Senior Jens Lantz of Ellworth became the 13th wrestler in WIAA State Tournament history to win four individual championships in a career Saturday at the Kohl Center in Madison, Wis.
Lantz captured the crown in the 126-pound weight class by technical fall over Sage Soppa of Abbotsford/Colby with a score of 25-7. Lantz upped his record to 41-1 on the season. He was the 120 champion last season, the 113 winner in 2012 and the 103 gold medalist in 2011.
Five previous champions in Division 1 added another title with a win in the finals. Senior Ben Thornton of La Crosse Central finishes the season undefeated at 50-0 with a 10-0 major decision over Zach Hasselberger of Stoughton in the 120 championship match.
Senior Robert Lee of Kaukauna, the 113 champion in 2012, pinned last year’s 120 champion Josh Bird of Burlington at 5:13 in the 132 title bout. He improved his record to 46-3. Senior Jared Scharenbrock of Sun Prairie remained undefeated at 51-0 by winning his second straight title. He notched a 7-3 victory over Mohamed Fall of Milwaukee Bradley in the final.
Sophomore Beau Breske of Hartford won his second straight title with a 10-1 major decision over Jon Goetz of West Bend West in the 170 final, and senior Tyler Schmidt of Merrill added a second title to his accolades with an 11-2 major decision over La’Ryan Johnson of Kenosha Bradford in the 220-pound championship match.
Senior Wesley Schultz of Sun Prairie was the undefeated champion at 182 after beating Ben Hintze of Merrill by technical fall, 15-0. He completes his final season with a 47-0 mark.
In Division 2, sophomore Hunter Marko of Amery won the gold medal for the second time in two seasons. He scored a 10-3 decision over Taylor Elliot of Prairie du Chien in the 113 final to run his record to 27-1. Senior Gable Frandsen of Ellsworth improved his record to 53-1 to win his second crown, but it wasn’t easy. He edged senior Mitchell Lambrecht of Sheboygan Falls 4-3 in a tie-breaker-1 at 160.
Senior Luke Destiche of Luxemburg-Casco won the 220 title by major decision over Kenny Gates of Amery, giving him his second title. The 13-4 victory improved Destiche’s record to 44-0.
Senior Justin Dolata of Mauston and freshman Devin Bahr of West Salem/Bangor join Destiche as the only other wrestlers to remain undefeated through the course of the season in Division 2. Dolata won the 170 title by fall at 2:53 over Logan Kemmerer of Ellsworth to improve to 33-0, and Bahr finished his first season with a 52-0 record after topping Jordan Meyer of Evansville/Albany 10-4 at 132.
Three prior champions returned to the top of the award stand this season in Division 3. Sophomore Hunter Dischler of Weston/Ithaca won the 113 championship with a 17-5 major decision over Garrett Siolka of Bonduel. He improved his record to 45-2. Junior Kal Gerber of Cameron was a winner in his 120-pound final with a 6-1 decision over Bradon Roen of Riverdale to up his record to 45-2 this season.
Cole Martin of Lancaster improved to 23-0 on the season with a 9-2 decision over Wilder Wichman of Johnson Creek to win gold at 132.
Riley Lull of Riverdale join Martin as the only undefeated wrestlers in Division 3 with a 20-8 major decision over Josh Depies of Random Lake to win the 106 title and run his unblemished record to 49-0.
Ellsworth and Lancaster tallied three individual champions this weekend to lead all programs. Riverdale, Two Rivers, Sun Prairie and West Allis Central had two titles.