Falls grapplers Holz and Olapo take two different paths to state

Menomonee Falls - You just couldn't have a bigger contrast in terms of experience for the Menomonee Falls wrestling team's two WIAA state qualifiers.

Freshman 106-pounder Bill Holz (school record 42-3 record) has been competing since he was 3 or 4 years old and has more than 1,000 matches under his belt already in his career.

Meanwhile, junior 182-pounder Ayoola Olapo (27-5) came out for the sport just last year, qualifying for sectionals last season with fewer than 20 matches to his credit.

But both are making their first trips to the state mats Thursday when the WIAA Individual State Tournament gets under way at 3 p.m. at the Kohl Center in Madison.

Holz, who has been at several national youth tournaments in his time and is fourth-ranked in the state in his class, has a daunting bracket in front of him. He takes on Wausau East's Nick Diny (41-3) in the first round and then if successful, later that evening, likely would take on top-ranked Bill Prochniewski (45-0) of Waukesha South.

Holz lost to Prochniewski in a tournament earlier this season when both were at 113 pounds.

"Getting down to this (106) was no problem," Holz said. "You just have to work at it. This (the sectional championship) wasn't the ultimate goal. State is, and I think I'm peaking at the right time. I'm ready for this."

His coach Jim McMahon agrees.

"He's really a pleasure to coach," MacMahon said. "He knows what he's doing, comes from a good family and works hard. He pulls his own weight and then some everyday. (Holz is) just a very easy kid to work with who expects to do well."

Absorbing a new sport

Meanwhile Olapo, who had to miss several weeks midseason due to ankle tendinitis, is a sponge, rapidly picking up all the vagaries of his newly chosen sport. He missed the Greater Metro Conference tournament, but came back in time for the state series, winning a WIAA regional title before holding on for a gritty sectional title in the meet at Arrowhead on Feb. 16.

"I was going to be ready for the (WIAA) tournament whether the ankle was broken or not," he said. "I was biking everyday, trying to stay in shape. I guess this shows that hard work does pay off."

Olapo takes on Burlington's Ryan Jazdzewski (37-10) in his first-round bout.

"He came in at midyear last year," McMahon said, "and he just started working. Very quickly we could see that he just gets it. He has a long ways to go yet, but he's a really nice kid. We weren't sure we were going to get him back (from the ankle injury), but here he is."

Team places sixth

The two qualifiers led the Indians to a sixth-place finish in the 16-school sectional field with 58 points as Arrowhead won with 148.5.

Holz had an impressive day, as he tied former Falls state qualifier Matt Holt for the individual season win school record.

He pinned a Milwaukee Vincent opponent in one minute, and then beat eventual fellow state qualifier Max Carlin of Whitefish Bay (37-9) with a sound 7-1 decision. Then in the final, he turned in a top-notch effort in pinning Wauwatosa's highly regarded Kai Castaneda (38-6) in 2:50.

Olapo had a more difficult road. He won by technical fall over a Pius opponent before downing Nicolet's Keondre Walton-Cooper (26-14) in a physical, not very pretty match (3-2 decision).

In the final, he then beat Whitefish Bay's Nick Levings (26-10), 11-8, earning four takedowns with his trademark double-leg attack.

"Most of the time, I just try to out-strength someone," Olpao said, "but I live and die by those double-legs. I look to throw someone's timing off and then I give 'em my double blasts (laughs)."

Three others come close

Falls had three other close calls at qualifiers. At 113, Aaron Daly, who switched weight classes with Holz, had an intense day, eventually finishing third. After getting pinned by eventual class champion Joey Davey of Whitefish Bay (1:21) in the semifinal, Daly (33-13) fought back to defeat an Oconomowoc opponent by a major decision in his third-place bout.

That win earned him a wrestle-back for the second-place state slot with Sussex Hamilton's Kevin DuVall (37-8). He had a 7-5 lead midway through the match before eventually getting outmuscled, and pinned in 4:28. McMahon said that Daly actually weighs less than 110 pounds.

"He almost had DuVall pinned early," McMahon said. "He really sacrificed a lot for us this year. This will give him tremendous incentive for next year, because he's going to be a great wrestler."

And at 170, senior Bill Steinke (33-13) fought back to defeat the opposing regional champion, 8-7, in his quarterfinal bout before falling to Homestead (pin 4:28) and Grafton (0:58) opponents to finish fourth.

"That was a tremendous win for Bill in the quarters," McMahon said. "He just came on so well this year. Last season, he was under .500 but he just made himself a real leader this year. He got better and really showed the others what hard work can do for you."

McMahon's son, Jake, at 138 (20-15) also finished fourth, after beating a regional champion from Milwaukee King in his quarterfinal, before losing to Hamilton (technical fall) and Germantown (5-2 decision) opponents.

"He's actually at the wrong weight class (because of the needs of the team)," said his father, "and he did get overmatched at some points, but he just continued to work and to hustle. It's worked out very well this year. He just remained very coachable, doing what he could do, and he improved tremendously."

Others finishing their seasons at the sectional included Casey Crangle at 120 (26-12), 2011 state qualifier Jeff Kleser at 126 (24-19), Austin Meyers at 132 (23-23), Alex Koch at 152 (9-16), and Jake Fuiten at 160 (17-24).

"It was a good day for us," coach McMahon said. "We're just not quite ready for the next step, but we hope to get there soon."