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Iowa-Grant/Highland senior Max Maylor won the area's first state championship at the WIAA Individual State Wrestling Championships held at the Kohl Center in Madison Saturday night, February 24.
He took the Division 3 160 lb. title with a 1:31 pin over Clay Carney of Saint Croix Falls.
Maylor had two pins and a close decision win in his three bouts.
Maylor said about the championship, "It is was an incredible feeling to win something you have been working toward for most all of your life. I can't describe how awesome it is to be a state champion."
Next to win was River Valley junior Shane Liegel in Division 2 at 170 lbs. He pinned Wautoma/Wild Rose's Dillon Martin in 2:25 for his crown.
Liegel wrestled a total of 4:25 for the tournament, pinning all three of his opponents.
With Shane winning his second straight championship, that give the Liegel family 7 state titles - two by Ralph (father), one by Scott, two by Seth and now two by Shane.
Since Shane won as a sophomore, if he can win one next year he will become the first RV wrestler to win three state titles.
Liegel said about winning at state, "It feels great to win my second state title. It was a special moment for both me and my family. After winning last year I knew there was no reason why I couldn't again. I'm happy on how things turned out and I'm glad I get to represent such a great school and community. I'm looking forward to next season!"
The third championship was the second of the evening for Iowa-Grant/Highland as 182 lb. senior Brady Peat beat Athens' Marshall Westfall 6-2.
Peat received an injury forfeit in his first match and then won two decisions.
"It was a great weekend of wrestling for the IGH program. We added two more names to the list of state champions," said I-G/H coach Ryanh Allen. "This makes number 12 and 13 for the I-G program.
About his individuals he said, "Kite did an awesome job in his first match. He came out ready and got a first period pin. In the second round he ran into a stud who was the eventual champ and just couldnt do much. In his last match he wrestled aggressively but we were down by a couple points so Clay tried a throw and ended up going to his back. I was very happy with the way Clay overcame a serious shoulder injury this season and qualified for state for the second year in a row. We will miss his toughness next year for sure.
"Max also came out ready and got a pin in the first round. In the semis, Max didnt wrestle his best match but still was in control of the match and got the win. In the finals Max was ready to go and came out firing and got a cradle in the first period for the pin. It has been an incredible journey with Max the last four years. He has put a lot of time into reaching this goal and to watch it all unfold has been fun. Max was the first Highland state champ in 34 years.
"Brady got a surprising forfiet in the first round due to an injury. It didn't seem to affect him at all as he dominated a solid wrestler in the semis getting a 7-1 victory. In the finals, Brady dominated again getting a take down early and back points late to win 6-2. I was very happy for Bardy as he is a great kid who has worked very hard for this."
About the championhsip, Peat said, "It feels amazing, there is nothing more satisfying then accomplishing a life long dream."
Allen concluded by saying, "This tournament put a stamp on an excellent year for us. I have an excellent coaching staff that deserves a lot of credit and I just feel lucky to get to work with such great kids and families."
River Valley senior Zach Licht took third in D2 at 126 while Mineral Point senior Riley Workman was fifth in D3 at 170.
"Overall, it was a good weekend for River Valley Wrestling," Blackhawks co-coach Pat Mahoney said. "Caleb (Radtke) gave it everything he had and that's all we can ask for. Zach (Licht) came up a little short. He got caught on his back for a split second and couldn't recover from that."
He added, "We at RV Wrestling are very proud of our two seniors. They both had outstanding careers."
"Shane was very dominant in winning his second state title," Mahoney went on saying. "He was on a mission all year and worked very, very hard. He has a motor that just never stops running."
Mineral Point's Workman rook their lone trip to the podium, but three other wrestlers competed hard.
