Bernhardt, Klemm compete for Waupaca, Manawa

By Greg Seubert

The first trip to the WIAA State Individual Wrestling Tournament became a learning experience for a pair of area wrestlers.

Waupaca’s Colby Bernhardt and Manawa’s Colten Klemm competed at the three-day tournament, which wrapped up Feb. 23 at the Kohl Center in Madison.

Bernhardt, a junior, ended his season with a 10-6 loss to Edgerton’s Cole Bavery in a Division 2 preliminary round match at 132 pounds. He came into the meet with a 40-9 record.

Klemm came up short in both of his 106-pound Division 3 matches. The sophomore headed to Madison with a 37-2 record and had a bye in the preliminary round after winning a sectional championship.

He dropped a 9-5 decision to Luke Thaemert of St. Croix Falls in the quarterfinals before being pinned by Kenosha Christian Life’s Troy Dolphin in 49 seconds in the wrestleback round.

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Manawa's Colten Klemm breaks away from St. Croix Falls' Luke Thaemert in a Division 3 106-pound quarterfinal match at the WIAA State Individual Wrestling Tournament in Madison. Thaemert advanced with a 9-5 and eventually placed fourth, while Klemm was eliminated after losing his wrestleback round match to Kenosha Christian Life's Troy Dolphin. Greg Seubert Photo

Notes from state
• Seven of the 14 state champions in Division 3 qualified for state out of the Division 3 Bonduel Sectional, held Feb. 16 at Shawano High School. Besides Weyauwega-Fremont’s Cian Fischer’s title at 120 pounds, other championships went to Coleman’s Koltin Grzybowski (113), Caleb Gross (126) and Jake Baldwin (145); Stratford’s Trevor Dennee (170) and Dylan Schoenherr (285); and Bonduel’s Jacob Giese (195).

• Fischer is one of 15 wrestlers to finish the 2018-19 season undefeated and with a state championship. The others are Stoughton’s Nicolar Rivera (106), Hortonville’s Eric Barnett (126), Arrowhead’s Keegan O’Toole (145), Whitefish Bay/Dominican/University School of Milwaukee’s Dajun Johnson (160), Nicolet’s Parker Keckeisen (182) and Brookfield Central’s Jacob Somlai (220) in Division 1; Baldwin-Woodville’s Jacek Nickowski (120), St. John’s Northwest Military Academy/Brookfield Academy’s Aidan Medora (138), River Valley’s Shane Liegel (182), Neillsville/Greenwood/Loyal’s Stephen Buchanan (195) and Spencer/Columbus Catholic’s Stephen Zchernitz (285) in Division 2; and Boyceville’s Brock Schlough (152) and Trett Joles (182) and Cadott’s Brady Spaeth (160) in Division 3.

• Fischer and Giese are the only Central Wisconsin Conference wrestlers to win a state championship. Waupaca competes in the North Eastern Conference, which had Division 2 champions in Oconto Falls’ Clayton Whiting (152), Freedom’s Sam Peters (160) and Luxemburg-Casco’s Reece Worachek (170).
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