The LCL wrestling team has ridden its incredible wave of momentum through the regular season and into the postseason, making program history in the process. With 5 Conference champions, 3 Regional champions, and 6 Sectional qualifiers, LCL is continuing to make a lot of noise in the high school wrestling circuit.
LCL closed out the regular season with a double dual against the Shoreland Lutheran Pacers and Kingdom Prep Wolfpack. The Lightning beat the Pacers, 46-30, and the Wolfpack, 57-0, to finish 7-3 on the season in duals.
The Lightning would appear at Shoreland Lutheran just a week later for the Pacer Premier combined conference tournament, leaving the building even more accomplished than the last time. McAllister Ramage (113, grade 9), Sam Buchholz (126, 9), Jacob Waltersdorf (152, 12), Matt Dobson (182, 12), and Nate Grooms (220, 10) all won conference titles, while Josh Vandre (138, 9) took runner-up.
The performances of these six, as well as strong outings from Tyler Wiedel (106, 9), Charlie Konicek (120, 9), Gavin Kiley (145, 9), and Dawson Zur (160, 10) propelled the Lightning to 2nd place overall in the tournament, the program’s highest finish ever at the event. Additionally, the nature of the Pacer Premier as a combined conference tournament meant that the second-place finish still ensured LCL’s first-ever Midwest Classic Conference championship.
The Lightning entered regionals on Saturday looking to keep rolling, and didn’t settle for anything less. All six place finishers at the conference tournament qualified for sectionals, setting a new program record. Ramage, Vandre, and Grooms collected second-place finishes in their respective brackets, and Buchholz, Waltersdorf, and Dobson all earned their first career regional titles. The three regional champions marked yet another record in this season’s continuously-growing book of program accomplishments.
LCL wrestles at Sectionals in Evansville on Saturday, seeking the program’s second trip to the state tournament in Madison. Previous state appearances by Lightning wrestlers belong to Connor Cass (132) and Steve Johnson (152) in 2019-2020.
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