Racine Park/Horlick Wrestling
November 30 vs Franklin(box score)
It was a hard fought battle, but Park came out on the losing end in its' season opener, dropping a 40-39 dual to Franklin. It was a close battle thoughout the dual, but in the end the Panther grapplers fell just short. The night started with Ethan Weaver beginning his senior campaign with a forfeit victory at 138 lbs putting park up 6-0. Sophomore Deshawn Bolten followed that up with a quick pin at 145, bringing the score to 12-0. At 152, freshman LaDainian Johnson dropped his first ever wrestling match. The Panthers got back on the winning track at 160 with Austin Siegal picking up his first pin of the year putting park ahead 18-6. Levi Billingsley kept the momentum going with another quick fall at 170 lbs, putting Park up 24-6. Park foreited 182, Michael Nielsen lost a major decison to Murphy McCutcheon at 195 lbs, and Franklin got a fall at 220 lbs, bringing the team score to 24-22. Senior Jacob Wilson, wrestling in his first ever match pulled out a dramatic 5-3 win at 285 lbs extending the Park lead to 27-22. At 106 and 113, Angel Rodriguez and Jojo Mendoza both took care of business by pinning their opponents putting Park up 39-22 with 3 matches to go. However, it was not meant to be at Franklin picked up a pin at 120 lbs and Park was forfeiting the final 2 weight classes bringing the final score to 40-39.
Dec. 2nd at Nicolet Scramble
A short handed Park wrestling team competed at the Nicolet Scramble and finished 8th. Park only had 5 wrestlers competing on the day, but did well having all wrestlers place no lower than 5th, including 1 champion. Jojo Mendoza led the way for Park by placing 1st at 113 lbs. The sophomore had 3 pins on the day, dominating this competition while going 5-0. At 160 lbs, senior Austin Siegal took 3rd on the day. In his 3rd place match, he pulled out an escape in the final seconds to win 5-4. Austin is now 4-2 on the season. Michael Nielsen took the bronze at 182 lbs. In his 3rd place, he had a late reversal in a flurry of action as the match came to a close, winning 10-9. Angel Rodriguez(106 lbs) and Deshawn Bolten both wrestled well and finished 5th for the Panthers. Rodriguez improved to 4-2 and Bolten evened up his record at 3-3.
Dec. 7th at Indian Trails
The Panther wrestling team plowed through Indian Trails in an SEC tilt winning 55-24. The Park team scored early and often, winning 10 of the 12 matches that were wrestled. Even more impressive were the 8 first period pins recorded by the Panther matmen in their first win over ITA since the 2014-15 season. The night started at 220 where freshman Logan Valukas wrestling in his first ever varsity match pulled out a 10-6 victory behind 5 takedowns giving the Panthers a 3-0 lead. At 285 lbs, Tre Williams made his season debut and made quick work of his opponent with a pin in 1 minute. The next 2 weights brought similar results. At 106 and 113, sophomores Angel Rodriguez and Jojo Mendoza each recorded quick pins in under a minute as well extending the Park lead to 21-0. Rodriguez is now 5-2 on the season and Mendoza remains undefeated at 7-0. After an ITA victory at 120, senior Isiah Culp wrestling up a weight class at 126 lbs made his debut for Park in impressive fashion needing only a minute to pin his opponent. Sophomore Dashawn Bolten kept the pinning wave going for Park as he also recorded a first period pin and improving to 4-3 on the season, making the team score 33-6. At 138, senior Ethan Weaver was injured during warm ups and was not able to wrestle. Park had to forfeit the weight class along with 145 making the socre 33-18. At 152 lbs, freshman LaDainian Johnson got his first varsity victory, winning 13-4. Johnson scored a late takedown to score a major decison. At 160 lbs, senior Austin Siegal improved to 4-2 on the season win another Park pin in under a minute making the team score 43-18. At 170 lbs, Dominic Ford put up a good fight but was pinned by State Qualifier Leonard Kiser, making the score 39-24. That would be all that ITA would get as Park closed out the night with 2 more quick pins. At 182 lbs, senior Michael Nielsen improved to 4-3 and sophomore Jerrel Campbell seeing his first action of the year also getting a pin just over a minute into the match. Park evens its' SEC record to 1-1 on the season.
