Wrestlers qualify for state
By Greg Seubert
It’s going to something completely different for Colby Bernhardt and Colten Klemm.
For Cian Fischer, on the other hand, it’s a case of been there and done that.
The three wrestlers will join four others from the area at the WIAA State Individual Wrestling Meet, set for Thursday to Saturday, Feb. 21-23, at the Kohl Center in Madison.
Bernhardt, a Waupaca junior, and Klemm, a Manawa sophomore, are heading to state for the first time, while Fischer, a Weyauwega-Fremont senior, is heading back to Madison for the fourth time.
While Bernhardt and Klemm are the only representatives on their respective teams, Fischer will have plenty of support from his teammates, as junior Carter Greening and seniors Justin Kempf, Logan Kicherer and Tyler Wetzel will also compete.
All seven placed in the top three Feb. 16 at sectional competitions. Bernhardt wrestled at a Division 2 sectional at Wrightstown High School, while Klemm, Fischer, Greening, Kempf, Kicherer and Wetzel wrestled at the Division 3 Bonduel Sectional in Shawano.
Division 2 Wrightstown Sectional
Bernhardt won his 100th career match and eventually placed third at 132 pounds.
He opened the tournament by pinning Seymour’s Jeremiah Baranczyk in 5:56 but eventual champion Matty Bianchi of Two Rivers pinned him in 2:50 in the semifinals.
Bernhardt stayed alive by pinning Xavier’s Carter Hietpas in 1:46. He then picked up a 9-0 major decision over Tomahawk’s Alex Bishop, but dropped a 15-2 major decision to Luxemburg-Casco’s Bryce Bosman to place third.
Waupaca’s other wrestler at the sectional, Brock Sanger, saw his season end with a pin at the hands of Berlin’s C.J. Kurczek in the quarterfinal round. Sanger never got an opportunity to come back through the wrestleback after Kurczek lost his semifinal match to Denmark’s Gabe Wertel.
Division 3 Bonduel Sectional
Fischer and Wetzel won championships at 120 and 182, respectively, while Klemm placed first at 106.
Fischer will take a 44-0 record to state after a pair of major decisions and a forfeit. He opened the meet with a 16-7 win over Marathon’s Dane Klinger and advanced to the final after Coleman’s Kasey Kasper forfeited their semifinal match. Fischer’s day ended with a 12-4 win over Stratford’s Manny Drexler in the final.
Wetzel pinned Coleman’s Kole Klimek in 3:41 and advanced to his final with a 7-2 win over Athens’ Jordan Decker. He then handed Bonduel’s Isaac Banker a 6-5 loss in the final.
Klemm, one of six Manawa wrestlers at the sectional, pinned Three Lakes/Phelps’ Zander Ginet in 1:54 and pinned Auburndale’s Noah Altmann in 3:10 before picking up a 10-0 major decision over Coleman’s Chance Gruber in the final.
Kempf placed second at 132, while Greening (113) and Kicherer (145) placed third.
Kempf’s day began with 15-0 technical falls over Lena/St. Thomas Aquinas Academy’s Alex Decoursin and Auburndale’s Isaiah Hasenohrl, but he dropped a 7-2 decision to Max Schwabe in the final. He ended up second after Coleman’s Karson Casper forfeited their wrestleback round match.
Greening came back after dropping a 9-4 decision to Bonduel’s Luis Lagunes in the quarterfinal round. He then pinned Three Lakes/Phelps’ Piersson Czaplinski in 22 seconds and wrapped up third place by pinning Stratford’s Gavin Drexler in 2:30.
“Greening, who placed third at state at 106 last year, had to beat the No. 1-ranked wrestler in the state (Drexler) in his last match,” coach Tim Potratz said. “He caught his opponent midway through the second period with a spladle pin hold and blew the roof off the gym when the referee hit the mat for a pin.”
Kicherer also lost his first-round match, 9-5 to Crivitz’s Tony Jopek. He came back with a 7-5 win over Edgar’s Jakob Lipinski and an 11-6 win over Wittenberg-Birnamwood’s Will Urquhart before forfeiting the second-place match to Stratford’s Mavrick Licciardi.
“He joins his dad Jason and brother Dylen to become the first family in W-F wrestling history to qualify three family members to the state tournament,” Potratz said.
Weyauwega-Fremont’s eight wrestlers posted a 16-8 record and finished third in the team standings behind Coleman and Stratford.
Austin Bartel finished his senior season with a 30-15 after placing fifth at 285. He pinned Lena/St. Thomas Aquinas Academy’s Richard Fieck in 3:41 in the opening round before losing his next two matches.
“Bartel won 84 matches in his career and was a four-year varsity wrestler who helped anchor the upper weights for our squad with his grit and determination,” Potratz said.
Easton Groskreutz lost his opening round match at 126 and did not get a wrestleback to end his injury-riddled senior season. “Groskreutz is a state qualifier, conference champion and won over 100 matches in his career,” Potratz said. “Easton is super-athletic and fun to watch compete. His effort and talent will be hard to replace.”
Skylor Maynard lost his first match at 195 to Edgar’s William Raatz and his wrestleback match to Coleman’s Jonathon Bieber.
“Skylor made a big jump in his sophomore season, posting a winning record and advancing to the sectional,” Potratz said. “He will be a team leader for our squad next season.”
“We wrestled smart and tough all day,” Potratz said. “We took people down all day with 36 total takedowns and kept the pressure on our opponents.
“The kids believed in what they could do and they executed their plan of attack perfectly,” he added. “When Greening pinned the Stratford kid to qualify for state, the whole team was charged up and ready to win.”
Manawa sent five other wrestlers to the sectional besides Klemm: Kevin Klemm (113), Bryan Griffin (138), Eli Yoder (170), Corey Beyer (182) and Andrew Elmhorst (220).