THE TOURNAMENT: The 74th Annual Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association Individual Wrestling Tournament will be held Thursday-Saturday, Feb. 23-25, at the Kohl Center on the campus of the University of Wisconsin in Madison, Wis.
TICKET INFORMATION: Ticket prices per tournament session are $8. Tickets are available on-line on the WIAA website until two hours prior to any respective session with the printing of the ticket by the purchaser. Tickets are also available at the Kohl Center during the tournament.
NEW GATE SECURITY PROCEDURES: Everyone entering the Kohl Center is now subject to pass through metal detectors. Fans and media are encouraged to arrive early to avoid missing the start of each session. For the semifinals and finals, gates will open 90 minutes prior to the start of competition to accommodate the larger crowds. For all other sessions, doors will open 60 minutes prior to the start of competition.
THE SCHEDULE: Below is the schedule of competition for the individual tournament. All weight classes will be wrestled in consecutive order through the classes on a “next available mat” basis within the mat assignments. Note the change of the starting times for the sessions Saturday.
Thursday, Feb. 23
Session 1:
Division 1 Preliminaries - 3 p.m.
Division 1 Quarterfinals - approximately 5:15 p.m.
Divisions 2 & 3 Preliminaries - approximately 7:15 p.m.
Friday, Feb. 24
Session 2:
Division 1 Consolations - 10 a.m.
Divisions 2 & 3 Quarterfinals - approximately 11:15 a.m.
Division 1 Consolation Semifinals - approximately 1:45 p.m.
Divisions 2 & 3 Consolation Semifinals - approx. 2:45 p.m.
Session 3:
Division 1 Semifinals at 7 p.m. on mats 1 & 2
Division 2 Semifinals at 7 p.m. on mats 3 & 4
Division 3 Semifinals at 7 p.m. on mats 5 & 6
Saturday, Feb. 25
Session 4:
Division 1 Consolation Wrestlebacks at 10 a.m. on mats 1 & 2
Division 2 Consolation Wrestlebacks at 10 a.m. on mats 3 & 4
Division 3 Consolation Wrestlebacks at 10 a.m. on mats 5 & 6
Note: Third-place and fifth-place matches will run concurrently by weight class within divisions after all consolation matches are completed.
Session 5:
Division 1 Championships at 5 p.m. on mat 1
Division 2 Championships at 5 p.m. on mat 2
Division 3 Championships at 5 p.m. on mat 3
FINALS ON FS WISCONSIN: The championship finals will be aired live on FS Wisconsin. Please check local cable listings for the FS Wisconsin channel in your area.
ALL MATCHES STREAMED LIVE: All three mats of the championship finals will be streamed on FoxSportsGo.com without authentication. The live programming aired on FS Wisconsin will also be streamed on FoxSportsGo.com with cable provider authentication. In addition, all six mats of the pre-finals matches will be streamed live and viewed with a subscription to the NFHS Network. To purchase a subscription to the live programming for only $9.95 per month, log-on to www.wiaa.tv or www.nfhsnetwork.com and click on the subscription image in the middle of the page. Archived streams of the sessions will be available on demand on www.nfhsnetwork.com 72 hours after the tournament without requirement of a subscription.
2017 TOURNAMENT BY THE NUMBERS: There will be champions crowned in 14 weight classes in three divisions. Wrestlers who finished first or second in each weight class at last weekend’s eight Division 1 sectionals qualified for the State Tournament. The top three finishers in each weight class at the four Divisions 2 and 3 sectionals qualify for the tourney. There are 224 qualifiers for the championships in Division 1 and 168 in both Divisions 2 and 3. There are 220 programs represented at this year’s individual championships, including 84 from Division 1, and 72 in Division 2 and 64 in Division 3.
MORE NUMBERS: Oak Creek, Pewaukee and Slinger have qualified the most wrestlers in the Division 1 field with eight apiece. Kaukauna, Menomonee Falls and Waterford are next in line with seven. Ellsworth and Luxemburg-Casco have the distinction of having qualified the most individuals in Division 2 with nine. Lomira and River Valley each have seven. In Division 3, Stratford claims the most qualifiers with 11. Fennimore and Random Lake are next with nine, and Reedsville has seven qualifiers. There are 25 former champions in the tournament field this year and 22 seeking to defend the title they won last year.
