Tigers have 13 move on to individual sectional, will compete at team sectional Tuesday at SPASH

By Paul Lecker

Sports Reporter

MERRILL — The Marshfield wrestling team is in position to go to the state team wrestling tournament for the first time since 2003 after it won the WIAA Division 1 regional on Saturday at Merrill High School.

The Tigers had 13 of their 14 wrestlers finish in the top four at their respective weight classes to qualify for the individual sectional at River Falls next Saturday, Feb. 18.

Marshfield will compete at the Division 1 team sectional against Hudson on Tuesday at Stevens Point Area Senior High. The winner advances to the 2017 WIAA State Team Wrestling Tournament on March 3-4 at the University of Wisconsin Fieldhouse in Madison.

The top two finishers in each weight class at the individual sectional move on to the 2017 WIAA State Individual Wrestling Tournament at the Kohl Center in Madison on Feb. 23-25.

Marshfield tallied 219 points, easily distancing itself from second-place Rhinelander (166) and Stevens Point (155.5).

Senior Anthony Kanable was the only regional champion for the Tigers as he beat Dylan Trigg of Stevens Point 9-1 to capture the 138-pound title. This is Kanable’s second regional title.

“Anthony is wrestling the best I have ever seen him wrestle,” Marshfield coach Jackson Hein said. “He knows that this is his last shot at getting to state, and as a coach, it’s fun to sit in a kid’s corner who wrestles with a chip on his shoulder and makes things happen.”

Despite just the one champ, the overall team performance from the Tigers overwhelmed their opponents.

Payton Young (152 pounds), Bentley Schwanebeck-Ostermann (160), Sam Mitchell (170), and Sam Bauman (220) all placed second for Marshfield; Tanner Kanable (120), Caden Pearce (132), Nolan Hertel (145), Alex Brost (182), and Conner Peterson (195) each finished third; and Shane Westerhausen (106), Caden Dennee (113), and A.J. Leonhardt (285) also qualified for sectionals by placing fourth.

“We will never have a perfect tournament as a team, but we always want to make sure that we are getting better each week and put forth our perfect effort,” Hein said. “This is the best time of the year for wrestling. It’s a tough environment. We are surrounded by competitors who all want to prove who they are. We need to step up as a team and as individuals if we want to make a statement throughout the whole state, which I know we are capable of doing.”

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

WIAA Division 1 Regional

Feb. 11, at Merrill High School

Team scores: *1. Marshfield 219; 2. Rhinelander 166; 3. Stevens Point 155.5; 4. D.C. Everest 153; 5. Wausau West 145.5; 6. Wisconsin Rapids 127.5; 7. Merrill 112; 8. Wausau East 32.5.

*Marshfield qualifies for WIAA Division 1 team sectional Feb. 14 at Stevens Point

Top four individuals qualify for WIAA Division 1 individual sectional Feb. 18 at River Falls

106 pounds
Championship: Justin Groshek (SP) def. Cameron Schmeiser (WW) 5-4.
Third place: Cale Benitz (WR) def. Shane Westerhausen (MAR) 10-6.
Second-place wrestleback: Schmeiser (WW) def. Benitz (WR) 6-0.
Fourth-place wrestleback: Westerhausen (MAR) won major dec. over Josie Bartishofski (WE) 16-3.

113 pounds
Championship: Brady Koontz (SP) won major dec. over Reuben Guzik (RH) 18-8.
Third place: Ben Diny (WE) won technical fall over Caden Dennee (MAR) 19-3.
Fourth-place wrestleback: Dennee (MAR) pinned Allister Greening (WR) in 1:42.

120 pounds
Championship: Dylan Koontz (SP) won major dec. over Tyler Olson (RH) 21-8.
Third place: Tanner Kanable (MAR) def. Zach Fisher (WW) 7-0.

126 pounds
Championship: Chance Bailey (SP) def. Thomas Severson (DC) 5-4.
Third place: Zac Hamel (WR) def. Kongpheng Lo (WW) 5-3.

132 pounds
Championship: Devon Schultz (MER) def. Wyler Lubeck (WR) 2-1 (OT).
Third place: Caden Pearce (MAR) pinned Kyle VanGalder (DC) in 2:25.

138 pounds
Championship: Anthony Kanable (MAR) won major dec. over Dylan Trigg (SP) 9-1.
Third place: Eric Grulke (RH) def. Brody Gehrke (MER) 10-7.

145 pounds
Championship: Jacob DeMeyer (RH) won major dec. over Bergh Diebel (WR) 12-3.
Third place: Nolan Hertel (MAR) pinned William Waldron (WW) in 2:31.

152 pounds
Championship: Cody Sawyer (WR) def. Alex Hein (WW) 2-0.
Third place: Payton Young (MAR) pinned Sam Molski (SP) in 5:27.
Second-place wrestleback: Young (MAR) pinned Hein (WW) in 3:10.
Fourth-place wrestleback: Molski (SP) pinned Bradley Leiskau (MER) in 1:20.

160 pounds
Championship: Alec Bess (RH) pinned Bentley Schwanebeck-Ostermann (MAR) in 1:04.
Third place: Michael Olson (WW) pinned Maverick Ballard (WR) in 1:01.
Fourth-place wrestleback: Ballard (WR) won by technical fall over Isaac Hagenucher (DC) 20-5.

170 pounds
Championship: Nathan White (DC) pinned Sam Mitchell (MAR) in 2:29.
Third place: Max Benitz (WR) def. Calen Henkens (WW) 6-0.

182 pounds
Championship: Alec Kurtz (RH) def. Jordan LaRue (WW) 8-4.
Third place: Alex Brost (MAR) won major dec. over Nick Wachowiak (SP) 11-3.
Second-place wrestleback: LaRue (WW) pinned Brost (MAR) in 0:56.

195 pounds
Championship: Sam Stroik (DC) def. Colton Krueger (RH) 8-5.
Third place: Conner Peterson (MAR) def. David Lummis (SP) 5-1.
Second-place wrestleback: Krueger (RH) def. Peterson (MAR) in 0:58.
Fourth-place wrestleback: Lummis (SP) def. Justin Bonke (WW) 8-6.

220 pounds
Championship: Berkley Corvino (DC) pinned Sam Bauman (MAR) in 1:56.
Third place: Travis Wraggs (WW) pinned Chase Redmond (RH) in 3:27.
Second-place wrestleback: Bauman (MAR) pinned Wraggs (WW) in 2:42.
Fourth-place wrestleback: Walter Bathke (MER) won major dec. over Chase Redmond (RH) 17-4.

285 pounds
Championship: Noah Bolling (MER) pinned Trenton Olson (DC) in 0:36.
Third place: Ian Miller (WR) def. Timothy Mineau (WW) 7-3.
Second-place wrestleback: Olson (DC) pinned Miller (WR) in 4:19.
Fourth-place wrestleback: A.J. Leonhardt (MAR) def. Mineau (WW) 10-5.