Cougars Claim Division 3 Regional Title

All 14 of Coleman’s wrestlers advanced to sectionals from Saturday’s Division 3 regional in Crivitz.
Coleman claimed the regional title with 332 points followed by Wittenberg-Birnamwood with 263. Lena finished in fifth with 119, Crivitz took seventh scoring 100 points followed by Oconto in eighth (78), Florence/Niagara ninth (49), and Gillett/Suring in 10th with 31 points.
Needing a fourth-place finish or better to advance, six Cougars won their weight classes.
Conner Markiewicz (113), John Nowak (120), Ray Lemieux (126), Brady Gross (138), Will Bieber (152), and Devin Otto (220) won individual weight classes.
Markiewicz beat Wittenberg-Birnamwood’s Cardell Long by a 16-1 tech fall and Evan Kaufman of Crivitz in the semifinal. In the first-place match, he was tested by Crandon’s Mason Dewing but came away with a 13-11 sudden victory win.
Markiewicz trailed by as much as three in the match but came back to force overtime against Dewing, a returning state qualifier.
“Connor scored a takedown with seconds left in overtime to win the title,” Coleman coach Jason Champagne said. “I was very proud of him and how he responded to win after trailing in the match.”
Nowak wrestled two matches, winning both of them. He pinned Oconto’s Tyler Beekman in 3:24 and beat Lena’s Dylan Comins in a 3-0 decision, just Comins’ eighth loss in 53 matches this season.
“He controlled the tie ups and stayed in good position. Big win for him in the finals,” Champagne said.
Lemieux pinned both his opponents, beating Oconto’s Jaymison Markham in 3:49 and Wittenberg-Birnamwood’s Devin Wudtke in 3:40.
“Ray Lemiuex dominated in the finals. He’s been wrestling extremely well this season,” Champagne said.
Gross beat Florence/Niagara’s Cole Chitko in a 95-second pin and defeated Lena’s Sam Marquardt in a 6-4 decision, also Marquardt’s eighth loss in 53 matches.
“He beat a tough competitor from Lena, Sam Marquardt, in the finals,” Champagne said. “Brady just continues to push the pace and was able to ride Marquardt the entire second period. That was huge for him.”
Bieber dominated all day. He pinned Menominee Indian’s Nathan Miller in 1:41, beat Bonduel’s Jose Lagunes in a 17-1 tech fall, and pinned Sean Krueger of Crivitz to finish things off in 100 seconds.
“William Bieber dominated his competition and is poised for a postseason run,” Champagne said. “He’s worked hard all season and just continues to do the little things that win big matches.”
Otto, just a freshman, also earned a spot atop the podium with two pins, beating Lena’s Dylan Urbanek and Wittenberg-Birnamwood’s Dominic Weso in 3:59.
The 220-pound weight class isn’t an easy one for a freshman to win.
“He relies on hard work and determination to beat his opponents,” Champagne said. “For a freshman to win a senior-heavy class says a lot about him. He has a bright future ahead of him.”
Cameron Kimmel (145), Micah Kuchta (160), Peter Kuchta (170), and Kain Otto (285) each placed second.
Kimmell went 2-1 in addition to a medical forfeit win in the second-place match. He beat Lena’s Max Peterson 16-7 and Crandon’s Ty Dennee 13-6, with a 10-8 decision loss to Bonduel’s Colin Fischer in the semifinal.
Kuchta pinned Wabeno/Laona/Three Lakes’ Paul Lewis and beat Crivitz’s Dominic Thoreson 23-10. He was beaten 2-0 in the final by Crandon’s Cole Shepherd, who is 44-6 this season.
Otto won his first two matches. He pinned Willis Bloedhorn of Bonduel in 2:34 and topped Wabeno/Laona/Three Lakes’ Augustus Fink in a 3-1 sudden victory. He lost via pin to Wittenberg-Birnamwood’s David Gauderman (46-1 this season) in the final.
