Mannel, Greening win championships
By Greg Seubert
The season is alive and well for nine area high school wrestlers.
The wrestlers – three from Manawa, two from Waupaca and Weyauwega-Fremont and one from New London and Hortonville – will compete at the WIAA State Individual Wrestling Tournament, which starts Thursday, Feb. 27, and runs through Saturday, Feb. 29, at the Kohl Center in Madison.
Wrestlers competed at sectional meets in three divisions Feb. 22.
Hortonville sent nine wrestlers to a Division 1 sectional in Ashwaubenon; New London, Waupaca and Clintonville/Marion sent three, two and two wrestlers, respectively, to a Division 2 meet in Oconto Falls; and Manawa and Weyauwega-Fremont had a combined 13 wrestlers at a Division 3 meet in Shawano.
Division 1
Ashwaubenon Sectional
Hortonville’s Jacob Collar placed second at 152 after falling to Kaukauna’s Titus Hammen 7-4 in the final.
The Polar Bears also sent Wyatt Skebba (106), Jesse Cleereman (120), Brayden Bellile (132), Austin Wasmund (138), Chase Hughes (145), Landon Thern (160), George Huza (170) and Dylan Gocke (182).
Division 2
Oconto Falls Sectional
Waupaca’s Kaleb Mannel won the area’s only championship, as he placed first at 120 pounds with a 13-3 major decision over Luxemburg-Casco’s Hunter Joniaux in the final.
Colby Bernhardt also advanced to state by placing third at 138. He opened the meet with first-period pins of Wrightstown’s Sean Rietz and Seymour’s Samuel Dudley, but was pinned in 5:00 by eventual champion Matty Bianchi of Two Rivers and in 3:51 by Freedom’s Ben Bredael.
New London’s Logan Heimbruch advanced after placing third at 145 with a 3-1 record.
Also wrestling were New London’s Damian Polanco (106) and Keaten Pues (220); and Clintonville/Marion’s Caden Young (152) and Caleb Moore (182).
Division 3
Bonduel Sectional
Weyauwega-Fremont’s Carter Greening (120) will take a 42-1 record to state after recording a pair of pins and a technical fall.
The senior pinned Manawa’s Colten Klemm in 17 seconds in the final after pinning Coleman’s John Nowak in 1:20 and picking up a 15-0 technical fall over Shiocton’s Jericho Heiser in the semifinal round.
Greening will join teammate Ben Strehlow, who placed third at 182.
He pinned Brillion’s Colin Schumann in 4:12, but had to come back through the wrestleback round after being pinned by Coleman’s John Bieber in the semifinal round.
Strehlow rebounded with a 17-5 major decision over Shiocton’s Jaden Dorn and a pin of Bonduel’s Tristan Tomashek in 5:09 before being pinned by Rosholt’s Reese Anderson in the match for second place.
Klemm ended up second at 120 and his wins included a 16-0 technical fall over Reedsville’s Blake Delsman a pin of Auburndale’s Noah Altmann in 3:40 and an 11-6 win over Helser in the wrestleback round.
Illness kept Manawa’s Kevin Klemm from wrestling for the 113-pound championship. He pinned Crivitz’s Dominic Thoresen in 5:38 and Reedsville’s Kyle Schmalz in 3:13 before forfeiting the championship match to Brillion’s Grant Geiger and a wrestleback match to Coleman’s Chance Gruber.
Manawa’s Andrew Elmhorst placed third at 220. He opened the tournament by pinning Amherst’s Colton Jakubek in 1:11 and a 2-0 win over Reedsville’s Cole Ebert before getting pinned by Mishicot’s Frank Koeppel in 1:12 in the final.
Also wrestling at the meet were Manawa’s Adrin Larsen (106), Bryan Griffin (145), Bryce Bartel (152), Colin Moser (170) and Corey Beyer (195); and Weyauwega-Fremont’s Max Meyerhofer (160), Brock Sanger (195) and Skylor Maynard (220).