Champions were crowned in three divisions at the State Team Wrestling Tournament at the UW Field House Saturday evening.
Wausau West won its second Team Tournament title with a thrilling 28-27 victory over runner-up Kaukauna. The drama came down to the final match of the dual. Needing more than four points with a technical fall or pin to win, Wausau’s Hunter Kuehl prevented State individual runner-up Robert Lee from recording anything more than a 5-1 decision at 120 pounds to determine the state championship.
It appeared early in the match that the Warriors would cruise to the victory. They won six of the first seven matches, including a technical fall by two-time State champion Colin Baine at 126 and a pin by Travis Hettinga at 152; however, three straight decisions by the Galloping Ghosts closed the deficit to 25-13. Following a decision for the Warriors at 285, The Ghosts’ Tres Leon pinned his opponent at 106 and Bailey VanHandel won by a technical fall at 113 to set up the deciding match at 120.
Luxemburg-Casco won its 11th State championship with a 45-21 win over Mauston in the Division 2 championship match, moving into a tie for second for the most team championships won by a program.
The match remained close throughout the first six bouts. Mauston led 15-8 following a pin by Justin Dolata at 160 pounds; however, the Spartans began to roll with a major decision at 170 pounds. That was followed by four consecutive pins at 182, 195, 220 and by two-time individual champion Newton Smerchek at 285 to take a commanding 36-15 lead. The Golden Eagles won with a fall at 106 to break the string, but the Spartans added to the advantage with a pin and a decision in the final two bouts.
Lancaster defeated three-time reigning champion Coleman for the Division 3 title, 38-21. Lancaster won three of the first four matches to go on top 11-3. Coleman showed its versatility to battle back by scoring a technical fall at 152 and moving up 152-pound State individual champion Mason Mergener to win a decision at 170. However, it came on the heels of a Lancaster pin by two-time champion Ethan Soderstrom at 160. The Flying Arrows weathered a Coleman pin at 195 and a major decision at 220 by winning the final four weight classes of the match, including pins by Tyson Wolf and Dustin Reynolds.
It is the first State Team Tournament championship for the Flying Arrows and its second overall.