In our featured dual of the week the Arrowhead Warhawks are hosting the Muskego Warriors! An inter conference matchup, on paper, this one looks like it favors the number 2 ranked team in the state Arrowhead. However, last year one might have had that same thought, but the Muskego Warriors beat Arrowhead in their dual meet.
So this time Arrowhead will be looking to get revenge. I don’t expect Arrowhead to overlook Muskego this year. Especially after conversations with Coach Ferrell who thinks we overanked his team. I disagree, but I think this is Coach’s effort to keep his team hungry and not look past anyone or any team. Arrowhead returns 11 of its starters from last year including 5 state qualifiers, 3 of which placed at state.
Both teams have forfeits in my projected lineup and that is simply based on who they had as entries in previous competitions this year. I think for either team to be a tough dual team, especially come the end of season, they need to fill these literal holes. I have my fait in both coaches that this will get done, maybe even tonight. But for now, at least on paper, these forfeits will cancel out.
As I said in my preview, Muskego and Coach Fortmann have done an excellent job building this program. Many of their wrestlers are competing and training year round and that is what it will take if this team wants to make its way back to team state. Muskego is returning 10 of those starters that were on the team that beat Arrowhead last year and 4 state qualifiers. Tonight it will be a total team effort to beat the states #2 ranked team.
Tonight will have no shortage of high quality wrestling. Where Muskego is solid I believe Arrowhead matches up even more favorably. Mukskego will need some of those athletes to step up and “upset” some of these Warhawks. Both teams have excellent fan support so I expect the gym to be loud tonight and overall I am predicting an Arrowhead win, but as I and everyone else says, there is a reason you wrestle the matches. Little advice for both teams tonight, don’t forget your simple sugars!
Muskego Arrowhead
106: FF vs Jaden Torres
113: Cael Zelinski vs Charlie Kremer
120: Tim Madia vs FF
126: Lucas Drout vs Lucas Ryan
132: Mason Drout vs Colin McDowell
138: JT Brandstatter vs Connor Crummer
145: Cole Reid vs Wyatt Duchateau
152: Mason Duerwachter vs Nate Druckrey
160: Jack Stanis vs Ramon Gulmatico
170: Ryker Morgan vs Blake Riphenburg
182: Matt Kinzel vs Noah Mulvaney
195: Zach Current vs Dylan Polczynski
220: Adam Dzievit vs Conner Merrenus
HWT: Dominic Schnier vs Xavier Fallon
RECAP
Last night may have been one of the fastest duals I’ve ever watched. From the first whistle to the last whistle the dual was maybe 45 minutes. There were 9 falls total, 2 tech falls, 2 forfeits, and 1 decision victory. The decision victory was by a score of 10-6 and filled with action as Dylan Polczynski of Arrowhead beat Zach Current of Muskego. Last year Muskego beat Arrowhead and this year #2 ranked Arrowhead took it to Muskego with a final score 56-23.
However, as I reflect on this dual some might think wow Muskego is not very good, but I do not think that. I think the story is about how good Arrowhead looked. The Warhawks have an extremely impressive run in the middle of their lineup from about 126 up to 182. Those weight classes in my opinion are the heart of the Warhawks, however some of the other weights are also filled with solid wrestlers, which makes the team overall what they are.
Cael Zelinski of Muskego had it rolling last night as he earned himself a couple of takedowns before getting the fall for his team. I am expecting big things from this year. Noah Mulvaney avoided an upset after an early scare that saw him in a cradle on his back. Old man Noah remained calm, grabbed his lunch box and went back to work as he finished by getting the pin for his team.
The muscle man himself Adam Dzievit showed off his power by locking up a body lock early and tossing his opponent to his back. He picked up near fall there, before later pinning his opponent.
After talking with individuals from Arrowhead after the meet it seemed clear to me that they understood how good their team could be, but it was not a hot topic of discussion amongst the team. It felt more like they knew, but they would keep their head down and continue to work and focus on what was next at hand, rather than wish for the end of the year to be here. A very mature mindset from the wrestlers and coaches that I think will pay off for them in the long run.
As for Muskego, I am not discouraged by this result. We knew it would be a tough task and the Warriors should up and battled every match. That’s what you want to see as a growing program. They are going to take their lumps, but I am confident that if they stick with it this program will have a bright future.
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