2017 Cheesehead Invitational Preview

Carl Sandburg, Edwardsville, Lockport, Lyons Township​, Marmion Academy, Metea Valley, Montini Catholic, Mt. Carmel, and St. Rita will all take part in the Cheesehead Invitational this coming weekend in Wisconsin.

Below is a detailed tournament preview courtesy of www.cheeseheadwrestling.com

The 2017 Cheesehead will take place January 6 and 7 at Kaukauna High School in Wisconsin. Year after year the Cheesehead brings together some of the top talent from the midwest and country. With the top 16 teams from last year all returning, one can expect a tight team race. Four teams are making their first Cheesehead appearance: Desert Vista, AZ; Fennimore, WI; Metea Valley, IL; and Mukwonago, WI. Four more teams are new this year, however have competed in the past: Lyons Township, IL; Marmion, IL; Milton, WI; and Simley, MN.

Multiple teams are in the hunt for the team title in 2017. Seven teams boast a national ranking from Intermat, Flowrestling, or The Open Mat. Twenty-three Cheesehead teams show up in their state rankings. Wisconsin is well represented with four of the top five division one teams in the field. Illinois also brings some of their best big schools with five of the top nine 3A schools making the trip. Seven states will be represented in the thirty-one team field.

Six individual champions from last year return in hopes of repeating. Austin O’Connor (St. Rita) has won three Cheesehead titles and will attempt to become the third four timer in tournament history, joining Mikey Benefiel (Montini) and Nolan Hellickson (Southeast Polk). Brady Berge (Kasson-Mantorville) and Real Woods (Montini) are both two time Cheesehead champions. Patrick McKee (St. Michael Albertville), Jacob Raschke (Pewaukee), and Gable Steveson (Apple Valley) are looking to win title number two.

17 wrestlers come to the Cheesehead ranked nationally by Intermat, FloWrestling, or The Open Mat. If things hold true, 160 and 195 could be the premier weight classes. Four nationally ranked wrestlers have wrestled at 160 this year including: #1 Brady Berge, #2 Jake Allar (St. Michael Albertville), #10 Trevell Timmons (Lockport), and #16 (@ 170) Tyler Dow (Stoughton) who has recently competed at 160. Berge and Allar met in the finals of the Minnesota Christmas Tournament, where Berge won with a takedown late in the third period. 195 could also provide some star power with #2 Patrick Brucki (Carl Sandburg), #9 Jacob Raschka, and #11 Daniel Kerkvleit (Simley). Noah Ryan (Kasson-Mantorville) is ranked #18 in the nation at 220, however shows up in his state rankings at 195 pounds. World Champion and the top heavyweight in the country, Gable Steveson will be a clear favorite at 285.

The Cheesehead uses a hybrid scramble format that not only rewards high placements, but overall team depth. Since the first Cheesehead in 1999, Apple Valley has the most team titles with 5. Other past team champions in the field include Montini (2), Southeast Polk (2), Mt. Carmel (1), and Kaukauna (1). For more information on this year’s event go to www.cheeseheadwrestling.com , results at www.trackwrestling.com , or find the event on Facebook and Twitter.

See below for a complete preview of ranked teams and wrestlers:

* All Rankings Current as of 1/1/2017

* State rankings come from:
WI- www.wiwrestling.com
MO- www.missouriwrestling.com
IL- www.illinoismatmen.com
MN- www.theguillotine.com
IA- www.thepredicament.com
AL- www.southeastwrestling.com
AZ- www.arizona-wrestling.com

Team

National Rankings (Intermat Fab 50) (Flowrestling top 20) (The Open Mat top 40)
Lockport, IL (#19) (NR) (NR)
Kasson-Mantorville, MN (#27) (#18) (#25)
Montini, IL (#28) (NR) (#16)
Apple Valley, MN (#34) (NR) (#40)
Southeast Polk, IA (#35) (NR) (NR)
Stoughton, WI (NR) (NR) (#39)
Kaukauna, WI (#49) (NR) (NR)

State Rankings
#1 AA Kasson-Mantorville, MN
#1 D1 Kaukauna, WI
#2 AAA Apple Valley, MN
#2 3A Southeast Polk, IA
#2 3A Lockport, IL
#2 D1 Stoughton, WI
#2 D3 Fennimore, WI
#3 AA Simley, MN
#3 Class 3 Platte County, MO
#3 3A Marmion, IL
#3 D2 Freedom, WI
#4 AAA St. Michael Albertville, MN
#4 D1 Milton, WI
#5 3A Mt. Carmel, IL
#5 D1 Pewaukee, WI
#5 D2 Two Rivers, WI
#6 3A Waverly Shell Rock, IA
#7 3A Montini, IL
#9 3A Carl Sandburg, IL
#11 D2 Sheboygan Falls, WI
#19 3A Lyons, IL
#22 3A Edwardsville, IL
HM D1 Arrowhead, WI

