2018-2019 Season Preview

[CLC FAN]

Way late on this... but here goes.

Preview for the upcoming season

Cedar Grove
Returns 11 starters out of 14.  5 of those returning qualified for sectionals, with 2 of those qualifying for state.
Standouts returning:  Brett Fiend and Josh TeStroete are the state qualifiers coming back.  Ben Anzia and Quinn Hoopman were both one match from state last year.
Key Losses: Bryce Morgan, Griffin Prinsen, and Hunter Wade were multiple-year starters and big contributors.
Incoming/Overlooked: I would expect Jordan and Sawyer DeRuyter to take big steps forward.  Sawyer especially got bounced one or two weight classes up at times and handled it pretty impressively.  He could do some damage at a more natural weight.  Word is there is a new student at CG who moved from Sheboygan Falls.  Not sure of the name, but the kid is a lightweight stud.
Odds/Ends:  Any full team is dangerous in this conference, and it looks like CG will be full or really close.  Depending on how weights shake out, there don't seem to be any holes in the lineup.  Highs and lows, sure, but no stretch of weights where they are truly weak.  CG was right there during the dual season last year, and they faded out a bit at the Big East tournament and Regionals, but this may be the team that breaks through and wins a conference title.  They drop down to Division 3 this year, so they are also in a dogfight with Random Lake for the regional championship - and the team winner there will have to get by Kenosha Christian Life and one other foe to make it to Team State.

Elkhart Lake/Howards Grove
9 starters return out of 12.  2 of those 9 made it to sectionals, with neither of them making state.
Standouts returning:  Matt Schorer had 43 wins at 220 last year, and Raistlin Lopez-Lloyd was a regional champ.
Key Losses:  Elkhart loses 2 state placewinners in Jon Roll (6th @ HWT) and Max Ward (4th @ 145 and a 4x state qualifier).  Also gone is Troy Rebedew who has been a big contributor for 4 years.
Incoming/Overlooked:  I would say the returning starters are dangerous to underestimate as a group.  Nobody jumps out as seeming on the verge of a huge breakthrough year, but of the 7 returning wrestlers who didn't make it out of regionals a year ago - 6 had winning records.  
Odds/Ends: Continuing the thought from above, Elkhart Lake is well-coached and they seem to peak at the right time.  Last year they leapfrogged a very respectable Cedar Grove team at the Big East Tournament.  I don't have much info on what they have coming in, but they seem to be a very solid 2nd tier team, unless they can fill all weights in which case they would be right up there with the top 2 teams in the conference.

Manitowoc Lutheran
Had 2 starters last year, 0 returning.
Standouts Returning: None
Key Losses: Both seniors last year had losing records, but when you're a team of 2 both losses are key.
Incoming/Overlooked: Unknown
Odds/Ends:  Really not much to say.  Hopefully they will have a few kids on the roster this year.

Mishicot
Brings back 10 starters out of 12, with all 3 returning sectional qualifiers also qualifying for state!
Standouts returning: Tesarik, Lambrecht, and Koeppel are all returning from making a trip to Madison last year.
Key Losses: Both Becker and Young were stalwarts for the Indians and made state last year.
Incoming/Overlooked:   ?
Outlook:  Last year was a huge success for Mishicot, placing 3rd at Regionals (above Reedsville) with 5 state qualifiers!  Although 3 return, word is that Coach Enderby is not back this year.  We will see how the Indians handle the coaching change.

Oostburg
Had 10 starters at Regionals last year.  7 return, 2 of whom had their seasons end at sectionals last year.
Standouts returning: Malwitz is the only returning wrestler with a winning record.
Key Losses: Matilor Josiah broke through and made the state tournament last year.  Jaxon Navis filled the HWT spot for multiple years and ended up just one match short of state.
Incoming/Overlooked:   Hard to say.  The Dutchmen had 4 freshmen starters last year, so you know another year with Coach Rogers will help those kids take a step forward.
Overall Outlook:  Oostburg should have a decent shot to fill most weights this year.  The ends of the spectrum have bodies returning.  It will be interesting to see what comes out of the middle school ranks from last year.  Oostburg is at a similar level with Mishicot, and either of those teams could collect enough warm bodies to move up a tier or they could get surpassed by Ozaukee, who last year was another level below them.

Ozaukee
Returns 7 out of 7 starters last year.  1 made sectionals but did not qualify for state.
Standouts returning: Cael Large was a regional champion and finished 1 match shy of making it to Madison.
Key Losses:  None.
Incoming/Overlooked: Jack Penny is an athletic upperweight senior.  That alone should mean a fairly good record and a decent post-season run.    
Odds/Ends: Word is that Coach Marcus Lubner is no longer the head coach.  If my sources are correct, Kevin Koepke will be taking over the reins.  As was mentioned in the write-up about Oostburg, Ozaukee is right now just a step below Oostburg and Mishicot.  If they can find some more bodies, they could overtake either or both of those programs.  There really isn't anywhere to fall because they will more than likely be stronger than Manitowoc Lutheran just by having kids in the lineup.