Dec. 9th at Whitewater Invite
Despite only having 7 wrestlers available, the Panther wrestling team had a very good day as they took 7th at the Whitewater Invite. Janesville Craig won the invite. Despite having short-handed lineup for the meet, the Panthers still racked up 13 pins on the day. At 106 lbs, sophomore Angel Rodriguez charged into the final, tallying 3 pins in his first 4 matches. He was overtaken in the finals by #5 ranked Tyler Gamble of Whitewater by a score of 9-3 to finish in 2nd place. Rodriguez is now 9-3 on the season. At 113 lbs, another sophomore Jojo Mendoza took 3rd place, improving his record to 11-1 on the season. Mendoza lost in the semifinals 6-4, but came back to win 4-3 in his 3rd place match. At 120 lbs, senior Isiah Culp, wrestling in his first tournament of the season, tallied a tech fall and 3 major decisions on his way to the finals. In the finals however, he wasn't able to muster up any points as #8 ranked Collin Widmar of Bradford beat him 2-0 in the highly anticipated match. Culp is now 5-1 on the season. At 132 lbs, sophomore Dashawn Bolten won 3 of his 5 matches on the day, improving to 7-5 on the year. After winning his first 2 matches and falling in his next 2, he was able to pin Juan Orejel of Beloit Memorial to finish in 5th place. At 160 lbs, senior Austin Siegal started off hot in the tournament, winning his first 3 matches of the day. Whitewater had 2 quality entrants in the field that spoiled his final 2 matches of the day as Siegal finished in 4th place. At 182 lbs, sophomore Jerrel Campbell lost his first match of the day, but went on to win his final 4 and finished in 9th place. At 285 lbs, senior Tre Williams had a fantastic day on his way to the finals pinning his first 4 opponents. In the finals, he face the #3 ranked wrestler in the state Keenau Benton of Janesville Craig. Tied 0-0, Williams got caught and was tossed to his back for a pin. Overall, a very good day for the Panthers.
Dec. 14th vs Horlick
The wins were early and often for Park and it couldn't have come against a better opponent in crosstown rival Horlick to the tune of a huge 67-9 win for the Panthers. It was the biggest SEC win for Park since the 2001-02 season when Park beat Case 71-0. It was the biggest margin of victory over Horlick since the Panthers beat the Rebels 71-0 in the 1993-94 season. Park has won 19 of the last 25 meetings between the 2 teams. The night began at 182 lbs, where sophomore Jarrel Campbell improved his record to 6-1 on the season with a 14-6 major decision vicory. After 3 forfeit wins and a 22-0 Park lead, the marquee match ups of the night were on the brink. At 106 lbs, sophomore Angel Rodriguez went up against Carlos Vega who was Honorable Mention in the latest state poll. In a match that was closer than the final score indicated, Vega prevailed 8-3. At 113 lbs, sophomore Jojo Mendoza took on Antonio Puentes. In a match that was back and forth, Mendoza used two 3rd period takedowns to win 9-7 and improve his record to 12-1 on the season. At 120 lbs, senior Isiah Culp dispatched his opponent quickly with a 1st period pin. At 126 and 132 lbs, Park received forfeit wins. At 138 lbs, sophomore Dashawn Bolten scored 9 takedowns and wowed the crowd with a slick panther roll to pin his opponent in the 2nd period bringing the team score to 49-3. After a pin by Horlick at 145 and another forfeit win by Park at 152 lbs, the team score was 55-9. Sophomore Dominic Ford led his entire match at 160 lbs, pinning his foe in the 3rd period and evening his record at 1-1. In the final match of the night, Austin Siegal dominated his opponent and improved his record to 8-4 tallying a 2nd period pin making the final score 67-9.
