Young New Richmond wrestlers step up to answer challenge

• Jordan Bierbrauer

Tiger senior Jordan Bierbrauer (front) tries to get an escape in the 170-pound bout against Baldwin-Woodville.

Talk about it

Tiger coach Mark Neumann was fretting heavily before the Tigers’ wrestling match with Baldwin-Woodville last Thursday.

The Tigers were without several veteran wrestlers for the match. Of the 17 wrestlers available, 10 were freshmen and three more were sophomores. The Tigers’ lack of experience didn’t hold them back. The Tigers strung together seven straight wins in the middle stages of the dual meet to produce a 54-19 win over the Blackhawks.

“That surprised me,” Coach Neumann said about the ease in which the Tigers won the match. “That really bodes well for the future.”

The match started at 152 pounds, where Tiger junior Aaron Daul earned a decision. B-W took the next two matches. One of the wins swung the momentum in the Tigers’ favor was at 182 pounds. Logan Dadez earned his first varsity victory and he did it in breathtaking fashion. He went right after his opponent and dropped him to his back, scoring the pin in 22 seconds.

B-W got a win at 220 pounds, but the Blackhawks wouldn’t get another win until the final match of the night. The Tigers received forfeits at 285 and 106. Dylan Dowd and Shane Blackman followed with first-minute pins in their matches.

After another B-W pin, Austin Anderson and Casey Schuh put together nice efforts. The coaches have been encouraging Anderson to be more aggressive early in his matches. He took down his opponent twice in the 132-pound match, on his way to a 5-3 win. Schuh was able to score a first period pin for the Tigers’ final victory of the night at 138 pounds.

This Saturday the Tigers will compete in the Middle Border Conference tournament at Durand. The Tigers finished third in the MBC dual meet season, but coach Neumann said team results won’t be the focus on Saturday. He’s having the wrestlers move down to the weights at which they’ll be competing in the WIAA tournament series. He said the Tigers could have more team success if he tinkered with the lineup for Saturday. Instead, he wants to get the Tigers some matches at their tournament weights so they’ll be prepared for the Division 1 regional tournament in Eau Claire on Saturday, Feb. 11.

Tags: sports, tigers, wrestling, prep