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River Valley qualifies 4, Dodgeville's Wetter goes for 3rd time
River Valley will be sending four individuals to state while Dodgeville will send one as a result of the WIAA Division 2 Sectional Wrestling Tournament held Saturday at Richland Center.
Claiming a championship for the Blackhawks was 106 lb. Zach Licht, who moved his record to 44-7 with his two pins and technical fall.
Destin Hatfield followed him at a runner-up spot when he lost 4-2 in the 113 title bout. He goes into state at 41-5.
Next was Nate Jennings (120) who took third and moved his mark to 28-13.
Elijah Alt was the final Blackhawk to move to state with a runner-up finish at 145. He takes a 41-12 record to state.
RV had four others competing at sectional, all failing to place. They were 126 lb. Caleb Radtke, 132 lb. Mason Wipperfurth, 182 lb. Duane Pretsch and 200 lb. Tyler White.
Dodgeville junior Brady Wetter will be making his third consecutive appearance at state, trying to improve on his third place finish from last year at 170.
He won at 195, winning all three matches by a pin and wrestling a total of 3:05 on the day.
Senior 132 lb. Tyler Wunnicke lost a controversial 5-4 decision in his semifinal match and then lost a tight match to finish fourth and miss going to state by one place.
Three other Dodgers wrestled at sectional, but failing to place. Freshman John Phelan lost two matches at 126 while junior Jack Schickel did the same at 170. Fellow junior Payton Calvert was incidentally knocked unconscious by his opponent's head so he was ruled out of the tournament.
The teams begin competition in the D2 Individual State Champion-ships Thursday evening with finals Saturday night, all at the Kohl Center in Madison.
WIAA D2 Sect. C Richland Center Results for River Valley
106-Zach Licht (41-7) placed 1st.
Quarterfinal-Licht won by fall over Blake Burns (Brodhead/Juda) 31-14 (1:28), Semifinal-Licht won by fall over Jansen Mc Clelland (Viroqua) 36-13 (5:29), 1st Place Match-Licht won by tech fall over Isaac Wiegel (Belmont/Platteville) 33-9 (4:15 (15-0)
113-Dustin Hatfield (38-4) placed 2nd.
Quarterfinal-Hatfield won by decision over Ryan Hannah (Viroqua) 43-7 (6-2), Semifinal- Hatfield won by fall over Seth Wisowaty (Clinton) 34-8 (3:09), 1st Place Match-Trenton McManus (Adams-Friendship) 13-2 won by decision over Hatfield (4-2), 2nd Place Match- Hatfield won by rule over Ryan Hannah (Viroqua) 43-7
120-Nate Jennings (25-11) placed 3rd.
Quarterfinal-Jennings won by decision over Dylan Golke (Portage) 22-8 (6-3), Semifinal-Christian Lamon (Sparta) 20-8 won by decision over Jennings (4-2), Cons. Semi-Jennings won by fall over Logan Hein (Edgerton) 18-20 (2:59), 3rd Place Match-Jennings won by decision over Jarret Dolata (Mauston) 29-12 (2-1), 2nd Place Match-Christian Lamon (Sparta) 20-8 won by rule over Jennings
126-Caleb Radtke (22-7) failed to place.
Quarterfinal-Cole Murray (Monroe) 31-16 won by decision over Radtke (8-6)
132-Mason Wipperfurth (21-22) failed to place.
Quarterfinal-Jaden Winchel (Sparta) 45-0 won by fall over Wipperfurth (1:29), Cons. Semi-Sonny Schieldt (Edgerton) 38-7 won by fall over Wipperfurth (0:37)
145-Elijah Alt (38-11) placed 2nd.
Quarterfinal-Alt won by fall over Zac Wille (Evansville/Albany) 17-15 (0:47), Semifinal-Alt won by major decision over Taylor Gilardi (Viroqua) 34-14 (9-0), 1st Place Match-Brock Polhamus (Sparta) 44-3 won by decision over Alt (4-3), 2nd Place Match-Alt won by rule over Taylor Gilardi (Viroqua) 34-14
182-Duane Pretsch (22-19) failed to place.
Quarterfinal-Rylan Burrows (Adams-Friendship) 28-7 won by major decision over Pretsch (23-10)
220-Tyler White (18-10) failed to place.
Quarterfinal-Traiten Gorr (Monroe) 43-2 won by fall over White (1:42), Cons. Semi-Brandon Peters (Westfield Area) 40-9 won by fall over White (5:33)
Going into the tournament, I thought that if we could get half of our entries through, it would be a good day. We always want more to get through, but overall, I was pleased with the way we completed," said River Valley coach Ralph Liegel.