Dec. 15th & 16th at E.H. Stech Invite
Led by Isiah Culp's 4th place finish at 120 lbs, the Panthers placed 11th at the Stech Invite with 70 team points. It was the highest place that Park has taken since they placed 10th in 2011, and the most points they've scored since 2010. Overall, Park had 4 place winners at the tournament that featured 24 total teams and more than 40 state ranked wrestlers. At 120 lbs, senior Isiah Culp made it to the semi-finals where he was overmatched by returning State Champion Caleb Gross of Coleman and lost 14-1. In his next match, Culp beat returning State Qualifier Dayton Lewis of Wauwatosa 4-0. Culp ended his tournament with a 8-3 to Josiah Lynden of Mukwonago. Culp improved his record to 10-3. At 113 lbs, Jojo Mendoza improved to 16-3 on the season with a 5th place finish. After a first round win and then a quarterfinal loss, Mendoza won his next 2 matches by pin. In the consolation semifinal, he was bested by Joshua Cherba of Waterford. In the 5th place match, Mendoza dominated Brent Miller of Germantown and won by fall. At 132 lbs, Dashawn Bolten had an outstanding tournament. Seeded 9th, Dashawn placed 5th, nearly upsetting the #1 seed along the way. After winning his opening match, he was downed in his quarterfinal match by #1 seed Billy Ganter 16-8. Ganter jumped out to a big early lead and Dashawn closed the gap to 8-6 before finally giving way. He won his next 2 matches by pin and decision, respectively. In his consolation semifinal, Bolten had state ranked Carter Duerkop of Eau Claire North on the ropes most of the match. However, with under 30 seconds to go in the match, Duerkop threw Bolten to his back for 5 points and escaped with a 17-14 victory. In the 5th place match, Bolten dominated Zac Hamel of Wisconsin Rapids and pinned him early in the 2nd period. Dashawn improved to 13-7 on the season. At 285 lbs, Tre' Williams placed 6th for the Panthers. After making it to the semifinals, Tre' was upended by #5 ranked Raul Benevides of South Milwaukee. In the consolation semifinals, Williams lost in overtime to #8 ranked Boyd Biggs of Waterford 6-5. In the 5th place match, Williams was again beaten in overtime by Austin Ertl of Wauwatosa by a score of 4-3. Williams record now stands at 8-4 on the season. Another bright spot for the Panters was Jojo Mendoza winning the Pinner Award for the tournament. Jojo had 4 pins in 6:36.
Dec. 29th and 30th at Oshkosh On The Water
Led by senior Isiah Culp's 9th place finish at 120 lbs and sophomore Jojo Mendoza's 10 place finish at 113 lbs, Park finished with 62.5 points at Oshkosh On The Water. It was the first time Park has had 2 place winners in the 8 years of attending the 64 team tournament. Park only had 6 wrestlers entered and each wrestler won at least 1 match. Isiah Culp improved his record on the season to 16-5, going 6-2 over the 2 days of the tournament. After winning his first 2 matches, Culp lost a 7-3 decision to Wilmot's Joey Graham. Culp poured it on in his next 2 matches, winning by tech falls 22-5 and 27-9. After losing to Thomas Urben of Oshkosh North 4-0, Culp won by forfiet in his next match and in the 9th place match he won a 16-6 major decision. Jojo Mendoza won his first match before falling to Noah Leisgang of Ashwabenon. Mendoza came back strong with a pin and a major decision in his next 2 matches. In his next match, Mendoza lost to Bryce Jankowski of Cedarburg, but stormed back against his next opponent, winning by tech fall 16-1. In the 9th place match, Mendoza couldn't keep up with Drake Hayward of Neenah and lost a 8-3 decision. Also having a successful tournament for the Panthers was sophomore Jerrel Campbell at 182 lbs. Making it to the 2nd day of the tournament, Campbell went 3-2, improving his record to 10-5. Angel Rodriguez at 106 lbs and Austin Siegal at 152 lbs, each went 2-2 and each also had a pin. Dominic Ford went 1-2 at 160 lbs.
