BRODHEAD - Brodhead-Juda junior heavyweight Dylan Severson didn't want to take anything for granted. He probably understands how precarious a lead in wrestling can be.
After just missing qualifying for sectionals last year, Severson vowed to make it this year and he delivered by pinning Clinton's Chris Rousch in 1 minute, 16 seconds at the WIAA Division 2 Brodhead-Juda regional tournament Saturday. Severson (34-6) was one of the Cardinal's three regional champions and five qualifiers for the Richland Center sectional, Feb. 20.
"My goal was to be a regional champion," Severson said. "My goal is to get first or second at the sectional and get to state."
The Cardinals finished third in the regional (182 points). Delavan-Darien outdistanced Clinton, 230-208 for the regional team title and a berth in the sectional.
The other regional champions for the Cardinals included Ben Conway at 189 pounds and Cody Spooner at 215. Spooner (30-5) returns to the sectional for the second-straight year. The Cardinals other sectional qualifiers are freshman Hunter Colden (145) and senior Devon Seitz (152), who both were regional runner-ups.
"I thought we had a chance to get four, five or six wrestlers to the sectional," Brodhead-Juda coach Tim Colden said. "I always tell the kids the most important match is the one you are going to wrestle. You can't look to the next round or the next week. You have to wrestle the next match."
Spooner went 3-0 with two pins. After a first-round bye, Spooner pinned Big Foot-Williams Bay's Jon Petkoff in the semifinals in 1:17, then pinned Edgerton's Adam Carlson in 2:30 for the title.
"I would be really disappointed if he didn't win it," Colden said, during the tournament. "He is one of those kids who realizes that this is it. He had a great year in football and it is carrying it over. He has been a leader for us."
Conway (16-16) after a first-round bye, pinned Clinton's Jose Amador in 3:29 in the semifinals to earn a title shot. In the championship match, Conway pinned Delavan-Darien's Paul Holden in 4:24.
Hunter Colden (37-4) went 3-1 at the regional. After he received a first-round bye, Colden defeated Parkview's Ryan Triplett 8-2 in the semifinals. Delavan-Darien's John Benzon (33-4) beat Colden 5-2 in the title match. However, Colden rebounded and beat Beloit Turner's Josh Frei 4-0 to take second place.
Seitz (32-4) finished the tournament 3-1 and qualified for the sectional for the second-straight year. He defeated Beloit Turner's Kyle Allen in a major decision, 15-3 in the semifinals. Seitz then lost a hard fought championship match 6-4 to Parkview's Jeremy Graham. He answered by beating Delavan-Darien's David Figueroa in a major decision, 15-5.
"My goal was really to win it," Seitz said. "Most important, I wanted to wrestle hard and go out with a bang."
Brodhead-Juda's Ethan Voights, who was a sectional qualifier last year, just missed making a return this year at 171. Voights took third place and didn't get a chance to wrestle Edgerton's Alex Beechler in a second-place match by rule since he was pinned by him in the semifinals. The Cardinals had four other wrestlers take fourth place including Dalton Osborne (112), Aaron Pratt (119), Mitchel Wiesenberg (125) and Kramer Lewis (140).
Now the Cardinals turn their attention to the sectional. Seitz is driven to make a run for state.
"My ultimate goal is state," he said. "I have wanted it ever since my freshman year. Hopefully, this is the year. That is what is in my mind all the time when I am wrestling. I will do everything I can to get there."
After just missing qualifying for sectionals last year, Severson vowed to make it this year and he delivered by pinning Clinton's Chris Rousch in 1 minute, 16 seconds at the WIAA Division 2 Brodhead-Juda regional tournament Saturday. Severson (34-6) was one of the Cardinal's three regional champions and five qualifiers for the Richland Center sectional, Feb. 20.
"My goal was to be a regional champion," Severson said. "My goal is to get first or second at the sectional and get to state."
The Cardinals finished third in the regional (182 points). Delavan-Darien outdistanced Clinton, 230-208 for the regional team title and a berth in the sectional.
The other regional champions for the Cardinals included Ben Conway at 189 pounds and Cody Spooner at 215. Spooner (30-5) returns to the sectional for the second-straight year. The Cardinals other sectional qualifiers are freshman Hunter Colden (145) and senior Devon Seitz (152), who both were regional runner-ups.
"I thought we had a chance to get four, five or six wrestlers to the sectional," Brodhead-Juda coach Tim Colden said. "I always tell the kids the most important match is the one you are going to wrestle. You can't look to the next round or the next week. You have to wrestle the next match."
Spooner went 3-0 with two pins. After a first-round bye, Spooner pinned Big Foot-Williams Bay's Jon Petkoff in the semifinals in 1:17, then pinned Edgerton's Adam Carlson in 2:30 for the title.
"I would be really disappointed if he didn't win it," Colden said, during the tournament. "He is one of those kids who realizes that this is it. He had a great year in football and it is carrying it over. He has been a leader for us."
Conway (16-16) after a first-round bye, pinned Clinton's Jose Amador in 3:29 in the semifinals to earn a title shot. In the championship match, Conway pinned Delavan-Darien's Paul Holden in 4:24.
Hunter Colden (37-4) went 3-1 at the regional. After he received a first-round bye, Colden defeated Parkview's Ryan Triplett 8-2 in the semifinals. Delavan-Darien's John Benzon (33-4) beat Colden 5-2 in the title match. However, Colden rebounded and beat Beloit Turner's Josh Frei 4-0 to take second place.
Seitz (32-4) finished the tournament 3-1 and qualified for the sectional for the second-straight year. He defeated Beloit Turner's Kyle Allen in a major decision, 15-3 in the semifinals. Seitz then lost a hard fought championship match 6-4 to Parkview's Jeremy Graham. He answered by beating Delavan-Darien's David Figueroa in a major decision, 15-5.
"My goal was really to win it," Seitz said. "Most important, I wanted to wrestle hard and go out with a bang."
Brodhead-Juda's Ethan Voights, who was a sectional qualifier last year, just missed making a return this year at 171. Voights took third place and didn't get a chance to wrestle Edgerton's Alex Beechler in a second-place match by rule since he was pinned by him in the semifinals. The Cardinals had four other wrestlers take fourth place including Dalton Osborne (112), Aaron Pratt (119), Mitchel Wiesenberg (125) and Kramer Lewis (140).
Now the Cardinals turn their attention to the sectional. Seitz is driven to make a run for state.
"My ultimate goal is state," he said. "I have wanted it ever since my freshman year. Hopefully, this is the year. That is what is in my mind all the time when I am wrestling. I will do everything I can to get there."
