THE TOURNAMENT: The 31st Annual Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association State Team Wrestling Tournament will take place Friday and Saturday, March 4-5. The tournament is held at the Field House on the University of Wisconsin campus in Madison, Wis.
TICKET INFORMATION: Ticket prices for the tourney are $16 plus online fees for the Friday session and $11 plus fees for the Saturday sessions. They can be purchased on-line on the WIAA website through GoFan, the WIAA ticketing partner, at: https://gofan.co/app/school/WIAA2.
COVID PROVISIONS: Fully vaccinated individuals should consider wearing a mask in areas of high likelihood of transmission. In addition, masks are strongly encouraged for individuals not fully vaccinated.
TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE AND PAIRINGS: The single elimination tournament features eight teams in Division 1 and four each in Divisions 2 and 3. Here are the pairings and schedule for the divisions:
Division 1
Quarterfinals - Friday, March 4 - 5:30 p.m.
Match-1: #1 Kaukauna (10-0) vs. #8 Franklin (20-5)
Match-2: #4 Stoughton (15-7) vs. #5 Nicolet (11-0)
Match-3: #3 Holmen (17-5) vs. #6 Arrowhead (6-1)
Match-4: #2 Marshfield (20-6) vs. #7 Muskego (12-1)
Semifinals - Friday, March 4 - 7:30 p.m.
Match-5: Match-1 Winner vs. Match-2 Winner
Match-6: Match-3 Winner vs. Match-4 Winner
Final - Saturday, March 5 - 3 p.m.
Division 1 Championship Match
Division 2
Semifinals - Saturday, March 5 - 10 a.m.
Match-1: #1 Amery (7-1) vs. #4 Prairie du Chien (18-5)
Match-2: #2 Luxemburg-Casco (17-0) vs. #3 Winneconne (9-1)
Final - Saturday, March 5 - 3 p.m.
Division 2 Championship Match
Division 3
Semifinals - Saturday, March 5 - 10 a.m.
Match-1: #1 Coleman (16-1) vs. #4 Random Lake (12-6)
Match-2: #2 Fennimore (14-2) vs. #3 St. Croix Falls (9-1)
Final - Saturday, March 5 - 3 p.m.
Division 3 Championship Match
TOURNAMENT LIVE STREAMS: The quarterfinals, semifinals and finals of the WIAA State Team Wrestling Tournament will be streamed live on the WIAA.TV portal of the NFHS Network on a consumer subscription basis. To purchase a subscription to the live programming for only $10.99 per month, log-on to www.wiaa.tv or www.nfhsnetwork.com and click on the subscribe button in the header of the page. Archived streams of the events will be available on demand on the NFHS Network 72 hours after the tournament.
TEAM TOURNAMENT OVERVIEW: The first WIAA State Wrestling Tournament was held in 1940. Until 1992, team champions were determined by a point system based on individuals’ placing in what is currently the individual championships. For the first time in 1992, a team champion was determined by a separate tournament series involving dual matches. UW-Stevens Point hosted the first two championships, and West Allis Central hosted the meet from 1994-2005. The tournament has been held at the UW Field House from 2006-2020. The State Tournament was held in three separate locations in 2021 during the COVID-19 pandemic. This season, there were 334 programs entering the tournament series, including 128 in Division 1, 103 in Division 2 and 103 in Division 3.
LAST YEAR: Kaukauna won the Division 1 team title by ousting former three-time defending champion Stoughton 38-26 in the championship match. Amery won the Division 2 championship by defeating Prairie du Chien 40-31 in the title bout. Mineral Point defeated 2020 champion Coleman 33-32 to capture the Division 3 gold trophy.