In talking about his individuals, the RV coach said, "We knew that Caleb Radtke needed to win his first match. Moving up two weights, he did a good job and will use this experience to benefit him next year.
"Mason Wipperfurth had the eventual champion in the first round and then lost his wrestleback match too. Although I feel Mason didn't wrestle his best matches, I feel that this experience should make Mason realize just how close he is to becoming a really good wrestler.
"Duane Pretsch was up early in his match to a wrestler that he previously lost to at Bi-State. He seemed to shut down midway through the second period and things just snowballed from there. It was a tough way to end his RV career, but Duane has been a great part of the River Valley program and will be missed.
"Tyler White lost his first match to the eventual champ and did wrestle tough in his wrestle back match before losing. Tyler only decided to start wrestling last year and the improvement he has made from then has been rewarding.
"As for the 4 boys that made it on: Zach Licht is really wrestling well right now. If he continues to wrestle like that next week, I could definitely see him wrestling Saturday night.
"Dustin Hatfield gave up a takedown to a very good wrestler that he lost to last year in the Sectional final too. Dustin is in a group of 4-6 guys that could win the whole thing next week. If Dustin has a good week of practice, I also think he can reach his goal of becoming a state champion.
"Nate Jennings has been a very pleasant surprise for the RV team. He continues to get better every single day. No matter the competition, he truly believes in himself and it has shown in how he has competed. Nate has a tough first round matchup, but with Nate, anything is possible.
"Elijah is wrestling better too. He lost a close match in the finals to someone who handled him quite easily last year. I like his matchups at state.
"The sectional was a tough tournament which will have a lot of state place winners coming out of it. I am expecting that the four boys from RV will continue to represent their school and communities well and hopefully be part of that group of place winners," Liegel concluded.
WIAA D2 Sect. C Richland Center Results for Dodgeville
126-John Phelan (32-11) failed to place.
Quarterfinal-Chase Katzenmeyer (Evans-ville/Albany) 34-6 won by decision over Phelan (5-0), Cons. Semi-Jensen Langer (Marshall) 50-5 won by decision over Phelan (6-2)
132-Tyler Wunnicke (10-4) placed 4th.
Quarterfinal-Wunnicke won by fall over Casey Leer (Viroqua) 12-14 (2:39), Semifinal-Nolan Kicmol (Evansville/Albany) 31-8 won by decision over Wunnicke (5-4), Cons. Semi-Wunnicke won by decision over Max Barreau (Lodi) 18-14 (3-1), 3rd Place Match-Sonny Schieldt (Edgerton) 38-7 won by decision over Wunnicke (7-5)
170-Jack Shickel (31-11) failed to place.
Quarterfinal-Brady Colden (Brodhead/Juda) 44-2 won by tech fall over Shickel (2:46 (16-1)), Cons. Semi-Logan Gordon (Lodi) 30-15 won by tech fall over Shickel (5:29 (19-4))
195-Brady Wetter (41-3) placed 1st..
Quarterfinal-Wetter won by fall over Justin Chadwick (Marshall) 22-21 (0:16), Semifinal-Wetter won by fall over Lucius Rinehart (Evansville/Albany) 35-7 (1:04), 1st Place Match-Wetter won by fall over Jacob Larson (Belleville/Monticello/New Glarus) 40-7 (1:45)
220-Payton Calvert (30-10) failed to place.
Quarterfinal-Dustin Bjugstad (Evansville/Al-bany) 35-7 won by injury default over Calvert (0:57), Cons. Semi-Aaron Broer (West Salem/Bangor) 38-10 won by injury default over Calvert
"It wasn't exactly the sectionals we had in mind but our underclassmen got some much needed experience for next year," said Dodgeville coach Tim Wunnicke."For John Phelan, Jack Schickel, and Payton Calvert it was there 1st trip to arguabley one of the toughest sectionals in the state and the experience they gained is invaluable for next year."
"Payton probably had the most heartfelt match of the day for us as he was injuried one minute into the first period of his first match and was unable to continue thru the day. Both John and Jack had pretty tough draws and wrestled well but in the end lost to some pretty good kids," he added.
"Tyler Wunnicke, the teams only senior, who suffered a broken ankle just 4 days into the season and who only wrestled the last 4 and a half weeks of the season, lost in the 2nd round and then wrestled back to the 3rd place match but came up short by a point and did not qualify for state."
"Brady Wetter, who has been looking exceptionally good this entire season pinned his way thru the sectional and I believe wrestled less than 4 minutes total in the entire day, is our only State qualifier. I'm really happy for Brady, not only is he an exceptional wrestler but is really great person."
"We have some really outstanding wrestlers and generally great kids on the team as a whole and with only losing one wrestler to graduation we should look for some exciting wrestling next year."
