STEVENS POINT, Wis. – The 80th Annual Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association Individual Wrestling Tournament and the second Girls Individual Wrestling Tournament will be held in conjunction 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 $11 plus online fees. Tickets are available on-line on the WIAA website 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.
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.
Thursday, Feb. 23
Session 1:
Div. 1 & Girls Preliminaries - 3 p.m.
Div. 1 Quarterfinals - approximately 5:15 p.m.
Divs. 2 & 3 Preliminaries & Girls Quarterfinals - approx. 6:30 p.m.
Friday, Feb. 24
Session 2:
Div. 1 & Girls Consolations - 10 a.m.
Divs. 2 & 3 Quarterfinals - approximately 11 a.m.
Div. 1 & Girls Consolation Quarterfinals - approximately 1:15 p.m.
Divs. 2 & 3 Consolation Quarterfinals - approx. 2 p.m.
Session 3:
Div. 1 Semifinals at 7 p.m. on mats 1 & 2
Div. 2 Semifinals at 7 p.m. on mats 3 & 5
Div. 3 Semifinals at 7 p.m. on mats 7 & 8
Girls Semifinals at 7 p.m. on mats 4 & 6
Saturday, Feb. 25
Session 4:
Divs. 1, 2, 3 & Girls Consolation Semifinals - 10 a.m.
Divs. 1, 2, 3 & Girls Fifth-place Matches*
Divs. 1, 2, 3 & Girls Third-place Matches*
* Third-place and fifth-place matches will run concurrently by weight class within divisions after all consolation matches are completed.
Session 5:
Div. 1 Championships at 5:30 p.m. on mat 1
Girls Championships at 5:30 p.m. on mat 2
Div. 2 Championships at 5:30 p.m. on mat 3
Div. 3 Championships at 5:30 p.m. on mat 4
FINALS ON BALLY SPORTS WISCONSIN: The championship final matches of all three divisions will be aired live on Bally Sports Wisconsin. Please check local cable listings for the Bally Sports Wisconsin channel in your area. The live programming aired on Bally Sports Wisconsin is available online on the Bally Sports website with cable authentication. The finals will also be streamed with purchase of the Bally Sports app.
PRE-FINALS MATCHES STREAMED LIVE: All mats of the pre-finals matches and the third- and fifth-place matches will be streamed live on WIAA.TV with a subscription to the NFHS Network. To purchase a subscription to the live programming for $11.99 per month, log-on to www.wiaa.tv or www.nfhsnetwork.com and click on the subscription button at the top right of the page.
2023 TOURNAMENT BY THE NUMBERS: There will be champions crowned in 14 weight classes in three divisions for boys and 12 weight classes in one division for girls. Wrestlers who finished first or second in each weight class at last weekend’s eight Division 1 and girls sectionals qualified for the State Tournament. The top three finishers in each weight class at the four Division 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. The girls have 192 qualifiers in the second year a Tournament Series has been conducted. There are 211 programs represented at this year’s individual championships for the boys, including 82 in Division 1, 68 in Division 2 and 61 in Division 3. There are 123 programs represented in the girls tournament.
MORE NUMBERS: Muskego has qualified the most wrestlers in the Division 1 field with 10. Kaukauna is next on the list with nine, followed by Marshfield with eight. Freedom and Luxemburg-Casco have the distinction of qualifying the most individuals in Division 2 with eight, and Prairie du Chien is next on the list with seven qualifiers. In Division 3, Aquinas, Cedar Grove-Belgium, Fennimore and Shiocton all claim the most qualifiers with eight, followed by Coleman and Random Lake with seven. In addition, there are 23 former champions in the boys tournament field this year, including 22 that won the title in 2022. There are 10 programs that lay claim to the most State qualifiers in the girls tournament. They are Cadott, Holmen, Horicon, Menasha, Milwaukee Reagan, Mukwonago, Muskego, Nekoosa, Oregon and St. Croix Falls. There are seven returning champions from last year’s inaugural girls individual tournament.
TOTAL INDIVIDUAL TITLES BY SCHOOL: Stoughton has produced the most individual championships with 55. Mineral Point is next with 53, followed by Wisconsin Rapids Lincoln with 45 and then Luxemburg-Casco with 44. Others with significant totals are Coleman and Milwaukee South with 39.
