Season concludes for River Ridge Boys Wrestlers
River Ridge sophomore Reese Drew works on De Soto’s Lakota Webster during their match. (A.J. Gates/Grant County Herald Independent)
Braden Skaife works to throw Lancaster's Devin Tydrich to the mat. (A.J. Gates/Grant County Herald Independent)
The Timberwolves' Owen Bedward got the best of Lancaster's Brian Best when Bedward pinned Best in 47 seconds. (A.J. Gates/Grant County Herald Independent)
River Ridge senior Owen Callahan has a bit of a standoff with Mineral Point's Matt Aurit during a break in their match. (A.J. Gates/Grant County Herald Independent)
By A.J. Gates
The 2023-24 wrestling season came to an end for coach Brad Lange and his River Ridge boys last Saturday afternoon at perhaps the most competitive division 3 super regional in the entire state.
The competition was as tough as it gets in the division 3 field with the likes of Fennimore, Iowa-Grant/Highland, Mineral Point and Riverdale at Saturday’s regional held at Mineral Point High School.
With only the top four finishers in each weight class advancing from last week’s regional to this Saturday’s Mineral Point Sectional, the Timberwolves had two wrestlers come close with fifth-place finishes.
At 144 pounds, freshman Cael Koenig finished fifth in his bracket with a loss to Riverdale’s Chaise McGuire in the quarterfinals, and a pin of North Crawford/Seneca’s Jacob Glidden in his fifth-place match.
Earning his team 13 points at the regional meet, Koenig concluded the season with a record of 27-23.
Heavyweight senior Owen Callahan also brought home a fifth-place finish on Saturday, and earned his team another 13 points.
Following a first-round bye, Callahan lost his quarterfinal match to Mineral Point’s Matt Aurit, then had to fight his way through the consolation side of the bracket to secure fifth place.
In his consolation semifinal match, Callahan pinned Lancaster’s Timothy Nelson in a time of 17 seconds, then won his fifth-place match over Bronson Mchone of Iowa-Grant/Highland with another pin.
In his wrestleback for fourth place and a chance to go to sectionals, Callahan was defeated by Mac Neffe of Ithaca/Weston.
Callahan concluded his senior season with a record of 38-15, which gives him the school record for most wins in a single season, surpassing the mark of 37 wins set by Ben Wheeler.
Also wrestling at the regional meet for the Timberwolves, but not placing were: 106-pound sophomore Cameron Wehrle (20-22), 120-pound senior Brady Burmeister (7-21), 132-pound junior Owen Bedward (14-23), 150-pound freshman Braden Skaife (26-23), 157-pound sophomore Reese Drew (1-2) and 175-pound sophomore Tyler Breuer (11-24).
As a team, the Timberwolves accumulated 34 points at Saturday’s regional, finishing 11th of 13 teams. Winning the regional team title was Fennimore, followed by Iowa-Grant/Highland.
Editor's note (online correction) - The Timberwolves will have a female wrestler, ninth grader Britney Petsche, competing at the D3 Mineral Point Sectional on Feb. 17 for the chance to qualify for the WIAA State Tournament.