ABOUT THE DIVISION 1 FIELD: Defending champion Kaukauna was issued the top seed in the bracket. The Galloping Ghosts qualify for the 13th time in the last 15 seasons and for the 20th time overall. They had a string of five straight appearances from 1999-2003 and have surpassed that streak with their current run of 10 consecutive appearances. They have won a total of five State championships, including four straight from 2014-17. The Galloping Ghosts have also finished runner-up four times, including 2000, 2003, 2008 and 2013. They qualified for State this year as champions of the Neenah Sectional following a 50-26 victory over Pulaski in the final. Second-seeded Marshfield qualifies for the State Team Tournament for the sixth time overall and for the fourth time in the last five seasons. The Tigers advanced to the semifinals in 2002, 2003 and again in 2019, which represents their furthest advance in the tournament. They are the champions of the Wausau East Sectional by virtue of their 40-27 victory over River Falls. Third-seeded Holmen is making its sixth straight appearance in the tournament field. The Vikings advance to State for the 12th time overall. Their most notable achievement was a runner-up finish in 2018. Holmen qualifies this year after rolling to a 65-9 win over Beaver Dam/Wayland Academy in the Waunakee Sectional final. Last year’s runner-up Stoughton is the fourth seed. The Vikings are making their ninth straight appearance and their 16th overall. They have won 10 State team titles overall, including three since the advent of the team tournament format. Those came consecutively from 2018-20. Prior to the team tournament, the Vikings won seven State championships (1968, 1972, 1975-77, 1987-88). In addition, they have finished runner-up 11 times (1980, 1981, 1982, 1985, 1986, 2001, 2004, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2021). This season, they continue their quest for an 11th title after defeating Mukwonago 33-28 in the sectional held at Milton. Nicolet is the fifth seed after a 50-28 win over Brookfield East in the sectional final hosted by the Knights. They will be making their debut in the State Team Tournament. Sixth-seeded Arrowhead is making its 11th State appearance and its third in the past four seasons. The Warhawks had an impressive string of five successive appearances from 2004-2008. They have a pair of runner-up finishes in their history at the tournament. Those came in 2005 and 2011. The Warhawks’ return to the tournament field comes as a result of a 42-25 win over Oshkosh West in the Hartford Sectional final. Muskego is the seventh seed. The Warriors have qualified for the 10th time overall and for the first time since a string of three consecutive appearances came to an end after the 2010 season. The Warriors’ crowning achievement to this point was the State title won in 1994. They also have a runner-up finish in 1963, which was prior to the inception of the dual team championship format. The Warriors advance to the final eight this season with a 71-0 blanking of West Allis Central in the Pewaukee Sectional final. Franklin is seeded eighth. The Sabers are making their first appearance since 2012 and the program’s 10th overall. Their furthest advance at State was to the semifinals in their first-ever appearance in 2001. This year, the Sabers downed Burlington 38-29 in the final of the Racine St. Catherine’s Sectional to advance to the State quarterfinals.
ABOUT THE DIVISION 2 FIELD: Defending champion Amery is the top seed in the bracket. The Warriors will make their second appearance after winning the title in their first-ever State Team Tournament last year. They earned their opportunity to defend the title with a 54-19 triumph over West Salem/Bangor in the final of the Somerset Sectional. Second-seeded Luxemburg-Casco is making its 18th appearance in the team tournament and the first since 2018. The Spartans enjoyed a string of eight consecutive appearances that ended in 2008. They have won Division 2 titles 11 times (1992, 1994, 1996, 1999, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2012, 2013 and 2018). The Spartans also added runner-up finishes in 1991, 2007, 2011, 2017 and 2018. They return to the State semifinals in pursuit of the program’s 13th title by beating Oconto Falls 60-10 in the Amherst Sectional final. Third-seeded Winneconne is making its second consecutive appearance in the team tournament after qualifying for the first time in 2021. The Wolves earned their berth this season with a 47-25 victory over Campbellsport in the final of the Omro Sectional. Last year’s runner-up Prairie du Chien was issued the fourth seed this year after the Blackhawks qualified for the first two times in the program’s history in 2020 and 2021. Their first appearance resulted in a loss in the semifinals. They are the champions of the River Valley Sectional following a 34-26 win over Evansville in the final.
ABOUT THE DIVISION 3 FIELD: Last year’s runner-up Coleman has been issued the #1 seed. The Cougars advance to State for the 16th time and for the third season in a row. They have won a total of 11 team championships. With the current dual format, they won the title in 2000, three in a row from 2010-12, in 2014, and again in 2020. They also claimed crowns before the dual format in 1960, 1962, 1963, 1964 and 1966 when there was only one division. In addition, they finished runner-up in 1959, 1961, 1981, 1983, 1996, 2008, 2013 2015 and last season. The Cougars are the champions of the Suring/Gillett Sectional this season with a convincing 53-24 win over Stratford. Second-seeded Fennimore makes its seventh appearance in the State Team Wrestling Tournament, all coming in the last eight seasons. The Golden Eagles won team titles in 2016 and again in 2019. This season, they edged Aquinas 32-31 in the final of the New Lisbon Sectional to earn their return to the tourney field. Third-seeded St. Croix Falls qualifies for the team tournament for the third time and for the first time since back-to-back appearances in 2018 and 2019. The Saints have fallen in the semifinals in each of those two previous experiences. They attempt to advance to the championship match for the first time after defeating Cadott 35-31 in the sectional final held at Cadott. Fourth-seeded Random Lake returns to the team tournament for the 11th straight season and for the 13th time overall. The Rams’ most notable experience in the tourney was a runner-up finish in 2009. They earned their berth following a closely contested 32-30 victory over Reedsville in the final of the Markesan Sectional.
NEED LIVE 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 directly.
ORDER STATE MEET APPAREL ONLINE: Fans can commemorate their experience at the 2022 team wrestling championships at the UW Field House with exclusive souvenir merchandise for sale at Bucky’s Locker Room located in the concourse. Additional WIAA State Team Wrestling Tournament merchandise is available online now through Monday, March 7 prior to midnight. Access the individual and team wrestling tournaments online store through a partnership with Games People Play at https://gppsports.chipply.com/boysstatewrestling/.
FOLLOW STATE MEET ON SOCIAL MEDIA: Receive updates of the State Team Wrestling Tournament on the WIAA State Tournament Twitter account @wiaawistate with the hashtag #wiaawr. Also like us on Facebook and follow us on Instagram at wiaawi.