Jan 4th at Tremper
Park started fast but couldn't keep up when it got to Tremper's more experienced wrestlers and lost 42-33. Park falls to 2-2 in the SEC. Starting at 182, sophomore Jerrel Campbell, now 11-6 this year, was out to a commanding lead taking his opponent down at every opportunity, opening up a 20-9 lead before getting a pin with 10 seconds left. After a forfeit win by Michael Nielsen at 195 and a loss by Park at 220, senior Tre Williams stepped in and quickly made work of his opponent with an impressive lift of his opponent straight to his back for a pin in :17 making the team score 18-6. Williams improves to 9-6 on the year. At 106, sophomore Angel Rodriguez, now 13-8, got a 2nd period pin after taking Landon Davidson down 5 times making the team score 24-6 in Parks favor. Jojo Mendoza continued his winning ways, beating Riley Dutton 6-2 in a hard fought battle. Mendoza is 22-6 on the year. Isiah Culp continued his personal scoring spree racking up 13 points before pinning Carlos Mclean in the 2nd period. The senior improved to 17-5 on the season. At that point the score was 33-6 in favor of Park. Unfortunately, that would be the last match Park would win the rest of the night. After 2 forfeit losses, Marcellus Stills put up a tough fight against Avry Nichols, but was downed 16-10. Austin Siegal lost a close match at 152 lbs by a score of 5-4 when Logan Davidson scored an escape with :02 left in the match.
Jan 11th vs Bradford
Bradford came into Park ranked 10th in the state and showed why, as they rolled to a 63-6 victory over the Panthers. The Park team put up a fight, but in the end, Bradford was too much. The highlight of the night for Park came right away at 113 lbs as sophomore Jojo Mendoza improved to 23-6 on the season with a 6-4 victory over #3 ranked Collin Widmar. After a scoreless 1st period, Mendoza was called 2 for questionable stalling calls while riding, giving Widmar a 1-0 lead going into the 3rd period. Widmar then took Jojo down to give him a 3-0 lead. However, after 2 penalty points and a reversal, Mendoza was up 4-3. Widmar escaped evening the score at 4. Then, with less than 2 seconds left, as both wrestlers were engaged near the edge of the mat, Mendoza scooted behind Widmar to give him a 6-4 victory! At 120 lbs, senior Isiah Culp battled #9 ranked Cole Ramos. Culp battled the whole match, but in the end fell 8-5, dropping his record to 17-6 on the year. After 3 forfiet wins, Ladainian Johnson came up just short at 145 lbs. Johnson lost in overtime 8-6 to give Bradford a commanding 24-3 lead. After 3 straight pins by Bradford, sophomore Jerrel Campbell scored a 7-3 decision at 182 lbs. to improve his record to 12-5 on the year. At 195 lbs, Michael Nielsen did all he could against Bradford's Kyle Bowens, but bowed out with a 7-6 2OT loss. Bradford closed the night with 3 straight pins.
Jan. 13th at Lake Geneva Badger Scramble
Led by three 2nd place finishers, the Panther wrestlers placed 9th at the Badger Scramble in Lake Geneva. Leading the way for Park were sophomores Jojo Mendoza at 113 lbs, Jerrel Campbell at 182 lbs, and senior Tre Williams at 285 lbs. Jojo Mendoza improved to 27-7 on the year by going 4-1 on the day, losing only to #5 ranked Beau Ladu of Badger 7-3. On the way to the finals, Mendoza was dominating with 3 pins and tech fall. One of the those pins came against Josh Cherba of Waterford, who pinned Mendoza earlier in the year. Jerrel Campbell held up his seed at #2 and made his way to the finals with 3 decisions and a major decision. In the final, Campbell would have had to pull a monumental upset as he faced Jared Kratiger of Waterford who is currently ranked #8 in the entire country. Kratiger made quick work of Campbell, however Jerrel improved to 16-6 on the year. At 285 lbs, Tre Williams who was seeded #6 at his weight, stormed through the weight to the finals with 2 pins and 2 decisions where he lost to Boyd Biggs of Waterford late in the match. Williams was 4-1 on the day while beating the #1, #2, and #3 seeds on his way to the final. Williams is now 13-7 on the year. At 106 lbs, Angel Rodriguez lost his first match of the day, but came back strong to win his next 4 matches. The sophomore is now 17-10 on the year. At 120 lbs, Isiah Culp was 3-2 on the day and finished 5th while improving to 20-8 this season. Other wrestlers to place for the Panthers were Michael Nielsen at 195 lbs who took 4th, Austin Siegal who placed 6th at 152 lbs, and Dominic Ford who placed 7th at 160 lbs.
