Somerset's Dvorak, Flandrick bring home MBC wrestling championships

• Haydon Dvorak

Somerset's Haydon Dvorak (left) had his opponent balled up quickly for a pin in the opening round of the MBC tournament.

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Bringing home two championships and two second place finishes made for a successful day for the Somerset wrestlers at the 2011 Middle Border Conference Wrestling Tournament in Ellsworth on Saturday.

Junior Haydon Dvorak and sophomore Gabe Flandrick both earned MBC championships on Saturday. The Bushinger brothers, Trevor and Austin, both took second place in their weight class.

Led by the strong performance of these four wrestler, the Spartans were able to move up to fourth place in the team tournament final point total.

Dvorak is an MBC champion for the second straight year, winning the title at 171 pounds. Flandrick earned his first conference title by winning at 135 pounds.

Dvorak beat the same opponent as last year in the conference finals. Ellsworth’s Noah McLay was ranked third in the state in Division 2, but Dvorak wrestled a smart tactical match to win 3-2. Dvorak beat McLay for the 160-pound title last year.

In his first two matches Dvorak showed that he was in championship form. He pinned opponents from Osceola and New Richmond, sticking them both in the first period.

Flandrick is ranked among the top three 135-pounders in the state in Division 2 and he lived up to that billing on Saturday. After an opening bye he won his semifinal match on a technical fall, 19-2.

In the semifinals Flandrick faced a good tournament wrestler, Amery’s Eddy Benitez. Benitez kept the match close, but Flandrick was able to score a 3-2 win.

Getting second place finishes from the Bushingers was promising for the Spartans as they head into the WIAA tournaments. Senior Trevor Bushinger took second place at 152 pounds. After an opening bye, he beat Amery’s Joe Lundgren 16-0 for a technical fall in the semifinals. In finals Bushinger put up a good fight against Ellsworth’s Levi Kuesel before being pinned in the second period. Kuesel is ranked second in the state among Division 2 152-pounders.

Austin Bushinger took second at 145 pounds. He opened the day with a technical fall win. He pulled off one of the bigger upsets of the tournament in the semifinals, beating New Richmond senior Charlie Gartner, 11-5. In the finals Bushinger faced Gabe Paulson of Amery, who is ranked third in the state in Division 2. Bushinger gave Paulson a hearty battle, losing 6-0.

Bobby LeRoy and Marshall Rinartz were fourth place finishers for the Spartans. Mitch McConaughey, Anthony Doree and Zane Von Holtum took fifth place in their classes.

The Spartans now turn their focus to the WIAA Division 2 regional tournament that they will be hosting on Saturday. The top two wrestlers in each weight class advance to the Division 2 sectional meet in Amery the following weekend. Teams joining Somerset at the regional meet are Amery, Luck-Frederic-Grantsburg, St. Croix Falls, Osceola and Unity. Wrestling is scheduled to begin at 11 a.m. on Saturday.

Tags: sports, spartans, wrestling, prep