Saint takes third, four Prairie du Chien grapplers at State Tournament
Prairie du Chien’s Traeton Saint gains a double leg takedown of Mitchel Harmon of Bloomer-Colfax in their quarterfinal match Friday morning. (Photos by Ted Pennekamp)
Prairie’s Matt Rogge gains an advantage over Blaze Thurber in their round-one match.
The Blackhawks’ Reid Koenig applies pressure to Zach Pooler in round one Thursday night.
Prairie’s Bradyn Saint looks to gain control in his round-one match versus Gage Coppock.
The 76th annual WIAA State Individual Wrestling Tournament was held Thursday Feb. 21 through Saturday, Feb. 23 in Madison at the Kohl Center. Prairie du Chien was represented by four wrestlers; Matt Rogge, Traeton Saint, Reid Koenig and Bradyn Saint.
The action started on Thursday evening with the preliminary round. Sophomore 113# Matt Rogge was up first for the Blackhawks. Rogge was taken down in period one and rode out to be down 2-0. Rogge chose down in period two and was able to get an escape to be down 2-1 going into period three. Rogge’s opponent chose down and scored a reversal to go up 4-1. Rogge would battle back with a great comeback, scoring an escape and getting a takedown with 16 seconds to go to take it to sudden victory. Unfortunately, Rogge’s opponent scored a takedown to win 6-4. Rogge finished the season with a record of 30-6.
Next up was senior 145# Reid Koenig. Koenig scored first with a takedown. His opponent would get an escape and a takedown with seconds remaining in period one. Koenig would score a quick reversal to make the score 4-3 going into period two. Koenig chose down and again scored on a reversal to make in 6-3. His opponent would get an escape to cut the lead to 6-4. Koenig was called for an illegal slam and his opponent received one point. In period three, Koenig’s opponent chose down, scored on an escape, got a takedown and also two nearfall points to go up 10-6. Koenig would score another reversal. Having to look for something big, Koenig cut his opponent, but time ran out in a 11-8 defeat. Koenig finished the season 34-7, with 124 wins, which is seventh most in program history.
At 152#, sophomore Bradyn Saint would take his turn. In period one, Saint’s opponent would strike first with a takedown. Saint would answer with an escape. Saint’s opponent would get another takedown along with two nearfall points to lead 6-1 after one period. In period two, Saint chose down and would get an escape. With seconds left, Saint would score a takedown to cut the lead to 6-4 going into period three. In period three, Saint’s opponent would get an escape and a takedown to win 9-4. Saint finished the season with a record of 41-7.
On Friday morning, Sectional champ Traeton Saint would open the quarterfinal round. The junior would score a major decision with an 11-3 win. In the victory, Saint scored two takedowns, two escapes, and also two different pinning combinations for near fall points. The win moved him into Friday night’s semifinal round.
Saint ran into a buzzsaw, losing by major decision 19-8 against the eventual state champion. The loss dropped Saint into Saturday morning’s consolation semifinal. Saint would win 9-3 with a couple of takedowns and a nearfall combination to move himself into the third place match.
In that match, Saint would be taken down first, but would answer with a reversal and a three-point nearfall before giving up a reversal for a 5-4 lead after one period. In period two, Saint would choose down, get a reversal and score three more nearfall points. Saint’s opponent would score a reversal to make the score 10-6 going into the final period. In period three, Saint would ride hard, but give up a late reversal. Saint’s opponent was assessed a penalty point at the end of the match to make the final score 11-8, as Saint earned a third-place finish. Saint ended the season 43-7. He is the first PDC wrestler to win 40 plus matches in three seasons. Traeton already has 134 wins, which puts him in a fourth-place tie for most program wins. With last year’s second place, Traeton becomes only the fourth PDC wrestler to ever place multiple times at the state tournament, joining Mike Lenzendorf (fourth in 2004 and first in 2005), Taylor Elliott (sixth in 2011, second in 2013 and second in 2014) and Clayton Beers (sixth in 2013 and third in 2016).
Match results for Prairie’s four wrestlers are as follows.
D2 113 - Matt Rogge (30-6)
Round 1 - Blaze Thurber (Nekoosa/Assumption/Port Edwards) 42-7 won in sudden victory 6-4 over Matt Rogge (Prairie du Chien) 30-6.
138 - Traeton Saint (43-7) placed third and scored 13 team points.
Quarterfinal - Traeton Saint (Prairie du Chien) 43-7 won by major decision 11-3 over Mitchel Harmon (Bloomer/Colfax) 33-4.
Semifinal - Aidan Medora (St. John’s NW Mil. Ac./Br. Ac.) 33-0 won by major decision 19-8 over Traeton Saint (Prairie du Chien) 43-7.
Consolation Semifinal - Traeton Saint (Prairie du Chien) 43-7 won by decision 9-3 over Ethan Schwartz (Denmark) 33-9.
Third Place Match - Traeton Saint (Prairie du Chien) 43-7 won by decision 11-8 over Craig Elsen (Nekoosa/Assumpt./Port Edw.) 44-6.
145 - Reid Koenig (33-8)
Round 1 - Zach Pooler (Northwestern) 33-12 won by decision 11-8 over Reid Koenig (Prairie du Chien) 33-8.
152 - Bradyn Saint (41-7)
Round 1 - Gage Coppock (Mosinee) 37-5 won by decision 9-4 over Bradyn Saint (Prairie du Chien) 41-7.