DIVISION 1 RETURNING CHAMPS: The Division 1 field features 10 former champions on a quest for another crown, including nine that earned the title last year. Among them is senior Greyson Clark of Kaukauna, who is attempting to join an elite group of qualifiers that have won four State titles. He won the championship at the 138-pound weight class last season after winning at 126 in 2021 and at 106 as a freshman in 2020. He remains at 138 this year sporting a 44-0 record, which gives him a 162-7 career mark to this point. Junior Connor Mirasola of West Bend West seeks his third State championship. He climbs a weight class to 195 this season following last season’s title run at 182, which came on the heels of his championship at 170 in 2021. His 49-2 record this year gives him a 119-4 mark in his first three seasons. Junior Brayten Casey of Menomonie qualifies up a weight class to 113 this season after winning the 106 title a year ago. He enters action this week with a 38-4 record. Senior Ben Bast of West Bend West has qualified at 120 this season. He finished fourth at 113 last year after winning the 106-pound title in 2021. He has compiled a 41-3 mark this season. Junior Wyatt Duchateau of Arrowhead moves up a pair of weight classes to contend for the crown at 145 this year after winning the 132-pound championship last season. He qualifies with a 38-1 mark. He’ll need to contend with senior Jacob Ward of Bay Port, who returns as the defending champion at 145. He also placed 6th at 145 in 2021 and fourth at 138 in 2020. Ward begins the tournament with a 37-1 record this season. Senior Ethan Riddle of Germantown moves to the 170-pound weight class this season following last year’s title performance at 160, which followed a fourth-place finish at 152 in 2021. He has compiled a 48-2 mark this season. Junior Aeoden Sinclair of Milton leaps over two weights to land in the 220-pound bracket this year after earning the championship at 170 last season. He also made the award stand in 2021 with a third-place finish at 152. This season, he remains undefeated heading into the State Tournament at 41-0, giving him an 89-1 record spanning the last two seasons. A pair of former champions grace the 285-pound division this year. Senior Jackson Mankowski of Madison La Follette, last year’s champion at 220, moves up a weight to compete for the title this season sporting a 46-4 record. He’ll have a potential match-up in the 285 championship match with junior Cole Mirasola of West Bend West, who moves up two weights after capturing the title at 195 last season. He also placed fifth at 182 in 2021. Mirasola enters action this week possessing a 49-2 record for the season.
DIVISION 2 RETURNING CHAMPS: The Division 2 field has 11 former champions, including two that are pursuing their fourth championship. Senior Rhett Koenig of Prairie du Chien moves up a weight class to 138 this season after earning championships at 132 last year, at 113 in 2021 and at 106 in 2020. He is 47-3 this season, which gives him a 171-12 in his career heading into this week’s bouts. Senior Braeden Scoles of Kewaskum also has sights on a fourth title. He returns to the 160-pound weight class to defend the titles he won the past two seasons. He captured the 145-pound title his freshman season in 2020. This season, he has compiled a 49-0 record, which gives him a 169-3 career mark. Scoles hasn’t lost a match since his freshman season. Another multi-champion in the Division is junior Koy Hopke of Amery. He appears poised to win his third State 220-pound title after claiming the titles in 2021 and 2022. Hopke has yet to lose a match in his entire career. He enters wrestling this week with a 50-0 record, which gives him an impressive 126-0 mark to this point in his career. Junior Charlie Meudt of Dodgeville will move to the 113-pound weight class after wrestling to the 106 title a year ago, which improved upon his sixth-place in 2021. He has amassed a 51-1 record this year. Junior Reid Spurley was the champion at 113 in 2022. He bumps up a weight class to vie for the 120 title this season with his 47-1 record. A pair of former champions may be on a collision course in the 132-pound weight class. Sophomore Danny Heiser of Evansville captured gold as a freshman at 120 last season. He jumps a couple weights with aspirations of another title with a 52-2 record this year. Senior Easton Worachek of Luxemburg-Casco is a four-time qualifier and placer at State. He was fourth at 120 last year after winning the 106-pound crown in 2021 and placing fifth at 106 in 2020. Worachek advances to the State Tournament with a 45-5 record this season. Junior Brody Hart of Winneconne is two years removed from winning the 120-pound bracket in 2020. He looks to contend for another gold medal after placing sixth at 132 last year. Hart has compiled a 23-1 record at 138 this season, and if he advances to the final, he would be the final hurdle to Koenig winning his fourth title. Junior Max Ronsman of Luxemburg-Casco steps up in weight to 145 after wrestling to the title at 138 last season, which followed a runner-up performance at 126 in 2021. He has compiled a 10-1 record in limited matches this season. Senior Zane Licht of Lodi is back to defend the title he won at 152 last year. In 2021, he placed runner-up at 145. This season, he has yet to experience defeat with a record of 52-0. Senior Owen Heiser of Evansville, brother of last year’s 120-pound champion Danny Heiser, is also pursuing another State championship. He moves up to 182 after winning the 170-pound title a year ago and finishing runner-up at 160 in 2021. He has qualified with a season tally of 20-1.
