Misconduct penalty gives East grapplers a win

Brookfield East won the Battle of Brookfield-Wrestling-Style in a complicated Greater Metro Conference thriller, 37-36, Jan. 12 at Brookfield Central.

While a blizzard raged outside, the Central gym came alive with cheers for the Lancers' and the Spartans' grapplers. This friendly, but intense, rivalry between the two schools brought out a high level of competition, lead changes and exciting finishes.

In the end, a misconduct penalty on a Central wrestler cost the Lancers a win.

Central would have won the match, 37-36, but when the 1-point penalty was assessed (the referee did not like what a wrestler had said to him earlier in the match), the score was tied 36-36.

The tie-breaker went to East (a misconduct penalty is one of the tie-breakers), and the Spartans got a point added to their score.

The breakdown

The match was a thriller all the way through.

182 pounds: Nic Veling opened the match for Central with a 13-3 major decision over Sam Brunker. Central 4, East 0.

195: East's John LeClaire got the Spartans on the board with a first-period takedown and pinning combination over Josh Mokwa in 1 minute, 51 seconds. East 6, Central 4.

220: Matt Wilcox (BC) pinned P.J. LeClaire in 1:33. Central 10, East 6.

285: Andrew Sobczak (BE) earned a forfeit. East 12, Central 10.

106: Jacob Benning (BC) earned a forfeit to put the Lancers back on top. Central 16, East 12.

113: Nick Olsen (BC) earned a 13-8 decision over Carsten Balke. Central 19, East 12.

120: Joshua Peltier (BC) pinned Ben Lingeman in 5:32. Central 25, East 12.

126: Josh Dempsey (BE) then won a forfeit. Central 25, East 18.

132: Stuart Jennings (BE) pinned Alex Garchitorena in 1:30. Central 25, East 24.

138: Sam Behling (BE) won a forfeit. East 30, Central 25.

145: Casey Dentino (BE) beat Tom Hughes, 10-5. East 33, Central 25.

152: Mark Craig (BC) snapped East's four-match winning streak by pinning Zech Copeland in 5:08. East 33, Central 31.

160: Drew Hepperla (BE) beat Austin Basterash, 10-5. East 36, Central 31.

170: Elliot Yanasak (BC) pinned Micah Childs in 1:58. Central 37, East 36.

The penalty-point deduction came during the second match when the official didn't appreciate a comment from the Central bench (not from the coach). Central 36, East 36.

Tie-breaker: East 37, Central 36.

East coach John Veal threw a curveball by wrestling Jennings, a senior, at 132, and it resulted in Jennings getting a huge pin in the second period. Dentino, who normally wrestles at 132 but wrestled up two weight classes to help his team, won his match at 145. Dentino got an early takedown and led all the way, 4-1 after the first period, 6-1 after the second and 8-1 early into the final period.

The critical match of the night fell on the shoulders of Hepperla, a freshman, who won a tension-filled match with aggressive takedowns in a 10-5 win.

"It is good to get the conference win," Veal said of his young, but improving, team.

Hard loss to take

Central coach Chris Demos was disappointed with the loss on the Lancers' Senior Night.

"It was a tough loss," he said. "We had some kids out due to illness and the guys really stepped it up to pick up the slack. We won six matches and lost four and without the penalty point we would have won - and that was with giving up three forfeits.

"This reinforces the importance of keeping your composure during competition. I think we all learned from this experience."

East hosts Marquette at 7:30 p.m. Thursday; it will be Senior Night. Central will take part in the Fort Atkinson Invitational on Saturday at 9 a.m.

- Paul Behling

Correspondent