With some solid competition from both sides of the Wisconsin/Minnesota state line, the New Richmond Invitational gave the three Pierce County schools participating a lot to build on heading into the heart of their schedules.

River Falls took second at the meet, being edged out by Centennial, Minn. by a 310-301 margin.

Eau Claire North took third with 263.5 points, followed by New Richmond 259, Osceola 255, Clear Lake 222.5, Spooner/Webster 218, Burnsville, Minn. 171.5, Somerset 145, Cretin-Derham Hall, Minn. 130.5, Spring Valley/Elmwood 124, Rice Lake 112, Trinity School at River Ridge, Minn. 96.5 and Prescott 81.5.

River Falls and Centennial battled hard throughout the day, with the Wildcats fighting for the title into the final round. Coach Cameron Loomis was impressed how his short-handed team stepped up and fought hard all day.

“Entering the final round, we were neck and neck with Centennial. We weren’t able to close the deal and win the tournament as a team, but I was really proud of the team effort, and it was a great experience for all,” said Loomis.

Loomis knew going into the day, the invite would pay benefits for tournaments to come.

“Since putting the New Richmond Invitational on the schedule, it has been circled by me as a great opportunity to have a great team performance,” said Loomis. “We ended up coming into the day short-handed with two of our starters not in the lineup. This created a need for bonus points by the rest of the team to make up for that. This was a great test run for the end of the year (WIAA Regionals) where one match throughout the day can win or lose you the tournament. With the wrestlers getting five or six matches throughout the day, there was an opportunity for growth and confidence to build.”

Impressive for the Wildcats were three wrestlers earned their meet title at the invite.

“We had three wrestlers win their first-ever varsity tournament in Waylon Deaton, who avenged a loss he took last week, Jonas Longsdorf, who was my pick for outstanding wrestler of the tournament and Vinny Costabilo, who was in control and dominant throughout the day,” said Loomis.

At 113, Deaton started strong with pins to open the second period. He advanced to the finals bracket with a 7-5 overtime sudden victory. He then defeated Eden Henning of New Richmond by a 3-0 decision to set up a finals match with Hunter Kromrey of Osceola. Deaton was in control and won an 11-5 decision.

Longsdorf, wrestling at 132, was dominant, earning two pins in less than a minute. At 138, Costabilo had wins by fall in 1:39 and 3:16 to claim the title.

Oliver Larson (120) and Thade Drier (157) took second for the Wildcats. Riedeer Loomis (136) took fourth, Jacob Hutchins (165) and Charlie Loesch (190) each took fifth, Colten Maves (150) was sixth, Tucker Wiklund (144) seventh and Dade Flett (106) 10^th.

Loomis likes what he sees from his team.

“The season has continued to trend in a positive direction. Both the athletes and the coaching staff are learning as the year goes on together. We have our experienced wrestlers that are starting to take control of things and get some really big wins as we enter the final stretch of the season,” he said. “We have a lot of good things to build off heading into a big week with duals against a top ten team in the state Hudson and Rice Lake.”

River Falls will meet those foes at a quad meet Thursday, Jan. 11 at Eau Claire Memorial. Wrestling starts at 5 p.m.

SV/E continues to improve

Spring Valley finished with Sam Schmitt advancing to the finals and taking second place at 138. Doost Kaker (150) and Tyler Vanasse (215) took fourth. Dane O’Meara (106) was sixth. Shahrokhan Kaker (138) took eighth, while Connor Wines (190) was ninth, Sam Steinmeyer (175) was 10^th and Logan Froh (157) was 14^th.

Coach Gable Frandsen said the focus with his young team is continual improvement, and he’s seeing that this season.

“Overall, we are a young team with a majority of our team being strong freshmen and sophomores. We focus on 1% improvement every day,” he said. “Spring Valley/Elmwood is a closely-knit family, and they truly work hard pushing each other.

A big highlight from the season is Schmitt winning the 16-team Somerset tournament as a freshman.

“He shows his true talent each and every match,” said Frandsen.

Jack Steinmeyer also took ninth overall at the rigorous 46-team Northern Badger Invite over the Christmas break.

“We’re continuing to get better every single day,” he said. “We are a young group filled with hardworking kids, and it shows that out on the mat.”

Spring Valley/Elmwood defeated Mondovi on Thursday, Jan. 4 in a Dunn-St. Croix Conference match. They host Glenwood City for a conference match Thursday at 7 p.m. at Spring Valley High School.

Gaining experience in Prescott

Nolan Thomley claimed the title at New Richmond in a tough 150-pound field, and Coach Ian Ruble liked what he saw from his team.

“I’m pleased with how our kids wrestled at New Richmond. Nolan Thomley won the 150-pound title, and it’s well deserved,” said Ruble. “The entire team battled. Every one of our wrestlers stepped to the line and put their best foot forward. It’s good for our kids to be able to get 5-6 matches in a tournament. One of the best ways to learn how to wrestle is to do just that.

“Nolan is really setting a great example for his teammates. He’s wrestled well this first half of the season, and we are looking forward to sharpening his skills here as well. The rest of the team individually is starting to show great promise. I could name our entire roster right now as those who have really grown. Each wrestler from our 106s to our 285 have put in tremendous work.”

Carter Larsen finished in seventh at 157. Case Platson (106) took ninth, while Lewis Kinneman (165) was 10^th, Culley Anderson (144) and Quentin Holt (175) each placed 12^th.

The team has another opportunity for growth at the Chippewa Falls Invitational Saturday.

“As a team we are working for and creating more and more opportunities in matches. This is something that in the earlier parts of the year we struggled with. We (the coaching staff) are seeing in our matches that the wrestlers are getting it, but the placement of one’s hands or how set their feet are is what’s impacting the outcome. Those are things that are learned over time, the more matches the kids have. It’s all about the baby steps here before we start looking for the post season.”