ONWARD, UPWARD

WAUNAKEE – Senior co-captains Brason Ballweg and Austin Lankey would like to extend their high school wrestling careers to the limit. That would mean a trip to the Kohl Center in Madison for the annual WIAA Division 1 individual state wrestling tournament. The duo survived their first hurdle when they each placed second at the Waunakee Regional last Saturday afternoon. The best friends and practice partners led the Sauk Prairie/Wisconsin Heights co-op to a fifth place finish out of eight teams with 125 points.  Waunakee won the meet with 234.5 points, followed by Middleton with 180.5. Those teams advanced to a WIAA Division 1 Team State Sectional on Tuesday at West Salem. DeForest (162.5) and Baraboo (156.5) rounded out the top five. “We qualified six with three second-place finishes,” Sauk Prairie/Wisconsin Heights coach Matt Gaffney said.  Ballweg took second at 157 pounds, while Lankey was second at 165. Sophomore Lane Albers also finished second at 190 pounds. “Six is nice. I was hoping for a couple more, but I figured between six and eight is what we were going to get,” Gaffney said. “We had some awesome performances on the day, one being Austin Lankey taking second.” Lankey (26-11) earned a 13-1 major decision over DeForest’s Karsen Gear in the quarterfinals before losing to Middleton’s Finn Grauwels 7-2 in the semifinals. But Lankey, who placed fourth at regionals as a junior, bounced back with a vengeance.  Lankey defeated Waunakee’s Collin Uebersetzig 7-3 in their third-place match. Lankey then defeated Madison East’s Braxton Weisenburger -- who was ranked 12th in the Wisconsin Grappler poll — 5-1 in a wrestleback for second place. “It was real exciting,” Gaffney said of Lankey’s final match of the day against Weisenburger. “He tossed the kid at the end to seal the deal. That kid’s a good wrestler, and Lankey battled him tough all day.” Gaffney said Lankey’s strong finish wasn’t a surprise. “He’s the type of kid who’s not afraid to bleed, which was clear,” Gaffney said. “He had a nosebleed. He split his eyebrow open, but he kept coming. I was super happy with his performance.” Lankey bounded off the mat with a renewed sense of accomplishment. “It feels good to go on,” said Lankey, who finished fourth at sectionals last year. “I knew my matches against Middleton and East were going to be tough.  “I think the biggest difference was my belief this year, believing I could hang with those guys and just leaving it out there.” Lankey was pleased to have five of his teammates joining him on the trek to West Salem on Saturday for the individual sectional meet. “There’s nothing like it. The bonding you get as a team is insane, to have that for one more week,” he said. “The JV guys will keep coming (to practice) even though they don’t have anything to wrestle for. “I’ve been going to state to watch every year since I was knee high. Just to have the potential to wrestle there is special.”  Ballweg (32-13) repeated as a regional runner-up, winning two of his three matches. He didn’t waste any time, pinning Madison East’s D`Amonte Brownridge in 97 seconds in the quarterfinals. But after Ballweg earned a hard-fought 8-7 decision over DeForest’s Tucker Schmidt, he lost his first-place match with 10th-ranked Madison West’s Damiano Cappellini, getting pinned in 3:41. Ballweg then earned a runner-up finish in the second-place match by no contest since he had earlier defeated Schmidt. “I thought we wrestled decently as a team. It was a fun day,” Ballweg said. “The second match I had was really exciting. It helps your self-confidence to come out on top in those close matches. “Winning by a point helps your confidence. Losing by a point can really rip you down, and not give you much confidence. But winning that match by a point against DeForest really helped my confidence.” Ballweg was excited to be advancing to sectionals with his practice partner. “We always practice together,” Ballweg said of Lankey. “We’ve been doing everything together since youth. We’re always pretty close during wrestling season.” Albers (17-10), who was fourth at regionals at 195 pounds a year ago, was happy to take the next step with his runner-up finish.  He got off to a fast start, pinning Madison East’s Melvin Hunter in just 38 seconds. Albers then made it two-for-two when he pinned DeForest’s Bryar Herring in 1:27 in the semifinals. But Albers lost a battle tough battle to eighth-ranked freshman Reed Falk of Middleton in their first-place match, dropping a 9-5 decision. “Lane Albers had a good day,” Gaffney said. “He had Falk on the ropes in the finals. Falk is a good wrestler.” Albers then earned his runner-up finish by no contest, having already defeated Herring. “My second year in a row, placed second at regionals, I was hoping to do better than last year, but now I’m hoping to do better at sectionals than last year,” said Albers, who lost his opening match at sectionals a year ago.  “We have quite a few guys moving on which will make the atmosphere in the room a lot better this week.”  