TOTAL INDIVIDUAL TITLES BY SCHOOL: Mineral Point has produced the most individual championships with 50. Stoughton is next with 46, followed by Wisconsin Rapids Lincoln with 44 and then Milwaukee South with 39. Others with significant totals are Luxemburg-Casco with 36, Athens with 32, Ellsworth with 30 and Coleman with 29.
TRACKING THE CHAMPIONS–DIVISION 1: The Division 1 field features 12 former champions, including 10 of last year’s champions returning to the tournament in pursuit of another crown. Senior Brady Koontz of Stevens Point won the 106-pound class last season. He moves up a division into 113 seeking a second straight title with a 33-0 mark. His twin brother, Dylan, also returns in pursuit of his second consecutive crown. He went undefeated last year to win the 113 championship. This season, he enters the tournament at 120 with a 34-2 mark. Senior Brandon Klein of Stoughton won the 106 championship in 2015 and failed to place last year after moving up to 113. He qualifies this year at 132 with a 49-3 record. Sophomore Kevin Meicher of Middleton broke onto the State wrestling scene last year to win the title at 126 in his freshman campaign. He moves up two classes this year to contend for the title at 138. Meicher advances to the State meet with a 43-4 record this season. A trio of former champions grace the 145-pound weight class, including two of last year’s champions. Senior Jaden Van Maanen of La Crosse Central moves up two weight classes after winning gold at 132 last year. He enters action this week with a 45-0 mark. The other 2016 champion in the 145 field is senior Garrett Model of Stoughton. He moves up from 138 to challenge for the title with a record of 43-5 this season. Senior Jaden Winchel of Sparta won the Division 2 championship at 132 in 2015. He moved up a division and two weight classes last year, falling out of title contention in the second round. He enters the tournament this year with a 38-3 mark. At 160, junior Hayden Krein of Sparta is seeking his second straight title. He conquered the 152-pound division last season and returns to challenge the rest of the field at 160 with a 32-1 record this season. The 182-pound weight class also boasts a pair of last year’s champions in the field. Senior Jackson Hemauer of DeForest won the title at 160 a year ago. He moves up two classes to contend for the title with a 45-1 record. Senior Billy Pitzer of Milton climbs one weight class after winning the crown at 170 in 2016. He enters the tournament with a 44-4 record. Senior Jacob Raschka of Pewaukee is seeking to defend the title he won last year at 195. He returns to the weight this season with a 48-2 record. Senior Blaze Beltran of Pewaukee seeks his second consecutive championship at 285. His record stands at 48-1 entering the first round of competition at State.
TRACKING THE CHAMPIONS–DIVISION 2: The Division 2 field includes six former champions and a trio of multiple-time champions. Sophomore Bryce Bosman of Luxemburg-Casco began his prep career with a championship at the 106-pound weight class. He returns to the tournament this season with a 43-3 record at 113. Senior Brock Bergelin of Denmark is a two-time champion. He moves up a weight to 120 with a 34-1 record after earning the gold at 113 last season and at 106 in 2015. Junior Sam Stuhl of Ellsworth is another two-time champion in pursuit of his third title. He moves up a weight class to 132 this season after winning the title at 126 last year and the 120 crown in 2015. He enters the tournament unbeaten this season at 43-0. Junior Ryan Hannah of Viroqua moves up a weight class to 138 after claiming the title at 132 last year. He has compiled a 45-2 record this season. The third competitor in the division returning to the meet with two championships to his ledger is senior Devin Bahr of West Salem/Bangor. He was the champion at 132 in 2014 and at 152 last season. He has his sights on a third title and his second straight at 152 with a 35-0 record. Senior Nate Trepanier of Oconto Falls jumps up two divisions this season after winning at 145 last year. He qualifies at 160 this season with a 43-1 record.
