BELLEVILLE - The Monroe wrestling team had five wrestlers finish in the top two at the WIAA Division 2 Belleville regional to qualify for the individual sectional.
The Cheesemakers had three regional champions: sophomore Patrick Rielly at 160 pounds, senior Sam Kind (170) and senior Dempzy Foley (182). Sophomore Alex Witt (145) and senior Tyson Welsch (heavyweight) each finished second.
Evansville-Albany had seven sectional qualifiers and won the regional team title, racking up 227.5 points. The Blue Devils had four regional champions - Jared Miller (113), Evan Senter (120), Ben Barmore (145) and Branden Lange (heavyweight) - and will advance to the team sectional. The team will wrestle Gale-Ettrick-Trempealeau-Melrose-Mindoro Tuesday at Viroqua High School. Edgerton (196.5) took second (196.5) and Monroe was third (170.5) in the seven-team regional.
"I thought we could get six or seven through, but a couple of them would have to wrestle unbelievable," Monroe coach Tom Witt said of the wrestlers who qualified for the sectional. "Getting five is pretty good. We probably did what we should have. The three who won were No. 1 seeds coming in, and I expected them to win."
After a first-round bye, Rielly (34-8), ranked 12th in the Division 2 Wisconsin Wrestling Online state poll, pinned Edgerton's Brady Christianson in 1 minute, 4 seconds. In the title match, Rielly pinned Brodhead-Juda's Kaleb Erb in 58 seconds. At 170, Kind (37-5), ranked No. 7, also cruised to the title. After a first-round bye, he defeated Evansville-Albany's Malcolm Johnson in a technical fall 15-0. In the championship match, Kind pinned Edgerton's Garrett Ison in 4:35.
"Pat had a really good day," Witt said. "I told Pat that the kid from Brodhead (Erb) had been on a roll with the matches he has won the past few weeks."
Foley (39-4), ranked No. 9, pinned Beloit Turner's Emiliano Reyes in 2:35 in the championship after two byes. Both Alex Witt and Welsch went 3-1 in the regional to qualify for the sectional. After Barmore (145) pinned Witt in 3:26 in the title match, Witt came back to take second based on his previous 13-10 win over Sugar River's Justin Knoebl earlier in the regional.
Witt trailed Knoebl 9-2 in his matchup and went on a run to score 10 points in the final 30 seconds. He had two takedowns in the comeback win.
"It was a great effort," said coach Tom Witt, Alex's father. "He never gave up."
For the third time this season, Lange, ranked No. 4 at heavyweight, defeated 11th-ranked Welsch 3-0 in the title match. After a scoreless first period, Lange got an escape and takedown in the second period to spark the victory. Welsch bounced back and pinned Clinton's Trevor Hage in 1:25 in a second-place match.
Brodhead-Juda had four sectional qualifiers led by junior Jackson Hauri (152) and senior Trent Davis (220), who were both regional champions. Hauri (28-2), ranked No. 4, edged Evansville-Albany's Nolan Kicmol 10-6 in overtime in the championship match. Kicmol is ranked No. 3 at 145 but is wrestling at 152 in the postseason. Davis (31-8), ranked 12th, beat Edgerton's Reed Farrington 8-3 in a tile match. The other sectional qualifiers who took second for the Cardinals are Russell Waeffler (113) and Erb (160).
The two sectional qualifiers for Sugar River are freshman Joe Quaglia (106) and Robert Chenoweth (120). Quaglia and Chenoweth each went 3-1 on the day and took second based on wins earlier in the regional. Quaglia's key match was a pin over Evansville-Albany's Gavin Frey in 3:48. The big match for Chenoweth was a pin of Edgerton's Jacob Davis in 4:57.
The three other sectional qualifiers for Evansville-Albany include Adam Staver (132), Kicmol (152) and Collin Roberts (195).
Monroe senior Travis Wolf (152), ranked 11th, took fourth.
"There were four ranked kids in his weight class," Witt said of Wolf. "It was tough on him because he's a senior. It was tough on me as a coach having a senior and not making it to sectionals."
