a chance to win the meet and the conference title. Senior Austin Rother, up 2 weight classes from Thursday night, took the mat for the Bulldogs at 195. In the 1st period, Rother was able to get a takedown and 3 nearfall points to take a steady 5-0 lead in the match. In the 2nd, Rother was able to get an escape and a takedown to stretch the match lead to 8-0. Then in the 3rd, Rother was able to get three leg turks each for 2 points to eventually win the match 14-1. Getting 4 critical team points for his major decision, Rother kept the Bulldogs in contention as the team score inched a little tighter at 31-20. Going into the 220 lb. weight class, the Bulldogs needed nothing less than a pin to stay within striking distance going into the heavyweight match.
The Bulldogs sent team pin leader Dustin Dittrich, also up 2 weight classes from Thursday night, to the mat. Dittrich was up to the challenge needing just 1:50 to pick up his 22nd pin of the year and pulling the Bulldogs back into the meet.Going into the final bout of the evening, the Bulldogs still trailed by 5 with the team score sitting at 31-26 in favor of the Gophers.
The only wrestler left who could save the Bulldogs’ Conference Title hopes was sophomore Logan Wingert. Using an obvious strength and size advantage, Wingert was able to control the tie and keep moving forward. When the Chatfield heavyweight finally pushed back in, Wingert was able to drop to a single leg takedown and finish it in the middle of the mat. Not letting his opponent rest for even a second, Wingert immediately went to work on a crossface and secured the far arm with his left hand, all while keeping his opponent flat on his belly. Once able to lock the crossface with both hands, Wingert pulled the far shoulder under, then walk around the head until he could bring his head out over the top. With everyone in the gym on the edge of their seat (or already standing), Wingert was able to tighten his grip even more, inching his opponent’s shoulder closer and closer to the mat and a Bulldog victory. Finally, the last inch of air between the shoulder and the mat disappeared and the Bulldog bench exploded in excitement as the referee slapped the mat. The 6 points Wingert would earn with his pin would give the Bulldogs their first and only lead of the night at 32-31.
Coaches Comments: “We were very fortunate to find a way to win tonight. Chatfield has a very good team and they were well prepared to compete tonight. This was a great atmosphere to compete in, and was a night I’m sure no one will forget for a long time. I’m very proud of how our whole team battled and battled even when, many times, it looked like the chips were down. I’m also very proud of how many people were able to unselfishly manipulate their weights and weight classes, both up and down, to give us the best chance of winning.”
Pictures of the Event can be located here!
PEM 32 Chatfield 31
106: Seth Goetzinger (CHAT) over Garrett Olson (PEM) (Dec 12-5)
113: Cael Bartels (CHAT) over Kael Lamb (PEM) (Fall 3:01)
120: Tate Karver (CHAT) over Dereck Boyum (PEM) (Fall 1:20)
126: Cooper Hofschulte (PEM) over Grady Schott (CHAT) (Dec 9-2)
132: Cael Marx (PEM) over Chase Ketterhagen (CHAT) (MD 10-2)
138: Nathan Goldsmith (CHAT) over Lafe Aarsvold (PEM) (MD 11-2)
145: Joe Stucky (PEM) over Campbell Berg (CHAT) (Dec 17-11)
152: Alex Rahman (PEM) over Luke Irhke (CHAT) (Dec 10-5)
160: #1 Jake Mandt (CHAT) over Connor Jones (PEM) (Fall 1:36)
170: #5 Carter Marx (PEM) over Davontae Goldsmith (CHAT) (Dec 3-2)
182: Carter Fishbaugher (CHAT) over Martin Preito (PEM) (Fall 3:51)
195: Austin Rother (PEM) over Aj Karver (CHAT) (MD 14-1)
220: Dustin Dittrich (PEM) over Tyler Sexton (CHAT) (Fall 1:50)
285: Logan Wingert (PEM) over Isaiah Froese (CHAT) (Fall 1:34)
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