Groshek leads SPASH wrestlers going to State
Portage County Gazette
By John Kemmeter
Junior Justin Groshek continued his unbeaten season, as he was one of four Stevens Point Area Senior High School (SPASH) wrestlers to advance to the WIAA Division 1 State Tournament at the Kohl Center in Madison Thursday through Saturday, Feb. 21-23.
The reigning State Runner-up at 106 pounds, Groshek (41-0) won the Sectional Title at 106 at the WIAA Menomonie Sectional Saturday, Feb. 16, to earn a trip to state for the third year in a row, while sophomore Karter Stuttgen also won a Sectional Title to join junior Max Schierl and freshman Jaren Rohde as first-time State Qualifiers for SPASH.
“Four’s a good number for our program right now,” said SPASH wrestling head coach Rob King. “We’re a very young team, we’ve only got two seniors on our roster, so all eight guys that we sent on to Sectionals are going to be back next year.
“So I’m just really excited to have some youth up here and to be working with those guys,” he said.
Groshek entered the Sectional ranked second at 106 and won by pin in 1:15 and in 1:36 to advance to the finals, where he won by technical fall 16-0 in 5:46 over freshman Preston Spray of Wisconsin Rapids Lincoln (41-6) to win the Sectional Title and qualify for state.
“I feel like it’s a good opportunity to try and do my best again,” said Groshek. “Try to win it this year and wrestle how I want and have no regrets wrestling out there.”
“He hammered his way through Sectionals, and he’s really wrestling great right now,” said King. “To have an unblemished record with our schedule is a testament.”
Ranked 10th at 113 going into the Sectional, Stuttgen (30-5) won by an 11-3 major decision and by pin in 2:29 to advance to the finals, where he won by an 8-4 decision over Keagan Cliver of Marshfield (30-11) to capture the Sectional Title and a trip to state.
“Last year I didn’t make it out of Sectionals, and it was pretty tough,” said Stuttgen. “So this year winning Sectionals, it was pretty exciting,
“And my goal is just to win one match at a time, and see where I can go,” he said.
“He’s just been a hammer,” said King. “He went 9-0 on the second day of Oshkosh On the Water and really has been lights out since then.
“He dropped a match at Sheboygan to a pretty good Germantown kid, and then lost one to Manitowoc Lincoln on the way, but he’s set for a nice run at the State Tournament,” he said.
Schierl (22-9) won 12-6 in his opening match at 132 pounds at Sectionals, then won 3-1 in the semifinals, before he fell 13-7 to freshman Ryan Dolezal of Marshfield (28-7) in the finals, but qualified for state with the second-place finish.
“I was kind of disappointed because I took second, but it was a good feeling that my season wasn’t over,” said Schierl. “I always looked up to (going to state) and watched my older brother Fritz wrestle in high school at state, and I always thought it was cool.
“It’s going to be really fun, actually being out there on the mat, wrestling with people, and going toe to toe,” he said.
“132 was a pretty solid bracket there, and you didn’t know who was going to come out of that bracket, and it’s whoever shows up to wrestle this time of year moves on, and thankfully it was Max,” said King. “I’ve been watching him wrestle since he was a little tyke with his brother Fritz, and he is really wrestling better now than I have ever seen him wrestle at any point.
“A lot of it is his mental focus and preparation right now is at a different level,” he said.
Rohde (30-13) won by pin in 1:26 in his first match at 220, then won 6-1 to advance to the finals, where he fell 5-2 to senior Layne Kalata of Wisconsin Rapids Lincoln (29-11) to place second and advance to state.
“I knew that my top side was pretty hard, I didn’t know how the kids at the bottom side wrestled, so I just wrestled my hardest and tried to get to the finals,” said Rohde. “I was pretty happy I was going to state, but I was a little upset that I lost my finals match, because I beat him the weekend before.”
“At 220 at state, it’s a 16-man weight class, 14 seniors, a junior and then I got my freshman there,” said King. “We’re expecting him to be there for the next four years down at the State Tournament for us.
“He’s won some big matches already in his career, and we’re looking for good things to come out of him,” he said.
At state, 14th-ranked Rohde will open against ninth-ranked senior Wyatt Hayes of Burlington (26-5) at 3 p.m. Thursday, with the winner to face either top-ranked senior Jacob Somlai of Brookfield Central (44-0) or 12th-ranked junior Keith Tourtillott of Shawano (33-6) Thursday evening in the State Quarterfinals.
At 132, 14th-ranked Schierl will take on fourth-ranked sophomore Connor Thorpe of Brookfield East (37-4) Thursday at 3 p.m., with the winner to go up against either fifth-ranked sophomore CJ Grisar of Waukesha West (38-8) or eighth-ranked junior Jalin Conner of Milwaukee Bradley Tech (38-4) in the State Quarterfinals Thursday night.
“Our goal every year when we go down there, I don’t care who it is, we want to win the tournament,” said King. “And you can’t win it on Thursday night, you take one match at a time and you move on from there.
“It doesn’t really matter if it’s your first time there or your fourth time there, you’ve got a guy on the other side of the mat that wants the same thing as you, and you’ve got to go out and battle and prove that you’re the better wrestler,” he said. “So it’s going to be about who shows up Thursday night and who’s got the heart, and let the grind begin.”
Now ranked sixth at 113, Stuttgen will square off with ninth-ranked sophomore D’evin Gore of Plymouth (39-2) in the opening round, with the winner to take on either third-ranked sophomore Payton Jacobson of Elkhorn (37-7) or 12th-ranked freshman Dylan Ellefson of La Crosse Logan/Central (35-9) in the State Quarterfinals Thursday night.
“He’s got some good guys on his side,” said King. “But he’s certainly capable of beating everyone in that bracket.”
After placing sixth at 106 as a freshman and losing 5-1 to freshman Hayden Halter of Burlington in the State Championship Match at 106 last year to finish 43-2, Groshek will open at state this year against 12th-ranked junior Dawson Enge of Sauk Prairie (36-11), with the winner to take on either fourth-ranked sophomore Alec Hunter of Oshkosh West (38-1) or eighth-ranked freshman Shane Corrigan of De Pere (41-4) in the State Quarterfinals.
The next half of the bracket leading into the State Semifinals at 7 p.m. Friday includes top-ranked freshman Nicolar Rivera of Stoughton (51-0), while the bottom half going into the State Championship Match at 5 p.m. Saturday features third-ranked junior Jaden Verhagen of Kaukauna (40-9), fifth-ranked freshman Cooper Willis of Union Grove (44-2) and sixth-ranked sophomore Carter Ziebell of Slinger (42-6).
“He’s in a good spot, a good draw first round for us,” said King. “A potential Oshkosh West in the second round, we beat him at state last year and he’s a much-improved wrestler, and potentially Stoughton in the semifinals, who’s one of the best in the country.
“But we’re going one match at a time,” he said. “As of right now, we’re prepared for Thursday and all of our preliminary matches and our potential quarterfinal matchups, and then we’ll go from there.”
“My goal is just wrestle the next match, and don’t think ahead,” said Groshek. “Wrestle one by one, win the match, wrestle my best, and have no regrets.”