CLINTON - Thirteen area wrestlers punched their tickets for the sectional and the Monroe wrestling team came within six points of winning a WIAA Division 2 Clinton regional and advancing to the team sectional Saturday.

Evansville-Albany edged Monroe 209-203 for the regional title and a trip to the team sectional. Brodhead-Juda finished third (194).

"We have had the goal for a while of winning a regional championship," Monroe coach Jeriamy Jackson said. "We just came up six points short."

Six Monroe wrestlers, including regional champions Kevin Klopfenstein at 132 pounds and Trevor Gorr (220), qualified for the WIAA Division 2 Richland Center sectional. The other Cheese-maker sectional qualifiers include juniors Jesse Keizer (120), Aaron Hesgard (126), and Dusty Burkhalter (182) and sophomore Brett Zimmerman (heavyweight).

Brodhead-Juda senior Kramer Lewis (160), junior Hunter Colden and freshman Logan Maurer (heavyweight) each won regional titles. Brodhead-Juda freshman Brady Colden (145) and freshman Reave Lincoln (220) each took second place to qualify for the sectional. Sugar River freshman Kody Popenfus (106) and senior Brooks Hendrickson (152) also both finished second to qualify for the sectional.

"I thought we would get three in for sure and maybe up to six," Brodhead-Juda coach Tim Colden said. "It's about what I expected."

Klopfenstein (34-6), ranked eighth in the Division 2 Wrestling Online poll, won both of his matches. He pinned Sugar River's Ricky Ace in 5:13 and then defeated Evansville-Albany's Hayden Milz 13-0. After a first-round bye, Gorr also went 2-0. He pinned Sugar River's A.J. Helbach in 1:20 and then pinned Lincoln in 3:27. Gorr (38-4, ranked eighth in Division 2) will be wrestling for a state berth on Saturday.

Klopfenstein and Gorr got off to fast starts as they look to make a march to state.

"For those two wrestling at a different level, they take regionals as a stepping stone," Jackson said. "Their ultimate goal is to finish in the top three next weekend and get to the state championships."

Lewis (34-6) for the Cardinals defeated Clinton's Brody Austin 15-0 and then edged Beloit Turner's Kyle Allen 2-1 in the championship match. Hunter Colden (38-3) pinned Monroe's Austin Minder in 1:55 and then defeated Clinton's Mitch Wellnitz 15-0 for the title.

"Kramer did what he does, he controlled the tempo of the match," Tim Colden said.

Keizer pulled off a thrilling 9-8 win over Evansville-Albany's Skyler Mullen in the semifinals. Keizer (25-16) lost to Beloit Turner's Max Andrews 9-0 in the championship match. Hesgard (29-12) pinned Sugar River's Tyler Deshon in 3:01 and then was pinned by Evansville-Albany's Alex Lange in 3:04. Hesgard rebounded to pin Clinton's Jason Rosales in 3:37.

In the semifinals, Burkhalter pinned Beloit Turner's Brock Woodman in 1:50 and Evansville-Albany's Alex Yoerger pinned Burkhalter in 2:55 in the title match. Burkhalter (29-14) bounced back and defeated Brodhead-Juda's Gavin Baade 5-0 to seal a second-place. Zimmerman continued a solid rookie year on the varsity pinning Edgerton's Dakota Salm in 1:54 in the first round.

Eventual champion Maurer then pinned Zimmerman in 2:55. He battled wrestling his way back for second place. Zimmerman (23-13) pinned Clinton's Duncan Desing in 2:24 and pinned Evansville-Albany's Michael Henrich in 3:25.

"He (Maurer) took care of business," Tim Colden said. "He had beat everyone there."

Brodhead-Juda's Brady Colden pinned Monroe's Rustin Alton in 5:03 and defeated Sugar River sophomore Young-Chul Vetterli 10-8 in the semifinals. He then lost a tough match to Clinton's Tim Clothier 8-7. Lincoln pinned Clinton's Phil Waite in 1:21 in the quarterfinals. He defeated Edgerton's Kevin O'Brein 7-4 in the semifinals. After he was pinned by Gorr, Lincoln battled back and beat Helbach 9-2 for second place.

"He (Brady Colden) wrestled well," Tim Colden said. "That kid Clothier) pinned him earlier in the year. He was really focused."

Popenfus (32-7) pinned Brodhead-Juda's Justin Sangermano in 1:57 and lost to Edgerton's Sonny Schieldt 7-2. Monroe sophomore Ryan Hughes (152) finished third and just missed qualifying for the sectional. Hendrickson, who pinned Brodhead-Juda's Mitchel Johnson in 1:24 in the first round, defeated Hughes in a heartbreaker 3-1 in the semifinals.

Hughes was locked in a 1-1 tie and then Hendrickson came through with a takedown with about 20 seconds left to win it.

"We got him right where we wanted," Jackson said of Hughes' match with Hendrickson. "We just came up a little short."