MCDONALD'S SWNEWS4U.COM GAME OF THE WEEK (Feb. 25–March 4)
WIAA WRESTLING: Individual State Championships

By Jason Nihles

Southwest Wisconsin wins 11 titles at WIAA Wrestling Individual State Meet

MADISON — Southwest Wisconsin shined at this year’s WIAA State Individual Wrestling Tournament at the Kohl Center.

Teams from the Southwest Wisconsin Conference and the Southwest Wisconsin Activities League had 17 wrestlers reach Saturday night’s finals, with 10 bringing home state titles. Throw in Pecatonica/Argyle senior Aiden Gruenenfelder (59–0) and the SW Wisconsin claimed 11 state titles Saturday night. 

Fennimore senior Tristan Steldt won his third individual state title in record-setting fashion Saturday night at the WIAA State Individual Wrestling Tournament at the Kohl Center. Steldt won the 165-pound Division 2 championship with a dominating 10–0 major decision over Denmark junior Steven Kielpikowski (49–3) in front of a sell out crowd.

Steldt (39–3), a Division 1 Pittsburgh recruit, became the first three-time state champion in school history after winning the 157-pound D3 title last year as a junior and the 160-pound D3 title two years ago as a sophomore. He also qualified for D3 state as a freshman at 138 pounds. Steldt’s title was the 14th in Fennimore history, and the first under first-year head coach Riley Lull.

After a first-round bye, he blanked Martin Luther senior Hunter Burr (32–12) 15–0 in Thursday night’s quarterfinals. Steldt then dominated Saint Croix Falls senior and No. 4 seed Drake Peterson, 18–3 in Saturday night’s semifinals.

Iowa–Grant/Highland senior Tyson Imhoff (157 pounds) and junior Jaxon Busse (165) won titles in Division 3, while Belmont/Platteville senior Kalie Davis won the 235-pound title in the one-division Girls State Tournament.

Other area state champions included Dodgeville junior Haakon Peterson (53–0) at 144, Darlington/Black Hawk senior Owen Seffrood (47–0) at 150,and Prairie du Chien senior Blake Thiry (52–3) at 215 in Division 2, as well as Mineral Point seniors Roen Carey (49–4) at 144 and Kade Rule (51–3) at 175, and Riverdale junior Grant Mathews (51–2) at 285 in Division 3. 

To put the cherry on top of the sundae, the IGH Panthers compiled 86.5 points with five state qualifiers to win the Individual Wrestling Tournament Division 3 team title. Mineral Point tied Weyauwega–Fremont for second place with 72 points.

“It is cool that we won Division 3 with the most team points, especially having only five guys,” said IGH head coach Ryan Allen. “It really is a tribute to our guys that competed up there.  They weren’t just winning matches, they were scoring bonus and that is just how we train. We have guys on our team that understand the importance of scoring bonus for the team and it carries over in all matches.”

Imhoff (47–8), a University of Wisconsin recruit, was the first local wrestler to claim a state title Saturday night with an 11–3 major decision over No. 2 seed Ashton Meister (38–6), a senior from Poynette. The top-seeded Imhoff advanced to the finals with a quarterfinal pin (3:08) of Cumberland’s Logan Peterson (39–12) Thursday night and a 5–3 win over Glenwood City’s Mitchell McGee (48–2) in Friday night’s semifinal round.

Less than 15 minutes later, the top-seeded Busse (50–3), a three-time state qualifier earned his first state title with an 8–0 major decision over No. 2 seed Blake Carton (46–10), a senior from Shiocton. Busse reached the finals with a quarterfinal pin (2:57) over Brandon Wright (48–12) of Turtle Lake/Clayton and an 8–0 major decision over Oostburg’s Liam Richards (44–4) in the semifinals. Busse, who now has a career record of 128–22, became Iowa–Grant/Highland’s seven state champion since the two schools combined for the 2012–13 season. The two schools have now combined to win 21 state titles.

Belmont/Platteville’s Kalie Davis (46–1) made history becoming the first girls’ state champion in program history by rallying from a 3–0 deficit to start the third period en rout to a dramatic 7–4 overtime victory over No. 5 seed  Reghan Ziegler (35–8), a senior from Fond du Lac. Ziegler previously beat top-ranked Madison Burns (37–1), an undefeated senior from Ashland, in Friday’s semifinals, 5–1. Davis, who finished second at state at 175 pounds a year ago, advanced to Saturday night’s final with three straight second-period pins in her 16-girl one-division bracket.

Peterson (53–0), a University of Michigan recruit won his third straight Division 2 title, won the D2 144-pound title with a 16–1 technical fall over senior Hudzon Sebesta-Opelt from Neillsville/Greenwood/Loyall. Peterson, who is now 124–0 in his prep career, advanced to the finals with a back-to-back tech falls of 21–4 and 19–4.

Seffrood (47–0) capped an undefeated senior season by beating Kewaskum sophomore Bryston Scoles (54–1) 4–2 in the D2 150-pound championship in a battle of unbeatens. It was Seffrood's second state title after winning the D2 144-pound title a year ago with a perfect 49–0 mark.

Thiry (52–3), a D1 Indiana football recruit, won his first wrestling state title with a 12–0 major decision over previously unbeaten Cael Leisgang (45–1), a junior from Semour.

Top-ranked Mathews (51–2) captured the Division 3 heavyweight title with a 3:37 pin over SWAL rival Bode Brokopp (46–9) Saturday night. It was Mathews fifth win over Brokopp this year.

Carey (49–4) won the D3 144-pound title with an 11–0 major decision over Crandon senior Ty Dennee (48–10).

Rule (51–3) won his second state title with a 9–5 win over Oostburg senior Nash Banko (46–2).

Gruenenfelder (59–0) won his second-straight state title with a narrow 6–5 win over Cumberland sophomore Braden Johnson (49–2) in the D3 120-pound championship. Gruenenfelder won the D3 106-pound title a year ealier.

Dodgeville sophomore Shane Rochon (55–4) at 113, Belmont/Platteville junior Dylan Weigel (56–5) at 138 finished second in Division 2, while, Pec/Argyle junior Lukas Orloff (56–3)  at 126, Riverdale sophomore Lakota Brewer (46–8) at 132 and Riverdale junior Brody Miess (43–5) at 138 placed second in D3, and Mineral Point's Dealya Collins (33–3) finished second at 126 in the Girls one-division tournament.

Fennimore senior Syler Zdanczwicz (31–10) finished third in D2 at 150 and Prairie du Chien junior Jack Simmons (48–10) finished third in D2 at 285. North Crawford/Seneca's Franky Groom (39–6) finished third at 132 pounds in the Girls State Tournament.