D.C. EVEREST WINS TEAM TITLE, MARSHFIELD SENDS 9 TO SECTIONALS AT WIAA DIVISION 1 WRESTLING REGIONAL
Zaleski Sports
SCHOFIELD – Marshfield will be sending nine athletes to sectionals after finishing third in the team standings at the 2020 WIAA Division 1 Wrestling Regional on Saturday at D.C. Everest High School.
D.C. Everest shocked Wisconsin Valley Conference champion Wisconsin Rapids to win the team title with 208.5 points, nine ahead of the Raiders, and will move on to the team sectional meet Tuesday at River Falls. Marshfield was third with 191.5 points, with Stevens Point fourth (157.5), Wausau West fifth (116), Merrill sixth (107.5), and Wausau East eighth (50).
Marshfield’s three WVC champions also won regional titles. Freshman Hoyt Blaskowski (40-4) defeated Blake Heal of D.C. Everest 9-3 in the 126-pound finals; Gabe Pugh (37-3) earned the 138-pound title by beating Demetrio Covarrubias of D.C. Everest 9-5 in the finals; and Ryan Dolezal (38-4) earned the 145-pound championship by beating Payton Vaughn of D.C. Everest 10-4 in the finals.
Camren Dennee also earned a regional title for the Tigers. Dennee (28-17) pinned Ryder Depies of Merrill in 5:06 to capture the 160-pound championship match.
Keagen Cliver (25-7) was second at 120, Brett Franklin (23-5) took second at 132, and Garrett Willuweit (30-14) finished second at 152, and Alex Westlund (16-13 at 106) and Shane Westerhausen (30-10 at 113) each finished third to earn sectional spots as well for Marshfield.
Despite the second-place finish, Wisconsin Rapids had a tournament-high 12 top-four finishers that qualify for the individual sectional.
Four Raiders won titles – Preston Spray (39-3) at 106 pounds, Wyler Lubeck (40-6) at 152, Peter Rucker (40-7) at 182, and Andrew Schutz (31-9) at 195.
Lukas Erickson (21-18) was third at 120, Sam Scheidegger (19-21) took third at 285, and six Wisconsin Rapids placed fourth – Josh Black (29-16) at 113, Ryan Sering (26-16) at 126, Cole Ladick (18-17) at 132, Zac Hamel (26-12) at 138, Damien Bennett (18-22) at 145, and Josh Hansen (23-15) at 220.
Stevens Point will also be sending nine wrestlers on to the sectional meet, including three regional champions.
Justin Groshek continued his undefeated campaign, improving to 39-0 after capturing the 113-pound title with a 9-1 win over Tim Fox of Rhinelander.
Kale Roth (34-8) won the 120-pound final with an 8-6 win over Cliver of Marshfield in sudden victory, and Max Schierl (30-8) earned the 132-pound title with an 8-4 win over Franklin of Marshfield in the finals.
Brett Johnston (27-14) was second at 182 pounds; Joe Pecore (14-8 at 138), Cooper Behnke (18-17 at 145) and Ben Raczek (14-8 at 220) each finished third; and Conner Seavers (26-14 at 152) and Sam Molski (33-9 at 160) both took fourth for Stevens Point.
D.C. Everest had nine sectional qualifiers as well, with two winning regional titles and four others finishing second.
Gabe Carter (35-1 at 170) and Orion Boe (39-1 at 220) won regional titles, and Heal (20-11 at 126), Covarrubias (31-9 at 138), Vaughn (28-5 at 145) and Jack Johnson (31-9 at 285) each finished second for the Evergreens.
Also moving on to sectionals for D.C. Everest were third-place finishers Freddy Lehrke (17-5 at 152) and Nick Klug (24-11 at 182), and Easton Block (15-19), who was fourth at 120.
Wausau West will send six to sectionals. Gabriel Galang (31-9) was second at 106, Gabriel Ramos (30-9 at 132) and Noah Baumann (29-11 at 160) both took third, and Athan Somers (24-15 at 170), Nathan LaRue (24-11 at 182) and Joseph Nienow (18-11 at 195) all finished fourth for West.
Wausau East’s Maddox Rye (20-10) finished third at 126 pounds and Reece Ament (16-9) was fourth at 285 to also qualify for the individual sectional.
The individual sectional will be next Saturday, Feb. 22, at Wisconsin Rapids Lincoln. The top two finishers in each weight class qualify for the 2020 WIAA State Individual Wrestling Tournament at the Kohl Center in Madison on Feb. 27-29.
2020 WIAA Division 1 Wrestling Regional
Feb. 15, at D.C. Everest High School
Team scores: 1. D.C. Everest 208.5; 2. Wisconsin Rapids 199.5; 3. Marshfield 191.5; 4. Stevens Point 157.5; 5. Wausau West 116; 6. Merrill 107.5; 7. Rhinelander 104; 8. Wausau East 50.
Top four individuals in each weight qualify for individual sectional Feb. 22 at Wisconsin Rapids
106 pounds
Championship: Preston Spray (WR) won major dec. over Gabriel Galang (WW), 9-1.
Third place: Alex Westlund (MAR) pinned Tanner Schmidt (RH), 1:09.
113 pounds
Championship: Justin Groshek (SP) won major dec. over Tim Fox (RH), 9-1.
Third place: Shane Westerhausen (MAR) pinned Josh Black (WR), 5:34.
120 pounds
Championship: Kale Roth (SP) def. Keagan Cliver (MAR), 8-6 (SV-1).
Third place: Lukas Erickson (WR) def. Easton Block (DC), 3-2.
126 pounds
Championship: Hoyt Blaskowski (MAR) def. Blake Heal (DC), 9-3.
Third place: Maddox Rye (WE) pinned Ryan Sering (WR), 3:03.
132 pounds
Championship: Max Schierl (SP) def. Brett Franklin (MAR), 8-4.
Third place: Gabriel Ramos (WW) def. Cole Ladick (WR), 7-5 (SV-1).
Second-place wrestleback: Franklin def. Ramos, 6-4.
138 pounds
Championship: Gabe Pugh (MAR) def. Demetrio Covarrubias (DC), 9-5.
Third place: Joe Pecore (SP) def. Zac Hamel (WR) by medical forfeit.
Second-place wrestleback: Covarrubias def. Pecore, 6-3.
145 pounds
Championship: Ryan Dolezal (MAR) def. Payton Vaughn (DC), 10-4.
Third place: Cooper Behnke (SP) def. Damien Bennett (WR), 7-2.
Second-place wrestleback: Vaughn pinned Behnke, 0:28.
152 pounds
Championship: Wyler Lubeck (WR) def. Garrett Willuweit (MAR), 5-2.
Third place: Freddy Lehrke (DC) def. Conner Seavers (SP) by medical forfeit.
160 pounds
Championship: Camren Dennee (MAR) pinned Ryder Depies (MER), 5:06.
Third place: Noah Baumann (WW) pinned Sam Molski (SP), 3:25.
170 pounds
Championship: Gabe Carter (DC) def. Walker Hartman (RH), 5-1.
Third place: Casey Hoffman (MER) pinned Athan Somers (WW), 2:00.
182 pounds
Championship: Peter Rucker (WR) pinned Brett Johnston (SP), 3:26.
Third place: Nick Klug (DC) pinned Nathan LaRue (WW), 3:33.
195 pounds