I/G 11th, Whitehall 13th at EC holiday duals

The Independence/Gilmanton wrestling team finished 11th while Whitehall was 13th at the Eau Claire Holiday Duals, held at University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire on Thursday.

A win in pool competition put I/G in a higher bracket than Whitehall, which was fourth in its four-team pool. Whitehall won two matches in the championship round, while I/G won one as both went 2-3 on the day. 

The Indees took on Durand in a road dual on Thursday and will wrestle in a dual tournament at Osseo-Fairchild on Saturday. Whitehall will wrestle in a tournament in Cadott on Saturday.

EC Holiday Duals

A win over Durand in pool competition put the Indees in the ninth-to-12th place bracket.

The Indees lost to Superior by a tiebreaker at the start of the tournament. The teams tied 42-42, but Superior got the edge due to the first points tiebreaker. I/G then lost to eventual tournament champion Simley, 84-0. 

It was a win against Durand that put the Indees in the higher bracket as they took advantage of five forfeits to win 54-30.

I/G opened the championship round with a 60-21 loss to Plainview-Elgin-Millville, but then defeated Eau Claire Memorial 45-36.

Gael Leon and Gavin Bragger both won four matches for the Indees while Gracie Rombalski, Mason Gierok and Jacobo Medina won three.

Perhaps the difference in place between I/G and Whitehall came with matches against Eau Claire Memorial.

The Norse had a chance to get in the same grouping as the Indees, but fell to ECM 42-39 in pool competition. That came after losses of 42-21 to Maple Grove and 69-12 to Cambridge-Isanti.

Whitehall won both of its championship-round matches, defeating Durand 60-18 and Mondovi 59-12.

Four Whitehall wrestlers went 4-1 in the tournament, including Nolan Thompson, Eric Kleinhans, Adam Kleinhans and Wylie Dunn. Dylan Moats, Bryce Johnson, Alex Katzman and Matthew Poulos all had three wins for the Norse.