Boys wrestling 1-27-23 Cross-town battle for the Spartan Cup

Shorecrest keeps the Spartan Cup for another year
Photo courtesy Shorecrest Wrestling

By Clark Norton

It was the battle for the Spartan Cup Friday night, January 27, 2023 as the Shorewood boys hosted cross-town rivals Shorecrest. Shorecrest won the trophy last season and the Stormrays were hungry to have it back.

Shorewood built an early lead with the help of their upper weights. Seniors Hunter Tibodeau and Milan Johnson delivered another pair of first round pins in the 220 and 285 pound bouts to stake their team to an 18-6 advantage.

After Shorecrest received a forfeit at 113 pounds Shorewood responded with a pin by junior Owen Mulder at 120. The Highlanders got another forfeit at 126 pounds, and again Shorewood responded with a pin. This time it was sophomore Masa Taura who built a 7 to 0 lead before pinning his opponent and giving Shorewood a 30-18 lead.

The visiting Highlanders then went on a run of their own. With pins at 138 and 145 pounds the Scots were able to tie up the match at 30 to 30 with just three bouts remaining. At 152 pounds Shorecrest’s Peter Grimm survived an early attack from Shorewood’s Isaac Van Horn, bridging from his own back for a reversal and near fall to grab a 5-0 lead after the first period. In the second and third rounds Grimm was able to control the action and shut down Van Horn on his way to an 8-0 victory that gave Shorecrest their first lead of the night.

With just two matches left Shorewood had zero margin for error. At 160 pounds Junior Mak Kanzler answered the call and methodically dominated his opponent for a 7 to 0 win. It was Kanzler’s sixth win in a row and ninth out of his last ten matches as he appears to be peaking just at the right time.

With Shorecrest clinging to a 34 to 33 lead, the final bout was between Stormray Nathaniel Hernandez and Scot senior captain Max Rutledge. Despite a valiant effort, fighting off of his back multiple times, Hernandez was unable to withstand the constant pressure from Rutledge. Rutledge scored a decisive victory to give the visitors a final margin of victory of 39 to 33 and one more year of ownership over the Spartan Cup.

Shorewood Record: 2-3 WESCO South, 4-6 Overall

Shorewood 33 - Shorecrest 39
@ Shorewood High School

*Match began at 182 pounds

106: Double forfeit
113: Neta Navot (SC) win by forfeit
120: Owen Mulder (SW) pinned Micah Fergerson 2:51
126: Joseph Martinez (SC) win by forfeit
132: Masa Taura (SW) pinned Kaiju Fergerson 3:36
138: Kenneth Adams (SC) pinned Mitchell Ichinkhorloo 2:40
145: Shammy King Jr. (SC) pinned Jonathan Burkholder 2:32
152: Peter Grimm (SC) maj. dec. Isaac Van Horn 8-0
160: Mak Kanzler (SW) dec. Shokan Conway-Yasuyama 7-0
170: Max Rutledge (SC) tech. fall Nathaniel Hernandez 17-1
*182: Alberto Solano (SW) win by forfeit
195: Carter Nichols (SC) pinned Matt Burns 3:31
220: Hunter Tibodeau (SW) pinned Mateo Dominguez 1:10
285: Milan Johnson (SW) pinned Evan Claar 1:28