Three Oconto Falls High School wrestlers stamped their tickets to the WIAA Division 2 state finals after capturing two sectional titles and a second-place finish Saturday at OFHS.
Senior Dewey Krueger (152 pounds) will return for his fourth appearance at state, while senior Sam Konitzer (126) and sophomore Nate Trepanier (145) will each make his first trip to the Kohl Center on Thursday.
Krueger pinned two of his three sectional opponents, including a quarterfinal match in which he put Shawn Timm, of Ripon, on his back in 46 seconds.
“It feels great. My goal going in was to dominate all the way through, and I did it,” Krueger said.
Krueger (39-0) said he needed to make adjustments in the semifinal match against Luxemburg-Casco’s Seth Peters (33-10) for his third win of the day.
“I wrestled a kid that I wrestled earlier in the year, and I had to change my style a little bit in that match, but I came through,” Krueger said.
Krueger captured the title with a 20-5 technical fall against Wrightstown’s Ben Klister (31-14) with 11 seconds remaining in the match.
Konitzer said he was happy to live up to his family’s wrestling legacy.
“My grandpa was the first-ever qualifier from Oconto Falls and a first-place winner, so it has been a dream of mine to be the highest achieving Konitzer in state,” Konitzer said. “When you go all year cutting weight, when you get to win and the feeling of victory and going to state, there is nothing like it.”
Konitzer (37-3) pinned Wittenberg-Birnamwood’s Zach Urquhart at 3:08 for his second pin of the day. In the quarterfinals, he defeated Ty Gaurke, of Mosinee, at 3:23.
Trepanier lost the title match to Josh Verbeten, of Wrightstown, 3-2 in the tiebreaking round after defeating Wittenberg-Birnamwood’s Griffin Magee 7-0 in the quarterfinals and Two Rivers’ Chandler Donati 3-2 in the semifinals.
Trepanier entered his season with lofty goals, according to Krueger.
“At the beginning of the year, he told me he wanted to be a state champion and I told him he had to work for it,” Krueger said. “I have been in the room with him after practice working on a couple of things and he helps me a lot, too.”
Bryce Ash (132) and Brett Ash (138) both fell one win short of state with losses in their third-place matches.
Bryce Ash, a sophomore, lost 7-6 to Sam Tuttle, of Nekoosa/Assumption/Port Edwards. Brett Ash, a senior, lost 7-4 to Mosinee’s Riley Ivaska.
“(They) could have gone either way, and that is just how it goes, but I would say three is about where we wanted to be” heading into state, Oconto Falls co-coach Marc Kinzinger said.
The Panthers had 11 sectional qualifiers, but sophomore Mac Winkler (30-18) was pulled from the 182-pound competition for medical reasons.
WIAA DIVISION 2
OCONTO FALLS SECTIONAL
At Oconto Falls High School
OCONTO FALLS RESULTS
106 - (quarterfinal) Josh Ehster, Mosinee, def. Bryce Peterson 13-0; (consolation semfinal) Brody Kust, Two Rivers, def. Bryce Peterson on injury default :29.
120 - (quarterfinal) River Pawelski, Southern Door, def. Noah Stary 6-0; 126 - (quarterfinal) Sam Konitzer def. Ty Gaurke, fall 3:23; (semifinal) Konitzer def. Josh VandeHei, Luxemburg-Casco, 5-1; (title) Konitzer def. Zach Urquhart, Wittenberg-Birnamwood, fall 3:08.
132 - (quarterfinal) Bryce Ash def. Nicholas Retzlaff, Ripon, 8-4; (semifinal) Michael Bertrand def. Ash 10-4; (consolation semifinals) Ash def. Stetson Potrykus, Wittenberg-Birnamwood, fall 1:19; (third place) Sam Tuttle, Nekoosa/Assumption/Port Edwards, def. Ash 7-6.
138 - (quarterfinal) Mason Berceau, Luxemburg-Casco, def. Brett Ash 9-3; (consolation semfinals) Ash def. Jamie Sarver, Nekoosa/Assumption/Port Edwards, fall 3:12; (third place) Riley Ivaska, Mosinee, def. Ash 7-4.
145 - (quarterfinal) Nate Trepanier def. Griffin Magee, Wittenberg-Birnamwood, 7-0; (semifinal) Trepanier def. Chandler Donati, Two Rivers, 3-2; (title) Josh Verbeten, Wrightstown, def. Trepanier in OT 3-2.
152 - (quarterfinal) Dewey Krueger def. Shawn Timm, Ripon, fall :46; (semifinal) Krueger def. Seth Peters, Luxemburg-Casco, fall 3:43; (title) Krueger def. Ben Klister, Wrightstown, tech. fall 20-5 at 5:49.
160 - (quarterfinal) Cullen Ducat, Luxemburg-Casco, def. Jake Yatso 6-2; (consolation semifinal) Michael Rotta, Waupaca, def. Yatso 12-9.
170 - (quarterfinal) Alex Peplinski, Wittenberg-Birnamwood def. Brice Delzer, fall 3:03; (consolation semifinal) Brandon Buechler, Wrightstown def. Delzer, fall 2:25.
285 - (quarterfinal) Cody Jacobson, Ripon, def. Kaleb Westcott, fall 4:37.
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