It’s all Oak Creek
Seven wrestlers win for Knights
RACINE - Oak Creek’s Knights put another notch in their belt Saturday, claiming the Southeast Conference title in remarkably easy fashion. Now comes the fun.
In a wrestling meet that saw few surprises, the Knights claimed individual titles in seven weight classes and runner-up finishes in two more. Their team total of 257.5 outdistanced second-place Kenosha Bradford (184) by a whopping 73.5 points. Kenosha Tremper came in third at 166, and Franklin was fourth at 142.5.
As is often the case with top programs, Oak Creek coach Matt Sommerville was pleased with the results but wants more.
“We’re happy with how our guys wrestled but we need to improve on some of those positions,” Sommerville said. “We have a lot of work to do in the next week.”
The Knights flipflopped wrestlers in the 106- and 113-pound classes, with Randall Hunt dropping from 113 and Emilee Orocz moving up from 106. Hunt claimed a third-place finish, and Orocz took fifth in her first conference meet at 113.
With nine wrestlers having qualified for finals, the Knights already had a hefty team lead at that point. And the lead started to grow and grow.
Mitch Landgraf took an easy route to the title at 120. After a bye in the first round, Landgraf didn’t have to wrestle in the second round when Franklin’s Ethan DeClark was injured while defeating Kenosha Bradford’s Joey Moore. DeClark could not continue, and Landgraf advanced to the final, where he won a tough match over Kenosha Indian Trail’s Ben Stevenson, 2-1.
“We’re putting in the work and we’re getting things done,” Landgraf said. “We want it all. We want to win it all.”
Matt Berlin scored a pin of Kenosha Bradford’s Abel Castillo at 126, and Veliko Kochiu won a major decision, 14-6, over Tremper’s Kyree Noble.
Although the Knights didn’t get a title at 138, they were encouraged by the second-place finish by Joey Colla.
Colla took a 4-3 lead with a reversal with about 40 seconds left in his match against Kenosha Bradford’s Marco Infusino, who had beaten Colla three times previously. Trying to hold Infusino off, Colla was called for stalling, and Infusino scored another point on an escape with about 11 seconds left to take the title, 4-3.
“He has a history with (Infusino),” Sommerville said of Colla. “He’s lost to him three or four times in a row now. But he believes now. He believes and understands that he can win.”
Landgraf also pointed to Colla’s near-miss as a notable development for the Knights.
“Joey wrestled really well today,” Landgraf said. “I know he lost today, but he almost had it. I think in a couple of weeks when we face them again, I think he’s going to beat him.”
Jesse Kovnesky (152), Nolan Paar (170), John Wright (195) and Enrique Acevedo (220) also claimed titles for the Knights.