Huskies top Falls, snatch title share

West Allis - After taking care of business on Jan. 26 with a 44-26 dual-meet victory over Menomonee Falls, the West Allis Hale wrestling squad received a big break.

Rival West Allis Central was upset by Brookfield East, 33-32, on the same night, dropping the Bulldogs into a tie with the Huskies for the Greater Metro Conference dual championship at 5-1.

Hale had lost to Central, 36-31, in the final dual meet before the holiday break but came back to sweep Brookfield East, Sussex Hamilton and Falls to earn a share of the dual crown.

"It has been 24 years since Hale had anything to do with a conference championship," coach Randy Ferrell said. "This is a big step for the program. The Greater Metro Conference is a very competitive place to wrestle. A number of teams have the chance to win year in and year out.

"The dual-meet title is exciting for our guys to win. The season is very long, and to stay healthy through the grind is an accomplishment."

All West Allis for crown

The Huskies and Bulldogs will now fight it out for the GMC Tournament crown at 3:30 p.m. Feb. 3 at Brookfield East High School. Sussex Hamilton, which is coming off a championship in Saturday's Pewaukee Invitational, will also be a factor, and Brookfield East certainly seems to be peaking as well, judging by its triumph over Central last week.

"The tournament title is up for grabs," Ferrell said. "I know that we are working very hard to put ourselves in a place to challenge for the crown. It will be about getting bonus points in as many matches as possible."

In the dual against Falls, the Huskies had to battle back from an early 26-12 deficit by winning the final seven matches.

Dallas Wanta opened the dual by taking a forfeit at 220 pounds and Ryan Vankerkvoorde posted a pin in 1 minute even at heavyweight for a quick 12-0 lead.

Falls takes five straight

The Indians, though, took the next five matches to go ahead by 14 points.

At 138, Andy Moyle claimed a forfeit, and 145-pounder Micho Gruichich recorded a 12-8 decision. Logan Mocco (152) won a 13-2 major decision and Taylor Tomczak (160) took a 4-0 victory.

Andrew Buelow (170) won by forfeit, Jack Allen (182) pinned his foe in 1 minute, 13 seconds, and Jeremy Shimetz (195) wrapped up the meet with a 9-0 major decision.

In Central's loss to Brookfield East, pins were posted by Brian Smith at 152 and Eric Vis at 160, but that was not enough for the Bulldogs, setting up the tie for the dual crown.

Central co-coach Jon Nelson was unavailable for comment.