- Joined
- May 8, 2002
- Posts
- 1,265,377
- Reaction score
- 59
The 2026 Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association boys and girls state individual wrestling tournaments kicked off Thursday, Feb. 26, from the Kohl Center in Madison.
The three-day event started with eight total mats on the Kohl Center floor across all three boys divisions and the girls division for the preliminary and quarterfinal rounds.
Let's take a look at the area's top performers from Thursday's action, starting in Division 1 with the boys and working our way to those still standing in the girls brackets.
After 39 area wrestlers advanced to the quarterfinal round in their respective brackets, 13 remain alive for state championships heading into the semifinal round Friday, Feb. 27.
West Bend West/East's August Lubinski (113 pounds) advanced to face defending unbeaten state champion Camden Rugg from Union Grove as the No. 5 seed with a pair of decision victories (7-2, 5-1). Arrowhead's Zahn Beal, South Milwaukee's George Hamilton and Oconomowoc's Lincoln Swick are three of the four semifinalists for the 120-pound state title. Top seed Maximus Hay from the Brown Deer co-op stayed unbeaten at 20-0 with a 55-second pinfall win after his opening-round bye at 126 pounds. Germantown's Isaac Weber also advanced to the semifinals at 126 as the No. 7 seed with an upset of No. 2 seed Gavin Wolters from Hartford in the quarterfinals with an 11-1 major decision triumph.
Slinger's Emmitt Becker and Kenosha Indian Trail's Myles Leggett both advanced to the 144-pound semifinal round, while three-time state champion Kellen Wolbert from Oconomowoc and Becker's teammate Samuel Gehring both advanced to the 150-pound semifinals. Oak Creek's Jackson Villarreal advanced to the 190-pound semifinals with a fall victory in the preliminary round and a 7-3 decision over Kaukauna's Brady Sprangers in the quarterfinals.
Hartford's Ayden Grulke dominated following a first-round bye as the top seed at 285 pounds with a pinfall victory after 60 seconds in his quarterfinal matchup with Racine Case's London Hadley. Kenosha Indian Trail's Brendan Grabot joined Grulke in the heavyweight division semifinals with a pair of fall victories, including in his opening-round matchup against Superior's Beckett Selden in just nine seconds.
Only two wrestlers survived the opening day of the tournament in Division 2 and 3 from around the area. Defending 215-pound state champion Garett Kawczynski of Port Washington received a first-round bye as the top overall seed of the D2 bracket and then pinned No. 9 seed Jakob Martin from Berlin in just 43 seconds. The Army West Point recruit moved to a perfect 37-0 this season after capturing the D1 215-pound state title last season.
The lone Division 3 grappler still alive for a state title is No. 2 seed McAllister Ramage of Lake Country Lutheran in the 132-pound bracket. Ramage received a first-round bye and dominated in his quarterfinal matchup against No. 10 seed Dalton Fletcher from Wittenberg-Birnamwood via major decision, 13-1. The victory improved Ramage's record to 42-2 on the season. He'll face No. 3 seed Zade Grassel from Auburndale in the semifinals.
Through the opening round of the tournament, 15 grapplers from the Milwaukee area advanced to the quarterfinals across the 12 weight classes. Five of them are still standing heading into the semifinals. Port Washington freshman Cora Stewart (120), New Berlin West/Eisenhower's Amelia Poplawski (138), Milwaukee King's Terryn McBride (152), Sussex Hamilton's Hannah Behrndt (165) and Wisconsin Lutheran's Izabella Riebe (235) all advanced to the semifinal round with four of the five set to face the top overall seed in their respective brackets.
The No. 4 seed Stewart won via fall in her opening-round victory and then picked up a 6-1 decision victory over No. 5 seed Brooke Williamson from Kettle Moraine in the quarterfinals. Poplawski earned a semifinal matchup with two-time state champion Carley Ceshker from Lake Geneva Badger at 138 as the No. 5 seed with a pair of pinfall victories. McBride kept her bid for an undefeated state title-winning season with a major decision victory in the first round (13-3) and then a 16-1 technical fall victory in the quarterfinals at 152 to move to 38-0 this season.
Riebe, the area's lone top seed at 235 pounds, moved to 42-0 on the season with a pair of fall victories that didn't go past two minutes in either match. She pinned Turner's Bridget Meshirer in 66 seconds during her first-round victory and then pinned Eau Claire North's Rainie Yang at the 1:55 mark of her quarterfinal win.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: WIAA high school state wrestling championships recap: Day 1
Continue reading...
