TOTAL OF 14 AREA WRESTLERS WRAP UP TOP-SIX MEDALS AT WIAA STATE INDIVIDUAL WRESTLING TOURNAMENT
Zaleski Sports
MADISON – Fourteen area wrestlers earned medals on Saturday at the 2022 WIAA State Individual Wrestling Tournament at the Kohl Center.
Marshfield junior Hoyt Blaskowski and senior Ryan Dolezal each finished third, and senior Camren Dennee took fifth in Division 1.
Blaskowski (41-4) defeated Ben Kaus of Menomonee Falls 8-5 and won his third-place match over Tyler Jahn of Holmen 11-9 at 138 pounds.
Dolezal (45-4) earned a 4-1 win over Magnus Kukkanen of Waukesha West before edging past Cooper Willis of Union Grove 5-3 in the 160-pound third-place match.
Dennee (49-5) lost his consolation semifinal match to Kasey Gish of West Bend West 5-3, before coming back to defeat Travis Moore of Union Grove 5-3 in the fifth-place match at 170.
Stevens Point senior Jaren Rohde (38-2) also earned a Division 1 third-place medal as he defeated Jay Hanson of Verona 9-4 and pinned Nolan Vils of Sauk Prairie in 2:53 at 285 pounds.
Two Wisconsin Rapids wrestlers wrapped up medals in Division 1 as well. Brett Back (51-3) placed third at 145 pounds as defeated Brett Skaug of Brookfield East 12-3 and Parker Kratochville of Holmen 4-0 on Saturday. Freshman Landyn Freeman (39-11) took fifth at 106 pounds. He lost in the consolation semifinals to Colin McDowell of Hartland Arrowhead 10-1 before earning a forfeit win in the fifth-place match.
Spencer/Columbus’ senior Treyton Ackman placed third at 120 pounds in Division 2 as he won a consolation semifinal 7-0 and defeated Easton Worachek of Luxemburg-Casco 6-4 in the third-place match to finish the season at 34-5.
Neillsville/Greenwood/Loyal’s Derek Zschernitz (30-7) placed fourth at 126 pounds in Division 2. He won his consolation semifinal over Austin Defoe of Ashland 4-2 before losing in the third-place match to Ostin Blachard of Campbellsport 9-8.
Also in Division 2, two Abbotsford/Colby wrestlers placed fourth.
Carter Grewe (48-5) won his 195-pound consolation match over Blake Thiry of Prairie du Chien 17-5, but lost in the third-place match to Chase Matthias of Two Rivers 8-2.
Tanner Halopka (49-3) won his consolation semifinal at 145 pounds 5-3 over Brady Schuh of Monroe before losing in the third-place match to Nick Alexander of Wrightstown 7-0.
Stratford had three wrestlers wrap up top-six medals.
Elijah Lucio (37-3) placed third at 152 pounds as he defeated Tristin Drier of Cadott 3-1 and Will Bieber of Coleman 5-2.
Cole Marten (33-8) took fourth at 220 pounds. He won his consolation semifinal over Marshell Self of Ithaca/Weston 6-3, but lost in the third-place match as he was pinned by David Gauderman of Wittenberg-Birnamwood in 1:37. Gauderman also defeated Marten in the quarterfinals on Friday.
Jackson Ormond (41-10) finished fifth at 182 pounds for the Tigers. He lost his consolation semifinal match to Riley Klar of La Crosse Aquinas 9-4, but responded with a 3-1 overtime victory over Dawson Webster of Cadott in the fifth-place match.
Auburndale’s Colton Weiler (45-7) finished fourth at 113 pounds in Division 3. He won his consolation semifinal over Kayne Johnson of Cameron 9-5, but lost in the third-place match to Ian Radnitz of Glenwood City, 5-0.
Five area wrestlers will be going for gold Saturday night in championship matches.
In Division 3, Stratford’s Gavin Drexler (37-1) will take on Mineral Point’s Tarrin Riley (34-2) at 138 pounds as Drexler looks for his third-straight state title, and teammate Raife Smart (32-3) will battle Grant Rydlund (42-3) of Ladysmith at 195 pounds.
Neillsville/Greenwood/Loyal will have two going for championships in Division 2 as Luke Dux (31-4) takes on Danny Heiser (51-4) of Evansville at 120 pounds, and Gunner Hoffmann (39-1) will face Robert Beese (49-4) of Amery at 285 pounds.
Wisconsin Rapids’ Preston Spray (50-2) will take on Wyatt Skebba (29-1) of Hortonville in the Division 1 113-pound final.
Championship matches begin at 5:30 p.m. and will be televised live on Bally Sports Wisconsin.