High school wrestling June 3 - Shorewood vs Shorecrest

By Clark Norton

Gamesmanship, strategy, deception or maybe even shenanigans, however you describe it, the Shorewood at Shorecrest wrestling match on Thursday, June 3, 2021 turned up roses for the Thunderbirds.

 
The match began at 170 pounds with Shorewood’s Alberto Solano against Shorecrest’s Peter Grimm. The two combatants spent the beginning of the match cautiously testing each other. Although only a freshman, and wrestling in a weight class higher than normal, Grimm tapped into his skills from many years of youth wrestling to go on the offensive. After a smooth takedown he slipped in his trademark leg-ride and bent Solano to his back for a pin. 

The Shorecrest lead was short lived as Shorewood’s RJ Buchheit received a forfeit at 182 pounds to tie the score 6-6 before Shorewood’s coaching moves came into play.

At 195 pounds Shorewood coach Derek Norton chose to insert Leyton Houck into the varsity line-up, saving star sophomore Hunter Tibodeau, the usual varsity 195 pounder, for a later bout. It was a gamble as Houck had only wrestled varsity once before this season, but the move could not have worked out better. Houck dominated the first period for a 5-0 lead. In the second period, he kept up his relentless assault and got the pin just 28 seconds into the round to give the Thunderbirds their first team lead at 12-6.

 
T-Bird captain Max Null needed just 32 seconds to take care of business at 220 pounds and pin his opponent. Up next was heavyweight, where Coach Norton rolled the dice with Hunter Tibodeau against Shorecrest Scot captain Elijah Schultz. Tibodeau had weighed in at the bottom of the 220 pound weight class, allowing him to bump up one weight and compete in the 285 pound class. Schultz took no pity on Tibodeau, using his significant weight advantage to pound and smash the smaller opponent for the first takedown and a 2-0 advantage. After withstanding the initial onslaught, Tibodeau found his confidence and began taking the fight to Schultz. 

Tibodeau scored 8 straight points across the second half of the first period and the beginning of the second period before getting the pin to extend the Thunderbird lead to 24-6, sending the Shorewood fans into a frenzy.

 
A dearth of Shorewood wrestlers allowed Shorecrest to narrow the score with a pair of forfeits in the 106 and 113 pound weight classes. At 120 pounds Shorecrest was set to receive a third forfeit in a row, but instead chose to forgo the free team points and bump their wrestler up to 126 pounds to face T-Bird Clayton Elder. 

It was at this point that Shorewood Coach Derek Norton made a surprising second gambit of the night. To the befuddlement of the crowd, Norton chose to give Shorecrest a forfeit and the automatic 6 team points to tie the score at 24-24. At this point Norton moved each of his final four wrestlers up one weight class, giving up size for what he perceived as favorable matchups.

 
Elder took advantage of a gap in Shorecrest’s line-up to receive a forfeit at 132 pounds before Shorewood captain Quincy Laflin slid up to the 138 pound class. Laflin came out firing and controlled the entire match on his way to a second round pin that stretched Shorewood's lead to 36-24 with only three bouts left. 

Next up was 145 pounds, with Shorewood’s Henry Poetzl against Shorecrest's Thomas Rhodes. 

Rhodes, 3rd in state in 2020, continued his dominance over Shorewood with a first round pin, the 7th time he has defeated a T-bird wrestler in seven tries in his career.

Clinging to a 36-30 lead, Shorewood’s Coach Norton had no more moves to make and had to rely on his last two wrestlers to overcome the weight disadvantages he had challenged them with. Shorewood sophomore Isaac Van Horn put the nail in Shorecrest’s coffin with a come from behind pin in the 152 pound bout before sophomore Joseph Rivera emphatically mercy ruled his opponent at 160 pounds to give Shorewood the ultimate 47-30 team victory.

Shorewood wrestles their last match of the season next Wednesday, June 9th, at home against Meadowdale High School.

Shorewood 47 - Shorecrest 30
@ Shorecrest High School

June 3, 2021
*Match began at 170 pounds

106: Kaiju Fergerson SC win by forfeit
113: George Fernandez SC win by forfeit
120: Double Forfeit
126: Joseph Martinez SC win by forfeit
132: Clayton Elder SW win by forfeit
138: Quincy Laflin SW pinned Jacob Lougee 2:42
145: Thomas Rhodes SC pinned Henry Poetzl 0:59
152: Isaac Van Horn SW pinned Matthew Curtis 1:08
160: Joseph Rivera SW tech. fall Max Rutledge 16-0
170: Peter Grimm SC pinned Alberto Solano 1:16
182: RJ Buchheit SW win by forfeit
195: Leyton Houck SW pinned Jacob Smith 2:32
220: Max Null SW pinned Jessie Gingrich 0:32
285: Hunter Tibodeau SW pinned Elijah Schultz 2:45

Shorewood Record: 4-4 Overall