Danny Pittz, at 126, lost a tough opener to the eventual runner-up and three time state champion. Caden Carey won his opener, but dropped his next two at 132. Logan Schmitz wrestled two tough matches on Friday at 138 after coming in a sectional champion.
"I thought our kid's wrestled exceptionally hard," Schmitz said. "It was probably one of the tougher state tournaments we have been involved in."
In talking about his individuals Schmitz said, "I thought Danny just got a bad draw right off the bat with Schoenfuss," Schmitz said. "He wrestled a great match."
"We were ahead in Logan's match," Schmitz said. "We get reversed for four and ended up losing in that match." "Unfortunately in his wrestleback, he got caught and pinned."
"In his wrestleback Caden just got caught and pinned," Schmitz said.
About Workman placing fifth Schmitz said, "After a tough semi-final loss, it is tough to really come back from something like that. I just told him you don't want to end your season on a losing note. You want to go out there and win those final matches of your career."
About beating Vandenbusch for fifh Schmitz pointed out, "It's tough to beat a kid twice in the same tournament. It's a great way to end his career. He's a three time state qualifier and he made the podium. He can have that to hang his hat on."
"He had a great career and he's been a great leader for us this year," Schmitz continued.
Another silver lining to the tournament is that with Carey, Schmitz, and Pittz returning as seniors next year, Mineral Point continues to have the most individual state champions. Mineral Point has 50 state champions, with Stoughton remaining behind at 49.
Coach Schmitz said that there will be some hard work ahead for the upcoming seniors as well as those who did not advance to the state tournament.
"We will have to put in a good summer and hopefully that will prepare us to be ready for next year," he said.
Dodgeville's lone representative was 160 lb. senior John Phelan. He had the luck of the draw as he faced the eventual third place finisher in the first round.
"John Phelan's highly accomplished high school wrestling career came to an end after the first round of the WIAA State Wrestling Tournament," said Dodger coach Ryan Lord. "I know John was disappointed that he was not on the podium at the conclusion of the tournament, but it doesn't take away from what an excellent season and career John had as a Dodger wrestler. As a four year sectional qualifier and two time state qualifier, John will be remembered as one of Dodgeville Wrestling's all time greats. More importantly, John is an extremely high character kid who all our young Dodger wrestlers can look up to."
He added, "I truly believe that John could have placed very high at the tournament, but his bracket placement and an injury definitely affected him. John suffered torn cartilage and torn muscle in his ribs during the semi-final match of Regionals, which really hurt him down the stretch. We then drew a very tough Kolten Hansen of Medford in the first round who ended up placing third."
"Again, it's tough to accept unfortunate circumstances and not reaching your goals, but John had a career and season to be proud of," Lord concluded saying.
Pecatonica-Argyle's two wrestlers at state both lost in the first round Thursday night - Noah Krahenbuhl (106) and Lucas Gilbertson (195).
Their coach, Mike Pittz, had these comments:
"For both of our wrestlers - to wrestle at State was a great experience - and although both lost, it was an experience that makes each of them hungry to get back there next year," shared Pecatonica-Argyle's head coach, Mike Pittz.
"I was very proud of both of our guys because Noah, at one point in the third period, had a lead and Lucas, in his match, also kept things close up until late in his 195 pound match-up as well."
"As a program, we look forward to some of our guys attending some summer wrestling camps, to keep lifting to get stronger and to prepare for another strong season next year."
"And we also want to express tons of appreciation to the people of our schools and communities for the pep rallies, for the fire truck escorts and for all the kind words and support and encouragement," he pointed out.
"The wrestlers and coaches and families appreciated all of the community support," added Pittz.

