West De Pere’s Frisque in pursuit of another state trip
Evan Frisque’s philosophy for reaching his goals is pretty simple.
“You have to go out there and take what’s yours,” Frisque said. “You’re not just going to get it handed it to you, so you have to work for it.”
The West De Pere senior wrestler is working towards another trip to Madison and capturing more WIAA state hardware.
After placing fourth at 160 pounds in Division 1 last season to become the Phantoms’ first state medalist in nine years, Frisque has his sights set on returning to the Kohl Center and climbing higher on the podium at the same weight class.
“He loves competition,” said West De Pere wrestling coach Nick Winch, who has coached Frisque since eighth grade. “That’s what brings out his best. That’s when Evan thrives.”
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Frisque (21-4) is thriving during the stretch run of the year after missing the first month due to an elbow injury. His first matches of the year were at the ultra-competitive On The Water tournament in Oshkosh, where he placed sixth.
“I was a little behind from where I was last year,” said Frisque, who is ranked fifth at 160 pounds in D1 by Wisconsin Wrestling Online. “I went out there and didn’t compete at the top level that I knew I could of.”
In addition to being an accomplished wrestler, Frisque was a top-notch player on West De Pere’s football team.
The 5-foot-10 linebacker led the Phantoms with 83 tackles and 18 tackles for loss to help the program finish as the D3 state runner-up. He also averaged 5.9 yards per carry in rushing for 460 yards and five touchdowns.
Frisque was the smallest linebacker to earned first-team all-Bay Conference honors and most of the defensive backs on the all-conference team weighed more than him as well.
“Evan was a stud linebacker because you can’t block him,” said Winch, who is an offensive assistant for the football team. “He doesn’t run a 4.5. He’s not 190 pounds. He’s a small kid that isn’t the fastest, but he’s very quick and he’s going to fight, and he’s going to be competitive and you cannot block him for more than a half count because he’s going to fight off that block. That’s his competitiveness.”
Frisque’s relentless pursuit is currently aimed at winning a second straight sectional championship on Saturday at Appleton North, where the Phantoms will have seven wrestlers competing.
It will be Frisque’s fourth sectional appearance. He fell one place short of qualifying for state as a freshman and sophomore.
The 160-pounder could etch his name into the school’s record books with a strong finish.
West De Pere has had only one state champion for wrestling with Andy Kazik winning the D2 170-pound championship in 1997.
The Phantoms’ last state finalist was in 2009, when Mark Puckhaber placed second in D2 at 135 pounds.
“I want to keep reaching up higher and higher,” Frisque said. “Last year, I made it on the podium, so this year I want to go for the top spot on the podium. I just have to keep working.”
