Park's Azarian goes for the gold

By Robb Luehr

Journal Times staff There's a Park High School wrestler going for a state title today at Madison, but it may not be who you think it is.

Junior Anthony Azarian, in just his second state appearance, wrestled perhaps the match of his life to beat Tom Reamer of Schofield D.C. Everest 10-8 in the Division 1 semifinals of the WIAA State Individual Wrestling Tournament Friday at the Kohl Center.

Azarian (25-3) is one of three Racine County wrestlers who will be wrestling in the championship match or for third place today.

Azarian will face sophomore Dustin Perry of Merrill (44-2) in tonight's final. The final round begins at 6 p.m.

Park senior Josh O'Neil, who was third last year at 130, can duplicate that finish at 140 today. He lost to Ben Chapman of Plymouth 9-5.

Also going for third place is senior Joe Hand of Case. He lost to Erik Thompson of Germantown 12-9 in the 152 semifinals.

Four others - senior Jeff Luxner (112) and junior Jon Otto (275) of Case and senior Miles Farnsworth of Park (119) in Division 1 along with senior Brett Buisse of Union Grove (189) in Division 2 - can earn medals with a victory in their respective first matches this morning.

Azarian was trailing 6-2 midway through the second period of his semifinal against Reamer (38-9) when he got a reversal and put Reamer on his back for a near fall and led 7-6 going into the final period.

In the third period, Azarian got an escape and Reamer got a takedown, but Azarian reversed him again for the victory.

"I've never learned to have expectations," Park assistant coach Tom Adams said of Azarian reaching the final. "They're all talented wrestlers here and what it comes down to is what's in their heads, their self-confidence.

"It's a great experience for him."

O'Neil (30-7) had to face the only unbeaten wrestler at 140 and Chapman showed why he was 38-0 coming into the match. He led 2-0 after the first period and 5-0 after the second on the way to a 7-1 victory.

"He wrestled well, but Chapman's a very good wrestler," Adams said.

O'Neil will face senior Aaron Abel of Watertown (33-12) today in the third-place match.

Hand (19-3), who hadn't lost since coming back from a sledding injury, saw that win streak end against Thompson (41-2) in a 12-9 loss. Hand gave up five points in the first period, but he fought back and made it a match.

"He did what he had to do to win, but came up a bit short," Case coach Mark Petersen said. "As a senior, he wanted to go for a state championship, but what kid wouldn't be down losing a semifinal match."

Hand faces junior Zach LePoidevin of Arrowhead (43-6) in the third-place match.

In the consolation bracket, where one victory guarantees the wrestlers a medal, Case's Luxner (30-5), who beat Andy Miller of Appleton North 5-2 in the wrestlebacks Friday, faces Nate Van Schnydel of Kaukauna (34-6) and Otto (25-7), who beat Don Braatz of Wauwatosa West/East 7-4, faces Gustav Witte of West Bend West (31-1) in their respective consolation semifinals.

Park's Farnsworth (37-6) beat Riley Kreuser of Muskego 6-4 in the first round of consolation and faces Jake Radkey-Pechacek of River Fall (30-15) in the consolation semifinals.

In Division 2, Buisse (22-5), who had a first round bye, lost to Bill Ponick of Stanley-Boyd 16-8 in the quarterfinals and advances to the consolation bracket. There, he faces Derek Ackerman of Mount Horeb-Barneveld (37-5) and needs to win once to earn a medal.

Two wrestlers were eliminated Friday and had their seasons end. In Division 1, sophomore Lane Olson of Horlick (30-8) lost to A.J. Phillips of Ashwaubenon at 145 in the first round of consolation. Olson was pinned by Phillips at 2:52.

In Division 3, senior Brett Butler of Catholic Central (32-10) lost to Jesse Bautch of Independence/Gilmanton 15-3 in the first round at 160.

Also, The first girl to ever qualify for the state high school wrestling meet won her first match Friday before being knocked out of the tournament.

Alyssa Lampe of Tomahawk, a 15-year-old sophomore, beat Braden Mayotte of East Troy 7-5 in a Division 2, 103-pound preliminary match in the Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association meet. Lampe took a 4-1 lead and then used her quickness to keep control of the match to the roar of an appreciative crowd.

"It was just another match but it was a lot of fun," said Lampe (33-11), who was pinned in 1 minute, 23 seconds by Lodi's Jake Madigan in quarterfinals. "It was a good experience for next year, knowing what the crowd is like."

Tomahawk coach Kurt Weyers said Lampe handled the experience of being a trailblazer better than anyone could have expected.

"In north central Wisconsin, everyone knows Alyssa Lampe is for real. They've been losing to her for five, six, seven years," he said.

Lampe had entered the meet with a 32-10 season record, including 12 pins and five forfeits.