BY RICH PALZEWIC
SPORTS EDITOR
SUAMICO – The Battle on the Bay, one of the best high school wrestling tournaments in the state, took place Dec. 8 at Bay Port High School.
Area teams did not disappoint in bringing home plenty of top finishes.
Mukwonago won the 25-team event with its 510 points, while Bay Port (sixth, 289.5), De Pere (eighth, 271.5), Ashwaubenon (10th, 266.5) and West De Pere (18th, 165) had strong team showings.
The 14th annual tournament featured over 280 wrestlers from all corners of the state.
Ashwaubenon’s Cody Minor and Noah Leisgang were the 120 and 132-pound champions, respectively.
Minor beat Fox River Classic Conference rival Connor Derenne from Green Bay Preble with a 10-3 decision in the finals.
Leisgang pinned Mukwonago’s Josiah Lynden near the end of the first period for the title.
De Pere’s Sam Bruss also had a strong showing at 132 with a third-place finish.
De Pere’s Tommy Kratz bested Bay Port’s Drake Anderson at 182 with a pin, while FRCC defensive football player of the year, Max Meeuwsen from Bay Port, won the 285 division with a 5-2 decision over John Champe of Brookfield East.
De Pere’s Charlie Hooyman lost a tight 3-1 match to Gabe Wertel from Denmark in the finals at 195 to finish runner-up.
Other top-five results included Shane Corrigan (De Pere, fifth – 106), Trent Francois (West De Pere, fourth – 120), Austin Heim (Bay Port, fifth – 138), Dawson Dembroski (Ashwaubenon, third – 152), Nathan Moynihan (Ashwaubenon, fourth – 195) and Bryce Graef (West De Pere, fifth – 285).