TRACKING THE CHAMPIONS–DIVISION 3: There are nine former champions in the division with eight returning to defend the titles they won last year. In addition, there are three multiple-time champs. Remarkably, five Stratford wrestlers return in their quest for repeat championships. Three of them are attempting to win their third straight championship. Junior A.J. Schoenfuss won the 106-pound crown in 2015 and the 120 title last year. He will attempt to defend his title at 120 with a 32-5 record this season. Junior Jeremy Schoenherr moves up a two weight classes after claiming the title at 126 a year ago and at 113 in 2015. He enters action undefeated at 138 this season with a limited number of matches at 14-0. Senior Mason Kauffman has sights on his second title. Last year, he moved up four classes to finish runner-up at 152 after capturing the gold at 126 in 2015. He has compiled an undefeated 29-0 mark this season. Senior Kamren Bornbach will attempt to add to the titles he has won at 182 the last two seasons. He moves up two weight classes to 220 with a 36-1 mark on the season. Senior Tyson Kauffman was crowned champion at 285 in 2016. He will contend for his second straight championship at the weight class with a 12-5 record entering action at the State Tournament. Junior Ryan Anderson of Clear Lake returns to the 106-pound weight class attempting to win back-to-back titles. He qualifies this season without having suffered any setbacks with a 42-0 record. The 160-pound weight class has a pair of champions in the bracket. Sophomore Brock Schlough of Boyceville has qualified at the weight, moving up three weight classes after winning the title at 138 a season ago. He comes into the State Tournament with a 40-1 record this year. Senior Bradon Roen of Riverdale moves up from 152 to challenge Schlough and the remainder of the talented and experienced field of contenders. He has compiled a 19-2 tally this season. Senior Helton Vandenbush of Random Lake possesses the crown at 170. He’s back seeking to retain the title with a 43-1 mark entering action this week.
UNBLEMISHED MARKS: There are 16 wrestlers who enter the State Tournament this weekend undefeated, including eight in Division 1, five in Division 2 and three in Division 3. The eight Division 1 wrestlers entering the State Tournament with perfect records are sophomore Eric Barnett of Hortonville (41-0) at 106; senior Brady Koontz of Stevens Point (33-0) at 113; senior Francesco Schiro of Madison La Follette (42-0) at 120; junior Jacob DeMeyer of Rhinelander (40-0) and senior Jaden Van Maanen of La Crosse Central (45-0) at 145; junior Jared Krattiger of Waterford (46-0) at 182; seniors Ben Kitslaar of Bay Port (41-0); and Wyatt Wells of Beaver Dam (46-0) at 220. Among the ranks of the unbeaten in Division 2 are senior Dustin Hatfield of River Valley (38-0) at 126; junior Sam Stuhl of Ellsworth (43-0) and sophomore Eric Bauer of Kewaskum (36-0) at 132; senior Devin Bahr of West Salem/Bangor (35-0) at 152; and senior Lucius Rinehart of Evansville/Albany (34-0) at 195. In Division 3, those still without a loss heading into the State Tournament are junior Ryan Anderson of Clear Lake (42-0) at 106, junior Jeremy Schoenherr of Stratford (14-0) at 138 and senior Mason Kauffman of Stratford (29-0) at 152. There are an additional 29 wrestlers in the meet that have suffered defeat only once this season.
HISTORY OF CHAMPIONS: For a complete list of all-time individual wrestling champions and the number of champions by school, access the WIAA website and navigate to the State Results Archive page from the wrestling homepage.
NEED THE QUALIFIERS?: State Tournament brackets and tournament schedule are available in the restricted media area of the WIAA website or by accessing the
TrackWrestling.com site at:
http://www.trackwrestling.com.
NEED CREDENTIALS?: Please review all credential policies stated in the WIAA Media Policies Reference Guide. Requesting media credentials for the 2017 WIAA Individual Wrestling Tournament must be done by noon, Tuesday, Feb. 21. Complete and submit the on-line credential request form on the restricted media area of the WIAA website. Verification of approved credentials is also available in the media restricted area.
CREDENTIAL PICK-UP: The media credential pick-up and media entry will be at the Kohl Center media gate ONLY (located at the northeast corner of the Kohl Center off of Frances Street). Please do not attempt to enter with media credentials from spectator entrances. Please plan to purchase parking and park prior to entering the Kohl Center to pick up credentials. No temporary parking allowance will be given in nearby lots to pick up credentials at the Kohl Center media gate.
NEED PARKING IN UW LOTS?: The deadline for pre-purchasing parking was Feb. 9. For media not able to make commitments for parking permits two weeks prior to the event, go directly to the lot of choice and attempt to purchase available parking at the entrance of the lots near the Kohl Center. If you arrive early, available parking may be available in any of the lots.
NEED RESULTS?: Access results through the WIAA website by navigating to the wrestling homepage and selecting the Tournament Information option in the right column or by accessing the TrackWrestling.com website.
FOLLOW STATE MEET ON SOCIAL MEDIA: Receive updates of the State Individual Wrestling Tournament on the WIAA State Tournament Twitter account @wiaawistate with the hashtag #wiaawr. Also follow daily recaps on Facebook.