Bay Port’s Meeuwsen makes quick splash with success on the mat
Max Meeuwsen knew he was going to encounter some rough waters when he decided to go out for wrestling for the first time last year.
“I really didn’t know what I was doing,” Meeuwsen recalls.
The Bay Port junior has proven to be a quick study ever since in not only developing into an anchor for his team, but becoming one of the best heavyweights in the state.
Meeuwsen will enter the WIAA postseason next week ranked No. 2 in Division 1 for the 285-pound weight class, according to Wisconsin Wrestling Online.
“What he lacks for experience on the mat he makes up with all the other stuff,” Bay Port wrestling coach Brad Shefchik said. “He works hard. He’s smart and asks a lot of questions because he’s willing to learn. He doesn’t really have a lot of bad habits because everything he’s learned has been at the high school level.”
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After going 27-12 as a sophomore at 220 pounds, Meeuwsen is 30-1 in bumping up to heavyweight.
The Fox River Classic Conference defensive player of the year for football is a leaner heavyweight, wrestling at about 230 pounds this year.
Still, Meeuwsen has recorded 16 pins. His only loss this season was a 14-10 decision on Dec. 20 against Coleman senior Brock Martinson, who is ranked No. 2 in Division 3.
The Bay Port junior avenged the loss last week by upending Martinson 2-1 in the finals of the Pulaski Invite.
“I’ve never seen anyone come out, and in one year, be that good,” said Bay Port assistant Mark Hansen, who has coached the sport for 31 years. “He’s very coachable and he’s super competitive. You put those two things together, along with good genes, being powerful and having good balance, and you’ve got yourself a good heavyweight.”
Hansen saw those attributes in Meeuwsen as he watched the talented specimen walk past the wrestling room to go the weight room at the start of last season.
Following a couple of weeks of trying to recruit him to step onto the mat, Hansen got his wish when Meeuwsen decided to give the sport a try.
“Walking by I would always look in there,” said Meeuwsen, who was finally swayed to join because of classmate Jacob Nugent. “I watch a lot of UFC and would always wrestle with my brother, so that appealed to me. I said I would come in for a week, and it just worked out from there.”
Although he didn’t have immediate success last season as a sophomore, Meeuwsen’s time on the mat benefited him on the gridiron.
The 6-foot-1 defensive end had a monster junior season, recording 65 tackles, 20 tackles for loss, 18 sacks and four forced fumbles in helping the Pirates go 11-1 and extend their FRCC winning streak to 27 games.
“I had a pretty good year in football, and I think wrestling contributed to that,” Meeuwsen said. “It gives me something to do. It’s better than just sitting in the weight room all winter and just lifting.”
Meeuwsen earned honorable mention all-state honors from the Wisconsin Football Coaches Association and is poised to perhaps become the latest Bay Port football player to receive an opportunity to play at the NCAA Division I level.
However, Meeuwsen has higher aspirations than that.
“I’ve always wanted to go into the military,” Meeuwsen said. “That’s really my main thing. But as I get bigger and stronger, it’s going to be hard to choose if I want to play college football. The one thing I’ve looked at it is the Naval Academy. That would be a really cool experience.”
Meeuwsen comes from a military family.
His father, Ben, attended the Naval Academy and was an offensive lineman for the Midshipmen.
Meanwhile, his older brother, Quinn, enlisted in the Navy and his paternal grandfather was a Marine.
Meeuwsen is the first wrestler in the family, though.
“I don’t really know what happened,” Meeuwsen said about his success this year. “Stuff just kind of clicked.”
Meeuwsen is hoping to work his way up to a podium spot at the WIAA individual state tournament later this month.
However, the road to Madison won’t be easy.
His regional and sectional also features the third- and fourth-ranked wrestlers in D1 in Pulaski senior Liam Fahey and Green Bay United senior Isaac Klarkowski. Fahey and Klarkowski both took Meeuwsen to extra-time matches this season.
Only two wrestlers in each weight class from Division 1 sectionals advance to state, so Meeuwsen knows he’ll have to be at his best.
“I hope it happens,” Meeuwsen said about advancing to state. “I feel like that will be a really cool feeling, but for me everything is still kind of new and I can’t really judge too much. I’m just going to take it one match at a time.”
