By Paul Lecker

Sports Reporter 

MADISON – Spencer/Columbus Catholic sophomore Hunter Luepke dropped his quarterfinal match but came back with a win in the consolation bracket on Friday afternoon to guarantee a spot on the medal stand at the 2016 WIAA State Individual Wrestling Tournament at the Kohl Center.

Luepke lost 3-2 to Tomahawk’s Kaleb Kaminski (44-1) in a Division 2 182-pound quarterfinal early Thursday afternoon.

Luepke used an escape 19 seconds into the third period to pull to within a point but couldn’t get a takedown of the Tomahawk senior at the end.

It was the third time this season Kaminski beat Luepke, all by a total of five points.

Luepke (41-6) responded with a 7-1 win over Jon Litersky (36-8) of Ashland in a consolation bracket match to advance to the consolation semifinals. He will face the loser of tonight’s semifinal between Trent Smith (40-2) of St. Croix Central and Matt Blome (44-2) of Mount Horeb on Saturday morning. The winner of consolation semifinal wrestles for third place with the loser going into the fifth-place match later Saturday afternoon.

The top six in each divisional weight class earns a state medal.

Spencer/Columbus’ Austin Post was eliminated from the state tournament on Thursday with a preliminary round loss at 132 pounds.

(Hub City Times Sports Reporter Paul Lecker is also the publisher of MarshfieldAreaSports.com.)

2016 WIAA State Individual Wrestling Championships
Feb. 25-27, Kohl Center, Madison
Friday, Feb. 26
7 p.m. – Semifinals, all divisions
Saturday, Feb. 27
11 a.m. – Consolation wrestlebacks, all divisions; followed by fifth-place and third-place matches in all divisions
6 p.m. – Championship matches, all divisions
Spencer/Columbus matches (Saturday)
182 pounds: Division 2 consolation semifinal, Hunter Luepke (41-6) vs. TBA, approximately 12:15 p.m.