We would like to thank all the parents and fans for their outstanding support and backing of the team and hope to see you all at the state tourney supporting Brady on his quest for his 1st state title," Wunnicke concluded.

I-G/H sends 4, Pointers 3 to D3 state
Fennimore qualified half of its team (7) while Iowa-Grant/High-land will send four and Mineral Point three to the Kohl Center next weekend for the WIAA Division 3 Individual State Championships.
Iowa-Grant/Highland's Luke No-wak will try for his second consecutive state title, but will be at 170 lbs. this year. He won at 160 last year.
The Panther took first at the Mineral Point Sectional last Saturday and carries a 46-4 record on the season.
Joining him from the top spot will be 220 lb. Kyle Soderstrom (41-9).
Sawyer Sarbacker (106) and Max Meylor (126) carry respective 36-13 and 44-10 logs to state in their runner-up slots.
Ron Allen, at 113, finished 4th while Jordan Jenks (120) and Brady Peat (160) did not place.
Mineral Point came away with a pair of runners-up, a third place and two near misses out of their five wrestlers.
Frank Baker wrestled back to take 2nd at 132 and carries a 43-7 mark while Scott Pittz is 46-4 at 152.
Ross Siegenthaler finished 3rd at 138 and is 41-9.
Brandon Forseth (145) and Boone Schmitz (160) both took 4th and will not advance to state.
Qualifying for Fennimore were: 1st-106 Riley Blair, 113 Riley Lull, 120 Alston Nutter; 2nd-170 Brandon Ashmore, 182 Brock Steldt; 3rd-126 Justin Tollefson, 285 Deven O'Brien.
Other area qualifiers were: Riverdale-Tyrell Anderson (182 1st), Jared Roen (160 2nd), Brandon Ashmore (138 2nd); Lancaster-David Chadd (195 1st), Cole Martin (145 1st), Dustin Reynolds (152 3rd); Darlington/Black Hawk-285 Zach Wolf 1st, 220 Taylor Evenstad 3rd.
Wrestling begins Thursday night with the 2nd and 3rd place finishers in action and will conclude Saturday night with the championships.
WIAA D3 Sect. C Mineral Point Results for Iowa-Grant/Highland
106-Sawyer Sarbacker (33-12) placed 2nd.
Quarterfinal-Sarbacker won by major decision over Conner Nolan (Parkview) 20-16 (8-0), Semifinal-Sarbacker won by major decision over Josh Korn (Cashton) 33-10 (11-1), 1st Place Match-Riley Blair (Fennimore) 40-7 won by decision over Sarbacker (7-0), 2nd Place Match-Sarbacker won by decision over Gavin Burch (Weston/Ithaca) 31-15 (7-1)
113-Ron Allen (12-14) placed 4th.
Quarterfinal-Riley Cade (Westby) 31-14 won by fall over Allen (1:22), Cons. Semi-Allen won by forfeit, 3rd Place Match-Weston Wichman (Johnson Creek) 41-5 won by tech fall over Allen (5:48 (18-3)
120-Jordan Jenks (13-12) failed to place.
Quarterfinal-Hunter Dischler (Weston/Itha-ca) 41-3 won by fall over Jenks (3:26), Cons. Semi-Adam Becker (Johnson Creek) 38-6 won by decision over Jenks (5-1)
126-Max Maylor (41-9) placed 2nd.
Quarterfinal-Cal Hansen (Deerfield) 41-2 won by major decision over Maylor (10-0), Cons. Semi-Maylor won by fall over Ethan Leis (Cashton) 26-11 (0:44), 3rd Place Match-Maylor won by tech fall over Collin Hatlevig (Parkview) 22-19 (5:19 (17-2), 2nd Place Match-Maylor won by decision over Justin Tollefson (Fennimore) 41-9 (6-4)
160-Brady Peat (30-13) failed to place.
Quarterfinal-Jared Roen (Riverdale) 39-3 won by major decision over Peat (15-5)
170-Luke Nowak (43-4) placed 1st.
Quarterfinal-Nowak won by major decision over Patrick Engen (Parkview) 30-7 (12-2), Semifinal-Nowak won by decision over Lance Buckles (De Soto) 43-5 (7-3), 1st Place Match-Nowak won by decision over Brandon Ashmore (Fennimore) 36-12 (7-2)
220-Kyle Soderstrom (38-9) placed 1st.
