BELOIT - The Monroe wrestling team had six wrestlers finish in the top two to qualify for the sectional, but for the second straight year, Evansville-Albany won the WIAA Division 2 regional championship to capture the team sectional berth.
The Cheesemakers had three regional champions, including senior Cole Murray at 138 pounds, junior Sam Kind (160) and junior Dempzy Foley (170).
Three others finished second Saturday at Beloit Turner High School to qualify for the individual sectional Feb. 18: seniors David Andrews (120), Hayden Arneson (195) and Kyle Walter (heavyweight).
Evansville-Albany outdistanced Monroe for the regional championship 237-207. Brodhead-Juda took fourth (148) and Sugar River was fifth (135.5) in the seven team regional.
"The reality was we weren't healthy," Monroe coach Tom Witt said. "We still had enough chances to win it. The three champions we had were all the No. 1 seed. I think if we were fully healthy we would have fared well. Give credit to Evansville."
Murray (30-9) received a first-round bye. He then defeated Beloit Turner's Stefan Golden 15-2. In the championship match, Murray pinned Sugar River's John Chenoweth in 1 minute, 15 seconds.
Kind (25-5) also received a first-round bye. He then edged Evansville-Albany's Tyler Aasen 7-6. Kind got a takedown with about six seconds to go to beat Aasen. Kind pinned Beloit Turner's Giovanni Haney in 5:55 in the title match.
Foley (30-8) was just as dominant. After a first-round bye, Foley pinned Sugar River's Calvin Binger in 49 seconds. He then defeated Evansville-Albany's Miles Liesse 12-8.
"He was close to getting that pin record," Witt said of Foley. He's two away now."
Andrews (20-14), the fifth-seed, pinned Clinton's Gavin Rankins in 3:02 in the first round. Beloit Turner's Trey Bivens then pinned him in 3:02 in a quarterfinal match. Andrews rebounded by pinning Sugar River's Justin Knoebl in 3:13. In the second-place match, Andrews beat Evansville-Albany's Adam Staver 7-4.
With the win, Andrews avenged two earlier losses to Staver.
"I knew David could hang with Staver and beat him if he didn't make mistakes," Witt said.
After a first-round bye, Arneson (29-6) pinned Beloit Turner's Cody Krueger in 1:04. Due to a quad injury, Arneson forfeited his championship match against Evansville-Albany's Lucius Rinehart and took second. Walter, like the other top two-seeded Monroe wrestlers, had a first-round bye.
In his first match, Walter (26-10) pinned Sugar River's Daniel Enloe in 2:59. Evansville-Albany's Brandon Lange then pinned Walter in 4:42 in the title match. Walter came back and took second based on his previous win over Enloe.
"Hayden's got a bad quadriceps and that's why he didn't wrestle against Rinehart," Witt said. "It just didn't make sense to have him out there and wrestle when he's hurt. We need him to get back and get ready to make it back to Madison."
The Cheesemakers had three wrestlers take third and just miss qualifying for the sectional, including freshmen Alex Witt (132), Patrick Rielly (152) and Bodie Minder (220).
"It's good for the future and next year," Witt said of the freshmen's performances.
The regional champions for Evansville-Albany were Chase Katzenmeyer (126), Nolan Kicmol (145), Tyler Schmidt (152), Rinehart (195) and Lange (heavyweight). The two Blue Devils who finished second were Liesse (170) and Austin Anderson (182).
Five Brodhead-Juda wrestlers are moving on to the sectional. Jackson Hauri (132) and Tyler Hoesly (182) each won regional titles. The trio of Cardinal wrestlers who placed second includes Russell Waeffler (113), Kaleb Erb (152) and Trent Davis (220). Davis came back from a 7-4 deficit to takedown and get a near-fall to beat Minder 9-7.
After a first-round bye, Hauri pinned Sugar River's Trevor Enloe in 53 seconds. In the championship match, Hauri beat Beloit Turner's Cole Walker 4-0. After byes in the first two rounds, Hoesly clipped the Blue Devils' Anderson in the title match 3-2.
Sugar River's Max Gerner (126) and John Chenoweth each took second and will move on to the sectional. Both Gerner and Chenoweth went 3-1.
Gerner's only loss came to the Blue Devils' Katzenmeyer. He pinned Monroe's Aiden Sweeney in 1:12 and defeated Beloit Turner's Jack Sagaitis 12-1. Chenoweth beat Evansville-Albany's Ben Barmore 15-6 and lost by a pin to Murray.