Parker Owens (106) took third. Taking fourth were Chase Gruber (132), Isaiah Nowak (182), and West Bieber (195).
Owens was 2-1 in live matches. He tech-falled Menominee Indian’s Michael Peters and Lena’s Sam Peterson, with a loss to Bonduel’s Jaxon Bogacz.
Gruber was 2-2. He beat Bonduel’s Matthew Walenta by a 6-2 decision in the fourth-place match to book his spot at sectionals.
Nowak went 2-2, pinning Suring/Gillett’s Carter Whisman in three minutes to win the fourth-place match.
West Bieber wrestled four matches, winning three of them. After a pin loss in the quarterfinal, he won three straight matches via pin to secure a sectional spot.
“We feel good about our draws for the sectionals on Saturday in Seymour,” Champagne said. “The boys are looking forward to punching their ticket to Madison.”
Five wrestlers each from Lena and Crivitz are also headed to sectionals.
Three Wildcats earned second-place finishes. Dylan Comins (120), Luke Misco (132), and Sam Marquardt (138) each won silver.
Comins went 2-1. He beat his first two opponents, defeating Elcho’s Russel Multhauf in a 91-second pin and Crandon’s Brayden Madl by 4-0 decision. He lost the first-place match to Coleman’s John Nowak.
Misco wrestled two matches, winning one. He pinned W/L/TL’s Brady Shepard in 53 seconds but was beaten 19-11 in the championship by Crandon’s Elias Glinski. He took second via no contest in the second-place match.
Marquardt pinned W/L/TL’s Adisan Romprey in 20 seconds and beat Wittenberg-Birnamwood’s Andres Sanchez 7-2 before a 6-4 defeat to Coleman’s Brady Gross in the first-place match.
Sam Peterson (106) and Dylan Urbanek (220) both took fourth.
Peterson went 1-2 in live matches and advanced via a no contest over Max Clark of L/W/TL. He beat Clark by pin in the quarterfinal.
Urbanek was 1-2 as well. He beat Kyler Novitski of Bonduel in the quarterfinal and got a no contest over him in the fourth-place match.
Zach Diedrich (126) and John Hurtado (113) took sixth. Max Peterson was fifth at 145. Erik Kosch (152) and Colt Miller (182) did not place.
For Crivitz, Sean Krueger was second at 152. He beat Oconto’s Miguel Vargas in a 2:22 pin and Wittenberg-Birnamwood’s Chase Kitsemble in a four-minute pin before a pin loss to Coleman’s Will Bieber in the final.
Dominic Thoreson (160) took third. He was 2-1. He pinned Owen Schultz of W-B and Bonduel’s Donovan Vigue, with a 23-10 loss to Coleman’s Micah Kuchta sandwiched in between. Kuchta took third on a no contest in the second-place match.
TJ Mueller went 2-2, taking third at 182. He pinned his first two opponents, Lena’s Colt Miller and Coleman’s Isaiah Nowak, but he lost 12-3 to Tyson Bogacz of Bonduel in the final. Mueller lost via injury default in the second-place match.
Kyle Guy went 2-2 and took third at 195. He was pinned twice and pinned two opponents, Oconto’s Adan Ramirez in 2:20 and Bonduel’s Evan Wilcox in 2:55.
Evan Kaufman (113) was 2-2 in live action, pinning Wittenberg-Birnamwood’s Cardell Long in the fourth-place match to earn sectional qualification.
Austin Doyen (145) and Parker Scheverman (170) did not place.
Two Oconto Blue Devils, Tyler Beekman (120) and Jaymison Markham (126), placed fourth and will wrestle at sectionals.
Beekman was 1-2 in live matches, also winning by no contest in the fourth-place match, where he would have faced Easton Davis of Wittenberg-Birnamwood, had he not beaten him in the quarterfinal, a 5:46 pin.
Markham went 2-2, beating Bonduel’s Cooper Salerno by 17-4 major decision in the fourth-place match to advance.
