The state wrestling tournament did not go as planned for the Milford Eagles. The team took five to compete, and all finished outside the medals.
Garrett Schoen at 285 pounds had the best tournament and the biggest highlight. He started off against Owen Kuchar of Crofton/Bloomfield and was leading 3-1, got reversed and lost by pin in 2:17.
He came back on day two with a pin of Kolten Simons of Centura in 1:19, then got the biggest win of the day, pinning Calib Svoboda of Bishop Neumann in 3:27. He was trailing the defending Class D 215-pound champion 9-0. Svoboda had beaten Schoen twice earlier in the season and was ranked No. 2 in the state, Coach Jonah Peterson said.
In the consolation third round, Schoen lost to Evan Lutkemeier of Minden 10-3. He finished the season with a 43-11 record.
Cooper Rea (144) got the team’s only win on day one, beating Austin Mendoza of Summerland 17-2. He lost to Daron Dozler of Boone Central 4-1 in the quarterfinals, then fell to Favio Rivero of Scotus 9-8 to end the season. He stands fourth all time in Milford history with 146 wins, Peterson said.
After a 12-2 loss to Draydin Gossman of Pierce to open the tournament, Quinn Zegers (126) defeated Lukas Altwine Adams of Gibbon 15-4 then lost to Kevin Pedraza of Madison 5-4. He finished 42-13 for the season.
Hunter Dickinson (150) and Kellen Lovitt (120) struggled with injuries in their matches.
“Kellen Lovitt came into the meet pretty banged up from districts. He gave it his all, but ultimately had to forfeit out of the tournament after day 1,” Peterson said.
Lovitt lost is first match to Yair Santiago of Norfolk Catholic 9-2. He finished the season at 36-12.
Dickinson lost his opener to Zayden Delgado of Doniphan-Trumbull 4-1 in sudden victory but got hurt during the match. On day two, he lost to Kamden Boyles of Superior 18-2.
“Hunter battled courageously through his injury and left it all on the mat losing to a quality conference opponent,” Peterson said.
In looking back over the season, Peterson said he was proud of what the team accomplished.
“We have a lot that we can hang our hats on but will use our state tournament finish as a motivator for the coming years,” he said. “The state medals will come. It is time to get back to work.”
Seniors Rea and Dickinson were voted captains at the start of the season, and Peterson said both will be missed as they graduate in May.
“Their efforts over time paved the way for Milford wrestling to be where it is today,” he said.
