Tomah captured its third consecutive MVC title Thursday night by defeating Sparta 37-27 on its home mat. Sparta had its chances, but fell short in the end. Seth Harelson lost a back-and-forth match at 171 pounds while Morgan Leis lost a match that was close before getting pinned. It was a tough night for Sparta, but the Spartans were right there and had their chances. Full results are below…
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125 – Derick Johnson decisioned Tyler Von Haden (Tomah) 9-2 130 – Scott Pierce (Tomah) pinned Cody Olson 2:18 135 – Zach Taylor (Tomah) pinned Morgan Leis 4:22 140 – Matt Tourdot pinned Derek Scott (Tomah) 1:58 145 – Jacob McGinnis (Tomah) Nick Anderson 1:43 152 – Joey Organ (Tomah) pinned Jordan Stanek 2:50 160 – Mike Jacobsen decisioned Josh Vollmer (Tomah) 10-3 171 – Dustin Christner (Tomah) decisioned Seth Harelson 7-6 189 – David Pierce (Tomah) decisioned Brandon Amundson 5-1 215 – Kevin Schmitz pinned Darrik Johnson-Reisinger (Tomah) 1:31 285 – Trevor Hutson decisioned Josh Van Gundy (Tomah) 1-0 103 – Kevin Betthauser (Tomah) major decisioned Tom Tourdot 13-3 112 – Derek McDonald pinned Zurik Adler (Tomah) 3:10 119 – Ian Duncan (Tomah) decisioned Adam Simpson 5-1
Final: Tomah 37 – Sparta 27
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Tomah won 8 matches to Sparta’s 6. Tomah also picked up 4 pins to Sparta’s 3. Those differences coupled with Tomah’s ability to pick up a major decision victory at 103 and their one-point victory at 171 made the difference on the night. The Timberwolves’ lineup is pretty solid from top to bottom and it was going to take a near perfect night for Sparta to pull it off and they just about did that. Congrats to the Spartans on their 2nd place finish in the MVC.
Tomah has not lost a conference dual meet since the 2003-04 season. Holmen had a similar run in the MVC from 1993-94 to the 1996-97 season where they went 20-0 in conference action during those four seasons. Tomah’s streak might be more impressive considering the addition of La Crosse Aquinas during the 1997-98 season. Over the past four years, Tomah has gone 24-0 in conference, but my bet is that streak will end next year. Tomah loses a lot of talent to graduation and they will have to face Sparta in Sparta next year.
The loss pushes Sparta’s dual record on the year to 10-4 on the year and 5-1 in conference. Sparta takes one day off before heading back to the mat for Saturday’s MVC/Coulee Tournament. Check back here Saturday night for results from there.
Tonight’s dual between Tomah and Sparta will be broadcast on WBOG 1460AM so tune in if you can’t make it to Tomah. Also, if you are out of state, stuck at home or just can’t make the drive, but have access to a computer and the Internet, logon to WBOG’s website or click on the link below….
After you click on the link above, look in the upper right corner under Elvis’ mug and click on the link that says "Click Here to Listen Now." From there, whatever media player you have on your computer should start up and the broadcast should commence shortly thereafter.
Varsity kicks off at 730 pm, but may start a little later due to a gymnastics meet and an abundance of JV matches that are scheduled for the night.
The MVC champion will now be determined this Thursday in Tomah. A later start time may occur due to a gymnastics meet that is scheduled to happen at Tomah around the same time, but barring any freak weather or other incidents, the 2007-08 MVC champ should be determined that night. I wasn’t able to get another day off of work so no large photo galleries will be posted from the dual, but expect some video of key matches from the night’s dual to show up on Spartanwrestling.com the night of or day after the dual goes down.
In the meantime, check out Derek McDonald’s come from behind victory against Onalaska below…
The dual between Sparta and Tomah tonight has been cancelled because of the winter storm that is expected through push through the region starting this morning. Near white-out conditions combined with strong winds and dangerous wind chills are expected to move into the area today. No word yet as of when the dual will be rescheduled, but I’ll have it up here as soon as I find out.
Thanks to the wonderful guys over at Trackwrestling.com, I’ve been able to compile this scouting report of sorts for Tuesday’s upcoming dual with Tomah. All information is from the 2007-08 season and all records are current as of January 12th, 2008.
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103 – Kevin Betthauser
25-3 record
1st Place at Nekoosa Invite & Tomah Scramble
2nd Place at 2007 Bi-State Classic
2007 State Qualifier, Did Not Place
Ranked 3rd in D1 according to Wisconsin Wrestling Online
112 – Zurik Adler
21-7 record
2nd Place at Nekoosa Invite & 5th at Tomah Scramble
8th Place at 2007 Bi-State Classic
119 – Ian Duncan
27-4 record
1st Place at Nekoosa Invite & 2nd at Tomah Scramble
6th Place at Bi-State Classic
Honorable Mention in D1 according to Wisconsin Wrestling Online
125 – Tyler Von Haden or Ethan Adler
4-13 record (Von Haden), 4-7 record as of 12.8.07 (Adler)
5th Place at Nekoosa & Did Not Place at Bi-State (Von Haden)
Most likely will see Von Haden at this weight
130 – Scott Pierce
20-8 record
4th at Nekoosa Invite & 2nd at Tomah Scramble
12th at Bi-State Classic
2007 State Qualifier, Did Not Place
Honorable Mention in D1 according to Wisconsin Wrestling Online
135 – Zach Taylor
16-9 record
2nd at Nekoosa Invite & 4th at Tomah Scramble
8th at Bi-State Classic
2007 State Qualifier, Did Not Place
140 – Joey Organ
19-11 record
5th at Nekoosa Invite & 3rd at Tomah Scramble
11th Place at Bi-State Classic
145 – Jacob McGinnis
27-1 record
1st at Nekoosa Invite, Tomah Scramble & Bi-State Classic
2006 State Qualifier, Did Not Place
2007 State Qualifier, 2nd Place
Ranked 2nd in D1 according to Wisconsin Wrestling Online
152 – Josh Vollmer
22-8 record
2nd at Nekoosa Invite & 5th at Tomah Scramble
8th at Bi-State Classic
160 – Josh Von Haden or Cole Persons
6-8 record (Von Haden), 6-5 record as of 12.8.07 (Persons)
5th Place at Nekoosa & Did Not Place at Bi-State (Von Haden)
9th Place at Tomah Scramble (Persons)
Likely bet is Von Haden based on who is wrestling that weight most recently
171 – Dustin Christner
14-12 record
4th at Nekoosa Invite & 6th at Tomah Scramble
Did Not Place at Bi-State Classic
189 – David Pierce
20-8 record
3rd at Nekoosa Invite & Tomah Scramble
Did Not Place at Bi-State Classic
215 – Derrik Johnson
15-12 record
6th at Nekoosa Invite & Tomah Scramble
Did Not Place at Bi-State Classic
285 – Josh Van Gundy
24-5 record
2nd at Nekoosa Invite & 1st at Tomah Scramble
10th at Bi-State Classic
Ranked 7th in D1 according to Wisconsin Wrestling Online
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As you can see, Tomah is tough at the lighter weights and weaker at the heavier weights with the exception of heavyweight. The loss of Justin Pollack to New Lisbon helps Sparta as he was a state placewinner and carries a 29-1 record as of last weekend.
Depending on how the dual is progressing, it is likely that some of these wrestlers will jump between weight classes. The same can be said for Sparta.
The dual goes down at 730 pm Tuesday in Tomah. The JV takes the mat at 615pm. There will be video and photos of this dual posted to Spartanwrestling.com later this week. Good luck Spartans!
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