The sectional qualifiers will look to qualify for state. The top three from the sectional will qualify for state.
"It won't be easy for any of them," Witt said.
The Cheesemakers had three regional champions, including senior Cole Murray at 138 pounds, junior Sam Kind (160) and junior Dempzy Foley (170).
Three others finished second Saturday at Beloit Turner High School to qualify for the individual sectional Feb. 18: seniors David Andrews (120), Hayden Arneson (195) and Kyle Walter (heavyweight).
Evansville-Albany outdistanced Monroe for the regional championship 237-207. Brodhead-Juda took fourth (148) and Sugar River was fifth (135.5) in the seven team regional.
"The reality was we weren't healthy," Monroe coach Tom Witt said. "We still had enough chances to win it. The three champions we had were all the No. 1 seed. I think if we were fully healthy we would have fared well. Give credit to Evansville."
Murray (30-9) received a first-round bye. He then defeated Beloit Turner's Stefan Golden 15-2. In the championship match, Murray pinned Sugar River's John Chenoweth in 1 minute, 15 seconds.
Kind (25-5) also received a first-round bye. He then edged Evansville-Albany's Tyler Aasen 7-6. Kind got a takedown with about six seconds to go to beat Aasen. Kind pinned Beloit Turner's Giovanni Haney in 5:55 in the title match.
Foley (30-8) was just as dominant. After a first-round bye, Foley pinned Sugar River's Calvin Binger in 49 seconds. He then defeated Evansville-Albany's Miles Liesse 12-8.
"He was close to getting that pin record," Witt said of Foley. He's two away now."
Andrews (20-14), the fifth-seed, pinned Clinton's Gavin Rankins in 3:02 in the first round. Beloit Turner's Trey Bivens then pinned him in 3:02 in a quarterfinal match. Andrews rebounded by pinning Sugar River's Justin Knoebl in 3:13. In the second-place match, Andrews beat Evansville-Albany's Adam Staver 7-4.
With the win, Andrews avenged two earlier losses to Staver.
"I knew David could hang with Staver and beat him if he didn't make mistakes," Witt said.
After a first-round bye, Arneson (29-6) pinned Beloit Turner's Cody Krueger in 1:04. Due to a quad injury, Arneson forfeited his championship match against Evansville-Albany's Lucius Rinehart and took second. Walter, like the other top two-seeded Monroe wrestlers, had a first-round bye.
In his first match, Walter (26-10) pinned Sugar River's Daniel Enloe in 2:59. Evansville-Albany's Brandon Lange then pinned Walter in 4:42 in the title match. Walter came back and took second based on his previous win over Enloe.
"Hayden's got a bad quadriceps and that's why he didn't wrestle against Rinehart," Witt said. "It just didn't make sense to have him out there and wrestle when he's hurt. We need him to get back and get ready to make it back to Madison."
The Cheesemakers had three wrestlers take third and just miss qualifying for the sectional, including freshmen Alex Witt (132), Patrick Rielly (152) and Bodie Minder (220).
"It's good for the future and next year," Witt said of the freshmen's performances.
The regional champions for Evansville-Albany were Chase Katzenmeyer (126), Nolan Kicmol (145), Tyler Schmidt (152), Rinehart (195) and Lange (heavyweight). The two Blue Devils who finished second were Liesse (170) and Austin Anderson (182).
Five Brodhead-Juda wrestlers are moving on to the sectional. Jackson Hauri (132) and Tyler Hoesly (182) each won regional titles. The trio of Cardinal wrestlers who placed second includes Russell Waeffler (113), Kaleb Erb (152) and Trent Davis (220). Davis came back from a 7-4 deficit to takedown and get a near-fall to beat Minder 9-7.
After a first-round bye, Hauri pinned Sugar River's Trevor Enloe in 53 seconds. In the championship match, Hauri beat Beloit Turner's Cole Walker 4-0. After byes in the first two rounds, Hoesly clipped the Blue Devils' Anderson in the title match 3-2.
Sugar River's Max Gerner (126) and John Chenoweth each took second and will move on to the sectional. Both Gerner and Chenoweth went 3-1.
Gerner's only loss came to the Blue Devils' Katzenmeyer. He pinned Monroe's Aiden Sweeney in 1:12 and defeated Beloit Turner's Jack Sagaitis 12-1. Chenoweth beat Evansville-Albany's Ben Barmore 15-6 and lost by a pin to Murray.
The sectional qualifiers will look to qualify for state. The top three from the sectional will qualify for state.
"It won't be easy for any of them," Witt said.
