MCDONALD'S SWNEWS4U.COM GAME OF THE WEEK (Feb. 18–25)
WIAA WRESTLING: Division 2 Prairie du Chien Team Sectional
By Jason Nihles
Back to the Barn: Eagles qualify for Team State in Division 2
PRAIRIE DU CHIEN — New coach? New season? New division? None of those obstacles mattered much to this year’s Fennimore wrestling team.
The Golden Eagles (10–4) dominated Lodi, 50–20, then beat Southwest Wisconsin Conference runner-up Belmont/Platteville, 41–26, to win the WIAA Division 2 Prairie du Chien Team Sectional title last Tuesday night.
It is the program’s 10th Team Sectional title in the past 11 years, but first in Division 2 and first under first-year head coach Riley Lull.
It is well known by now, that Fennimore wrestling has qualified for nine Team State Tournaments in the past 10 years under former head coach Chad Steldt, winning five D3 State Titles, including the past three.
The recent run of success is also the reason Fennimore is competing in Division 2 this year after being bumped up a division by the WIAA’s new Competitive Balance Initiative success factor formula.
“It’s a great accomplishment at this point in the season to qualify for Team State again,’ said Lull, who was a Fennimore assistant coach the past four years. “Obviously, the job is not finished because the ultimate goal it to become Division 2 State Champs, but its nice to prove that Fennimore is still a force to be reckoned with.
“And that is a testament to the entire coaching staff and the kids themselves and all the work they do at Excel and AWA, and working out at Elite Fitness in the offseason. These big matches and sectional titles are won in the offseason.”
Fennimore open the Team sectional by winning 10 of 14 matches in the 30-point win over Lodi, including six by pin.
Dalton Wolf opened the dual with a first-period pin at 285. Cade Birchman added a pin at 120 to make it 12–10.
Colton Tollefeson recorded a pin at 144, and the Zdanczewicz brothers, Syler and Ryder, followed with back-to-back decisions at 150 and 157 to make it 32–14. Tristan Steldt (165), Nathan Blaschke (175) and Drew Crubel (190) notched three straight pins to seal the victory.
The Eagles then split the first six matches of the sectional championship against Belmont/Platteville starting at 106, and trailed 16–13 through 138 pounds. But the strength of Fennimore’s team — the middle and upperweights — came through with six wins (three by pin) in the final eight matches to win the sectional title.
Syler Z pinned Mason Oellerich at 150, and Steldt recorded his second pin of the night at 165 to make it 32–16 with four matches left. After a BP pin at 175, Blaschke scored a 7–2 decision over Cam Moore at 190 pounds to clinch the team victory at 35–22 with two matches remaining. Wolf put an exclamation point on the evening with a resounding 15-second pin at 285 to account for the final score.
“The key to beating Belmont/Platteville were our bonus point wins and on the flip side trying to minimize the bonus points we gave up and credit to the team, we were able to do that.”
Five Golden Eagles will first compete at the WIAA Individual State Championships this week (See Page 6) before Fennimore turns it attention to Team State next week.
The other Division 2 Team State qualifiers are 2024 Division 3 runner-up Coleman, which was also bumped a division by the WIAA CBI, along with Kewaskum and Saint Croix Falls.
The team’s will be seeded and Team State semifinal matchups will be announced Sunday.
The Division 2 and 3 Team State semifinals will begin at 10 a.m. Saturday, March 8 at the UW Field House in Madison. The championship matches for all three divisions will be held at 3 p.m.
“I think we matchup great with all three other teams,” added Lull. “It’s going to be a packed Field House and it will again be just like Team sectionals were our success will come down to maximizing our bonus points and minimizing the bonus points we give up.”
WIAA D2 Prairie du Chien Team Sectional
(from Tuesday, Feb. 18 @ Prairie du Chien)
Championship: Fennimore 41, Belmont/Platteville 26. Semifinal 1: Belmont/Platteville 43, Gale–Ettrick–Trempeleau 32. Semifinal 2: Fennimore 50, Lodi 20
Fennimore 41, Belmont/Platteville 26
106: James Kastner (BP) over Titus Klais (F) Fall 4:54. 113: Carson Bassett (F) over Adam Whisenant (BP) TF 16-0. 120: Cade Birchman (F) over Aiden Weigel (Belmont/P) TF 18-2. 126: Briggs Weigel (BP) over Jerrin Glasbrenner (F) Maj 13-5. 132: Sawyer Swatek (F) over Jesse Kastner (BP) Dec 6-3. 138: Dylan Weigel (BP) over Owen Klass (F) Fall 1:33. 144: Colton Tollefson (F) over Oliver Harcus (BP) Maj 13-2. 150: Syler Zdanczewicz (F) over Mason Oellerich (BP) Fall 4:27. 157: Ryder Zdanczewicz (F) over Tyler Kisamore (BP) Dec 10-5. 165: Tristan Steldt (F) over Hugo Jean-Louis Justal (BP) Fall 1:02. 175: Kadyn Davis (BP) over Nicholas Friemoth (F) TF 22-7. 190: Nathan Blaschke (F) over Cam Moore (BP) Dec 7-2. 215: Mason Mandurano (BP) over Jayden Kopp (F) TF 15-0. 285: Dalton Wolf (F) over Rusty Wruck (BP) Fall 0:15.
Fennimore 50, Lodi 20
285: Dalton Wolf (F) over Austin Browne (L) Fall 1:21. 106: Owen Dorshorst (L) over Carson Bassett (F) Maj 12-3. 113: Noah Allen (L) over Titus Klais (F) Fall 3:22. 120: Cade Birchman (F) over Jacob Allen (L) Fall 1:38. 126: Jerrin Glasbrenner (F) over Bryer Caves (L) Dec 4-2. 132: Taron Crowley (F) over Liam Johnson (Lodi) TF 20-2. 138: Hayden Struse-Clark (L) over Sawyer Swatek (F) Maj 16-4.144: Colton Tollefson (F) over Jackson Ladwig (L) Fall 1:56. 150: Syler Zdanczewicz (F) over Braedon Dorshorst (L) Dec 10-3. 157: Ryder Zdanczewicz (F) over Alex Breunig (L) Dec 7-5. 165: Tristan Steldt (F) over Tony Omosebi (L) Fall 2:54. 175: Nathan Blaschke (F) over Easton Hensen (L) Fall 1:43. 190: Drew Crubel (F) over Trent Skalitzky (L) Fall 3:03. 215: Tyler Ripp (L) over Jayden Kopp (F) Fall 5:18.
