Posted: Feb. 8, 2010

The Wauwatosa East/West co-op wrestling team had five top-three finishers at the Woodland Conference Tournament at Whitnall on Saturday.

Cory Jay and Demetrius Mensah placed second and Brian Condon, Ryan Reagan and Dylan Kissinger placed third.

Jay scored 19 team points at 152 pounds to lead Tosa. After receiving a bye, he won by major decision (10-0) over Jordan Fryer (Cudahy) before dropping a 6-5 decision to Justin Naber (Brown Deer) in the championship match. Nabers was ranked first in Division 2 by Crossface Magazine.

"The best performance of the tournament was turned in by Cory Jay," Wauwatosa coach Kent Morin said. "Cory almost had an additional two-point near fall right at the end of the match.

"He really was focused on winning a conference championship and almost pulled it off. I was really happy for him that he had such a strong tournament, given he is a senior."

Mensah at 125 added 18 team points, getting a bye and then winning by decision (12-6) over Mason Howard (Whitnall). Steve Fisher (Greenfield) beat Mensah with a decision (3-1) in the title match.

"Both wrestlers are outstanding wrestlers who have the potential to be state qualifiers," Morin said of Mensah and Fisher. Fisher is Morin's nephew. "They also are great friends and workout partners in the offseason, which added another element to the match. Last time that they wrestled, Demetrius broke his elbow, which I think was in the back of his mind as he wrestled."

Top-five finishers

Morin also commented on his third-place performers.

"Condon wrestled a real good match in the semifinals against a good wrestler from Pewaukee," he said. "He has come a long way this season, and I'm anxious to see how he does in the regional tournament. Reagan and Kissinger both had disappointing losses in the semifinals but came back strong."

Condon took third at 103, scoring 14 team points. He received a bye in the quarterfinal and then lost a decision (7-2) in the semifinal to Pewaukee. After receiving another bye in the consolation semifinals, he pinned (3:47) Andrew Patrick (Greenfield) in the third-place match.

Kissinger at 160 took third and scored 16 team points. He pinned (3:34) Jordan Fagan (New Berlin) in the quarterfinals, but lost a decision (5-1) to Brown Deer in the semifinals. He then won by decision (9-3) in the consolation semifinals and won by forfeit over Nathan Barnhart (Whitnall) in the third-place match.

Reagan at 140 also took third, scoring 14 team points. He pinned (2:22) Isaiah Lewis (South Milwaukee) in his first match, and lost a decision (9-3) to Pewaukee in his next one. He then won two decisions (6-0, 8-4) over Tim Davis (Greendale) and Lewis again in the third-place match.

Fourth-place finishers were Scott Kamholtz at 215, who scored 11 team points, and Ian Seybold at 171, who scored 10 points for the team.

Riley O'Conor at 130 added eight team points and Michael Meade at 135 scored seven team points with their fifth-place finishes.

Short of goal

Pewaukee won the conference meet with 221 points, easily beating Greenfield (173.5) for the title. Wauwatosa finished sixth in the nine-team tournament, scoring 130 points, just behind fifth-place South Milwaukee (132), but well ahead of seventh-place Brown Deer (106).

"Overall we were a little disappointed," Morin said. "Our goal was third place, which we fell 15 points short of. Kevin Kanngeiser had to end his day because of an injury, which cost us team points. We felt we were about two more wins away from accomplishing our goal. Disappointing to get that close but look so far away."

The Red Raiders/Trojans will take part in the regionals at Waukesha South at 10 a.m. Saturday.

INDIVIDUAL RECORDS

Wauwatosa wrestling team

Demetrious Mensah (34-4), Ryan Reagan (32-8), Dylan Kissinger (25-10), Brian Condon (23-16), Michael Meade (22-15), Cory Jay (21-12), Ian Seybold (19-12), Riley O'Conor (17-14)

Kevin Kanngeiser (17-18), Scott Kamholtz (16-17), Patrick Campbell (16-19), Jonathan Tripi (14-24), Max Nelson (7-17) and Aaron Sobieszczyk (4-11)