For the Rapids City Times

WISCONSIN RAPIDS – The Wisconsin Rapids Middle School (WRAMS) wrestling team brought home their second consecutive conference team championship. The team outscored second-place DC Everest by 80 points, in Merrill on Jan. 25, with Marshfield taking third.

Along with the team championship, the WRAMS wrestlers also had four individual champions: Matthew Sering,  Wil Weidman,  Brett Back, and Sam Scheidegger.

“It’s been a privilege to work with such an outstanding group of young wrestlers,” said WRAMS Coach Travis Tritz. “We have a great group of kids that have pushed each other to get better all season, and the hard work that they put into this program paid dividends on Friday evening. As coaches you can’t hope for more than that.”

The conference championship caps off a successful season for the team, who also brought home several individual and team championships at major events over the course of their season. The team has swelled to over forty wrestlers.

“I’m really proud of how hard the kids worked this year,” said Coach Nate Weidman. “Their success is a reflection of their hard work and dedication. It’s something built and carried through from our youth program. A huge thank you to all of our youth program coaches that have helped shape what this is.”

Individual place winners include: Matthew Sering, first, 70 lbs; Wil Weidman, first, 77 lbs; Carter Freeman , third, 84 lbs; Lucas Bean , second, 91 lbs; Kailar Tritz, fourth, 98 lbs; Ben Weidman, third, 105 lbs; Ethan Freeman, second, 120 lbs; Brett Back, first, 128 lbs; Jacob Bender, third, 136 lbs; Sam Schutz, second, 144 lbs; Marcos Simonsen, fifth, 152 lbs; Brian Olds, fifth, 175 lbs; Tanner Gormanson, sixth, 210 lbs; and Sam Scheidegger, first, 285 lbs.