Teams / Luxemburg-Casco Spartan Wrestling

103: Desmond Thorne, S, maj. dec. Matt Ronsman, 12-2; 112: Mason Bohm, S, pinned Zach Skarda, 4:23; 119: Jarod Kust, S, dec. Joe Mercier, 4-1; 125: Jordan Kust, S, dec. Kyle Vickman, 8-2; 130: Jordan Giachino, L-C, dec. Sam Coe, 5-3; 135: Mitch Berceau, L-C, pinned Bryce Rodriguez, 1:13; 140: Stephen Robinson, S, dec. Perry Boeten, 11-7; 145: Mike Uliana, L-C, dec. Andrew Cook, 7-6; 152: Chris Kipp, L-C, win by forfeit; 160: Zeke Peters, L-C, pinned Andre Klose, 3:11; 171: Will Stahl, L-C, pinned Joey Custode, 1:41; 189: Kraig Tuma, S, dec. Adam Hallet, 6-4; 215: Trever Spude, L-C, maj. dec. Scott Heffernon, 11-3; 285: David Berndsen, S, pinned Phil Kinjerski, 5:35. Match started at 135.

Luxemburg-Casco coach Bob Berceau has been around high school wrestling long enough to understand how these things work. You're going to have those special seasons, like last year, during which you end up with three individual state champions and three individual runners-up. You're also going to have seasons like this year. Berceau has been hard-pressed to find many wrestlers in L-C's wrestling room with much varsity experience. Still, the Spartans are not backing down. The defending Bay Conference champions enter the 2008-09 wrestling season having qualified for eight consecutive Division 2 state team tournaments. Despite having only one returning state qualifier — two-time state place winner Trever Spude — Berceau's goals remain the same for the Spartans. "Our goal is still to win the state title," Berceau said. "We have a young team, so I'm trying to take it step by step, but they're already talking in the room of that being the goal. The kids are the ones doing it, and that's a good thing. I'm just kind of moving along and building as we go this season." Heading into the summer, Berceau knew he was going to have to replace seniors like four-time state champion Zac Cibula and two-time state titlist Nick Lloyd, but was thrown a curveball with the transfer of Justin Mudlaff to Random Lake for family reasons. Mudlaff, who won the Division 2 103-pound title in dominant fashion as a freshman last year for L-C, will wrestle this year for the Rams alongside his now-freshman brother Nick. "You figure we're losing four of the six (state qualifiers), and then we're losing five," Berceau said. "Those are the breaks of the game. (Justin and Nick) will most likely both be state champs. I don't know who is going to beat either one of them in Division 3. They're both good kids and hard workers. I wish them the best of luck." Along with Spude, who went 40-7 last year en route to a second-place finish at 215 pounds, the Spartans will rely on team leaders like senior Chris Kipp, and juniors Jordan Giachino and Andy Enderby. That, added with a rush of underclassman (led by freshman Matt Ronsman, who is 5-0 in the 103-pound weight class this season), has Berceau more excited than ever about the Spartans' outlook. "I know we'll go through some lumps here in the middle of the season," said Berceau, referring to this Saturday's Battle of the Bay Invitational, the Clash (Minn.), and Kaukauna's Cheesehead Invites in the beginning of January. "Some of the younger guys may take some loses there, but I think it'll help them out at the end of the season and help us coaches out to figure what we have to do to better ourselves."