South Milwaukee Pins Second Conference Loss on Whitnall Wrestlers

For the first time in 10 meetings, South Milwaukee High School defeated Wednesday night. The Rockets downed the Falcons, 42-31, in the Woodland Conference matchup that is likely to determine who will be runner-up behind Pewaukee.

Though the final score wasn't close, the outcome was in doubt through the final match. South Milwaukee held a 36-31 lead as Whitnall's Alex Sterling faced Tom Wawrzyniak in the 285-pound division. At weigh-in, Wawrzyniak's 282-pound frame was 56 pounds heavier than Sterling, who is accustomed to wrestling larger opponents.

Sterling needed a technical fall for Whitnall to tie, or a pin or default for his Falcons to win. As the wrestlers met at mat center, Wawrzyniak suffered a bloody nose, which required the match to be temporarily stopped. Rules allow a total of five minutes for treatment of injuries; exceeding the limit results in a six-point loss by default.

Over the next five minutes, the match was halted four times for treatment of Wawrzyniak's nose, as both the injury timeouts and the match itself moved toward the default call. But with 15 seconds left in the six-minute contest, the South Milwaukee junior turned Sterling on his back and used his weight advantage to score the pin and secure the team victory.

Whitnall freshman Anthony Senthavisauk (106 pounds) scored a 17-3 major decision over Hannah Fryer in the night's opening match, giving Whitnall its only lead of the meet. Fryer is the only female competitor at the varsity level in the Woodland Conference so far this year.

Troy McGee, his brother John McGee and Mason Howard contributed pins to Whitnall's effort. Sam Howard won by forfeit and Jeremy Brunner took a 12-7 decision to round out the Falcons' scoring. Mason Howard is now undefeated in 13 matches this season.

Quinlan: Stop the Pins

"South Milwaukee was expected to be one of the better teams in the conference, but this was probably our worst match of the year," said Falcons head coach John Quinlan. "We've just got to figure out a way to stop getting pinned."

Quinlan noted that there were no near falls scored on the Falcons all night--when his wrestlers were put on their backs, the matches were over. "We were getting pinned in close matches," he said, "and we're not good enough to go out there and get pinned four or five times and still win a dual match."

For the record, six Whitnall wrestlers were pinned by their South Milwaukee opponents.

The pivotal loss didn't keep Quinlan from admiring Sterling's effort. "He would have wrestled that match differently if we hadn't needed a pin for the team win. He gave it a great effort," he said. As did Mason Howard, the McGee brothers and Senthavisauk, he noted.

"They did a nice job. The night wasn't a total loss, but it was a match we were very capable of winning. Our schedule is just too tough for us to wrestle average matches," said Quinlan.

There's a chance for a rematch this weekend. Both Whitnall and South Milwaukee are entered in the Stech Invitational at West Allis Central Friday night and Saturday, as are some of the state's top teams. Pairings haven't been established yet, but teams must win at least one of two Friday contests to be eligible to compete Saturday.

PinPoints:

--Whitnall's junior varsity continues to impress. Four jayvees were champions at last weekend's Dells Duals, and eight posted pins versus South Milwaukee's reserves, though team scores weren't kept. They included Peter Moore (expected to be a varsity wrestler but recovering from a pre-season injury), Zach Barnhart, Ryan Olson, Mike Langenohl, Ty Rabideaux, Anthony Hutchinson, Ryan Keierleber and Ethan Harycki.

--Though he's unbeaten in 13 matches this season, Mason Howard hasn't cracked Wisconsin Wrestling Online's rankings of the top wrestlers in each weight class. That could change after the weekend West Allis Central tourney, where Mason is likely to meet at least a couple of those who are on the elite list. "It doesn't matter where you're ranked in December," said his coach. "It's what you're ranked in February--at the conclusion of the state tournament--that counts."

--The wrestlers and several of their families will leave Christmas Day for Shreveport, LA, to compete in 10 dual matches against teams from Louisiana, Texas, Oklahoma, Missouri, Alabama and Florida. The trip is self-funded, in large part by sales of concessions and massive amounts of cookie dough. If you'd like to contribute to the trip and short-cut the Christmas cookie marathon, the dough-for-dough is available at Whitnall's athletic office.