The Cheesemakers had three regional champions: sophomore Patrick Rielly at 160 pounds, senior Sam Kind (170) and senior Dempzy Foley (182). Sophomore Alex Witt (145) and senior Tyson Welsch (heavyweight) each finished second.
Evansville-Albany had seven sectional qualifiers and won the regional team title, racking up 227.5 points. The Blue Devils had four regional champions - Jared Miller (113), Evan Senter (120), Ben Barmore (145) and Branden Lange (heavyweight) - and will advance to the team sectional. The team will wrestle Gale-Ettrick-Trempealeau-Melrose-Mindoro Tuesday at Viroqua High School. Edgerton (196.5) took second (196.5) and Monroe was third (170.5) in the seven-team regional.
"I thought we could get six or seven through, but a couple of them would have to wrestle unbelievable," Monroe coach Tom Witt said of the wrestlers who qualified for the sectional. "Getting five is pretty good. We probably did what we should have. The three who won were No. 1 seeds coming in, and I expected them to win."
After a first-round bye, Rielly (34-8), ranked 12th in the Division 2 Wisconsin Wrestling Online state poll, pinned Edgerton's Brady Christianson in 1 minute, 4 seconds. In the title match, Rielly pinned Brodhead-Juda's Kaleb Erb in 58 seconds. At 170, Kind (37-5), ranked No. 7, also cruised to the title. After a first-round bye, he defeated Evansville-Albany's Malcolm Johnson in a technical fall 15-0. In the championship match, Kind pinned Edgerton's Garrett Ison in 4:35.
"Pat had a really good day," Witt said. "I told Pat that the kid from Brodhead (Erb) had been on a roll with the matches he has won the past few weeks."
Foley (39-4), ranked No. 9, pinned Beloit Turner's Emiliano Reyes in 2:35 in the championship after two byes. Both Alex Witt and Welsch went 3-1 in the regional to qualify for the sectional. After Barmore (145) pinned Witt in 3:26 in the title match, Witt came back to take second based on his previous 13-10 win over Sugar River's Justin Knoebl earlier in the regional.
Witt trailed Knoebl 9-2 in his matchup and went on a run to score 10 points in the final 30 seconds. He had two takedowns in the comeback win.
"It was a great effort," said coach Tom Witt, Alex's father. "He never gave up."
For the third time this season, Lange, ranked No. 4 at heavyweight, defeated 11th-ranked Welsch 3-0 in the title match. After a scoreless first period, Lange got an escape and takedown in the second period to spark the victory. Welsch bounced back and pinned Clinton's Trevor Hage in 1:25 in a second-place match.
Brodhead-Juda had four sectional qualifiers led by junior Jackson Hauri (152) and senior Trent Davis (220), who were both regional champions. Hauri (28-2), ranked No. 4, edged Evansville-Albany's Nolan Kicmol 10-6 in overtime in the championship match. Kicmol is ranked No. 3 at 145 but is wrestling at 152 in the postseason. Davis (31-8), ranked 12th, beat Edgerton's Reed Farrington 8-3 in a tile match. The other sectional qualifiers who took second for the Cardinals are Russell Waeffler (113) and Erb (160).
The two sectional qualifiers for Sugar River are freshman Joe Quaglia (106) and Robert Chenoweth (120). Quaglia and Chenoweth each went 3-1 on the day and took second based on wins earlier in the regional. Quaglia's key match was a pin over Evansville-Albany's Gavin Frey in 3:48. The big match for Chenoweth was a pin of Edgerton's Jacob Davis in 4:57.
The three other sectional qualifiers for Evansville-Albany include Adam Staver (132), Kicmol (152) and Collin Roberts (195).
Monroe senior Travis Wolf (152), ranked 11th, took fourth.
"There were four ranked kids in his weight class," Witt said of Wolf. "It was tough on him because he's a senior. It was tough on me as a coach having a senior and not making it to sectionals."
