Bulldogs, Huskies combine to send four to state wrestling

West Allis - All season long, the West Allis Central and Hale wrestling teams have marched along, almost neck and neck.

It is appropriate, then, that the Bulldogs and Huskies remained evenly-matched in a WIAA Division 1 sectional meet on Saturday at Waukesha West.

Both teams qualified two wrestlers for this weekend's state individual meet at the Kohl Center in Madison. Central is sending Skyler Pedersen at 113 pounds and Eric Vis at 160, while the Huskies are advancing Andy Moyle at 138 and Jack Allen at 170.

Naturally, the rivals finished next to each other in the team standings as well, with the Bulldogs sixth at 61½ points and the Huskies seventh with 57 points.

Both Central co-coach Jon Nelson and Hale head coach Randy Ferrell were pleased with their team's efforts at the sectional.

"We did have an excellent sectional tournament, having a lot of potential state qualifiers not going because of the good brackets," Nelson said.

Ferrell added, "From a spectator's point of view, this was a great tournament to watch. The matches were very exciting all day long. From a coach's perspective, this tournament was a battle. We knew going in that the road ahead was really tough, but we wrestled well on the day, keeping matches close and giving ourselves the opportunity to win."

Titles for Hale

For Hale, Moyle improved to 32-5 on the season and claimed the 138-pound championship. He posted a pin and decision in the early rounds and dropped Brody Fitzpatrick of Burlington (32-3) in 1 minute, 25 seconds in the title match.

Allen (38-5) won the crown at 170 pounds, recording a pin and decision early, then blanking Dave Unger of Mukwonago (24-13) by an 8-0 count in his final match.

Moyle will take on Trevor Koehler of Kaukauna (36-13) in his opening state match Thursday at the Kohl Center, while Allen will meet Eric Walsh of Oregon (33-3).

"Both (Moyle and Allen) are great kids who have worked hard to get where they are," Ferrell said. "I know that each one has a goal to reach while in Madison and that they will continue to improve and be ready for the Kohl Center."

Runner-ups for Central

Central's Pedersen (35-3) finished second at 113 pounds. He won two matches, then lost a 7-2 decision to Austin Quartullo of Muskego (41-2). Pedersen bounced back and took second when he won by rule over Jake Vadnais of Mukwonago (34-11), having beaten him earlier in the tournament.

"He can beat anyone at 113 and has a good bracket to make it to the final," Nelson said. "He's working on mental toughness and preparation. The only person who can beat him is himself."

Vis (41-5) took second at 160. He won two matches but fell to Brandt Gavin of Burlington (41-4) in the first-place match before downing Taylor Tomczak of Hale (28-13) by a 7-4 count to claim second place.

"He can take people down and can get away," Nelson said. "He is a good kid with a 3.5 grade-point average. He has done everything the right way and did the best he could. He needs to get a little more mean on the mat and grind out those takedowns."

Pedersen will challenge Ryan Crum of Mount Horeb/Barneveld (35-2) and Vis will clash with Jared Schaaf of Sauk Prairie (36-7) in first-round matches.

Other stellar finishes

Taking third for Central were Tere White (106), Nate Keaton (126) and Brian Smith (152). Losing in the first round were Mark Choinski (120), Donald Dargan (132), Jose Ramos (138), Robert Keaton (145), Hunter Schuettke (170), Zac Werner (182) and Tong Vang (195).

Finishing third for Hale were Tomczak (160) and Dallas Wanta (220). Falling in the first round were Jon Baltz (106), Trevor Kruzick (113), Luke Ellis (120), Jeffery Schubert (126), Josh Petrovich (132), Micho Gruichich (145), Logan Mocco (152), Andrew Buelow (182) and Ryan Vankerkvoorde (heavyweight).

The Bulldogs also took on Burlington in a WIAA team sectional dual on Feb. 14 and lost, 53-6. The victories came from Smith (7-4) and Choinski (8-1).