RICHLAND CENTER - Monroe junior Traiten Gorr will have a chance to wrestle at state for the first time after he won a WIAA Division 2 Richland Center sectional championship Saturday.
"It means I accomplished a lot this year," Gorr said. "I knew there was pressure going into it especially for the seniors when it's their last match. They will take it up a notch. The time I have put in is paying off."
Gorr (44-2), ranked No. 2 in the Wisconsin Wrestling Online Division 2 state poll, pinned River Valley's Tyler White in 1 minute, 42 seconds in a quarterfinal match. He then pinned Westfield's Brandon Peters in 5:25 and edged Evansville-Albany's Dustin Bjugstad 3-0 in the title match. It's the fifth time this season Gorr has beat Bjugstad.
Brodhead-Juda will send three wrestlers to state for the second straight year. Brodhead-Juda senior Logan Maurer (46-0), ranked No. 2 at heavyweight, posted three pins to cruise to the sectional championship. The other state qualifiers for the Cardinals include seniors Brady Colden (170) and Gavin Baade (182). Maurer will be making his third straight trip to state and Colden and Baade will be making their second consecutive appearances at state.
"Once you have made it once, everyone expects you to make it back," Brodhead-Juda coach Tim Colden said. "It's hard to qualify for state every year. It says a lot about their performance and how hard they have worked to make it back again."
Maurer, who finished third at state last year, pinned Lakeside Lutheran's Dalton Egli in 1:22 in a quarterfinal match. In the semifinals, Maurer pinned Richland Center's Kaleb Crook in 1:49. Maurer then pinned Westfield's Austin Barton in 55 seconds in the title match.
Maurer is excited to make the trip to the Kohl Center again.
"My main goal was obviously to make it back to state," he said. "I'm not going to settle for just getting back. My goal is to win it. I came up a little short last year and I'm not going to let that happen this year."
After coming up just short of a regional championship one week ago, Brady Colden, ranked No. 3, earned a sectional title. He defeated Dodgeville's Jack Shickel in a technical fall, 16-1. In the semifinals, Brady Colden then pinned Lodi's Logan Gordon in 5:52. He dominated the championship match en route to a 9-2 win over Sparta's Logan VanTassel.
"It feels good to get back to state because last year I didn't get my goals," Brady Colden said. "My main goal is to get in the top three and get on the podium."
Baade, who took fifth place at state last year at 182 and is ranked No. 4 this season, earned another shot to medal at the Kohl Center. Baade pinned Kyle Canales of Rio/Fall River/Cambria-Friesland/Pardeeville in 2:30. In the semifinals, Baade lost to Mount Horeb's Matt Blome 11-6. In the wrestlebacks, he pinned Sparta's Walker Polhamus in 33 seconds. Baade then edged Adams-Friendship's Rylan Burrows 9-7 for third place to lock up a state berth.
The other area state qualifier is Sugar River senior Jacob Larson (195), who finished third place. Larson pinned Sparta's Austin Zweifel in 50 seconds in the quarterfinals. He then pinned Richland Center's Silas Coleman in 3:57. Dodgeville's Brady Wetter pinned Larson in the championship match in 1:45. Evansville-Albany's Lucius Rinehart then defeated Larson in the second-place match 9-4.
Evansville-Albany will send six wrestlers to state, led by sectional champion Jordan Meyer (138). The sectional runner-ups included Chase Katzenmeyer (126), Rinehart (195) and Bjugstad (heavyweight). The two third-place wrestlers moving on are Nolan Kicmol (132) and Jake Carpenter (182).
Both Monroe sophomore Cole Murray (126) and junior McKenzy Foley (160) won their first matches at the sectional, but couldn't wrestleback to finish in the top three. Murray (31-16) defeated River Valley's Caleb Radtke 8-6 in a quarterfinal match. Sparta's John Roddick, the eventual sectional champion, then pinned Murray in 4 minutes. In a wrestleback match, Portage's Kyle McTier pinned Murray in 4 minutes. Murray had beat McTier 6-3 two weeks ago at the Badger Conference tournament.
"It was a great accomplishment for him to make it to the sectional and win his first match," Monroe coach Tom Witt said of Murray. "The door was open for him to make it (to state). In that final match, he didn't show up to wrestle. He was flat."
Foley (160) beat Travis Hudack of the Wisconsin Dells 6-4 in overtime in the quarterfinals. Foley scored on a reversal with about 10 seconds left to tie the match at 4. He then clinched the win with a takedown in overtime. Foley lost to eventual sectional champion Jacob Poches of Portage by a technical fall, 15-0. In a wrestleback, Mount Horeb's Travis Syvrud defeated Foley 7-3.
