The LCL wrestling team concluded its pre-Christmas portion of the season on a remarkable stretch, having experienced a level of continued success that is unprecedented in the program’s history. Senior Matt Dobson (12-0), sophomore Nate Grooms (13-0), and freshman Mac Ramage (10-0) all enter the break undefeated, while senior Jacob Waltersdorf (10-2) and freshman Sam Buchholz (11-2) hold only two losses to their names this season.
While wrestling is an individual sport, the team as a whole has experienced a lot of group success, and has the numbers to show for it. LCL has a combined total of 8 varsity tournament wins between just two showings, earning 5th place overall at the St. John’s Lancer Invitational and 4th place at the Oostburg Invitational. Getting in on the varsity action in Oostburg was freshman Josh Vandre, who won two of his three matches to take fifth place.
Also making a strong statement early on was freshman Gavin Kiley, who earned his first win in his first career match at Martin Luther. Continuing the trend of freshmen making an impact, Charlie Konicek (3-2), Oliver Neff (1-4), and Tyler Wiedel (2-3) have all earned wins at the varsity level.
On the JV level, LCL had a strong showing at the Dan Gaynor JV Invitational at West Allis Central, headlined by Vandre winning his bracket. Wiedel and Kiley took second and third place, respectively, combining for 18 team points. Sophomores Dawson Zur and Noah Henderson each took third place, winning three of their six total bouts.
Sophomore Jacob Plopper earned his first career win in an exhibition match in the dual meet against Living Word Lutheran, getting the victory by fall at 1:11.
The Lightning look to continue the strong performance in their second-half schedule, which features two dual meets at Whitnall and Shoreland Lutheran, three varsity meets, and one JV meet before the postseason, which begins with the conference tournament on February 4.
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