Sixteen wrestlers – eight from Amherst, five from Weyauwega-Fremont and three from Manawa – will compete Saturday, Feb. 21, at a WIAA Division 3 at Shawano High School.
All 16 wrestlers placed in the top two Feb. 14 at the Manawa Regional. Wrestling in Shawano will get under way at 10:30 a.m.
Weyauwega-Fremont’s Austin Baehnman and Oliver Radtke won regional championships at 126 and 145 pounds, respectively, while David Rieck (106), Luke Wright (113), James Borgen (152), Gavin Sneller (170) and Max Villnow (195) placed first for Manawa.
Also moving on by placing second are Weyauwega-Fremont’s Kaleb Sciborski (132), Austin Marker (170) and Andy Bork (285); Manawa’s Daryn Claussen (138), Zack Johnson (145) and Jake Kaczorowski (195); and Amherst’s Robert Johannes (120), Bryce Holderman (160) and Dylan Kearney (220).
Wrestlers will have to place in the top three to qualify for the WIAA State Individual Meet, which starts Thursday, Feb. 28, at the Kohl Center in Madison.
Baehnman is heading to sectionals for the second time after pinning Plainfield Tri-County’s Eric Buechner in 47 seconds in the championship match at 126. He also pinned Amherst’s Daniel Zachman in 1:23 in the semifinal round.
“He will take a 16-12 record into his opening round match at sectionals against Garret Siolka of Bonduel,” coach Tim Potratz said.
Meanwhile, Radtke, a state qualifier last year as a junior, improved to 28-6 on the season after pinning Rosholt’s Ryan Konkol in 56 seconds in the semifinals before handing Johnson a 13-2 defeat in the title match.
“Oliver accomplished a rare feat, as he won his fourth consecutive regional championship,” Potratz said. “He dominated the 145 weight class and will wrestle Kevin Lansin of Coleman at sectionals.”
Sciborski opened the tournament with a 6-2 win over Manawa’s Remington Reeck in the semifinals, but he fell 6-0 to Rosholt’s Bowen Kedrowicz in the final.
“Kaleb came back out for wrestling after three years off and earned a trip to sectionals with a second-place finish,” Potratz said. “He has had an up-and-down season, but his hard work paid off in the end. He will meet a Crivitz wrestler in the opening round of sectionals.”
Marker (18-14) needed only 15 seconds to pin Manawa’s Dustin Hein in the semifinals, but Sneller pinned him in 3:24 in the final.
He will face Coleman’s Alex Stodola in the first round of the sectional meet.
“Marker has had a solid junior season and has made steady improvement all year,” Potratz said.
Bork (29-5) handed Manawa’s Cole Thompson a 3-1 loss in the semifinals, but dropped a 5-0 decision to A-B/Pacelli’s Cole Warzynski in the final.
He will wrestle Crivitz’s Austin Ducaine at sectionals.
Also placing for the Indians were Jaden Gruetzmacher (third at 113), Bailey Balistreire (fourth at 138), David Johnson (fifth place at 152), Kyle Loehrke (fourth at 182) and Dylen Kicherer (third at 195).
Claussen pinned Rosholt’s Kyle Groshek in the semifinals, but fell 7-2 to Tri-County’s Brandon Peckham in the final.
Johnson pinned Amherst’s Grant Krogwold in 3:26 before falling to Radtke in the final.
Kaczorowski handed W-F’s Kicherer a 1-0 defeat in the semifinals before losing 6-4 to Villnow in the final.
Amherst’s Rieck won his title by pinning Rosholt’s Hampton Kedrowicz in 5:25, Wright handed Rosholt’s Zach Stroik an 11-3 loss in the championship match at 113, Borgen picked up an 8-7 win over Rosholt’s Aaron Cole in the 152 final, Sneller pinned Marker in 3:24 at 170 and Villnow beat Kaczorowski 6-4 at 195.
Amherst hosted a four-team team sectional Feb. 17. The Falcons faced Stratford in one semifinal, while Crandon and Coleman wrestled in the other match. The champion has advanced to the State Team Wrestling Meet, set for Friday and Saturday, March 6-7, at the University of Wisconsin Fieldhouse in Madison.