Jan. 19th vs Case
Park beat crosstown rival case behind the power of 7 pins by a score of 55-21 giving Park the title of City Champs. The wins came in bunches for the Panther matmen as the dual meet was never in doubt. The only lead that Case had was the opening match which they went out ahead 6-0 after a forfeit win at 220. From there on out, it was all downhill for the Eagles. Celebrating Senior night, the Panthers sent out senior Tre Williams at 285 lbs. It was a short match as Tre got 2 quick takedowns, however his opponent was injured on the 2nd takedown as was not able to continue. Williams improved to 14-7 on the year. At 106, sophomore Angel Rodriguez made quick work of Cole Zeitz with a first period pin after racking up 6 takedowns. Angel improved to 18-10 on the year. At 113 and 120, Jojo Mendoza and Isiah Culp continued to lead the charge with pins as well. Jojo had a quick pin in :35 and Culp piled up more points before pinning Joshua Leonard in the 2nd period. This put Park out to a commanding 24-6 lead. After a loss at 126 lbs, sophomore Dashawn Bolton hit his opponent with multiple types of offense and had Josiah Aguilar on his heels the whole match until pinning him in the 2nd period. Bolten improved to 14-9. After losses at 138 and 145 which brought the team score to 30-21, Case wouldn't score another point the rest of the way. At 152, Austin Siegal threw Christian Servantez and pinned him in 1:05. The senior improved to 16-13 on the year. At 160 lbs, sophomore Dominic Ford won a gritty 9-3 decision for his 6th win of the year. Ford rode a 5-point move in the first minute of the match to victory. At 170 lbs, Anthony Nielsen had a dominant 15-5 major decision over Zach Mano and at 182 lbs, Jerrel Campbell was pummeling Brandon Cruz 14-4 when Campbell turned him over for the pin. Ending the night at 195 lbs was senior Michael Nielsen, who pinned Keshari Webster in 2:21 to improve to 8-9 on the year.
Jan. 25th at Oak Creek
Going into the dual meet with a chance to finish in the top of the SEC, the Panthers rose to the occasion and defeated Oak Creek 45-35 in the final dual meet of the season to finish 4-3. Led by a parade of pins, it was the first time the Panthers have finished with a winning record in the SEC since the 2007-08 season. Starting at 120 lbs, sophomore Jojo Mendoza bumped up and quickly improved to 29-7 on the year with a first period fall. Senior Isiah Culp followed that up with his own first period pin at 126 lbs upping his record to 22-8. At 132 lbs, Deshawn Bolten came up with a huge pin to improve to 15-9 making the score 18-0. From 138, Oak Creek went on a run as most good teams do, and pulled ahead by a score of 29-18 with a combination of pins and tech falls. At 182 lbs, Jerrel Campbell stopped the momentum Oak Creek had and came up with an 11-6 decision and improved to 18-6 on the year. At 195 lbs, Michael Nielsen came up huge with a first period pin to make the score 29-27 in favor of Oak Creek. After a forfeit for Oak Creek at 220 and a forfeit for Park at 285, the score was 35-33 in favor of Oak Creek. At 106 lbs, sophomore Angel Rodriguez improved to 19-10 on the year with a second period pin to seal the meet for Park. At 113 lbs, Collin Wallace recieved a forfeit to make the final score 45-35 in favor of Park.
