FRIENDSHIP - Five area wrestlers punched their tickets to state after their performances at the WIAA Division 2 Adams-Friendship sectional Saturday, Feb. 22.
Brodhead-Juda juniors Gavin Baade at 182 pounds and Logan Maurer at heavyweight each won sectional titles. The top three wrestlers at each weight class advance to the Division 2 state tournament Thursday, Feb. 27 to Saturday, March 1 at the Kohl Center in Madison.
The other state qualifiers include Brodhead-Juda junior Brady Colden (160), Darlington-Black Hawk senior Dakota Meier (152) and junior teammate Zach Wolf (heavyweight).
"They have all wrestled really well without a doubt," Brodhead-Juda coach Tim Colden said. "When you get there you can really throw the records out because they really don't mean anything."
Darlington-Black Hawk co-coach Tom Mathias was excited to get two state qualifiers the first year of the wrestling co-op.
"It's exactly what we were hoping for," Mathias said. "It's even better to have one from each school. We thought they were the two with the best chance. You always want more. It's a good way to start the co-op."
Baade (40-1) at 182 pinned Adams-Friendship's Ryan Burrows in 3 minutes. He then pinned Portage's David Rusher in 2:49 and knocked off West Salem-Bangor's Nick Buisman 6-0 to win the sectional title.
"He's been a solid kid all the way around," Tim Colden said of Baade. "It's not a big surprise for him to make it to state."
Maurer, ranked No. 1 in the Wisconsin Wrestling Online poll, cruised for his second straight trip to state. Maurer posted three pins en route to winning a sectional title. He pinned Viroqua's Levin Lamerie in 1:52 and pinned River Valley's Kaleb Crook in 27 seconds. In the championship match, Maurer pinned West Salem-Bangor's Aaron Broer in 1:09.
"We have been pushing him in practice," Tim Colden said of Maurer. "How hard he works is up to him. He knows what is on the line."
Brady Colden (43-4) at 160 pinned Richland Center's Caleb Coleman in 50 seconds in the quarterfinals. In the semifinals, Colden had a lead and was working for a takedown in overtime against West Salem-Bangor's Brandon Bahr. Bahr was able to get a takedown and scored on a near fall to beat Colden 10-5. Brady Colden battled back to take third place. He pinned Portage's Cristian Naxi in 1:43 and then beat Sparta's Logan VanTassel in a technical fall in 4:56 to lock up third place and a trip to state.
"He (Brady) could have tanked it and he didn't," Tim Colden said. "He battled back."
Darlington-Black Hawk's Meier and Wolf each finished third place. Lodi's Casey Persike beat Meier (152) in a heartbreaker 6-4 in the quarterfinals. Meier then knocked off Edgerton's Jared Heil 4-2 in the consolation semifinals. He beat Beloit Turner's Max Andrews 14-4 in a third-place match to secure a trip to state.
Wolf got off to a better start at heavyweight. He pinned Lodi's Adam Breunig in 1:25. He then lost a semifinal match to Broer 5-1. Wolf bounced back by defeating Evansville-Albany's Ryan Meehan by pin in 1:46 and he pinned River Valley's Crook in 50 seconds for third place.
"They put themselves behind the eight-ball," Mathias said of Meier and Wolf losing matches and having to win consolation matches. "It was a little nerve-wracking, but they were able to get back."
Brodhead-Juda's Stephen Voights (220) finished fourth place and just missed qualifying for state. Senior teammate Tyler Davis (195) didn't place, but wrapped up the season at 34-12.
Sugar River had five wrestlers at the sectional including Josh Chenoweth (106), Kody Popenfus (126), Anthony Chiarello (145), Young-Chul Vetterli (160) and Jacob Larson (182) didn't place at the sectional. Darlington-Black Hawk's Joe Quinn (106), Jared Pickett (120) and Colin Novak (126) also didn't place at the sectional.
"Stephen was basically one point away," Tim Colden said. "Both Stephen and Tyler had great years. Tyler came a long way after winning just four matches as a freshman. If you win 20 matches in a season it's a pretty good year and if you win 30 matches in a season, it's a really good year. Each year (Davis) has gotten better and worked harder."
