Schools
One Hawk Wrestler Making State Tournament Trek
Junior Tyler Dorfner pulled off a win in a second-place wrestleback Saturday to earn his first state tournament trip.
Greenfield High School junior Tyler Dorfner didn’t let two previous losses to Whitnall’s Ryan Olson phase him.
In fact, his coach believes the 152-pounder used them to his advantage.
Dorfner defeated the Whitnall sophomore, 7-5, in a second-place wrestleback at a sectional at Waukesha West on Saturday, and earned a spot in the WIAA Division 1 State Individual Wrestling Tournament, which begins Thursday.
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“Tyler felt that he had a shot when he arrived at Waukesha West,” Greenfield coach Chris Otto said. “He knew Connor Price from Muskego was going to be tough to beat and knew that he would more than likely have Ryan Olson from Whitnall in a wrestleback.
“Tyler has worked hard all year and had some ups and downs. He always came to practice and worked at getting better.”
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Dorfner certainly showed improvement over the weekend. During the season, he was pinned by Olson and lost to him by major decision before turning the table Saturday.
“Tyler had a game plan on how he was going to beat him,” Otto said. “He executed his game plan and earned his way to Madison.”
Dorfner also recorded a 10-1 major decision over West Allis Central junior Chris Helm before being pinned by Price in 3 minutes, 24 seconds, in the semifinals.
Dorfner (29-15) will face Oconomowoc junior Logan Ballering (36-5) in the first round at the Kohl Center in Madison at 3 p.m. Thursday. The tournament runs through Saturday.
"It was one of the best feelings ever and I couldn't even believe it when it happened,” Dorfner said. “It just felt great knowing all the hard work I put in through the season paid off."
Otto said he happy to have a state qualifier in his first year as head coach.
“The kids bought in to the vision we had and it paid dividends with Tyler going to state,” he said. “I’m excited to see what Tyler can do in Madison.”
More wrestling news: For info on Whitnall High School's two state qualifiers, Anthony Senthavisouk and Zach Barnhart, check out Kevin Clark's blog.
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