Liam Brady (106), cody Stamsta (113), Anthony Mossakowski Jr. (145), Roger Herrera-Ramirez (182), and Adam Ramirez (195) did not place.
Ethan Wusterbarth (132), Charlie Jordan (138), Miguel Vargas (152), and Rex Pullen (220) were each sixth. Dominic Caylor (160) and Kyle Bowman (170) took fifth place.
Of Florence/Niagara’s four wrestlers, two booked trips to the sectional round.
Caleb Krause (113) went 2-1 with two pin victories and finished third at 113. He beat Lena’s John Hurtado in 1:52 and Evan Kaufman of Crivitz in 2:52. his only loss came via tech fall against Crandon’s Mason Dewing.
Cole Chitko (138) took fourth. He was 2-2, winning the fourth-place match over Crandon’s Riley Johnson via pin.
Isaiah Fennessy (195) was 1-2 and took sixth. Jacob Smith (160) was 1-2 but did not place.
Suring/Gillett got three top-six finishes from its only wrestlers but all three fell just short of qualifying for sectionals.
Keegan Rattin (145) and Michael Pecanas (170) each took sixth. Carter Whisman (182) placed fifth.

Bulldogs Pace Area
Schools at Oconto Falls
D2 Regional
Seven Peshtigo wrestlers are headed to the Division 2 sectionals after achieving at least a fourth-place individual finish from Saturday’s regional meet in Oconto Falls.
Peshtigo lead area teams with162 points finishing in third place. Oconto Falls scored 145 points to claim fourth and Marinette finished in eighth with 92 points. Freedom won the regional with a score of 306.5
Connor Thomas (220) and Ethan Brissette (152) won their individual weight classes and five Bulldogs finished in third place to qualify for the next round of competition.
Thomas pinned all three of his opponents in relatively short order. He beat Amherst’s Gunnar Wierzba in 18 seconds, Fox Valley Lutheran’s Sam Krause in 31 seconds, and Freedom’s Henry Vander Heiden in 1:41.
When Thomas faced Vander Heiden in Shawano on Dec. 17, Thomas won by an 8-5 decision, so to win via a first-round pin was impressive.
“What a performance,” Peshtigo coach Kory Weed said. “Pinning everyone in his bracket and making a statement against Freedom’s Henry Vander Heiden.”
Brissette pinned New London’s Cameron Hahn to start the day, then beat Seymour’s Mason Bunnell in a 6-0 decision and snuck past Oconto Falls’ Luke Trepanier 4-2 to win the weight class.
“You can tell he is hungry to get to state,” Weed said.
Brenden Conn (126), Ethan Suennen (132), Reese Yunke (138), Lincoln Nemec (160), and Kyle Rupert (182) were all third.
Conn went 2-1 in live action. He beat Mosinee’s Ethan Colden in 15 seconds, lost a 9-7 sudden victory match to Seymour’s Conner Patz, and won the third-place match over Freedom’s Ben Wagner with a 59-second pin. The second-place match was a no contest, as Patz had already beaten Conn.
Suennen was 2-2. He won a 12-8 decision over Freedom’s Brady Bock and beat New London’s Brice Guyette 9-1 in the third-place match, with alternating losses by 16-1 tech fall to Oconto Falls’ Cole Bozile and Seymour’s Nicholas Peters.
“Ethan Suennen is wrestling the best he has all year,” Weed said.
Yunke went 2-1. He beat Freedom’s Vince Cook 7-1 before a decision loss to Oconto Falls’ Parker Peterson. In the third-place match, Yunke beat Little Chute’s Trenton Behling by a pin of just under three minutes. Peterson took second in a no contest.
Nemec also won two of his three matches. He pinned Amherst’s Otto Boelk in 79 seconds and beat Seymour’s Wyatt Bunnell by a 4-3 score. He was pinned by New London’s Bryce Maves in the semifinal. Maves would take second in the group.
