By Murray Gleffe
Correspondent
SUAMICO — It all came down to one final match between two schools enriched in wrestling greatness.
Pulaski built a big lead early, only to see Bay Port close the gap down the stretch.
The Red Raiders held on to defeat the Pirates 33-32 Jan. 14 at Bay Port High School.
In the final match in the 152-pound weight class, Bay Port needed a major decision (four points) to force a tie or a technical fall (five points) or fall (six points) to win.
Bay Port’s Ayden Bruckner recorded an 8-6 decision victory over Braden Gille, but the win garnered only three points for the Pirates, and Pulaski held on to win by a point.
“The early matchups favored us,” said Ryan Deprey, Pulaski head coach. “We saved points in the Caden (Rybicki) and Cole (Gorecki) matches despite not winning. “
The dual was part of a quad which involved Denmark and Marinette.
Pulaski jumped out to a quick 12-0 lead behind the efforts of Tristan Taylor and Mitchell Delebreau at 160 and 170, respectively.
Perhaps the most entertaining match of the evening came at 182, where Bay Port’s Matt Grzybowski took on Trenton Gibbons.
With no points registered early, Grzybowski recorded two second-period takedowns to build a 4-2 lead.
Gibbons quickly flipped the switch with an escape and a takedown to grab a 5-4 lead heading into the final two minutes.
Facing a two-point deficit late in the match, Grzybowski used his strength to bring Gibbons down to force overtime at 6-6.
In the extra session, the Bay Port senior needed only 10 seconds to win the sudden-victory decision after he brought Gibbons down one last time.
“The 182-match was a wild one,” said Brad Shefchik, Bay Port head coach. “We dug ourselves a bit of a hole early, so it was nice to see Matt pull it out.”
From there, the Red Raiders built their lead to 27-9.
With seven matches remaining, the Pirates made their move.
Owen Noel (113), Nicholas Schomaker (120), Carter Kallies (126), Colton Klimek (138) and Jacob Ward (145) all won.
“Pulaski is going to be good, whether they have young or upperclassmen in their lineup,” Shefchik said. “We got outhustled in a couple, and it was the difference. Pulaski had a bit more fight early and got the bonus points.”
Both schools will be back in action Jan. 21 when Bay Port travels to Green Bay Preble, while the Red Raiders will wrestle Wrightstown as part of a quad.
“We had fun tonight,” said Deprey. “We competed hard. The team score will take care of itself.”
Pulaski 33, Bay Port 32
160: Tristan Taylor (PUL) def. Brian Priebe (BP) (fall, 2:51).
170: Mitchell Delebreau (PUL) def. Caden Verhasselt (BP) (fall, 1:24).
182: Matt Grzybowski (BP) def. Trenton Gibbons (PUL) (sudden victory-1, 8-6).
195: Drake Anderson (BP) (forfeit)
220: Mason Wells (PUL) def. Connor Corrigan (BP) (fall, 2:40).
285: Max Burdette (PUL) def. Vaughn Campbell (BP) (decision, 6-2).
106: Ethan Eggert (PUL) def. Peyton Garcia (BP) (fall, 1:07).
113: Owen Noel (BP) def. Ashton Kapla (PUL) (decision, 2-1).
120: Nicholas Schomaker (BP) def. Colin Pratt (PUL) (fall, 1:49).
126: Carter Kallies (BP) def. Connor Nooyen (PUL) (decision, 7-0).
132: Ryan Frewerd (PUL) def. Will Nast (BP) (fall, 2:41).
138: Colton Klimek (BP) def. Cole Gorecki (PUL) (decision, 1-0).
145: Jacob Ward (BP) def. Cayden Rybicki (PUL) (technical fall, 17-2).
152: Ayden Bruckner (BP) def. Braden Gille (PUL) (decision, 8-6).