Individuals

Returning Champions (last year’s weight)
Patrick McKee, St. Michael Albertville (106)
Real Woods, Montini (113)
Austin O’Connor (145)
Brady Berge (160)
Jacob Raschka (195)
Gable Steveson (220)

National Weight Class Ranked Wrestlers (Intermat) (FloWrestling) (The Open Mat)
106 Matt Ramos, Lockport (NR) (NR) (9)
113 Joey Melendez, Montini (11) (10) (12)
120 Patrick McKee, St. Michael Albertville (15) (10) (4)
126 Real Woods, Montini (7) (8) (8)
138 Anthony Cheloni (NR) (NR) (17)
145 Will Lewan, Montini (10) (8) (10)
152 Austin O’Connor, St. Rita (4) (5) (8)
160 Brady Berge, Kasson-Mantorville (1) (1) (1)
160 Jake Allar, St. Michael Albertville (2) (3) (4)
160 Trevell Timmons, Lockport (10) (15 @ 152) (NR)
170 Tyler Dow (NR) (16) (17)
182 Jackson Hemauer, DeForest (16) (12) (NR)
195 Patrick Brucki, Carl Sandburg (2) (2) (2)
195 Jacob Raschka, Pewaukee (9) (11) (12)
195 Daniel Kerkvleit, Simley (11) (10) (10)
220 Noah Ryan, Kasson-Mantorville (18) (18) (20)
285 Gable Steveson, Apple Valley (1) (1) (1)

Number of State Ranked Wrestlers by Weight
106- 12 ranked 1 honorable mention
113- 18 ranked 1 honorable mention
120- 15 ranked 6 honorable mention
126- 14 ranked 1 honorable mention
132- 10 ranked 9 honorable mention
138- 11 ranked 1 honorable mention
145- 11 ranked 4 honorable mention
152- 9 ranked 5 honorable mention
160- 13 ranked 1 honorable mention
170- 8 ranked 2 honorable mention
182- 10 ranked 0 honorable mention
195- 6 ranked 1 honorable mention
220- 11 ranked 1 honorable mention
285- 13 ranked 1 honorable mention

State Weight Class Rankings

106
#1 D1 WI Hunter Lewis- Stoughton
#1 7A AL Sam Latona- Thompson
#4 Class 3 MO Jake Stathopoulos- Platte CO
#4 D1 AZ Tariq Hornbuckle- Desert Vista
#6 3A IL Matt Ramos- Lockport
#6 D3 WI Mason Lull- Fennimore
#7 3A IL Dylan Ragusin- Montini Catholic
#7 AA MN Bennett Berge- Kasson-Mant
#7 3A IA Evan Yant- Waverly-Shell Rock
#7 D1 WI Tyler Vanderlois- Kaukauna
#8 AAA MN Dylan Anderson- Apple Valley
#9 D1 WI Mason Dutcher- Milton
HM 3A IL Michael Jaffe Marmion

113
#1 3A IL Joey Melendez- Montini Catholic
#1 Class 3 MO Cody Phippen- Platte County
#2 D1 WI Dominic Dentino- Arrowhead
#2 D2 WI Cody Holmes- Two Rivers
#2 7A AL Chandler Akins- Thompson
#4 AA MN Jared Johnson- Kasson-Mant
#4 D1 AZ Ernest Del Rio IV- Desert Vista
#5 3A IA Mark Ames- Southeast Polk
#5 AA MN Ryan Sokol- Simley
#6 AAA MN Regan Schrempp- Apple Valley
#7 D1 WI Jalen Spuhler- Hartford
#8 3A IL Anthony Molton- Lockport
#8 D1 WI John Diener- Kaukauna
#8 D2 WI Parker Schamburek- Sheb. Falls
#8 AAA MN Brandon Psky- STMA
#9 3A IL Luke Odom- Edwardsville
#11 D3 WI Alex Birchman- Fennimore
#12 D1 WI Lucas Benn- Mukwonago
HM D1 WI Braden Whitehead – Milton