The three-day event started with eight total mats on the Kohl Center floor across all three boys divisions and the girls division for the preliminary and quarterfinal rounds.
Let's take a look at the area's top performers from Thursday's action, starting in Division 1 with the boys and working our way to those still standing in the girls brackets.
You must be registered for see images attach
Division 1
After 39 area wrestlers advanced to the quarterfinal round in their respective brackets, 13 remain alive for state championships heading into the semifinal round Friday, Feb. 27.
West Bend West/East's August Lubinski (113 pounds) advanced to face defending unbeaten state champion Camden Rugg from Union Grove as the No. 5 seed with a pair of decision victories (7-2, 5-1). Arrowhead's Zahn Beal, South Milwaukee's George Hamilton and Oconomowoc's Lincoln Swick are three of the four semifinalists for the 120-pound state title. Top seed Maximus Hay from the Brown Deer co-op stayed unbeaten at 20-0 with a 55-second pinfall win after his opening-round bye at 126 pounds. Germantown's Isaac Weber also advanced to the semifinals at 126 as the No. 7 seed with an upset of No. 2 seed Gavin Wolters from Hartford in the quarterfinals with an 11-1 major decision triumph.
Slinger's Emmitt Becker and Kenosha Indian Trail's Myles Leggett both advanced to the 144-pound semifinal round, while three-time state champion Kellen Wolbert from Oconomowoc and Becker's teammate Samuel Gehring both advanced to the 150-pound semifinals. Oak Creek's Jackson Villarreal advanced to the 190-pound semifinals with a fall victory in the preliminary round and a 7-3 decision over Kaukauna's Brady Sprangers in the quarterfinals.
Hartford's Ayden Grulke dominated following a first-round bye as the top seed at 285 pounds with a pinfall victory after 60 seconds in his quarterfinal matchup with Racine Case's London Hadley. Kenosha Indian Trail's Brendan Grabot joined Grulke in the heavyweight division semifinals with a pair of fall victories, including in his opening-round matchup against Superior's Beckett Selden in just nine seconds.
Divisions 2 and 3
Only two wrestlers survived the opening day of the tournament in Division 2 and 3 from around the area. Defending 215-pound state champion Garett Kawczynski of Port Washington received a first-round bye as the top overall seed of the D2 bracket and then pinned No. 9 seed Jakob Martin from Berlin in just 43 seconds. The Army West Point recruit moved to a perfect 37-0 this season after capturing the D1 215-pound state title last season.
The lone Division 3 grappler still alive for a state title is No. 2 seed McAllister Ramage of Lake Country Lutheran in the 132-pound bracket. Ramage received a first-round bye and dominated in his quarterfinal matchup against No. 10 seed Dalton Fletcher from Wittenberg-Birnamwood via major decision, 13-1. The victory improved Ramage's record to 42-2 on the season. He'll face No. 3 seed Zade Grassel from Auburndale in the semifinals.
Girls
Through the opening round of the tournament, 15 grapplers from the Milwaukee area advanced to the quarterfinals across the 12 weight classes. Five of them are still standing heading into the semifinals. Port Washington freshman Cora Stewart (120), New Berlin West/Eisenhower's Amelia Poplawski (138), Milwaukee King's Terryn McBride (152), Sussex Hamilton's Hannah Behrndt (165) and Wisconsin Lutheran's Izabella Riebe (235) all advanced to the semifinal round with four of the five set to face the top overall seed in their respective brackets.
The No. 4 seed Stewart won via fall in her opening-round victory and then picked up a 6-1 decision victory over No. 5 seed Brooke Williamson from Kettle Moraine in the quarterfinals. Poplawski earned a semifinal matchup with two-time state champion Carley Ceshker from Lake Geneva Badger at 138 as the No. 5 seed with a pair of pinfall victories. McBride kept her bid for an undefeated state title-winning season with a major decision victory in the first round (13-3) and then a 16-1 technical fall victory in the quarterfinals at 152 to move to 38-0 this season.
Riebe, the area's lone top seed at 235 pounds, moved to 42-0 on the season with a pair of fall victories that didn't go past two minutes in either match. She pinned Turner's Bridget Meshirer in 66 seconds during her first-round victory and then pinned Eau Claire North's Rainie Yang at the 1:55 mark of her quarterfinal win.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: WIAA high school state wrestling championships recap: Day 1
Continue reading...
