Coach Mark Matzek deems this year’s Ellsworth wrestling season a success. With the abbreviated season and pared-down state tournament, no Panthers qualified for the state meet which will be held at …
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Coach Mark Matzek deems this year’s Ellsworth wrestling season a success. With the abbreviated season and pared-down state tournament, no Panthers qualified for the state meet which will be held at Adams-Friendship High School Saturday. Only about one-third of the matches of a normal season took place because of COVID-19 restrictions imposed on the sport by the WIAA that every coach and fan has an opinion on.
What Matzek saw was a lot of growth on his team as the season progressed, ended with seven wrestlers at the WIAA Sectional Meet fighting hard through all of their matches on the day.
“I think our guys wrestled hard. They showed up and competed. Am I disappointed we didn’t qualify anybody? Yes, but I’m not disappointed in our efforts,” said Matzek. “As I told the guys, this is only your second tournament of the year, maybe your last, so don’t think of it as a qualifier for state. Think of it as the opportunity to wrestle in a wrestling tournament, and no matter what place you’re competing for, compete as if it’s a first-place match.”
“You could see that at the end of the day, some of the guys from other teams, they were ready to go home, and our guys were working hard. They were grateful for the opportunity to wrestle,” said Matzek.
Louis Jahnke qualified for the meet but wasn’t able to wrestle because he was considered a close contact of someone with COVID-19, and the WIAA requires a two-week quarantine away from sports in playoffs.
The program will lose senior Braden Matzek, who left a mark on Panther wrestling.
“I enjoy coaching every year. I enjoyed coaching this team. This team worked every bit as hard as any
Photo by John McLoone.
Photo by John McLoone.
Photo by John McLoone.
Photo by John McLoone.
Photo by John McLoone.
Kyle Anschutz with a win at the WIAA Sectional Meet Saturday.
Senior Braden Matzek capped off his Ellsworth wrestling career with a trip to the WIAA Sectional Meet, where he competed Saturday, taking third.
Freshman William Penn placed fourth at the WIAA Regional Meet Saturday.
