WISCONSIN RAPIDS (WAOW) -
Merrill's Nathan Beyer spent his 17th birthday competing for a wrestling conference championship.
In the final of the 113 lb. division, he managed to hold off Matrix Jisko of Wisconsin Rapids to earn the top spot on the podium.
"Last year, taking third place was great, a good feeling," Beyer said. "But I felt I could comeback better and this year I got it done and worked harder in the room and really improved on the mat. And it's helped me get to be conference champ."
SPASH junior Kolten Pope broke a 2-2 tie in the final period with an escape from D.C. Everest wrestler Jack Freix to earn the 120 lb. title.
And in one of the most competitive bouts of the day, Brook Whitehead, the only wrestler from Wausau East to make the final scored two escapes to level the match with Rapids senior Ben Campbell.
And then he managed a take down in the final seconds to claim the 138 lb. championship.
"Absolute relief. Absoulte joy. I never thought I'd be a conference champ," Whitehead said. "I've been looking forward to just wrestling all year coming from freshman year and not starting on varsity. And all the way up to senior year, being conference champ, this is a dream, really."
Wausau West claimed the overall conference championship with Colin Blaine earning his third individual title and Joe Umlauf becoming the first Warrior to win four straight years.
Individual Champions:
106: Ben Lor - Wausau West
113: Nathan Beyer - Merrill
120: Kolten Pope - SPASH
126: Colin Baine - Wausau West
132: Joe Umlauf - Wausau West
138: Brook Whitehead - Wausau East
145: Joe Ziolkowski - DC Everest
152: Travis Hettinga - Wausau West
160: Mason Reinhardt - Merrill
170: David Pophal - Merrill
182: Ben Hintze - Merrill
195: Alex Klug - Merrill
220: Tyler Schmidt - Merrill
285: Tristan Wilson - Marshfield
Team Results
1. Wausau West - 219.0
2. Merrill - 206.5
3. Stevens Point - 164.0
4. Wisconsin Rapids - 161.5
5. Marshfield - 117.0
6. DC Everest - 103.0
7. Wausau East - 62.5
