Central Wrestlers Battle Injuries in Season Start

The Lancers wrestling team hosted a losing match to rival Menomonee Falls this week, but players and coaches say they are enthusiastic about the rest of the season.

“We need to be more aggressive, and have a better reaction time,” says Chris Demos, who is in his third year as head coach of the Brookfield Central wrestling team. “The guys work hard and know the moves.” 

His team may have eight seniors, but they are still young in experience.

“The start we have had is not indicative of this team,” Demos says. “We have many veterans out right now with injuries that would give us that extra boost, but things will move around.”

Demos also heads the Brookfield Wrestling Club and is an assistant boys cross country coach. Before becoming head wrestling coach, he was the team's assistant coach for six years after graduating from Greenfield High School.

Sitting on the sideline, his passion for coaching these young men shows through his enthusiasm. As he talked to Brookfield Patch after Thursday's game against the Falls, he took time to shake parents' hands and give his players feedback.

He said his most experienced player was senior Nick Veling, who has been wrestling since he was in the eighth grade.

Veling says wrestling ran in the family, and his dad highly encouraged the sport. 

“My brother is only two years older than me, and he was a huge reason why I started wrestling,” Veling says. “My dad gave me the push, and me and my brother became rivals in each other. After that, I got addicted.”

Veling’s brother was a Lancer team captain, as Veling is now. As other athletes approached him after Thursday's game, Veling was quick to say “nice job,” supporting his teammates. 

“I wanted to be like my brother,” Veling says through an ear-to-ear smile.

He says he wants to continue wrestling in some way after high school, either in a club or just practicing in college. He plans to attend UW-Madison, majoring in radiology. Veling also participates in the Ringer Wrestling Club (a camp) in the off-season.

He says his favorite part of wrestling is not the crowd-cheering matches, but the practices. “There is no pressure in a practice, it’s just simple wrestling. It’s natural. Wrestling stripped down to the core. If you lose in practice, it’s whatever, it’s just practice,” he says.

During a match, Veling says he can only hear his coaches. 

“Everything is kind of blank around me. The moves come natural and almost impulsive to me. It’s so quick. After I make a good move, I get excited. After I make a bad move I think, ‘oh, crap.’ Wrestling in a match is almost unconscious.”

During Thursday's match against the Indians, the crowd was loud and enthusiastic. As the meet progressed through the weight classes, the crowd got more intense, with men in suits screaming from the front row bleachers to students standing and chanting.

Knees were shaking on the sidelines of the athletes who were preparing for their own battle. 

Behind the chairs of wrestlers sat a smaller mat, filled with one or two athletes who were sliding and posing to master their moves for their own match. 

During the match of the 220 lb. weight class between Lancer Andy Woyak and Indian Matt Aili, the three sets of two minutes sessions per match were filled with screams and shouts from the stands. When Woyak got Aili down in a pin stance, the gym was unbearably loud with noise. The ref was on the ground with the athletes, searching for the two-shoulder touch to the ground. Woyak had pinned his opponent and won his match.

At the end of the night, the blue and silver Lancers were lost on the scoreboard, but won with team confidence and spirits.