The Battle for the Kirby Symes Golden Shoe started in 1986 between the River Falls and Ellsworth wrestling teams. Both teams had some of the state’s top wrestlers at the time, and the towns fell in love with the matchup.

“River Falls and Ellsworth since the early 80’s and 90’s have been kind of the top programs in the area, and I would say it was probably one of the bigger rivalries in the state,” River Falls Head Coach Cam Loomis said. “Packed gyms, standing room only. People from each town kind of took it really personal… Everyone felt like they had skin in the game. Even if they never wrestled or were part of the program, they showed up to that dual.”

Over the last decade, Loomis felt the rivalry began to fade. The two sides renewed that rivalry Friday, meeting in Ellsworth with a packed crowd with both fanbases well represented.

“I was excited when I saw there was a big crowd,” Loomis said. “We’re kind of in an away gym, so right before the postseason here it’s a good test to kind of be put in a hostile environment.”

The roaring cheers made for an exciting dual, which River Falls squeaked out 43-32. River Falls started up 16-0 after pins from Lincoln McCarty and Jacob Hutchins at 285 and 215 and a major decision win from Colten Maves at 190. A forfeit at 106, a quick pin from Parker Lampman at 113, a 17-10 win for Noah Walker at 120 and a pin for Gavin Ricke at 126 all in a row pumped the life into the Ellsworth home crowd for a 21-12 lead.

River Falls locked in from there, with pins from Oliver Larson, Jonas Longsdorf, Vinny Costabilo and Matthew Lundstrom sealing the win.

After mentioning he felt the rivalry fall off a bit over the last decade, Loomis said this year’s matchup breathed a ton of life back into it.

“They did a really good job over there of filling up their side of the stands and we traveled really well,” Loomis said. “It was loud and fun. I think it’s just good for the sport. It just means wrestling is still important in this area like we always thought it was.”

Loomis said when the dual got tight the experienced leaders were leaned on to keep the team calm, cool and collected. He also credited Chance Saumer and Maves for stepping up when some of the other wrestlers did not have their best night.

Of late, Loomis has gotten a look at his wrestlers and how they stand against some top dogs, with a few names in particular sticking out.

“A guy like Rieder Loomis, no relation to me,” Loomis said. “Rieder Loomis has kind of stepped up big in the last couple weeks here… You can see some confidence in his eyes. It’s been good to get one of our leaders back into shape.”

Loomis also named McCarty and Isaiah Black as wrestlers who are picking up steam. The Wildcat girls wrestlers have some names to watch out for as well, as Olivia Luther and Izzy Davenport are both ranked in the most recent Wisconsin Grappler rankings.

“I told our guys if we win we’re going to bring the Shoe over to the side of the stands and get a picture with the whole community that’s there because that’s the fun and important thing, saying we did this as a community,” Loomis said.

This is one of River Falls’ best teams of recent years, and they are excited to see where the ride takes them.

“We have just as good a shot as anyone to make a run,” Loomis said. “It’s going to take everybody doing their job. Some kid’s job is going to be pinning their way through the Regional tournament and scoring the max points and the other kid is just going to be we just need you to get a win.”

Loomis said the region is as deep as it has been since he can remember, needing points at every weight class to bolster the team.

In addition to the matchup with River Falls, Ellsworth competed earlier in the week, picking up a 46-29 win over Spring Valley/Elmwood and a 64-16 win over Unity. The busy week is to help the Panthers get into the swing of things as the postseason begins this weekend.

“It was a busy week like you said, and it was kind of good to wrestle some good teams in our area,” Ellsworth Head Coach Carson Huppert said. “We need to focus on our improvement and how we get better and not so much always on wins and losses.”

Ellsworth is in the perfect position right now, with the wrestlers in peak condition, hungrier than ever to go the distance.

“We’ve been preparing all season for this, and we’re healthy,” Huppert said. “It’s just managing your nerves and getting ready to come and battle, and I think we were tested all year and we should come to this thing and do very well.”

Huppert expects a strong showing from the senior class because they have nothing to lose, with the potential to go out there and leave every ounce of energy on the mat.

“They know what it takes, they’ve been in this area before and I think they’re hungry for more,” Huppert said.

Spring Valley/Elmwood also has high expectations headed into the postseason. They beat Unity 46-32 and have elite individual wrestlers including Jack Steinmeyer who has proven to be one of the state’s best.

For Prescott, they feel the team found its groove at the perfect time.

“You always want to see them peaking at the right time,” Prescott Head Coach Ian Ruble said. “Are you wrestling better than what you were halfway through the season and then also are you wrestling even better than you were at the start of the season?”

With a young roster, Ruble said seeing growth as the year goes on is the most important thing.

Ruble said the team’s senior 150-pounder Steven Atherton has the experience to make a run in the postseason.

“He kind of had a lull midseason, but really kind of that senior pressure has been a good fuel for him,” Ruble said.
Freshman 144-pounder Manny Gale is another wrestler Ruble said hangs tough and can give anyone a good match. On the girls’ side, Ruble is confident in all six wrestlers going into the playoffs.

“Kind of excited to see on both sides which of our wrestlers can kind of take that big jump and step up to the plate,” Ruble said.

What makes the postseason so difficult, according to Ruble, is that one mistake can end your run. He mentioned other sports have a lot of playoff pressure as well, but many take multiple mistakes to truly change the outcome.

“It’s kind of a do or die situation,” Ruble said. “One mistake that you do personally can sometimes make the decision in whether you move on or you don’t.”