Feb. 3rd at SEC Tournament
It was a good day. The Panthers sent 6 wrestlers to finals and came away with 2 champions as the Park wrestling team had its best SEC tournament in over 15 years. The Panthers had 8 wrestlers place 3rd or better as they finished in 3rd place, the highest finish for the team since 2001 when Park won the 10-team SEC tournament. The 162.5 points were the most scored since 2003. Leading the way for the Panthers were 113 lb champion Jojo Mendoza, and 285 lb champion Tre Williams. Mendoza, after receiving a bye in the first round, scored at will against Oak Creek's Emilee Orosz. The final outcome was a 19-3 tech fall. In the finals, the sophomore faced familiar foe Riley Dutton of Kenosha Tremper. Jojo has won the previous 2 meetings between the two this season, and nothing changed this time around. Controlling the entire match, Mendoza won 9-4 while improving his record to 32-7 on the year. At 285, Tre Williams was the #1 seed and received a bye in the first round. In the 2nd round, Oak Creek forfeited to Williams sending him to the finals. In the finals, Williams again did not wrestle as Venicio Vasquez of Bradford was injured and could not wrestle. Williams took first and didn't even step on the mat. Williams improved to 17-7 on the year. Also making it to the finals were Isiah Culp at 120 lbs, Austin Siegal at 152 lbs, Jerrel Campbell at 182 lbs, and Michael Nielsen at 195 lbs. Culp started his day racking up points with a 17-2 tech fall over Tyler Friese of Oak Creek. In the semi's Culp beat up on #2 seed Josh Finerty of Franklin 11-5. In the finals, Culp lost to Cole Ramos of Bradford 8-1, in a match that was much closer than the score appeared. Culp is now 24-9 on the year. At 152 lbs, Austin Siegal won by pin in his first round match as the #3 seed. In the semi-finals, Siegal was up to the task and easily handled #2 seed Zaunteen Jackson of Bradford 11-2. In the finals, Siegal was unable to overcome Jesse Kovnesky of Oak Creek, losing 15-2. At 182 lbs, Jerrel Campbell was seeded #2 and received a bye in the first round. Campbell scored an escape with :15 left in his semi-final match to win 2-1, before heading to the finals against Murphy McCutcheon of Franklin. Campbell fought hard in the final, but was unable to overcome the state ranked McCutcheon and was pinned in the 2nd period. Campbell is now 20-7 on the year. At 195 lbs, Michael Nielsen made quick work of Luca Sausa of Indian Trail in the first round, pinning him in the first minute of the match. In the semi's, Nielsen had a field day taking down Mahapreet Singh of Franklin before pinning him in the second period. In the finals, Nielsen faced Kyle Bowens of Bradford who beat Nielsen in OT during the regular season dual. This time, Bowens eeked out a close decision 4-2 over Nielsen. At 106 lbs, Angel Rodriguez went 3-1 on the day and finished in 3rd place, beating Kaden Rosas of Franklin in the 3rd place match 8-4. Rodriguez has won 2 of 3 against Rosas this year. The sophomore is now 22-11 on the year. At 132 lbs, Dashawn Bolten also went 3-1 on the day, pinning #2 seed Avry Nichols of Tremper in the 2nd period after dominating the first minutes of the match. Bolten is now 18-10 on the year.
Feb. 10th at Regionals
Park sent 13 wrestlers to the Regional Tournament at Kenosha Bradford, and 10 wrestlers came out advancing to the Sectional Tournament next weekend at Park. Leading the way for Park was Regional Champ Tre Williams who took 1st. The senior was dominant in his 2 matches as the #1 seed, pinning Venicio Vasquez of Bradford in the 1st period and dominating Wyatt Hayes of Burlington 14-3 in the final. The senior improved to 21-7 on the year winning the Regional championship. 2 other Panther wrestlers made it to the final but came up short in the finals. Jojo Mendoza at 113 lbs, lost in the 1st place match by a final score of 5-4, but came back strong in his wrestleback against Grant Koenen of Burlington 14-2. Mendoza improves to 35-8 on the year. Senior Austin Siegal was downed in the finals 9-0 to Ben Kumprey of Burlington, but came back in the 2nd place wrestleback and made quick work of Dylan Scaccco of Union Grove with a fall in the first period. At 120 lbs, Isiah Culp placed 3rd. After a win by fall in the quarterfinals, Culp fell to Cody Welker of Burlington 9-6 in the semi's. In the 3rd place match, Culp worked over Moises Guerrero of Tremper with a pin in the 3rd period. Dashawn Bolton also finished 3rd for the Panthers. Bolton won his first match 21-8, before getting beat in the semi's by Burlington's Zach Weiler. In the 3rd place match, Bolton won in OT over Tremper's Avry Nichols. In the 2nd place wrestleback, Bolton was taken down late in the 3rd period and was beaten 6-5, holding onto his 3rd place finish. At 182 lbs, sophomore Jerrel Campbell finished 3rd. After a win by fall in the quarterfinals, Campbell suffered a 10-0 to Alex Rewolinski of Union Grove. In the 3rd place match, Campbell pinned Dylan Garaffalo of Bradford. Campbell is now 22-8 on the year. Finishing 4th for Park were Angel Rodriguez at 106 lbs, Anthony Nielsen at 170 lbs, Michael Nielsen at 195 lbs, and Connor Harris at 220 lbs.