All of the local high schools were in action at the 37th Annual Northern Badger Wrestling Classic at the River Falls High School on Thursday, Dec. 29, and Friday, Dec. 30.

Starting with the Ellsworth Panthers, the most notable result was senior Anthony Madsen, who took home the 182-pound championship with a thrilling 6-5 victory in the title match against Northwestern senior Tanner Kaufman.

Other notable results include freshman J.D. Minder-Broeckaert’s third-place finish in the 126-pound bracket. Minder-Broeckaert made quick work of Clear Lake senior Mitchell Anderson with a pin just moments into the second period.

Ellsworth junior Willy Penn earned a fourth-place finish in the 132-pound bracket and senior Louis Jahnke took home fourth in the 160-pound bracket. Ellsworth head coach Mark Matzek spoke about his team’s overall results.

“J.D. had a great tournament in a very tough weight class and the last kid he wrestled was a fourth-place finisher at the state tournament last year,” Matzek said. “Willy Penn beat a state place winner in the consolation semis, so that was great for Will. As a whole, it was a great tournament for us and to gauge where we’re at in our section.”

Ellsworth is a team that typically competes in Minnesota-based tournaments, so getting to see the best wrestlers around the state and especially the section is a huge bonus for the Panthers. Matzek spoke about what he saw at the Northern Badger.

“This is a great mid-season tournament for us,” Matzek said. “We have six weeks left before regionals, so it was nice to see these opponents and see how we’re matching up. When we get healthy, we’re within striking distance of Saint Croix Central and Baldwin-Woodville. It’s going to be a dogfight in that regional tournament.”

Ellsworth finished in fifth place as a team at the Northern Badger with 196 points. Saint Croix Central finished fourth with 237.5 and Baldwin-Woodville earned a third-place result with 294 points.

Prescott Cardinals

The Prescott Cardinals finished the Northern Badger Wrestling Classic with a total team score of 32 and as the 11th team in the Division 2 bracket. Prescott’s highest finisher was senior 106-pounder Benny Olson who took fourth in his respective bracket.

Olson went into the tournament as the No. 4-seeded student-athlete in the 106-pound bracket and wrestled his way into the quarterfinals, which was the final match on the first day of the tournament. In that match, Chetek-Weyerhaeuser/Prairie Farm freshman Brady Gesler defeated Olson via pinfall late in the second period.

After falling to Gesler in the quarterfinals, Olson ran into Gesler again in the consolation bracket the following day. The two faced off in the third-place match just before the championship finals were slated to begin.

Unfortunately for Olson, the match went similarly to the first, as Gesler defeated Olson via pinfall less than a minute into the second period. Prescott first-year head coach Ross Wargula spoke about Olson’s tournament.

“Benny had a really good tournament overall,” Wargula said. “He lost to the same kid twice, that’s someone he’ll see in sectionals. We’ll have some film and a game plan by then. (Olson) has six weeks to improve on some of those weaknesses. He improved the second time around, but he’s still got some things to improve upon overall.”

Olson was Prescott’s top finisher by far. Some of the Cardinals’ other best wrestlers either got injured in the tournament or missed the event due to illness. One of the most notable injuries was junior Nolan Thomley, who got hurt in the first match of the tournament.

Less than a minute into his first-round match against Ellsworth sophomore Blake Nelson, Thomley got rolled up on and injured his ankle. Wargula spoke about Thomley’s injury in the debut match.

“Nolan specifically, within the first minute of his first match he had his ankle get caught funny and he was worried that he broke it,” Wargula said. “Luckily it’s just a sprain, but he’ll have to rehab for a few weeks. I told him to take it slow and to make sure he’s healthy for regionals in six weeks.”

Prescott senior Shane Butler missed the 2022 Northern Badger Wrestling Classic as he is still recovering from diverticulitis, a stomach issue that most famously affected WWE and UFC star Brock Lesnar, according to Wargula. He spoke about Butler’s illness and his timetable for return.

“It’s a tough deal for him with his stomach stuff,” Wargula said. “He saw the bracket today and I think he sees that there is an opportunity that if he can get back for regionals, then he has a good shot to get to sectionals.”

According to Wargula, Butler could be ready to return in approximately six weeks, right around the time that regionals are slated to begin. While some of the team veterans missed the tournament or got injured, young up-and-coming athletes got a chance to see high-level competition.

“Culley Anderson got a pin on the backside of his bracket which was really good,” Wargula said. “It was good for him to be in the tournament and to experience this. Freshman Lucas Maier had a really tough draw against the one seed, but he had great effort and didn’t get pinned. Those guys took the bull by the horns.”

Prescott will be back in action on Tuesday, Jan. 3, when the Cardinals travel to Baldwin-Woodville for a quad against the host team, as well as Spring Valley and Somerset. Wrestling is slated to begin at 6 p.m.

Spring Valley/Elmwood The Spring Valley/Elmwood wrestling team earned a ninth-place finish in the Division 3 standings with a total team score of 49 points. Spring Valley’s top finisher was freshman Jack Steinmeyer, who made noise in the 220-pound brackets at the Northern Badger Wrestling Classic.

Steinmeyer began his inaugural Northern Badger with a match against Neillsville- Greenwood-Loyal freshman Braxton Kauth. Steinmeyer made quick work of Kauth, as he pinned him less than 40 seconds into the first period.

Steinmeyer’s run came to an end in the second period of the following round when Blair-Taylor’s Bryan Rogstad pinned Steinmeyer. With the loss, Steinmeyer went to the consolation bracket for the second day of the tournament. Once he got there, Steinmeyer won his first two matches – both via pinfall – in less than 90 seconds.

He advanced to face Cadott junior Alex Tegels in the third round of the consolation bracket, a match that Steinmeyer won a 3-2 decision. The next match proved to be the end for Steinmeyer, as he lost via pinfall to Saint Croix Central senior Jacob Berends in the middle of the second period.

The Spring Valley/Elmwood wrestling team will be back in action on Tuesday, Jan. 3, when they compete in the Baldwin-Woodville quad. Wrestling is slated to begin at 6 p.m.

Jack Steinmeyer of Spring Valley/Elmwood wrestles Braxton Kauth of Neillsville/Greenwood/ Loyal on day one of the Northern Badger Wrestling Classic at River Falls on Thursday, Dec. 29.Photo by Joseph Back