Racine Park/Horlick Wrestling
Dec 2 Blackshirt Invite-Girls
The Park/Horlick team had 4 girls competing at the Blackshirt Girls Tournament. Leading the way was Jewel Lee-Howard who finished 3rd. Competing at 132 lbs, Jewel went 4-1 on the day while impressing with 4 pins. 3 of her 4 pins came in under 33 seconds. Freshman Rayany Clapier also finished 3rd for the Panther-Rebel team. Wrestling in the 100 lb weight class, Rayany picked up a major decison on the day, beating Serena Melter of Arrowhead 16-6. Sophomore Aleah Sanchez also notched 2 pins on the day on her way to an 8th place finish in the 120 lb weight class. Junior Rosa Zavaleta making her debut was also able to pick a win in her first ever tournament, beating Julia Setum of Whitnall/Greendale 5-4 on her way to an 8th place finish.
Dec 2 Nicolet Knight Scramble
Four Panther-Rebel wrestlers made their way to compete at the Nicolet Knight Scramble. The team finished 11th out of 13 teams. Leading the way was Laurence Miller and Royce Shabazz, who each finished 6th. Royce, wrestling at 157 lbs, went 3-2 on the day with 3 pins. In his first match of the day, Royce had the #1 seed on the ropes, up 12-2 when he was reveresed and pinned. Royce bounced back to win his next 3 matches by pin, including a :13 pin over Aaden Brown of Sheboygan South. Laurence Miller wrestling at 138 lbs, went 1-4 on the day against some stiff competition and finishing with 1 pin on the day. At 165 lbs, Teddy Schwandt went 2-2 on the day with 2 pins, including one in the 1st period against John Vue of Sheboygan South. At 190 lbs, Gregory Tirado was hurt during his 2nd match and had to medically default out the tournament.
Dec 7 vs St Cat's/Lutheran (box score)
In the first dual meet of the season, the Park/Horlick wrestling team fell to the St. Cat's/Lutheran team 50-22. Park/Horlick won 4 of 9 matches contested. Starting at 150 lbs, the P/H team FF. At 157 and 165, Royce Shabazz and Teddy Schwandt were both pinned. P/H forfeited the next 2 weights making the score 30-0 in favor of SC. At 215, P/H got on the board when Andrew Ledezma earned not only his first ever varsity victory, but his first ever pin as he beat Abner Rincon with at fall at 5:26. Going into the 3rd period tied at 2, Rincon escaped from ottom making it 3-2 and then a takedown made it 5-2. However, Andrew was able to reverse Rincon to his back to get the pin for the Panter-Rebels. The P/H would get another win out of Damien Vaughn at 285 lbs. Controlling the match from the start, Vaughn was able to jump out to a 5-0 lead after the 1st period, and was leading 7-0 after the 2nd. Starting down in the 3rd period, Damien escaped and added his 3rd takedown of the match to earn the major decision by a final score of 10-0. Both teams forfeited 106 lbs. At 113 lbs, Gavin Danielson was wrestling his first ever match. It was a high scoring affair that went back and forth. In the 2nd period Gavin had his opponent on his back after a head throw, but wasn't able to secure the pin. It was 13-11 in favor of SC going into the 3rd period, but Gavin's inexperience started to show and he was taken down and pinned. At 120 lbs, Jaime Urquizo was making his varsity debut as well. In one of the most exciting matches of the night, Jaime was down 8-4 going into the 3rd period. He was able to get a takedown and secure 3 nearfall points, but gave up an escape late to send it into overtime. In overtime, his opponent took him down as time was expiring to get the win. The team score was now 39-10 in favor of SC. At 126 lbs, freshman Adam Spanske was also wrestling in his first ever varsity match and he made it a memorable one. Going into the 3rd period down 3-2, Spanske chose down to start the 3rd. He was able to reverse his opponent and secure a pin for his first ever varsity win and pin. The team score was 39-16. At 132 lbs, Jewel Lee-Howard showed a ton of grit and determination. On bottom for most of the match, and fighting off a wrist and half, she kept battling the whole time. Down 8-4 going into the 3rd period, both wrestlers started neutral. Jewel was able to get a takedown and secure a pin which led to the P/H bench erupting. The team score now read 39-22. At 138 lbs, Laurence Miller was beaten by talented freshman Daire Hankins of SC. P/H forfeited the 144 lb weight class, making the final score 50-22.
