MADISON — Of the 18 local wrestlers that made it to the WIAA Individual State Tournament at the Kohl Center Feb. 23-25, eight made the podium with two named runners-up. Pecatonica-Argyle sophomore Aidan Gruenenfelder took second in Division 3 at 106 pounds, while Darlington-Black Hawk junior Ethan Aird finished second in Division 2 at 113.
Gruenenfelder entered the tournament with a 48-0 record — one of 13 undefeated wrestlers in the tournament. After a first-round bye, he wrestled Ben Miller of Wittenberg-Birnamwood. Gruenenfelder controlled the entire match, recording three takedowns before his final two points, which ended in a first-period pin.
In the semifinals, Gruenenfelder drew freshman Blake Underwood of Marathon, who was also undefeated. After a scoreless first period, Underwood deferred to bottom to start the second period. Gruenenfelder didn’t allow him to escape, as the match remained scoreless going into the final period. There, Gruenenfelder started on bottom and earned two points on a reversal. Underwood got one point on stalling by Gruenenfelder, but he was unable to escape, resulting in a 2-1 win for Gruenenfelder.
The Division 3 106-pound bracket had three undefeated wrestlers, and Gruenenfelder drew the other two. He faced off against Drew Dolphin of Kenosha Christian Life in the championship, and set the tone with a takedown. Dolphin escaped then took Gruenenfelder down 19 seconds later. In the second period, Gruenenfelder tied it up with a takedown of his own after a Dolphin escape. Starting out on the bottom, Gruenenfelder escaped with a minute left. Thirty seconds later, Dolphin got the takedown. In the final seconds, Gruenenfelder appeared to have control for a two-point reversal, but the ref wasn’t convinced. He fell 2-1 to take second.
During Aird’s state tournament run, he faced familiar opponents. After a first-round bye, Aird ran into Blake Endres of Sugar River for the third time in three weeks. The two met in the regional and sectional finals, where Aird prevailed 10-0 and 7-2, respectively. State proved no different, as Aird pinned Endres in 2:41.
“He [Endres] is a great wrestler. He’s quick on his feet,” Aird said. “One thing I saw in most of his matches is right off the whistle, he likes to take a shot. Knowing that, I had to figure out a way to stop it. In regionals he had gotten in on my legs a lot really easily. One of the college wrestlers from Arizona State University, Michael McGee, came up and did some camps this summer where I wrestle in Dodgeville. I’ve seen him [McGee] wrestle on the knee, and that’s where I started going. I feel comfortable moving around on my knees. I knew that was going to be a good way to slow him [Endres] down.”
In the semifinals, Aird continued to dominate, defeating Wyatt Magolski of New London 7-1. The only point Magolski scored was an escape in the second period.
In the championship, Aird drew Charlie Meudt, who won the 106-pound Division 2 state title in 2022 with a 35-2 record. This year, Meudt entered the tournament with just one loss. Prior to the match, Aird and Meudt had wrestled each other six times.
In the opening period, Meudt proved his title with a takedown in the first 25 seconds and held Aird for a nearfall. Although Aird earned two points on a reversal in the second period, Meudt earned six points in the final period with a takedown, nearfall and escape. With a 12-6 decision, Meudt won his second state title, while Aird took second.
“It’s a lot cooler wrestling Saturday night in the walk of champions,” Aird said of improvement from fourth place in 2022. “I had gone around to a couple of my friends that had made it to the finals before and asked them what it was like. They tried to explain it to me, but they said there’s no way to truly prepare you for it. It was a fun experience — super cool. Obviously, it’s not how I wanted it to end, but if it had to be anyone to beat me, I’d rather it be someone that I’ve wrestled so much my entire life than some random kid.”
Monroe’s Isaac Bunker also improved from, claiming the third spot on the podium after only qualifying a year prior.
“It’s pretty awesome. Last year I came into this tournament feeling pretty sick. I had bronchitis, so I didn’t wrestle really well,” Bunker said. “To have a good season, get the first-round bye, win a couple matches from there and get on the podium is pretty cool.”
With a 46-5 record, Bunker received a first-round bye. He then pinned Jae-Shaun Thomas of Catholic Memorial in just 53 seconds. In the semifinals on Friday, Bunker ran into eventual champion Gunner Hoffman, who had just one loss all season.
Hoffman scored five points in the first period with two takedowns and an escape, while Bunker earned two on a reversal. After escaping from Bunker in the second period, Hoffman then took Bunker down for a pin.
Bunker rebounded Saturday with a 7-1 decision over Logan See, earning a right to fight for third. See’s only point came on an escape in the second period. It was Bunker’s first full, three-period match of his career.
In the third-place match, Bunker started off on the wrong foot, as Freedom’s Hunter Vander Heiden recorded a takedown in the first 15 seconds. Bunker escaped and, just 16 seconds later, took Vander Heiden down, leading to a pin.
After celebrating with his coaches and father in the stands, Bunker received congratulations from young fans.
“I’m just trying to be the best role model that I can be because when I was that age, I looked up to the high schoolers,” Bunker said. “I strived to be like them, so I’m trying to set a good example for them.”
Bunker has now reached state in two of his three sports and aims to complete the trifecta in the spring.
“That’s been my goal for a while,” Bunker said. “I knew last year I fell short in football. I made it in wrestling and fell short there, too. I qualified but got knocked out day one. In track, I fell short in sectionals, so I knew coming into my senior year it was my goal to make state in all three sports. I’m two-thirds of the way done.”
After finishing as runner-up a season ago, Owen Seffrood eyed the No. 1 spot. He set himself up strong, earning a first-round bye with his 44-3 record. He then dominated Owen Breuning of Lodi with an 11-3 major decision. Breuning scored on three escapes.
In the semifinal, Seffrood matched up with Prairie du Chien’s Rhett Koening. In 2022, Koenig won his third state title with a 51-2 record at 132 pounds. It took double overtime to determine a winner, but Koenig prevailed 4-3 on a penalty call.
Koenig went on the defeat Brody Hart in the championship match 7-6, becoming a four-time state champion. He became the 23rd wrestler to do so, earning titles at 106, 113, 132 and 138 pounds.
The loss left a bitter taste in Seffrood’s mouth, which propelled him to a 20-8 major decision over Kaden Clark Saturday morning. Seffrood took Clark down multiple times and let him escape, looking to win by a 30-15 technical fall, but he ran out of time. In the third-place match, Seffrood prevailed 3-2.
All three of Sugar River’s state qualifiers finished fifth.
In his third trip to state, Mason Mau reached the podium. He went 3-2 with two pins and a 13-6 major decision. To earn fifth, he sought revenge against Christopher Karbash who had sent him to the consolation bracket. Mau and Karbash wrestled each other four times in the postseason. Mau defeated Karbash in regionals by sudden victory, while Karbash won 6-3 in sectionals.
Endres, too, went 3-2 with three decisions. He faced rival Aird for the third time in three weeks but could not surpass his foe.
Eli Leonard had a different route to fifth, falling in the semifinals to eventual champion Zane Licht. With his 152-pound title, Licht ended his senior year undefeated as a back-to-back state champion. Leonard won with two decisions and a technical fall.
Parkview-Albany’s Wesley Egan finished sixth. He earned a spot in the fifth-place match with a 16-6 major decision over Zach Earnes. Koy Hopke won the 220-pound bracket, spending just over a minute on the mat. With the win, Hopke became a three-time state champion.
The remaining local state qualifiers — Joe Lohmar, Jack Dubach, Marcus McIntyre, CJ Schuh, Breylin Goebel, Maddox Goebel, Sam Schwengels, Ross Crist and Wyatt Egan — did not place.