"The opportunity was there," Witt said. "The Mount Horeb kid took third place. I told him (Foley) after the match it was a great effort for him to come back from a knee injury and wrestle."
"It means I accomplished a lot this year," Gorr said. "I knew there was pressure going into it especially for the seniors when it's their last match. They will take it up a notch. The time I have put in is paying off."
Gorr (44-2), ranked No. 2 in the Wisconsin Wrestling Online Division 2 state poll, pinned River Valley's Tyler White in 1 minute, 42 seconds in a quarterfinal match. He then pinned Westfield's Brandon Peters in 5:25 and edged Evansville-Albany's Dustin Bjugstad 3-0 in the title match. It's the fifth time this season Gorr has beat Bjugstad.
Brodhead-Juda will send three wrestlers to state for the second straight year. Brodhead-Juda senior Logan Maurer (46-0), ranked No. 2 at heavyweight, posted three pins to cruise to the sectional championship. The other state qualifiers for the Cardinals include seniors Brady Colden (170) and Gavin Baade (182). Maurer will be making his third straight trip to state and Colden and Baade will be making their second consecutive appearances at state.
"Once you have made it once, everyone expects you to make it back," Brodhead-Juda coach Tim Colden said. "It's hard to qualify for state every year. It says a lot about their performance and how hard they have worked to make it back again."
Maurer, who finished third at state last year, pinned Lakeside Lutheran's Dalton Egli in 1:22 in a quarterfinal match. In the semifinals, Maurer pinned Richland Center's Kaleb Crook in 1:49. Maurer then pinned Westfield's Austin Barton in 55 seconds in the title match.
Maurer is excited to make the trip to the Kohl Center again.
"My main goal was obviously to make it back to state," he said. "I'm not going to settle for just getting back. My goal is to win it. I came up a little short last year and I'm not going to let that happen this year."
After coming up just short of a regional championship one week ago, Brady Colden, ranked No. 3, earned a sectional title. He defeated Dodgeville's Jack Shickel in a technical fall, 16-1. In the semifinals, Brady Colden then pinned Lodi's Logan Gordon in 5:52. He dominated the championship match en route to a 9-2 win over Sparta's Logan VanTassel.
"It feels good to get back to state because last year I didn't get my goals," Brady Colden said. "My main goal is to get in the top three and get on the podium."
Baade, who took fifth place at state last year at 182 and is ranked No. 4 this season, earned another shot to medal at the Kohl Center. Baade pinned Kyle Canales of Rio/Fall River/Cambria-Friesland/Pardeeville in 2:30. In the semifinals, Baade lost to Mount Horeb's Matt Blome 11-6. In the wrestlebacks, he pinned Sparta's Walker Polhamus in 33 seconds. Baade then edged Adams-Friendship's Rylan Burrows 9-7 for third place to lock up a state berth.
The other area state qualifier is Sugar River senior Jacob Larson (195), who finished third place. Larson pinned Sparta's Austin Zweifel in 50 seconds in the quarterfinals. He then pinned Richland Center's Silas Coleman in 3:57. Dodgeville's Brady Wetter pinned Larson in the championship match in 1:45. Evansville-Albany's Lucius Rinehart then defeated Larson in the second-place match 9-4.
Evansville-Albany will send six wrestlers to state, led by sectional champion Jordan Meyer (138). The sectional runner-ups included Chase Katzenmeyer (126), Rinehart (195) and Bjugstad (heavyweight). The two third-place wrestlers moving on are Nolan Kicmol (132) and Jake Carpenter (182).
Both Monroe sophomore Cole Murray (126) and junior McKenzy Foley (160) won their first matches at the sectional, but couldn't wrestleback to finish in the top three. Murray (31-16) defeated River Valley's Caleb Radtke 8-6 in a quarterfinal match. Sparta's John Roddick, the eventual sectional champion, then pinned Murray in 4 minutes. In a wrestleback match, Portage's Kyle McTier pinned Murray in 4 minutes. Murray had beat McTier 6-3 two weeks ago at the Badger Conference tournament.
"It was a great accomplishment for him to make it to the sectional and win his first match," Monroe coach Tom Witt said of Murray. "The door was open for him to make it (to state). In that final match, he didn't show up to wrestle. He was flat."
Foley (160) beat Travis Hudack of the Wisconsin Dells 6-4 in overtime in the quarterfinals. Foley scored on a reversal with about 10 seconds left to tie the match at 4. He then clinched the win with a takedown in overtime. Foley lost to eventual sectional champion Jacob Poches of Portage by a technical fall, 15-0. In a wrestleback, Mount Horeb's Travis Syvrud defeated Foley 7-3.
"The opportunity was there," Witt said. "The Mount Horeb kid took third place. I told him (Foley) after the match it was a great effort for him to come back from a knee injury and wrestle."
