NOCTILUCA January 2018

SPORTS Appleton, Wisconsin January 2018 Volume XXlll Page 11 Wrestling team competes in Mid-States Classic Issue III

Brytton Goymerac finishing in third place in his weight class, a proud accomplishment for the North senior. Photo courtesy of @anothwrestling on Twitter

Zach Fisher, who placed fifth in his weight class said, “It feels good to finish top five. Obviously there is room for improvement, but the honor is great.” Brytton Goymerac was proud of what he accom- plished. “I wish I would have placed higher, obviously. I lost a tough match in the semi-finals, but overall I am satisfied with how I wres- tled.” Goymerac would place third in his weight class. All three agreed their fa- vorite part of the tournament, getting to spend time with the team. “Cheering my team- mates on and eating a lot of food was a lot of fun. There were opportunities through- out the two days of the tour- nament to bond with the team, I had a fantastic time down there,” said Goymerac. Those long days practicing paid off too, as the team as a whole placed second out of the 44 teams that partici- pated. “Seeing that our hard work pays off is an amazing feeling. It encourages us to continue to work hard. We

become more motivated to push the pace more and more during practice because we now have that experience of what it is like to succeed. We want to continue to be suc- cessful,” said Goymerac. “It feels great to know our team can compete with some of the best the area has to offer. We were able to show every- one we are here to fight too, and to never count us out,” said Laatsch. Overall, it was a great ex- perience for everyone in- volved. The two days spent at UW-Whitewater were worth the time of the wres- tling team. Any opportunity you get to show what you have versus other great wres- tlers around the country is something North’s wrestlers will never forget. Being able to say you are the second best out of 44 teams that par- ticipated in this highly com- petitive tournament is one of the best accomplishments a wrestling team has had in school history.

The wrestling team at the end of the tournament holding up all of the awards they won. Photo courtesy of @anorthwrestling on Twitter

By Kyle Hoffenbecker

While you were spending time with family, opening up gifts, studying for semes- ter finals, or procrastinating on that big project you have for one of your classes, the Appleton North wrestling team competed in one of the biggest tournaments for high school wrestling of the year. Every wrestling sea- son, UW-Whitewater hosts the Mid-States classic. It is a great chance for many dif- ferent high schools to com- pete against each other to see who reigns supreme in the Midwest. Normally, a high school from Wisconsin would not have the opportu- nity to wrestle a team from, Minnesota, but this tourna- ment allows that to happen. One of those wrestlers who took advantage of this amaz- ing opportunity was Junior Ian Laatsch.

Laatsch standing on top of the podium after placing first in his weight class. Photo courtesy of @anorthwestling on Twitter

the many North wrestlers who placed in the top five in their respective weight classes. Seniors Zach Fisher, Brytton Goymerac, Terrell Williams, and Brock Daniel- ski all joined Laatsch with amazing honors at the tour- nament.

Laatsch placed first in his weight class during the tour- nament. “It felt great know- ing I was the top dog of the tournament,” said Laatsch. “Getting my hand raised af- ter winning my final match was a moment I will never ever forget.” He was one of

Come support Appleton North’s sports teams at these upcoming sporting events

Wrestling

Girls Basketball

Boys Basketball

Girls Hockey

Boys Hockey

1/25 - vs Appleton West 7:00 p.m. 2/3 - FVA Conference Tournament @Appleton North 9:30 a.m. 2/10 - WIAA Regionals @Kaukauna 2/13 - WIAA Team Sec- tionals @ DePere

1/23 - vs Appleton West 6:00 p.m. 1/25 - @Kaukauna 6:00 p.m. 1/27 - @Milwaukee King 7:00 p.m. 1/30 - vs Oshkosh West 7:30 p.m.

1/23 - vs Appleton West 7:30 p.m. 1/25 - @Kaukauna 7:30 p.m. 1/30 - @Oshkosh West 7:30 p.m. 2/2 - vs Neenah 7:30 p.m.

2/1 - Conference Tour- nament starting at 5:30 p.m., @Appleton Family Ice Center, opponents TBD 2/3 - Conference Tour- mament starting at 8:00 am, @Ozaukee Ice Arena, opponents TBD

1/23 - vs Notre Dame High School 8:00 p.m. 1/30 - Badgerland Con- ference Tournament time and location TBD 2/3 - Badgerland Con- ference Tournament @ FDL, time TBD

2/2 @Neenah 7:30 p.m.

2/5 - vs FDL 7:30 p.m.