Albers was pleased with his overall performance. “I came out of the gate pretty hot in my first two matches. Even in my third match, I was pretty fired up, ready to go,” he said of his match against Falk. “That was the first time against (Reed) Falk. I wrestled his brother quite a bit when I was younger. This will be a good rivalry the next few years. Hopefully I can get him next week.” Also advancing to sectionals were the trio of freshman Max Schroeder (106 pounds), sophomore Mitch Ziegler (126) and junior Logan McIntyre (215), who all finished in third place. Gaffney was excited to see Schroeder (21-15) get the day started on a high note when he pinned Madison Memorial’s Mitchell Springer in his first postseason match. “Max Schroeder had a good day. He has a very bright future,” Gaffney said. “He’s very tough. I’m really looking forward to seeing how he develops over the next three years.” Mitch Ziegler (7-15), who had a bye in the quarterfinals, pinned Middleton’s Adler Plamann in 1:19 in their third-place match. McIntyre (26-17) wrapped up the day when he pinned Baraboo’s Avery Hanusa in 1:26 in their third-place match. Gaffney said he likes the Eagles’ chances of advancing a wrestler or two to the individual state meet. “Austin and Brason were our captains, they’re great leaders,” Gaffney said. “They hold the kids accountable. They are good in the room. We are young. That’s something I have to remind myself. We have a lot coming back next year compared to what we had coming back this year.” The Eagles are expecting to return nine of the 12 wrestlers from their regional lineup next year. “Food for thought, this year, we had one winning record coming back, that was Brason (Ballweg),” Gaffney said. “Everybody else was below .500. Next year, we will have five or six coming back who are above .500. We have a bright future.”   Feb. 10 WIAA Division 1 Waunakee regional Team scores: 1, Waunakee*, 234.5; 2, Middleton*, 180.5; 3, DeForest, 162.5; 4, Baraboo, 156.5; 5, Sauk Prairie/Wisconsin Heights, 125; 6, Madison East, 100; 7, Madison West, 69; 8, Madison Memorial, 54. * -- Advanced to team sectionals. Sauk Prairie/Wisconsin Heights individual results: 106: Max Schroeder (23-16) placed 3rd and scored 16 team points. Quarterfinal – pinned Mitchell Springer, Madison Memorial, 2:37; Semifinal – lost by maj. dec. to Brett Farrell, Waunakee, 9-1; Third Place Match – pinned Boone Freihoefer, Madison East, 3:43; Second Place Match -- Brett Farrell, Waunakee, won by no contest.   126: Mitch Ziegler (7-15) placed third and scored 12 team points. Quarterfinal -- received a bye; Semifinal – lost by pin to Payton Schutz, Waunakee, 2:57; Third Place Match – pinned Adler Plamann, Middleton, 1:19; Second Place Match – lost by pin to Bobby Thao, Madison East, 1:45.   132: Chase Urban (18-22) placed sixth and scored 3 team points. Quarterfinal – lost by dec. to Michael Pertzborn, DeForest, 9-2; Consolation Semifinal -- received a bye; Fifth Place Match – lost by pin to Braydon Barbian, Waunakee, 2:27.   138: Torrian Ollie (7-23) didn’t place. Quarterfinal – lost by pin to Malyki Dean, Madison East, 3:10; Consolation Semifinal – lost by pin to Nolan Cavazos, Baraboo, 2:48.   144: Conway Knox (9-22) placed sixth and scored 3 team points. Quarterfinal – lost by dec. to Kelly Chen, Madison West, 9-4; Consolation Semifinal -- received a bye; Fifth Place Match – lost by pin to Braylon Lee, DeForest, 1:23.   150: Marty Ziegler (11-22) placed sixth and scored 3 team points. Quarterfinal – lost by dec. to Owen Kelm, DeForest, 8-2; Consolation Semifinal -- received a bye; Fifth Place Match – lost by dec. to Ashton Mazvimavi, Madison West, 14-7.   157: Brason Ballweg (32-13) placed second and scored 18 team points. Quarterfinal – pinned D`Amonte Brownridge, Madison East, 1:37; Semifinal – won by dec. over Tucker Schmidt, DeForest, 8-7; First Place Match – lost by pin to Damiano Cappellini, Madison West, 3:41; Second Place Match --won by no contest over Tucker Schmidt, DeForest.   165: Austin Lankey (26-11) placed second and scored 16 team points. Quarterfinal – won by maj. dec. over Karsen Gear, DeForest, 13-1; Semifinal – lost by dec. to Finn Grauwels, Middleton, 7-2; Third Place Match -- won by dec. over Collin Uebersetzig, Waunakee, 7-3; Second Place Match -- won by dec. over Braxton Weisenburger, Madison East, 5-1.   175: Bryan Breunig (19-11) placed fifth and scored 9 team points. Quarterfinal – lost by dec. to Owen Voeck, DeForest, 9-8; Consolation Semifinal -- received a bye; Fifth Place Match – pinned Mason Martin, Middleton, 3:54; Fourth Place Match – lost by pin to  Colletti Hill, Madison Memorial, 1:55.   190: Lane Albers (17-10) placed second and scored 20 team points. Quarterfinal – pinned Melvin Hunter, Madison East, 0:38; Semifinal – pinned Bryar Herring, DeForest, 1:27; First Place Match – lost by dec. to Reed Falk, Middleton, 9-5; Second Place Match -- won by no contest over Bryar Herring, DeForest.   215: Logan McIntyre (26-17) placed third and scored 16 team points. Quarterfinal – pinned TJ Dutcher, DeForest, 0:22; Semifinal – lost by pin to Brock Weiler, Madison Memorial, 2:47; Third Place Match – pinned Avery Hanusa, Baraboo, 1:26; Second Place Match -- Brock Weiler, Madison Memorial, won by no contest.   285: Curtis Hankins (29-15) placed fifth and scored 9 team points. Quarterfinal – lost by pin to Dane Schmidtknecht, DeForest, 3:30; Consolation Semifinal -- received a bye; Fifth Place Match – pinned Owen Richardson, Madison East, 1:05; Fourth Place Match – lost by dec. to Henry Miesbauer, Madison West, 7-2.