MADISON — When Bodie Minder pinned Prescott’s Joe Schulte in the first leg of the wrestleback, the Cheesemakers had themselves a medalist at the WIAA Division 2 state wrestling tournament. The Monroe junior would later lose in the third-place match to Denmark’s TJ Weldman 4-0 to take fourth.

“I hope it motivates him. He can still work harder, and now he knows there’s three guys ahead of him,” Monroe head coach Tom Witt said.

Minder (43-12) was a sectional champion at 220 pounds the week before and earned a first-round bye and an automatic bid to the quarterfinals of the three-day event. He entered the tournament ranked seventh in Division 2 at 220 pounds.

In his first match on Feb. 22, Minder lost 9-6 to Xavier’s Mac Strand (36-6), ranked fifth in the state. The loss bumped Minder from a shot at a championship. Later, Minder beat Schulte (28-5), ranked No. 1 in the state going into the tournament, by a score of 10-5 to guarantee a place at the podium.

“That first round match was close. He found himself out of position at one point and that put him behind. If that doesn’t happen, he probably places even higher,” Witt said. 

In the consolation semifinals Feb. 23, Minder pinned St. Croix Central’s Ryan Larson (20-6, ranked second), in 1:36 to advance to the third-place match against Weidman (45-3, fourth).

Minder follows in the trails of former teammates Hayden Arneson (fifth) and Cole Murray (third), who each placed at state in 2017 prior to graduating.

Joining Minder on the mats at the Kohl Center was Monroe junior Alex Witt at 170 pounds. Witt lost his lone match Feb. 21 to Barron’s William Waldofski (31-4), a previous place-winner at state that was upset in the sectionals.

“(Waldofski) was the No. 2 wrestler in the state most of the year,” Tom Witt said.

Alex Witt was tied 0-0 with Waldofski after the first period, but Witt allowed an escape in the second that put him behind 1-0.

“Riding is not Alex’s forte,” Tom Witt said of Alex being in the “up” position for the second period.

Alex Witt would get an escape of his own in the third, but instead of wrestling for overtime, he went on the offensive and was countered in the waning seconds.

“Alex was aggressive, I can’t fault him for that,” Tom Witt said. “He had a great year, and he finished with our best record (42-8).”

Alex stuck around all weekend and was on the mat helping Minder get ready for the Saturday (Feb. 23) matches.

“When he was warming Bodie up on the mat Saturday morning, Alex looked at me and said he didn’t want to stop wrestling here,” Tom Witt said. “He’s motivated. He’s gotten that taste and he wants more.”

Alex Witt didn’t even take a day off, opting to attend a private weekly wrestling training session in Mount Horeb.

“You have to find ways to put extra time in and to work hard, not just on the mat, but in the classroom, too,” Tom Witt said.

With seven sectional qualifiers returning — two more than regional champion Evansville-Albany had total this season — Tom Witt said his team already has lofty goals for next season.

“A team state berth is the ultimate goal. We have a chance, and that’s the goal we set,” coach Witt said. “It takes a lot of extra work.”

The last Monroe team to reach team state was the semifinalist 2001-02 Cheesemakers, which also dumped Stoughton’s string of conference titles that season. Former wrestlers included five state wrestlers that season: Corey Binger, Tim Kainz, Colin Burns and Justin Blackburn.

“Stoughton had five kids in the finals. They have a great youth program and they do all kinds of work outside of the season,” Tom Witt said. “Having two kids at state should motivate our guys. We could maybe get five here next year.”