Dec. 9 Dan Gaynor West Allis Central Open -Girls Division
Jewel Lee-Howard was the only entrant for the Park/Horlick team and she continued her dominant ways to start off the season. Hardly being challenged, Jewel pinned all 3 of her opponents in the first period to take home the 1st Place medal. In her first match of the day, Jewel barely broke a sweat pinning Yiling Wang of Wisconsin Lutheran with a pin of just 9 seconds. Her 2nd opponent lasted a little longer, but not much. Jewel dispatched of her in :32 for her 2nd pin of the day. In her final match of the day Jewel pinned Niah Holmes of Janesville Craig in 1:32. An impressive day for sure. On the season, the freshman is 8-1 with all 8 wins coming by fall.
Dec 13 Triangular vs Franklin and Bradford (Franklin Box Score),(Bradford Box Score)
In what started at a rough night, turned out to be a good night as the Park-Horlick team earned their first ever victory as a combined program. After losing to a very experienced and talented team from Franklin 77-0, the Panther/Rebel team bounced back for a 41-30 win over Bradford. Knowing that Bradford was stronger in the upper weights, it was important that the Panther/Horlick team start fast. Starting at 106 lbs, freshman Rayany Clapier took a FF win when her opponent didn't make weight. At 113 lbs, Gavin Danielson looked to end things quickly and he did with a pin in just :44, to extend the lead to 12-0. At 120 lbs, Aleah Sanchez looked to keep the momentum going and that's just what she did. Turning her opponent over to her back multiple times with a half nelson and knee pick, Aleah rolled to a 17-2 tech fall victory to make the score 17-0. After a double forfeit at 126 lbs, Jewel Lee-Howard improved to 9-2 on the year with a FF win at 132 lbs. Laurence Miller also received a FF win at 138 lb, making the team score 29-0. Another double forfeit at 144 lbs led into the 150 lb match where Daimien Anderson tried to keep it going. Wrestling in his first match of the year after being injured, he wasn't able to stop his opponent was pinned. At 157 lbs. Royce Shabazz looked to take the momentum back. The junior wasted little time and took his oppenent down right away and got the fall in :27. The score was now 35-6. At 165 lbs, Teddy Shwandt looked to seal the dual but wasn't able to and was defeated by fall. After Park/Horlick forfeited 175 lbs and 190 lbs, the score was now 35-24. However, Bradford forfeited 215 lbs, giving the Park/Horlick team the 41-24 lead and clinching the dual meet for the team. At 285 lb, Damien Vaughn went up against an experience 285 from Bradford from Ethan McClain and wasn't able to keep the pace with him, losing by fall and giving the final score of 41-30.
Dec 29 Waukesha West Holiday Invite
Rayany Clapier made it to the finals of the Waukesha West Holiday Invite and finished in 2nd place. Nanni pinned her fist 2 opponents on her way to the finals where she couldn't keep pace of Mikaela Mathis of Westosha Central. Nanni is now 4-3 on the season.
Jan 4 vs Oak Creek and Indian Trail(Oak Creek Box Score)(ITA Box Score)
The Park/Horlick team took on Oak Creek and Indian Trail in a pair of SEC Duals held in the pit. The P/H was overmatched by the veteran teams and did not win either dual. Oak Creek beat P/H 60-18 and ITA beat P/H 60-24. The highlight of the night was sophomore Paul Fronjian-Frisn going 2-0 on the evening. Against Oak Creek, Laurence Miller was down 8-2 going into the 3rd period, but mounted a furiuos comeback to get the win 12-10. The Panther/Rebel wrestling squad is now 1-3 in the SEC this season.
Jan 6 at Bradford Invite
The Park/Horlick girls wrestling team led the way at the Bradford Invite. Pacing the team was Nanni Clapier who finished 2nd on the day. Going 4-1 on the day, the freshman picked up 3 more pins for the season including one in :32. In the round robin portion of the bracket, Clapier pinned #1 seed Paige Singsonkham of Appleton North. In the finals she met her again and came up short this time. Nanni is now 8-4 on the season. Jewel Lee-Howard also went 3-2 on the day and finishing 5th. Jewel had 3 pins on the day as well and is now 9-3 on the season. Overall the girls team finished in 12th place out of 18 teams. On the boys side, Teddy Schwandt and Damian Vaughn each went 2-3. Both wrestlers placed 6th in the tournament while both notching 2 pins on the day.
Jan. 11 vs Tremper(Box Score)
Not much went right for the Park/Horlick team as they were beat 75-6 by Tremper. The only victory on the night was by Dillon Danielson at 106 who won by forfeit.
