The Sugar River Raiders wrestling team competed at the 30th annual Lourdes On the Water Wrestling Classic at UW-Oshkosh on December 29th and 30th. The two-day, 55 team tournament combines Division 1, 2 and 3 teams, in which a wrestler must earn their way into day two by winning four matches on day one.

Leading the Raiders was sophomore Mason Mau, who placed 4th in the 132 lb bracket. Mason has continued to show why he is ranked #6 in the state.

"He continues to push the pace of each match and continues to work hard on becoming better each and every day. Mason has high expectations for himself and his teammates," said Coach Peter Swenson.

Also making it to the second day of the tournament were freshman Blake Endres and Ryker Swenson. Blake went 4-2 in the 106 lb bracket during the tournament and was one win away from placing in the top 12.

"Blake has proven to be a very solid wrestler. His two losses came to the individuals who placed 5th and 6th in the tournament. I know with more work and confidence, Blake will be reaching the podiums at many more tournaments," said Coach Swenson.

Ryker Swenson competed in the 152 lb bracket and also went 4-2 during the tournament, missing out placing by one match.

"Ryker had a good tournament as well. He was the only freshman (or sophomore) to make day two in the 152 bracket, which was dominated by juniors and seniors. With more work, he will be placing in this tournament in the future," commented Coach Swenson.

Just missing out on making day two was senior Avery Lettman, who went 3-2 on day one.

Coach Swenson said, "Avery lost a close, hard-fought overtime match at the end of day one. He battled in every match, but came up just short in the last one of the day. No doubt that this will be motivation for him going forward."

Alex Zielinski also went 3-2 on day one and just missed out on making day two.

"Al is such a strong wrestler, who caught a bad break in his last match of the day. He, I believed, had his opponent pinned at one point, but it was not called. So, he can only learn from matches like that to improve. He is another individual that will be motivated to get better due to his good attitude and competitive nature," said Swenson.

Other Raiders who competed at the tournament were freshman Brennan Keyes, senior Matthew Loshaw, and sophomore Carson Loshaw, who gained valuable experience.

"Every member of this team works extremely hard and continues to put forth their best effort. There will be ups and downs during a season, but what we teach is everyone can keep their focus on their goals," finished Coach Swenson.

On January 4th, Sugar River had a dual at Dodgeville. They will compete in the Sauk Prairie Invitational on Saturday, January 8th, and on January 13th there is a Conference Multi at Marshall High School.