2018 WIAA Individual State Results for Iowa-Grant/Highland
D3-152: Clayton Kite (16-4) failed to place.
Champ. Round 1 Kite won by fall over Maatilor Josiah (Oostburg) 29-11 (Fall 1:03); Quarterfinal Brock Schlough (Boyceville) 45-0 won by tech fall over Kite (TF-1.5 4:14 (16-0))
D3-160: Max Maylor (43-1) placed 1st.
Quarterfinal Maylor won by fall over Sawyer Young (Mishicot) 19-7 (Fall 1:43), Semifinal Maylor won by decision over James Pfeiffer (Cadott) 40-4 (Dec 11-8), 1st Place Match Maylor won by fall over Clay Carney (Saint Croix Falls) 40-8 (Fall 1:31)
D3-182: Brady Peat (42-3) placed 1st.
Quarterfinal Peat won by forfeit over Jacob Banker (Bonduel) 36-3 (For.), Semifinal Peat won by decision over William Raatz (Edgar) 32-4 (Dec 7-1), 1st Place Match Peat won by decision over Marshall Westfall (Athens) 39-6 (Dec 6-2)

2018 WIAA Individual State Results for River Valley
D2-120: Caleb Radtke (36-12) failed to place.
Champ. Round 1 Charlie Stuhl (Ellsworth) 33-8 won by decision over Radtke (Dec 7-0)
D2-126: Zach Licht (45-2) placed 3rd.
Champ. Round 1 Licht won by decision over Craig Elsen (Nekoosa/As-sumpt./Port Edw.) 38-6 (Dec 4-1), Quarterfinal Licht won by major decision over Kaleb Ison (Sheboygan Falls) 39-6 (MD 10-1), Semifinal Joey Bianchi (Two Rivers) 40-6 won by decision over Licht (Dec 8-5), Cons. Semi Licht won by fall over Alex McCray (Baldwin-Woodville) 38-6 (Fall 1:27), 3rd Place Match Licht won by decision over Kaleb Ison (Sheboygan Falls) 41-7 (Dec 7-0)
D2-170: Shane Liegel (46-0) placed 1st.
Quarterfinal Liegel won by fall over Garrett Hecht (Somerset) 37-10 (Fall 1:42), Semifinal Liegel won by fall over Dakota Brockman (Freedom) 40-8 (Fall 0:34), 1st Place Match Liegel won by fall over Dillon Martin (Wautoma/Wild Rose) 44-5 (Fall 2:51)

2018 WIAA Individual State Results for Dodgeville
D2-160: John Phelan (37-11) failed to place.
Champ. Round Kolten Hanson (Medford) 38-4 won by fall over Phelan (Fall 0:39)

2018 WIAA Individual State Results for Mineral Point
D3-126: Danny Pittz (38-7) failed to place.
Champ. Round 1 A. J. Schoenfuss (Stratford) 44-4 won by decision over Pittz (Dec 3-0)
D3-132 Caden Carey (34-13) failed to place.
Champ. Round 1 Carey won by decision over Connor Richter (Princeton) 38-10 (Dec 5-4), Quarterfinal Justin Kempf (Weyauwega-Frem.) 43-2 won by fall over Carey (Fall 0:36), Cons. Round 1 Kolbe Ubersox (Darlington/Black Hawk) 41-4 won by major decision over Carey (MD 10-0)
D3-138: Logan Schmitz (34-10) failed to place.
Quarterfinal Sammy VanStraten (Shiocton) 44-4 won by decision over Schmitz (Dec 13-7), Cons. Round 1 Max Dascher (Cochrane-Foun.City) 33-5 won by fall over Schmitz (Fall 5:00)
D3-170: Riley Workman (39-6) placed.
Quarterfinal Workman won by decision over Grayson Vandenbush (Random Lake) 45-5 (Dec 3-1), Semifinal Trevor Dennee (Stratford) 40-5 won by decision over Workman (Dec 7-5), Cons. Semi Brock Handrick (Edgar) 33-12 won by decision over Workman (Dec 3-0, 5th Place Match Workman won by decision over Grayson Vandenbush (Random Lake) 46-7 (Dec 8-1)

2018 WIAA Individual State Results for Pecatonica/Argyle
D3-113: Noah Krahenbuhl (31-12) failed to place.
Champ. Round 1 Kade Pinter (Ken. Christian Life) 47-6 won by decision over Krahenbuhl (Dec 10-4)
D3-195: Lucas Gilbertson (35-10) failed to place.
Champ. Round 1 Brandon Bastin (Saint Croix Falls) 41-10 won by decision over Gilbertson (Dec 11-6)