Jan. 19 at Homestead Invite
The Park/Horlick team sent 6 individuals to compete at the Highlander Invite, a very large tournament with a stacked field. The tournament consisted of 35 teams and over 65 ranked wrestlers. Leading the way for the P/H teams was Laurence Miller at 138 lbs. The sophomore matman went 3-2 on the night to improve to 6-10 on the year. After losing his first match, Laurence reeled off 3 straight wins, including 2 by pin. Laurence finished in 18th place. Teddy Schwandt went 2-3 on the night with 2 pins and finished in 20th place. At 285 lbs, Damian Vaughn also went 2-3 with 2 pins to finish in 27th place.
Jan. 24 at Case(Box Score)
Wrestling against crosstown our crosstown rivals, the P/H team didn't have enough firepower to get the job down vs the Case wrestling team, losing 54-27 in a Wednesday night dual at Case. Starting at 175, Case built up a 24-0 lead before the P/H team would get on the board winning the next 3 matches, including a pin by Adam Spanske at 120 lbs to make the score 24-18. However, Case would win the next 5 matches to put the meet out of reach for the Panther/Rebel grapplers. Royce Shabazz won at 157 lbs by getting a takedown with 3 seconds in regulation, then getting a takedown 8 seconds into overtime. At 165 lbs, Teddy Schwandt finished off the night with a pin, beating Yasser Khalil for the 2nd time in a week to end the dual meet.
Feb. 2 at SEC Tournament at Oak Creek
At the Southeast Conference Tournament, the Park/Horlick team was led by Royce Shabazz who finished in 2nd place. After beating Yasser Khalil of Case 12-10 in the opening round, Shabazz avenged 2 previous losses to Ryson Nelson of Tremper and won in overtime in the semi's. In the finals, Royce lost to Ebrahim Murry of Franklin. Paul Fronjian-Friso went 2-2 on the night to finish in 4th place.
Feb. 10 at Regionals at Wilmot
Teddy Schwandt went 3-1 on the day to lead 4 Panther/Rebel wrestlers into Sectionals next weekend. Starting the day at the #7 seed at 157 lbs, Teddy lost his first match of the day but reeled off 3 straight wins to finish in 4th place and advance to next weekends tournament. Winning by pin in his next 2 matches, Schwandt then dominated his wrestleback match and won 13-2 to finish his day. The sophomore improved to 11-16 on the year. Laurence Miller, wrestling at 138 lbs, won his first match of the day 11-4 over Gilberto Altimarano of Case. That proved to be a key win as Miller lost his next 2 matches. However, because of his first round win Miller did not have to wrestle a wrestleback match and automatically advanced to Sectionals with his 4th place finish. Laurence is now 7-13 on the year. At 113 lbs, Gavin Danielson won his first round match vs Josiah Wade of Tremper. Wade had beaten Gavin earlier in the year. In a match that went back and forth, Gavin finally took control and put Wade on his back and didn't let him go as he got the fall securing his trip to Sectionals in his first year of wrestling. Also advancing to Sectionals was 106 lbs Dillon Danielson.
Feb. 17 at Sectionals at Wilmot
The girls wrestling team joined the boys at Sectionals and although nobody made it to State, it was a successful day. Rayany Clapier started off the day with a thrilling overtime win over Mya Rodriguez of Wilmot, getting the takedown in OT to win 11-9. Rayany wasn't able to pull it out in the semi's and lost to Camila Garay in the semi's ending her freshman season with a 14-6 record. At 132 lbs, Jewel Lee Howard came out firing on all cylinders pinning her first opponent in 1:08. In the semi's she faced the #2 seed Kaisha Myers of Burlington. After being down early 4-0, Jewel composed herself and quickly came back and pinned her in just over a minute to make it to the finals and a chance to punch her ticket to Madison. Unfortunetly, Amelia Poplawski of New Berlin proved to be too much and ended Jewel's season. Jewel finished the season 16-6 with 15 pins. At 185 lbs, Rosa Zavaleta was wrestling for only the 2nd time this season because of being injured. She came out and pinned her first opponent, advancing to the finals. In the finals she was bested by Killian Kiernan of Muskego, ending her season. On the boys side, Dillion Danielson qualified but wasn't able to wrestle due to getting hurt the previous week. Gavin Danielson, Laurence Miller, and Teddy Schwandt were all eliminated in the first round.