Three area grapplers advance to the dance

By NATE BEIER | For the County Line

Following the aftermath of last weekend’s sectional meet at Mineral Point, only three area wrestlers were left standing to compete at the WIAA individual state championships this weekend in Madison.

Brookwood’s Ben DeWitt and Joey Perrigo both qualified for the WIAA state meet for the first time after finishing second and third, respectively. Also, Royall’s Noah Friedl was second and will make his first trip to state.

In the sectional quarterfinals Saturday, DeWitt started his state run with a pin. The semifinal featured a match with Iowa-Grant/Highland’s Clayton Kite, whom DeWitt bumped off by pin in the second period.

The championship match was a duel with Fennimore’s Justin Tollefson. Tollefson, who is ranked second in the state at 145, defeated DeWitt by fall in the second period, but the senior held onto second place by rule after Iowa-Grant/Highland’s Kite won the third-place match.

Kicking off the day in overtime, Perrigo won by 7–5 in a sudden victory finale to advance to the semifinals. Perrigo then won an 18–5 major decision against Cambridge’s Jeff Anderson to move into the final. He lost the 152 final by fall to Iowa-Grant/Highland’s Max Meylor in the opening minute, and then lost the wrestle back for second place by New Lisbon’s Gunnar Pedersen, who also won by fall. 

Royall’s Friedl pinned his first two opponents to qualify for the championship, but Riverdale’s Caleb Johnson, ranked eighth, powered his way to a 10–6 win over the Royall junior. Friedl had to wrestle back for true second place, and did so by defeating Hillsboro’s Jacob Urban 14–3.

All three wrestlers will compete Thursday night in the opening round of state wrestling action. DeWitt (38–5) will face Clear Lake’s Gabe Colbeth (36–8), Perrigo (34–9) will start his state tournament against Wittenberg-Birnamwood’s Stetson Potrykus (36–7), and Friedl’s (37–3) first opponent will be Boyceville’s Garrett Joles (41–1).

Sectional notes

Royall’s Matt Preuss was just a win away from qualifying for state, but came up short in the third-place match. Though Preuss had won his first and third matches of the day, he lost to Marshall’s Justin Chadwick by fall in the second period of the third-place match.

SBC State Qualifiers

Cashton’s Brandon Klimek will make his way back to state after taking second at Saturday’s sectional in the 285 bracket. Hillsboro’s Jason Griffiths was third at 113 and will start competition Thursday night. Also, New Lisbon’s Jake Rogers was third at 120, and Gunnar Pedersen was second at 152.

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