By NATE BEIER | For the County Line
The finish might not have gone quite as Brookwood’s Trey Kaiser had hoped, but ending on the podium at the WIAA individual state wrestling meet is no small feat.
The Brookwood sophomore wrestled his way into the semifinals at the state meet before losing a narrow decision, and then proceeded to fight his way back to the third-place match, where he lost to a familiar foe to take fourth overall at 285.
Kaiser opened the state meet with a first-period pin against Winnebago Lutheran’s Ryan Jacobs on Feb. 22. In his quarterfinal on Feb. 23, he pinned Boyceville’s Noah Novotney in just over 30 seconds. The semifinal match was different, though. Amherst’s Max Villnow didn’t falter and instead earned a 7–4 decision to send Kaiser into the wrestleback pool. Brookwood’s season leader in wins earned his 40th victory of the year with a second-period fall against Athens’ Tyson Sommer and catapulted himself into a third-place match.
His third-place-match opponent was no stranger; River Ridge/Cassville’s Ben Wheeler was about to square off against Kaiser for the third time in the last four weeks. Wheeler had failed to top Kaiser at the Scenic Ridge and Rivers Conference meet, losing in the 285 title bout with a first-period pin, and then lost again by fall in a sectional semifinal at Mineral Point last week. This time, things were different. Wheeler stayed on the offensive, managed to take a lead and kept Kaiser from throwing him to his back. In the end, the two titans tussled to a 5–2 final in favor of Wheeler.
Kaiser finishes the season 40–7 overall and joins elite company in Brookwood’s history after taking fourth at the state meet.
Friedl wins first, but can’t get back to podium
Royall’s Noah Friedl ended his season just shy of making a return trip to the podium this year, losing his final two matches at the state meet.
Friedl reached the 40-win plateau with a pin against Reedsville’s Carson Schanilec in his opening-round match at 182. The senior was shut out, however, by Athens’ Marshall Westfall in the quarterfinal 9–0. Westfall went on to take second to Iowa-Grant/Highland’s Brady Peat.
In the consolation round, Friedl lost an 8–5 decision to Boyceville’s Trett Joles to end his run at the tournament. Friedl and Brookwood’s Kaiser were the only Scenic Bluffs Conference wrestlers to advance to the quarterfinals. New Lisbon’s Kaleb Baumgart and Cashton’s Tristan Grant lost by fall, and Hillsboro’s Jacob Urban lost an 8–5 decision.
Brookwood’s Ben DeWitt finished his season with a 5–1 loss to St. Croix Falls’ Caly Carney, ending with a 30–5 record.
Royall’s Nolan McKittrick (40–9) lost by fall to Weyauwega-Fremont’s Carter Greening — who eventually finished third — by fall in the opening round.
State notes
Stratford’s Jeremy Schoenherr and Ellsworth’s Sam Stuhl both won their fourth straight state titles, becoming the 15th and 16th wrestlers in state history to do so. The pair won titles at 138 in Division 3 and 2, respectively.