Rupert started with a pin of Amherst’s Gabe Helbach before loss to Lucas Bertello of Xavier. Rupert beat Marinette’s Jaxon Smith by a 13-5 major decision and took third after a no contest to Bertello in the silver match.
The Bulldogs will know they have a tall task ahead of them next weekend, when only the top two wrestlers from each weight class at the Wrightstown sectional will move on to state.
Nicholas Mans (106) was sixth for Peshtigo with an 0-2 live record and Zach Sherman (145) was 1-2 to take sixth. Cole Sherman (120) and Nathen Kleikamp (170) each won one match but did not place. Caleb Klimek (195) and Carson Patterson (285) were each 0-2 and did not place.
Five of Oconto Falls’ seven wrestlers advanced to sectionals from the team’s home regional meet.
Garrett Ganter (106), Hunter Bozile (126), and Cole Bozile (132) each won their weight classes, while Parker Peterson (138) and Luke Trepanier (152) were both second.
Ganter pinned his only two challengers, taking down Fox Valley Lutheran’s Tyler Martin in 1:49 and Marinette’s Isaac Hermanson in 2:56.
Hunter Bozile didn’t pin any of his three opponents, but he got the job done, including in dramatic semifinal fashion, beating Freedom’s Ben Wagner by a 1-0 decision. He beat Little Chute’s Aydian Stingle 11-0 and Seymour’s Conner Patz 5-1 as well.
Cole Bozile pinned FVL’s Eli Stern in 71 seconds, then tech-falled Peshtigo’s Ethan Suennen and Seymour’s Nicholas Peters.
Peterson was 2-1 in live action. He started with two wins over Amherst’s Gideon Cole by 35-second pin and a 7-4 decision against Peshtigo’s Reese Yunke. He was pinned by Seymour’s Ryan Tomazevic in the first-place match, and finished second with a no contest over Yunke.
Trepanier was 3-1. He pinned Marinette’s Benjamin Rickaby in 1:14 in the quarterfinal, topped Freedom’s Trent Nabbefeld 10-6 in the semi, and pinned Seymour’s Mason Bunnell in 3:47 in the second-place match. He lost the championship via 4-2 decision to Peshtigo’s Ethan Brissette.
Nick Trepanier missed out on sectionals after losing the fourth-place match via pin to Marinette’s Logan Paris in 52 seconds. Trepanier was 4-2 in live matches in a deep 195-pound bracket.
Ethan Zielinski (120) did not place after losing both his live matches.
Three Marinette wrestlers are also moving on. Isaac Hermanson took second at 106. He was 1-1, pinning Amherst’s Ryan Warzynski in 3:10 in the semifinal and being beaten by Oconto Falls’ Garrett Ganter in the final. He took a no contest over Warzynski in the second-place match.
Jaxon Smith (182) and Logan Paris (195) were both fourth.
Smith won two of his four matches. He pinned New London’s Howie Roloff in 53 seconds to start things off, but he lost 8-3 to Freedom’s Patrick Moore and 13-5 to Peshtigo’s Kyle Rupert in the third-place match, meaning he needed to beat Amherst’s Gabe Helbach in the fourth-place match to move on. He beat Helbach via pin in 1:39.
Paris followed a similar path. He started with a win over Peshtigo’s Caleb Klimek in 44 seconds, but he took pin defeats to Freedom’s Trent Feucht and Xavier’s Will Katz in the next two matches. He advanced with a 52-second pin of Oconto Falls’ Nick Trepanier.

Maroons Compete in
MHSAA District Meet
Menominee competed at the MHSAA Individual District 17-3 meet in Grayling on Saturday.
Tucker Boxley (165) and Cameran Gauthier (215) each lost their first and only matches via pins.
Lucas Thoune won his opener, pinning Tawas Area’s Hunter Schultz in 92 seconds. He was pinned by Cheboygan’s Devihn Wichlacz and Ogemaw Heights’ Tanner Lee in the next two rounds to bring his day to an end.