By MIKE KEMMETER
of The Gazette
MILWAUKEE - In the final Wisconsin Independent Schools Athletic Association state individual wrestling meet, Pacelli High School turned in its best performance in recent years.
The Cardinals finished third overall and had four wrestlers advance to the finals, feats that hadn't been accomplished since 1992. Pacelli was one of a handful of teams in the running for the team title, which Milwaukee Lutheran won with 172 points. Waukesha Catholic Memorial was second with 152, followed by Pacelli's 141. La Crosse Aquinas (126) and Milwaukee Marquette (122.5) finished fourth and fifth, respectively.
"No one should be hanging their heads," Pacelli coach Jay Yenter said of not winning the title. "I couldn't ask for anything more."
Neither could senior Neil Jurgella, who won the 160-pound title a year after finishing second at 152. Jurgella (31-7) didn't receive one of the top seeds and had to knock off the top seed, Catholic Memorial's Mike Olivas in the quarterfinals.
"Getting second at regionals didn't put me in a good spot," Jurgella said. "I knew I had to go through them."
In the finals, Jurgella used takedowns in the first and second periods to beat James Wollack of Mt. Calvary St. Lawrence 5-2.
"I knew going in (Wollack) was a little unorthodox and jumpy," Jurgella said. "I had to be patient. Once I got the takedown, I didn't want to do anything dumb so I just rode it out."
Added Yenter: "In my opinion (160 pounds) was the toughest bracket. He had the toughest road. Nobody deserved it more than he did. He works his butt off."
The other three Pacelli finalists weren't as fortunate.
Senior Franz Klein (30-9) was unable to record a takedown at 112 pounds and dropped a 2-1 decision to Mike Elsbury of Burlington Catholic Central. The Snow brothers, Greg at 145 pounds and Tim at 152, also came up short. Greg ran into Fox Valley Lutheran junior Jake Plamann (33-0) and was pinned with 36 seconds left in the first period. Takedowns in the second and third periods by Blake Hampton of Catholic Memorial gave Hampton a 5-2 win over Tim.
Pacelli nearly had five wrestlers in the finals, but Ben Kissel (275) was handed a sudden-death overtime loss in the semifinals. Milwaukee Lutheran's Don Peterson recorded an escape after winning a coin toss before the 30-second sudden-death overtime period to get the 2-1 decision. Kissel (33-8) battled back and manhandled Jesse Helin of La Crosse Aquinas, 10-3, to finish third.
"You have to give Ben a lot of credit to have the guts and heart to come back," Yenter said. "He just dominated on his way back.
"I thought we had a real shot to have five in the finals."
Cardinal freshman Tim Schwarz (130) lost his first match of the tournament 13-12 but then won four in a row to also finish third. Schwarz beat Matt VanGrisven of Catholic Memorial 9-4 in the third place match to end his first season with a 26-15 mark.
Pacelli's Matt Schulist was the team's other placewinner, taking sixth at 171 pounds. Schulist (21-10) went 3-3 in the two-day tournament and fell 4-3 to Dave Murray of La Crosse Aquinas in the fifth place match.
Freshman Simon Hesch (140) and junior John Sniadajewski (189) both lost matches in wrestlebacks Saturday and didn't place in the top six. Sophomores James Duncan-Zook (125) and Clint Piotrowski (135) both lost two matches Friday night and didn't advance to Saturday's action.