Lodi vs. Prairie Du Chien. As an alma mater of D2 Sectional C (and thus having a vested interest in it even though I’m twelve years removed from competing), this dual holds a special place in my heart. For those of you that share this same interest in this specific, you are beholden to one nearly-concrete truth: You have to beat Lodi in order to be the team representing this sectional at Team State. For those who like these (not very) bold proclamations to be backed up by facts, this one’s for you: Prairie Du Chien beating Sugar River and MM-GET last year to qualify for Team State marked the first time since 1994 that a team made it out of D2 Sectional C without having to beat the Blue Devils in order to get to that point. That is INSANE. In that 29-year span, Lodi made up fifteen of those Team State appearances, including ten straight from 2002-2011, and up until 2020 the non-Lodi appearances were often programs that had one or two shots with historic teams to break through the blue wall in order to wrestle at the field house. For those of you that like deep dives, check out those Team Sectional results to see how many of those teams had to win all-time Team Sectional duals against Lodi just to make that happen (D2 Sectional C duals could be an article in itself but you get my point). Before going too far off the deep end here, I hope it’s become clear why Lodi has been seen as the gatekeeper of this sectional, but the last five years have certainly provided evidence that could spark debate.
Enter Prairie Du Chien. The Blackhawks spent years building a solid foundation of a program and ended up on the losing end of another epic Lodi dual at their first Team Sectional appearance in 2018. After failing to get past MM-GET in 2019 in the Team Sectional finals (guess who the Titans beat in the first round), the logical next step was qualifying for Team State, and Prairie Du Chien has done that the last five years in a row. Now Prairie Du Chien has added their own legacy to Wisconsin wrestling lore, and if I’m in the media game for years to come I’d be hard pressed to think about wrestling in this decade without the Blackhawks and their battles with teams across the sectional and state coming to mind. Ultimately, every great run has its breakthrough point and it’s more than fitting that Prairie Du Chien’s first trip to Team State involved a battle with Lodi that was decided by a meager ten points. But that moment was not the beginning of this rivalry, and it’s safe to say it’s far from the end, just have a look for yourselves:
2018 Team Sectional Semis: Lodi 38, PDC 33
2019-2020: PDC 48, Lodi 21
2020 Team Sectional Finals: PDC 40, Lodi 30
2021-2022: Lodi 35, PDC 33
2022 Team Sectional Semis: PDC 31, Lodi 24
2023 Team Sectional Finals: PDC 32, Lodi 26
Are you kidding me? My heart rate skyrockets seeing those scores, and we get a chance to see these two potentially recreate all this magic on a cold night in early January? This is just bonus context, but these two coaches are about as all-in on their wrestling communities as head coaches can be. Cody Endres is a Lodi graduate, and even wrestled on the last Blue Devils’ State Championship team in 2008. Mike Rogge has been a part of the Prairie Du Chien program for more than 22 years and coached at every level, so he does not take the success of the Blackhawks for granted. And maybe they aren’t crazy like myself and chase the narrative of being the de facto team to beat in the sectional, but they both want what’s best for their team and push them to do that, hence why we are privileged to get this matchup tonight. Anyways, enough history for now, let’s get to the action.
Click HERE to watch Lodi @ #3 Prairie Du Chien
Potential Lineups
Lodi
106 #3 Owen Dorshorst 15-2 (9)
113 Noah Allen 4-8 (9)
120 #5 Bryer Caves 14-4 (10)
126 Liam Johnson 3-9 (10)
132 Zander Kellogg 8-6 (11)
138 Hayden Struse-Clark 8-4 (11)
144 Jackson Ladwig 3-10 (10)
150 #4 Braeden Dorshorst 14-3 (12, 4th at State 2024)
157 Alex Breunig 11-4 (11)
165 Tony Omosebi 10-5 (12)
175 Forfeit
190 Grant Beyer 3-9 (12)
215 Tyler Ripp 11-4 (12)
285 Austin Browne 5-9 (10)
#3 Prairie Du Chien
106 Keaton Achenbach 13-8 (9)
113 Aspen Gelo 14-3 (9)
120 #8 Hunter Reid 16-9 (10)
126 Landon Thiry 1-10 (9)
132 Forfeit
138 Porter Kossman 8-7 (11)
144 #7 Mason Hird 20-5 (11)
150 #12 Jackson Perkins 17-8 (12)
157 Jake Kramer 11-7 (9)
165 #3 Bryce Lenzendorf 18-6 (12, State Qualifier)
175 Carter Simmons 7-11 (10)
190 Jack MacEachern 12-8 (12)
215 #1 Blake Thiry 21-2 (12, 3rd at State 2024)
285 #3 Jack Simmons 19-6 (11, 6 at State 2024)
Dual Analysis and Predictions
Okay, let’s get the moves out of the way first. Both teams have potential forfeits in their lineups and depending on how weights shake out, the toss could be what wins the dual. The projected lineup has 132 and 175 as potential forfeit spots, which essentially means 126 and 165 would be where the other team would want to send out a wrestler/forfeit second. What’s key in this is that whatever team wins the toss, gets the call for the other team to send first at BOTH of those weights.
As for the on-mat action and matches that we’re assuming take place, this dual will contain a healthy mix of outmatched wrestlers looking to save their teams bonus points and some swing matches between athletes that may not be household names (yet). I have Lodi favored in the two ranked matches that we might see this evening. At 120, #5 Bryer Caves handily beat two opponents that have wins over #8 Hunter Reid, although some home crowd momentum could keep this match from being a bonus point affair. #4 Brady Dorshorst comes in as one of the must-watch wrestlers for the Blue Devils and he will also look to add some bonus points against a ranked opponent, #12 Jackson Perkins.
It’s the three matches between unranked wrestlers with similar resumes that could very well decide this one, though. At 113 Noah Allen is currently 4-8 but his fifth win this year could be one of the biggest on the year if it comes tonight against Aspen Gelo, who had one of the highlight moments for PDC in their dual against IGH. 157 pits two 11-win wrestlers with very familiar last names against each other as we could see Alex Breunig toe the line against Jake Kramer. Lastly the projected match at 126 is Liam Johnson vs. Landon Thiry, while the combined record (4-19) may not be flashy, it’s the unsung heroes in duals like this one that really encapsulate why we love this sport so much so I would be remiss not to mention it.
I think winning the toss puts either team at a slight advantage and the bonus points might even themselves out, but I give a Lodi more of a nod in the swing matches and think they squeeze out a tight win in what could be another epic dual between these two D2 Sectional C title picture mainstays.
The stands should be rocking with a faithful PDC home crowd and a well-traveled Lodi road fanbase, and the wrestling in the moment combined with the legacies that these two teams have, whether it be longstanding or more recent, will have us feeling like it’s the middle of a Tuesday evening in February so regardless of the result everyone will get to enjoy another exciting chapter of the PDC-Lodi rivalry.
Predictions
Teague: Lodi 38, PDC 29
Steve: Lodi 33, PDC 31
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