On Thursday afternoon, February 23, Lauren Buehler and Aaron Porras had the opportunity to complete in their first appearance at the Wisconsin State Individual Wrestling meet at the Kohl Center in Madison. This is a great accomplishment for each of these two competitors as it is not an easy path to get there.
Lauren started our afternoon at state on Thursday in a great way. She started off the match with a beautiful takedown and did not look back. Up 11-3 in the second period Lauren was able to secure a pin for herself advancing her to the quarterfinal round. In her next match she ran into a young lady who is a real hammer and ended up getting pinned by her. Lauren came back on Friday morning needing to secure two wins to make the podium. Unfortunately, this year was not in the cards for Lauren, and she was defeated in her wrestle back match. Both young ladies who had defeated Lauren did making the top 6; one placed 3rd and the other 6th, so at least Lauren knows she went toe to toe with two of the top 6 students at her weight class in the state. Lauren is a junior so this was a valuable experience for her as she enters the off season.
Aaron Porras wrestled his opponent very well going with his game plan but unfortunately got into a scramble and ended up on his back and was pinned. Aaron closed out a very nice career with a 37-11 record as a senior, conference champion, Regional champion, sectional runner up and state qualifier. He ended his career with 72 wins.
Congratulations to both Lauren and Aaron on a great season as well as to the entire team as they have now concluded the 2022-23 campaign. The awards banquet is scheduled for Wednesday, March 8, 2023 in the high school cafeteria.
Article Submitted by John Schimming
Whitewater High School Head Wrestling Coach
jschimming@wwusd.org
