The prelude to the road to the high school wrestling state finals came to a fitting conclusion for the Gillett/Suring high school co-op team.
The guys who their coach called the most deserving got their just rewards Saturday, as senior Grant Fischer and junior Alex Zeitler advanced out of the WIAA Division 3 Bonduel sectional at Shawano and onto the ultimate hurdle, the finals at Madison’s Kohl Center.
Fischer survived an intense battle in the championship match of the 138-pound division to trip Bonduel’s Travis Wollenberg 5-4 and win the sectional crown. Fischer also scored a technical fall win over A.J. Mischo of Wabeno/Laola in the quarterfinals and a 14-6 victory over Nate Morse of Athens in the semifinal.
Zeitler bounced back from a quarterfinal loss to win a couple of wrestleback matches, including a decisive 2-0 third-place win over Amherst’s James Borgan that put him squarely where he has hoped to be for quite a while.
“I’ve been dreaming about this since I started wrestling in second grade,” said Zeitler, who became the first state qualifier to come out of the Suring half of the Gillett/Suring co-op team. “All of the wrestlers at state are going to be good. … All of the wrestlers at the sectional were really good.”
Zeitler kept it simple in the third-place win, sticking with the sort of stand-ups and single-leg moves that brought him to the sectional.
“They’re probably the two hardest-working kids on the team, and they deserve it the most,” Gillett/Suring coach Mitch Szwet said. “They work hard in school, they’re three-sport athletes and they’re very positive role models to the rest of the kids. If I could pick any two kids who deserve the honor of going to the state finals, it would be those two.”
Gillett/Suring qualified five wrestlers for the sectional. In a 120-pound match, Garrett Kohls was beaten 8-3 by Eric Hamilton of Three Lakes, Broden Bennin lost by fall to Crandon’s Isaiah Doane at 195, and in a 220-pound quarterfinal Dante Carlson was stopped at the 1-minute mark by Jack Lawlis of Almond-Bancroft/Pacelli.
“We thought coming in that both Grant and Alex had a really good chance to get out,” Szwet said. “Alex took the long way to get there. He suffered that tough defeat but kept working hard and good things happened.”
Zeitler noted the benefits of his symbiotic mat relationship with Fischer.
“He’s been my wrestling partner all year in practice,” Zeitler said. “I’m really happy for him, too. I think we’ve helped each other a lot to get better.”
Their willingness to put in the work is what prompted Szwet to name Fischer and Zeitler team captains at the outset of the season.
“Their advancing to state just reinforces what we do in the practice room,” Szwet said. “Alex wrestled six tough minutes in the third-place match. We work hard, and this is why — for the six-minute grind of a match. This proves to him and the rest of the team that hard work pays off.
“I couldn’t be more proud of these guys. It was an extremely successful day. Now they can relax for a day or two and get ready for state.”
DIVISION 3 SECTIONAL
GILLETT/SURING RESULTS
120 - (quarterfinal) Eric Hamilton, Three Lakes, def. Garrett Kohls, 8-3.
138 - (quarterfinal) Grant Fischer def. A.J. Mischo, Wabeno/Laona, 17-2 (tech. fall 3:58); (semifinal) Fischer def. Nate Morse, Athens, 14-6; (title) Fischer def. Travis Wollenberg, Bonduel, 5-4.
152 - (quarterfinal) Alex Lemanski, Edgar, def. Alex Zeitler, fall 0:38; (wrestleback) Zeitler def. Aaron Cole, Rosholt, 11-3; (3rd place wrestleback) Zeitler def. James Borgan, Amherst, 2-0.
195 - (quarterfinal) Isaiah Doane, Crandon, def. Broden Bennin, fall 2:48; (wrestleback) Max Villnow, Amherst, def. Bennin, 19-6.
220 - Jack Lawlis, Almond-Bancroft/Pacelli, def. Dante Carlson, fall 1:00.
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