120
#1 AAA MN Patrick McKee- STMA
#2 3A IA Gauge Perrien- Southeast Polk
#2 D2 WI Joey Bianchi- Two Rivers
#4 D1 WI Keegan O’Toole- Arrowhead
#5 D1 AZ Jordan Martinez- Desert Vista
#5 7A AL Emmanuel Oliver- Thompson
#7 AA MN Robby Horsman- Kasson-Mant
#7 3A IL Rehan Uribe- Mt. Carmel
#7 3A IA Dylan Albrecht- Waverly- SR
#8 3A IL Joseph Otero- Montini Catholic
#9 D1 WI Dalton Shea- Milton
#9 D3 WI Aidan Nutter- Fennimore
#10 3A IL Phillip Sims- Metea Valley
#11 3A IL Pat Nolan- Carl Sandburg
#12 D1 WI Jacob Duncan- Pewaukee
HM 3A IL Ryan Fleck- Marmion
HM 3A IL James Pierandozzi- Lockport
HM 3A IL Nathan Callaway- Marmion
HM 3A IL Noah Surtin- Edwardsville
HM D1 WI Jake Schulte- Mukwonago
HM D1 WI Mikael Kolosso- Kaukauna

126
#1 AA MN Jake Gliva- Simley
#1 3A IA Adam Brown- Southeast Polk
#1 7A AL Gabe Hixenbaugh- Thompson
#2 3A IL Real Woods- Montini Catholic
#3 D1 WI Tristan Jenny- Stoughton
#3 D2 WI Mitch Garvey- Freedom
#5 3A IL Zach Villarreal- Lyons Township
#5 D1 WI Brandon Micksch- Kaukauna
#6 D1 WI Aaron Schulist- Mukwonago
#7 D2 WI Anthony Xiong- Sheboygan Falls
#8 3A IL Caleb Guzior- Mt. Carmel
#8 AAA MN Brady Gross- Apple Valley
#9 AAA MN Zach Dehmer- STMA
#11 3A IL Trevor Chumbley- Marmion
HM D2 WI Derick Bader- Wrightstown

132
#2 3A IA Cade DeVos- Southeast Polk
#4 3A IL Abdullah Assaf- Lockport
#5 AAA MN Sebas Swiggum- Apple Valley
#6 D1 WI Kaleb Louis- Stoughton
#6 AA MN Brady Laumb- Kasson-Mant
#7 3A IL Fidel Mayora- Montini Catholic
#7 AA MN Quayin Short- Simley
#8 D1 WI Eric Halverson- Pewaukee
#10 3A IL Sean McKenna- Marmion
#10 D3 WI Trevor Wanek- Fennimore
HM 3A IL Elias Garcia- Lyons Township
HM 3A IL David Devine- Mt. Carmel
HM 3A IL Ben Kirby- Carl Sandburg
HM 3A IL Brendan Ramsey- Lockport
HM 3A IL Ben Schlueter- Edwardsville
HM D1 WI Austin Harms- Milton
HM D2 WI Garrison Murphy- Freedom
HM D2 WI Brody Kust- Two Rivers
HM 7A AL Nathan Roberts- Thompson

138
#2 3A IL Anthony Cheloni- Marmion
#2 3A IA Nathan Lendt- Southeast Polk
#2 D1 WI Trent Leon- Kaukauna
#3 AA MN Keaten Schorr- Kasson-Mant
#4 3A IL Tyler Zeman- Lyons Township
#4 D1 WI Brandon Klein- Stoughton
#4 D2 WI Sam Peters- Freedom
#5 3A IL Brandon Ramos- Lockport
#5 D2 WI Kaleb Ison- Sheboygan Falls
#5 AAA MN Kyle Rathman- Apple Valley
#7 3A IL Kendall Coleman- Mt. Carmel
HM 3A IL Jaycee Randolph- Metea Valley

145
#1 3A IL Will Lewan-Montini Catholic
#1 3A IA Zach Barnes- Southeast Polk
#1 D1 WI Garrett Model- Stoughton
#2 7A AL Jacob Megois- Thompson
#3 3A IL Baylor Fernandes- Lockport
#3 AA MN Issac Haman- Kasson-Mant
#3 D2 WI Laken Duerschmidt- Two Rivers
#4 3A IL Yahya Thomas- Mt. Carmel
#5 AAA MN Nate Larson- Apple Valley
#8 3A IL Jake Polka- Marmion
#9 3A IA Dalton Woodyard- Waverly-SR
HM 3A IL Rafael Roman- Edwardsville
HM D1 WI Vince Digennaro- Milton
HM D1 WI Austin Rauls- DeForest
HM D2 WI Nolan Gaffney- Freedom