Random Lake
Had Out of 14 starters last year, 9 return this season.  8 of those 9 made it to sectionals with 5 of those 8 qualifying for state.
Standouts returning:  Grayson Vandenbush was the lone state medalist last year, but Aiden Vandenbush had 43 wins as a freshmen and Dylan Weiss, Tristan Hammen, and Joey Bock all qualified for state as sophomores.
Key Losses:  Rautmann was a 3x state qualifier and 1x medalist, Arendt was a state qualifer and confrence champ as a senior.
Incoming/Overlooked: Brock Upson had a very respectable season as a freshmen midweight, and Charlie Ruege lost first round of sectionals in 2OT to a state qualifier.  Look for both to break through and make state this year.
Overall Outlook:  The question isn't about top-end talent for the Rams.  The question is how much depth do they have and can they separate their weights effectively.  Last year marked the 7th straight season of making the trip to Team State - but it was one of the narrowest spreads between this team and the surrounding conference and sectional.  The Rams won 2 conference duals by under 6 points.  Whether they will separate from the pack, successfully walk that tightrope again, or be knocked off by one of the other area teams remains to be seen.

Reedsville
Reedsville has 8 out of 8 starters coming back.  3 starters made sectionals, and all 3 of those made state as well.
Standouts returning: Landon Kasper and Brandon Stelzer both earned state medals last year, and Carson Schanilec was the OW at the Big East Tournament, as well as a state qualifier.
Key Losses: A year after losing 7 seniors, the Panthers lose nobody from last year's team.
Incoming/Overlooked:  Delsman shouldn't be overlooked, but some might miss him.  He tore through the conference at 106, then took 3rd in a tough regional bracket.  One week later, the RL and Oz wrestler who he beat repeatedly were wrestling to go to state.  Such are the vagaries of the state qualifying system.  
Thoughts:  There seems to be an incoming batch of Reedsville wrestlers from the middle school that will be immediate impact starters.  The problem is that they could really use starters in the 195-285 range, and I doubt any incoming freshmen fit the bill.  Also, Reedsville might struggle with some of the traditional CG problems of having a super successful football run.  Kids have to wait to skinfold, they miss open mats/ preseason training, maybe some lingering football injuries.  


Overall Thoughts:  As predicted, last year was a dogfight all the way through the conference.  The opening rounds of the Big East tournament were just a ton of fun, with at least 3 schools cheering hard for quarterfinal matchups that would have a big impact on the team race.  It's tempting to call this year's outlook a 2-horse race between Cedar Grove and Random Lake.  There are years where the top 2 teams are super obvious going in and years like last year where it was more of a 3 or 4 team "top tier."  This year seems to be a split of those two options.  It wouldn't be all that weird to see Mishicot or Reedsville knock off one of the top two, and yet when all is said and done, it seems like either Cedar Grove or Random Lake will be left standing.  If you happen to be a fan of either of those two teams, remember that it's a best of 3 series, with the dual, the Big East tournament, and the Regional tournament all happening within a month of each other.

Good luck to all Big East teams this year!

[Ghetto]

It isn't wrestling season until CLC brings forth knowledge.

Another Hammen? Related to Drew? Gotta be a cousin or something if it is.

Reins- a long, narrow strap attached at one end to a horse's bit, typically used in pairs to guide or check a horse while riding or driving.

Reigns- the period during which someone or something is predominant or preeminent. (see Random Lake)

You are a math guy. It's cool.

[CLC FAN]

It's tempting to call this year's outlook a 2-horse race between Cedar Grove and Random Lake.  There are years where the top 2 teams are super obvious going in and years like last year where it was more of a 3 or 4 team "top tier."  

Absolutely no disrespect meant to anyone, but it appears that we are living out scenario 1 above this year in the Big East.  Cedar Grove just won their second straight tournament, this one against some tough D1 teams as well as a good D2 mix.  Random Lake took 5th at the tournament formerly known as Marty Loy - which had some tough teams as well (Burlington being the marquee name). 

That said, Elkhart Lake lost badly to Cedar Grove a week ago, but bounced back by winning the Kewaunee Invite this weekend - over Kenosha Christian Life no less!  So this Thursday, the Resorter/Tigers could throw a huge wrench in this whole "2-horse race" theory when they host Random Lake!

[CLC FAN]

Anyone results of the Cedar Grove / Oostburg dual?  

[hasbeen]

Anyone results of the Cedar Grove / Oostburg dual? 

CG-B 56  Oost 11