BELOIT — Beloit Turner wrestling head coach Matt Ries knew he had plenty of strong up-and-coming wrestlers on his squad. He just didn’t expect such an immediate impact.
But the Trojans have undergone some serious growth over the course of the season, and they will have a chance to showcase how far they have come at the Rock Valley Conference tournament hosted at Delavan-Darien High School at 9 a.m. Saturday.
“If you'd have told me or even suggested that we would finish 17-6 in dual meets, if you'd have said that a group that was so young could do so much — there was a lot of work by the coaching staff,” Ries said. “We got to a point about halfway to two-thirds of the way through the season where we could see they were getting it and they started doing things differently and holding themselves accountable.”
Turner’s senior group of three might be small, but their impact on the program has been that of a much larger group. And the trio of Zack Ries (144), Tony Hamilton (285) and Carlos Ramirez (165) are all expected to compete for conference championships this weekend.
Ries missed time at the start of the season after a left knee injury and then tore a muscle in his right knee, but it was determined he couldn’t injure it any worse. The senior has had to fight through the pain in each match but continues to get victories and pins.
“Zack has been wrestling since he could walk,” coach Ries said. “The experience he has is why he has the technique and desire. Zack's a different character in terms of his drive and motivation.”
Ramirez is the Trojans’ lone No. 1 seeded wrestler heading into Saturday, and he will anchor the higher weight divisions with Hamilton.
“Carlos has had a great year,” Ries said. “I had coaches coming up to me last Saturday, at the Wisconsin Dells (meet), saying, 'Is it possible to pin that kid ever?' And I said, Yeah, I don't think it is.'
“And Tony's been wrestling some bigger guys that aren't in as good a shape as he is, and he's able to wear them down and come out on top.”
Turner also hopes to see high placements from juniors Brayden Ward (126) and Brody Berg (150).
Challenging the Trojans for the title will be defending champion and powerhouse Evansville, who is ranked sixth by Wisconsingrappler.com in Division 2 in Wisconsin as a team and has two wrestlers in the state rankings with Collin Frey sixth at 106 and Danny Heiser, a University of Missouri commit, ranked first at 150.
The Blue Devils also have Lincoln Keller (138) and Tim Lund (285) on the watch list.
East Troy could see success at the lower ranks with Landen Bogard placing third at 106, Brady Collins seventh at 120 and Max Gonzalez second at 126. Brodhead/Juda throws in Marcus McIntyre, who is ranked eighth at 138, and Joe Lohmar, who is third at 150.
Monroe's Carson Menehan (132), who is ranked seventh, and Christian Schuh (150), who is on the watch list, are each expected to compete for titles as is Delavan-Darien 285-pounder Kaden Lofy, who is ranked fourth.
Ries added that Whitewater, which finished second last season, could always make a run at the title along with some new additions to the Rock Valley.
“Evansville is probably the favorite, but you add in Monroe and Delavan this year, so that makes it more competitive,” the head coach said. “All of a sudden there's other guys in the conference who might knock off a couple Evansville wrestlers.”
Turner’s girls will compete in an RVC tournament held in conjunction with the JV championships Friday.
Sydney Andrews (145), fresh off a championship win at the Wausau meet, will be a top contender for a title while Maddy Lucero (120) and Haleigh Winke (165) also come in with strong recent results under their belts.
“I guarantee you in a short amount of time you're going to see full girls teams competing against each other just like the boys are,” Ries said. “And that's exciting to think that we're in the middle of creating that. The allure for me is to know that they're not just wrestling for each season, they're wrestling for the entire sport.”
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