Brodhead-Juda juniors Gavin Baade at 182 pounds and Logan Maurer at heavyweight each won sectional titles. The top three wrestlers at each weight class advance to the Division 2 state tournament Thursday, Feb. 27 to Saturday, March 1 at the Kohl Center in Madison.
The other state qualifiers include Brodhead-Juda junior Brady Colden (160), Darlington-Black Hawk senior Dakota Meier (152) and junior teammate Zach Wolf (heavyweight).
"They have all wrestled really well without a doubt," Brodhead-Juda coach Tim Colden said. "When you get there you can really throw the records out because they really don't mean anything."
Darlington-Black Hawk co-coach Tom Mathias was excited to get two state qualifiers the first year of the wrestling co-op.
"It's exactly what we were hoping for," Mathias said. "It's even better to have one from each school. We thought they were the two with the best chance. You always want more. It's a good way to start the co-op."
Baade (40-1) at 182 pinned Adams-Friendship's Ryan Burrows in 3 minutes. He then pinned Portage's David Rusher in 2:49 and knocked off West Salem-Bangor's Nick Buisman 6-0 to win the sectional title.
"He's been a solid kid all the way around," Tim Colden said of Baade. "It's not a big surprise for him to make it to state."
Maurer, ranked No. 1 in the Wisconsin Wrestling Online poll, cruised for his second straight trip to state. Maurer posted three pins en route to winning a sectional title. He pinned Viroqua's Levin Lamerie in 1:52 and pinned River Valley's Kaleb Crook in 27 seconds. In the championship match, Maurer pinned West Salem-Bangor's Aaron Broer in 1:09.
"We have been pushing him in practice," Tim Colden said of Maurer. "How hard he works is up to him. He knows what is on the line."
Brady Colden (43-4) at 160 pinned Richland Center's Caleb Coleman in 50 seconds in the quarterfinals. In the semifinals, Colden had a lead and was working for a takedown in overtime against West Salem-Bangor's Brandon Bahr. Bahr was able to get a takedown and scored on a near fall to beat Colden 10-5. Brady Colden battled back to take third place. He pinned Portage's Cristian Naxi in 1:43 and then beat Sparta's Logan VanTassel in a technical fall in 4:56 to lock up third place and a trip to state.
"He (Brady) could have tanked it and he didn't," Tim Colden said. "He battled back."
Darlington-Black Hawk's Meier and Wolf each finished third place. Lodi's Casey Persike beat Meier (152) in a heartbreaker 6-4 in the quarterfinals. Meier then knocked off Edgerton's Jared Heil 4-2 in the consolation semifinals. He beat Beloit Turner's Max Andrews 14-4 in a third-place match to secure a trip to state.
Wolf got off to a better start at heavyweight. He pinned Lodi's Adam Breunig in 1:25. He then lost a semifinal match to Broer 5-1. Wolf bounced back by defeating Evansville-Albany's Ryan Meehan by pin in 1:46 and he pinned River Valley's Crook in 50 seconds for third place.
"They put themselves behind the eight-ball," Mathias said of Meier and Wolf losing matches and having to win consolation matches. "It was a little nerve-wracking, but they were able to get back."
Brodhead-Juda's Stephen Voights (220) finished fourth place and just missed qualifying for state. Senior teammate Tyler Davis (195) didn't place, but wrapped up the season at 34-12.
Sugar River had five wrestlers at the sectional including Josh Chenoweth (106), Kody Popenfus (126), Anthony Chiarello (145), Young-Chul Vetterli (160) and Jacob Larson (182) didn't place at the sectional. Darlington-Black Hawk's Joe Quinn (106), Jared Pickett (120) and Colin Novak (126) also didn't place at the sectional.
"Stephen was basically one point away," Tim Colden said. "Both Stephen and Tyler had great years. Tyler came a long way after winning just four matches as a freshman. If you win 20 matches in a season it's a pretty good year and if you win 30 matches in a season, it's a really good year. Each year (Davis) has gotten better and worked harder."