DIVISION 3 RETURNING CHAMPS: The Division 3 field has four former champions looking to add another gold medal to their collection, including senior Brayden Sonnentag of Cadott, who will contend for his fourth State championship. He moves up to the 132-pound bracket this season after winning the title at 126 in 2022, 120 in 2021 and 106 in 2020. He begins his quest with a 46-0 mark this season. Sonnentag has amassed a 150-2 career record. Junior Dawson Johnson of Cumberland is another multiple champion in the division. He jumped up two weight classes last season to win the 120 title after earning the title at 106 as a freshman in 2021. He moves up a weight this season to 126 with a 51-2 record to give him a three-year tally of 117-3. Junior Jake Fitzpatrick of Aquinas won the 106-pound weight class a year ago after finishing fourth at the same weight in 2021. This season, he moves up a weight to challenge for the 113 crown with a 38-2 record. Sophomore Co’Ji Campbell of Kenosha St. Joseph burst on the State wrestling scene last year as freshman to earn the gold medal at 113. This season, he elevates to the 120-pound class with an undefeated record of 42-0. Although a former champion is not entered in the 106-pound bracket, there are three undefeated wrestlers in contention for the title.
BOYS UNDEFEATED QUALIFIERS: There are 13 undefeated boys wrestlers that have qualified for the State individual championship. In addition to the seven former champions that enter the tournament without a loss, the other six undefeated wrestlers by division, beginning with Division 3, are junior Drew Dolphin of Kenosha Christian Life (51-0), sophomore Aidan Gruenenfelder of Pecatonica/Argyle (48-0) and freshman Blake Underwood of Marathon (45-0) all at 106. Wrestlers without a loss in Division 2 include freshman Haakon Peterson of Dodgeville (22-0) at 106 and senior Luke Dux of Neillsville/Greenwood/Loyal (33-0) at 126. In Division 1, the one undefeated wrestler without a previous championship is freshman Kellen Wolbert of Oconomowoc (43-0). In addition, there are 33 individuals in the tournament with just one loss on their ledger.
GIRL TOURNAMENT NOTES: There are seven individuals returning after winning State titles in the first-ever individual tournament for girls last year. Sophomore Brooke Corrigan of De Pere is back to defend the title she won at the 100-pound weight class in 2022. She is 4-0 in a limited number of matches this season. Senior Bopa Quintana of Sun Prairie is the returning champion at 114. She sets out to repeat as champion in the weight class with a 29-8 record. Senior Caitlyn Kelley of Florence/Niagara remains at 120 this season following last year’s title run in the division. She has compiled a 28-1 record to this point of the season. Senior Kylie Rule of Mineral Point has qualified at 132 with an undefeated record of 24-0 this season after she won the gold medal at the same weight a year ago. Sophomore Hailie Krueger of New London remains at 145 in an attempt to win a second straight championship in that bracket after capturing gold as a freshman last season. She enters matches this week with a 21-1 record. Senior Alexandra Hofrichter of Antigo moves up a weight class to 165 after she earned the championship at 152 last year. She is undefeated this season with a 15-0 mark. If Hofrichter advances to the championship match, she may need to contend with sophomore Cyriana Reinwald of Horicon, who won the 165-pound division last year. She attempts to defend her title with a 15-1 record entering the tournament.
GIRLS UNDEFEATED QUALIFIERS: There are several qualifiers with undefeated records entering the tournament. A good number of them have limited number of matches. Those that have not suffered a defeat this season with 10 or more matches on their ledger, apart from the aforementioned returning champions, are freshman Kylie Klum of Westby (15-0) at 106, junior Mya Delleree of Ozaukee (12-0) at 114, senior Brooke Schueneman of Plymouth (12-0) at 126, senior Angela Zimmerman of Barron (11-0) at 132, sophomore Madalyn Sokolski of Bonduel (12-0) at 138, senior Deziree Mixon of Green Bay West/East/Southwest (14-0) at 165, sophomore Madison Burns of Ashland (13-0) at 235 and senior Kate Riege of Arrowhead (19-0) at 235. There are an additional 14 qualifiers that have wrestled 10 or more matches with just one loss on their record.
ORDER STATE MEET APPAREL ONLINE: Fans can commemorate their experience at the 2023 individual wrestling championships at the Kohl Center with exclusive souvenir merchandise for sale at Bucky’s Locker Room located in the concourse outside Section 101. Additional WIAA State Individual and Team Wrestling Tournaments merchandise is available online now through Sunday, March 12 prior to midnight. Access the individual and team wrestling tournaments online store through a partnership with Sports World at https://sportsworld.chipply.com/wiaawr23/.
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.
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.