152
#1 3A IL Austin O’Connor- St. Rita
#2 3A IA Austin Yant- Waverly-Shell Rock
#3 3A IL Brad Gross- Marmion
#3 D1 WI Zach Lee- Kaukauna
#5 D1 WI Joshua Otto-Arrowhead
#6 D2 WI Evan Vosters- Freedom
#7 3A Matt Ortiz- Montini Catholic
#7 D2 WI Tommy Bianchi- Two Rivers
#9 AAA MN Devin Roberts- Apple Valley
HM 3A IL Dillon Hoey Mt. Carmel
HM 3A IL Tim Houston-Carl Sandburg
HM 3A IL Zach Reese- Lockport
HM D1 WI Cade Spilde- Stoughton
HM 7A AL Derek Hussey- Thompson

160
#1 AA MN Brady Berge- Kasson-Mant.
#1 AAA MN Jake Allar- STMA
#1 3A IL Trevell Timmons- Lockport
#3 3A IA Zach Wagenhoffer- Waverly-SR
#3 D2 WI Ben Klister- Wrightston
#4 D3 WI Justin Tollefson- Fennimore
#5 3A IL Peter Ferraro- Marmion
#5 AAA MN Jalen Thul-Apple Valley
#6 D1 WI Kelvin Yde- Arrowhead
#7 D1 WI Bryson Alsteen- Kaukauna
#8 3A IL Jack Mulay- Mt. Carmel
#11 D1 WI Will Gahnz- DeForest
#12 D1 WI Nick Richards- Milton
HM 3A IL Pat Larkin- St. Rita

170
#1 3A IL Johnny Mologousis- Lyons
#1 AA MN Patrick Kennedy- Kasson-Mant
#1 D1 WI Tyler Dow- Stoughton
#2 3A IL David Riojas- Mt. Carmel
#3 3A IL Nate Jimenez- Marmion
#3 Class 3 MO Dakota Schmidt- Platte CO
#5 3A IA Gavin Babcock- Southeast Polk
#6 3A IA Trevor Byram- Waverly-SR
HM 3A IL Alex Hirschfield- Carl Sandburg
HM 3A IL Chandler Proszek- Lockport

182
#1 D1 WI Jackson Hemauer- Deforest
#2 D1 WI Billy Pitzner- Milton
#3 D1 AZ Brenden Gill- Desert Vista
#6 AA MN Zach Moon- Simley
#6 D2 WI Bryce Herlache-Wrightstown
#8 3A IA Gabe Christenson- SE Polk
#9 3A IL Payton Fernandes- Lockport
#9 AAA MN Max Jensen-STMA
#9 D1 WI Jacob Sklenar- Pewaukee
#10 AAA MN Jonah Johnson- Apple Valley

195
#1 3A IL Patrick Brucki- Carl Sandburg
#1 AA MN Noah Ryan- Kasson-Mant.
#1 D1 WI Jacob Raschka- Pewaukee
#1 D1 AZ Chad Porter- Desert Vista
#2 AA MN Greg Kerkvliet-Simley
#4 Class 3 MO Sage Smart- Platte County
HM 3A IL Yousif Salah- Lockport

220
#1 AAA MN Evan Foster-STMA
#2 D3 WI Cody McCollough- Fennimore
#2 Class 3 MO Casey Jumps- Platte County
#4 D1 WI Brandon Berg- Pewaukee
#5 AAA MN Tanyi Besong- Apple Valley
#5 D1 WI Aric Bohn- Mukwonago
#6 D1 WI Mason VanAsten- Kaukauna
#8 3A IL Cole Bateman- Carl Sandburg
#9 3A IA Jacob Eggleston-Waverly-SR
#9 D2 WI Alex Rohan- Freedom
#10 D2 WI Shae Ruelle- Two Rivers
HM D1 WI Ian Priest- Arrowhead

285
#1 AAA MN Gable Steveson- Apple Valley
#1 D1 WI Blaze Beltran- Pewaukee
#2 3A IL Ronald Tucker- Lockport
#3 D1 WI Keaton Kluever-Kaukauna
#3 D3 WI Deven O’Brien- Fennimore
#4 D2 WI Sam Skornicka- Two Rivers
#5 AA MN Luke Zaiser- Simley
#6 3A IL Weston Kramer- Marmion
#8 3A IL Bobby Papiernik-Metea Valley
#8 D1 WI Quinn Meinerz- Hartford
#9 AA MN Brett Paulson-Kasson-Mant
#10 3A IL Malik Scates- Carl Sandburg
#12 D1 WI Aodan Marshall- Stoughton
HM 7A AL Seth Whitlock- Thompson