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NEILLSVILLE – The Spencer wrestling team will send four wrestlers to sectionals after they placed first or second at the WIAA Division 2 wrestling regional on Saturday at Neillsville High School.
Senior Nick Vaughan (38-3) won the 220-pound title for Spencer, beating Nick Berger of Medford 5-2 in the championship match.
Kyle Andreae (23-8), a junior, was one of three Rockets to take second place. He lost the 285-pound title match to Chris Ladwig of Abbotsford/Colby 5-3 in overtime.
Senior Dan Schubert and junior Lance Neumann also qualified for next Saturday’s sectional at Osceola by finishing second for Spencer.
Schubert (31-3) lost the 160-pound championship match to Mitchell Pohlman of Neillsville/Greenwood/Loyal 6-2, and Neumann (25-10) dropped the 182-pound title match to Aaron Harder of Medford 8-4. It was the second week in a row Schubert lost to Pohlman.
Both Vaughan and Andreae qualified for the state tournament last year, along with Trevor Ackman. However, Ackman wasn’t as lucky on Saturday and saw his bid for a second-straight trip to Madison derailed as he took third at 126 pounds. Dylan Schubert also finished third at 120 pounds and Sam Nigon was third at 195 for Spencer.
“It was a good day but also a tough day,” Spencer coach Jake Zschernitz said. “You’re happy for the four who made it but you feel bad for the guys who’s season ended.
“Trevor wrestled great all season for us and was a state qualifier as a freshman, so it’s tough to see him not advance. Sam worked very hard this season to cut down to 195 and Dylan is a good freshman who has a bright future, so it would have been nice to see their season’s continue.”
Neillsville/Greenwood/Loyal won the team title with ease, totaling 254.5 points, well ahead of second-place Melrose-Mindoro/GET, which had 174.
Neillsville/Greenwood/Loyal moves on to the Division 2 team sectional at Somerset on Tuesday. NGL will take on Rice Lake in one semifinal, with Amery and Ellsworth squaring off in the other. The winner moves on to the WIAA State Team Wrestling Tournament at the UW Fieldhouse in Madison on March 3.
The top three finishers at the individual sectional at Osceola will qualify for the WIAA State Individual Wrestling Tournament at the Kohl Center in Madison on Feb. 23-25.
WIAA Division 2 regional
Feb. 11 at Neillsville
Team scores: 1. Neillsville/Greenwood/Loyal 254.5; 2. Melrose-Mindoro/GET 174; 3. Spencer 157; 4. Medford 147.5; 5. Abbotsford/Colby 119; 6. Black River Falls 89; 7. Stanley-Boyd/Thorp 78.
Top two qualify for individual sectional Feb. 18 at Osceola
106 pounds
Championship: Dillan Marco (MM) def. Zachary Stift (NGL) 7-2.
113 pounds
Championship: Phillip Opelt (NGL) major decision over Gunner Peterson (MED) 14-0.
120 pounds
Championship: Sage Soppa (AC) def. Jared Boon (NGL) 5-3.
126 pounds
Championship: Robert Csukker (SBT) major decision over Brady Gartner (BRF) 16-4.
132 pounds
Championship: Keith Dawley (BRF) pinned Aaron Hartwig (MED).
Second-place wrestleback: Michael Chadwick (NGL) major decision over Aaron Hartwig (MED) 12-3.
138 pounds
Championship: Erik Low (MM) pinned Sam Sawdey (MED) in 1:30.
Second-place wrestleback: Nick Raifsnider (BRF) pinned Sawdey (MED) in 1:59.
145 pounds
Championship: Aaric Spencer (MED) pinned Jake Rueth (NGL) in 1:01.
152 pounds
Championship: Damien Luchterhand (NGL) def. Ronny Ponick (SBT) 10-5.
160 pounds
Championship: Mitchell Pohlman (NGL) def. Dan Schubert (SP) 6-2.
170 pounds
Championship: Sandy Bautch (NGL) major decision over Zach Piessig (AC) 11-0.
182 pounds
Championship: Aaron Harder (MED) def. Lance Neumann (SP) 8-4.
195 pounds
Championship: Dan Schoen (NGL) pinned Hayden Seidel (MM) in 1:04.
220 pounds
Championship: Nick Vaughan (SP) def. Nick Berger (MED) 5-2.
Second-place wrestleback: Daniel Rossow (NGL) pinned Berger (MED) in 0:48.
285 pounds
Championship: Chris Ladwig (AC) def. Kyle Andreae (SP) 5-3, OT.