Quarterfinal-Soderstrom won by fall over Erik Knipfer (Deerfield) 23-19 (2:31), Semifinal-Soderstrom won by major decision over Dylan Campton (Cashton) 35-12 (14-4), 1st Place Match-Soderstrom won by decision over Derek Medearis (New Lisbon) 26-8 (5-3)
"It was a good day for us," said Iowa-Grant/Highland coach Ryan Allen. "To get four guys out of that sectional is a great accomplishment. Luke and Kyle really wrestled well to win it and I was very happy for them. Sawyer and Max also wrestled well in getting second. I was especially happy to see Max win his wrestleback against a kid who beat him last week at regionals. These four guys will be fun to watch next week in Madison."
Allen also said, "Ronny wrestled hard but just doesn't have the experience yet. But making it to sectionals will help him for next year. Jordan and Brady both lost to some very good wrestlers but I thought they both wrestled hard."
WIAA D3 Sect. C Mineral Point Results for Mineral Point
132-Frank Baker (40-6) placed 2nd.
Quarterfinal-Brett Cade (Westby) 36-8 won by decision over Baker (8-4), Cons. Semi-Baker won by fall over Noah Harris (Kickapoo/La Farge) 31-11 (3:18), 3rd Place Match-Baker won by fall over Nolan Garoutte (Riverdale) 27-15 (3:54), 2nd Place Match-Baker won in sudden victory over Bailey Slater (New Lisbon) 41-6 (3-1)
138-Ross Siegenthaler (39-7) placed 3rd.
Quarterfinal-Siegenthaler won by fall over Zach Mindham (Boscobel) 20-14 (1:56), Semifinal-Siegenthaler won by fall over Sean Baumgart (New Lisbon) 29-8 (3:47), 1st Place Match-Wilder Wichman (Johnson Creek) 40-0 won by fall over Siegenthaler (3:18), 2nd Place Match-Bradon Roen (Riverdale) 33-7 won by major decision over Siegenthaler (8-0)
145-Brandon Forseth (34-9) placed 4th.
Quarterfinal-Forseth won by major decision over Josh Prey (Poynette) 23-10 (8-0), Semifinal-Trenton Pasch (Royall) 40-7 won by decision over Forseth (9-2), Cons. Semi-Forseth won by decision over Brandon Aardahl (Kickapoo/La Farge) 19-13 (4-0), 3rd Place Match-Stetson Clary (Weston/Ithaca) 39-7 won by decision over Forseth (8-4)
152-Scott Pittz (43-3) placed 2nd.
Quarterfinal-Pittz won by fall over Jeffry Janzen (Cashton) 31-16 (1:42), Semifinal-Pittz won by fall over Michael Boyd (Riverdale) 24-16 (4:31), 1st Place Match-Ross Withington (Westby) 45-1 won by decision over Pittz (3-2), 2nd Place Match-Pittz won by decision over Dustin Reynolds (Lancaster) 29-9 (8-2)
160-Boone Schmitz (32-12) placed 4th.
Quarterfinal-Zach Stluka (North Craw-ford/Seneca) 37-8 won by major decision over Schmitz (15-7), Cons. Semi-Schmitz won by decision over Jaden Schmitz (Cashton) 35-11 (6-1), 3rd Place Match-Jared Roen (Riverdale) 39-3 won by tech fall over Schmitz (4:56 (17-2))
"I tell the guys that it is a start of a new season each week in February," said Mineral Point coach Scott Schmitz. "We knew going in this would be a tough sectional."
"I thought the kids all wrestled well. Brandon and Boone were only one match away from going to state. You'll probably see the kids that beat them on the podium at state and hopefully our two will be there in the future," he added.
"Frank had a rough start. We knew it would be a tight match. He got reversed and put on his back and that was the nail in the coffin. He did a good job in the wrestlebacks.
"Ross wrestled really well until the finals. He had it going, but just couldn't seal the deal. In the wrestlebacks he just wasn't ready to wrestle.
"Scotty was in one of the toughest weight classes of the tournament (152). He had a couple of real tough kids in his bracket. Hopefully he'll get another shot at Withington in the state finals.
"I want to thank all the girls and boys basketball players and the parents and fans who came to support us at sectionals," Schmitz said. "I want to wish both basketball teams good luck and we'll be there supporting you. We have some things to take care of this weekend.

WIAA D3 Sect. C Mineral Point Results for Pecatonica/Argyle
195-Brodie Gross (6-3) failed to place.
Quarterfinal-Mike Finney (De Soto) 30-9 won by decision over Gross (Peca-tonica/Argyle) 6-3 (10-3)
Pec-Argyle coach Mike Pittz said, he was pleased that Gross, who battled injuries the past two seasons, was able to enjoy the success of advancing to the WIAA Sectional and as the team's lone senior will graduate later this Spring.
Pittz also said that with Gross as the lone team senior, his additional underclassmen have received valuable experience this season and he and the team looks forward to next season.