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Here are 14 top wrestlers to watch at the WIAA state boys and girls wrestling championships

ricardo arguello, appleton post-crescent
·6 min read

The 81st annual WIAA state boys wrestling championships and third annual girls championships begin Thursday at the Kohl Center in Madison with Division 1 boys and girls preliminary matches at 3 p.m.

Division 1 quarterfinals will begin at approximately 5:15 p.m. with D2 and D3 boys prelims and girls quarterfinals at 7 p.m.

Friday will feature consolation matches along with D2 and D3 quarterfinals. Semifinals for all three boys divisions and the girls division will begin at 7 p.m. Friday, with championship matches at 5:30 p.m. Saturday.

Here are 14 wrestlers who are seeded first or second to watch this weekend along with a complete list of state qualifiers from the Post-Crescent coverage area.

Top wrestlers to watch

Brock Arndt, Appleton North

Arndt, a senior, finished as the state runner-up in the 220-pound weight class in D1 last season. He moves up a weight class this season and is 27-1 at 285 and is the second seed heading into the tournament. He will wrestle D.C. Everest's Oscar Latendresse (17-12) in Thursday's prelim.

Lillie Banks, Menasha

Banks, a sophomore, reached the final of the girls 126 match last season, finishing as the state runner-up. She's 43-0 this season and the top seed at 132 and will face Westfield's Cieara Ogren (13-6) in Thursday's prelim.

Blake Carton, Shiocton

The junior enters the tournament 43-3 and the second seed at 150 in D3 and earned a bye into the quarterfinals. He will face the winner of the prelim between Lomira's Marek Lisiecki (43-10) and Stratford's Kaleb Krummel (34-11) on Friday.

Liam Crook, Kaukauna

The undefeated sophomore (35-0) is the No. 2 seed at 165 and will face Homestead's Brady Stammer (30-16) in Thursday's prelim.

Andy DiPiazza, Kaukauna

The freshman is a No. 2 seed in D1 at 106 and carries a 41-5 record into the state tournament. His prelim match is against Milton's David Bilhorn (28-14).

Brody Hart, Winneconne

Hart, who finished second in D2 at 138 last season, enters with a 19-0 record and is the top seed at 157 in D2. The senior earned a bye into Friday's quarterfinals and will face the winner of the prelim between Peshtigo's Ethan Brissette (37-4) and Abbotsford/Colby's Tanner Halopka (46-6). Hart was the state champ at 120 in D2 his freshman season.

Vanden Hoffman, Weyauwega-Fremont

Hoffman, a senior, is the second seed at 285 in D3 with a 42-1 record, which earned him a bye into Friday's quarterfinal. He will face the winner of the prelim match between Lomira's Warren Sauer (42-7) and Ladysmith's Jack Lazar (46-9).

Wyatt Magolski, New London

The senior finished fourth last season at 113 in D2. He's 44-3 this season and the No. 2 seed at 120. He earned a bye into the quarterfinals and will face the winner of Mauston/Necedah's Drake Gosda (26-3) and Saint Croix Central's Will Schmitt (49-4).

Lucas Peters, Kaukauna

Peters, a senior, won the state title at 126 last season and is seeded second at 132 in D1 with a 44-3 record. He will face Homestead's Logan Kuck (29-12) in the prelim.

Jacob Herm, Neenah

The top seed at 144 in D1, Herm enters the state meet with a 43-0 record after finishing as the state runner-up last season at 126 in D1 with a 40-7 record. He will wrestle Kenosha Bradford's Rojelio Garcia (32-10) in Thursday's prelim.

Declan Koch, Neenah

Koch, a sophomore, is the top-seeded wrestler at 138 in D1 and enters with a 42-2 record. He placed third at 113 in D1 last season. He will face Mukwonago freshman Wendell Brausch (25-18) in Thursday's prelim.

Hailie Krueger, New London

Krueger, a junior, is a two-time state champ, including winning the 145 state title last season with a 29-1 record. She enters the tournament with a 38-0 record and is the top seed at 152 and will face Watertown's Nohra Good (17-11) in Thursday's prelim.

Jake Stoffel, Appleton North

The senior won the state title at 152 in D1 last season with a 44-1 mark and is 38-0 this season and the top seed at 175. He will wrestle Waukesha West's Jaxon Lawrence (26-16) in the prelim.

Hunter Vander Heiden, Freedom

The junior is the second seed at 285 in D2 with a 45-3 record and earned a bye into Friday's quarterfinal. He will wrestle the winner of the prelim match between Prairie du Chien's Jack Simmons (39-12) and Catholic Memorial's Jae'Shaun Thomas (27-15).

Kaukauna's Lucas Peters (top) wrestles Kimberly's Daniel Grey in a WIAA Division 1 regional match Feb. 10. Peters won the Division 1 state title at 126 pounds last season and is a No. 2 seed at 132 in D1 heading into the WIAA state individual wrestling tournament this weekend.
Kaukauna's Lucas Peters (top) wrestles Kimberly's Daniel Grey in a WIAA Division 1 regional match Feb. 10. Peters won the Division 1 state title at 126 pounds last season and is a No. 2 seed at 132 in D1 heading into the WIAA state individual wrestling tournament this weekend.

Area state qualifiers

BOYS

DIVISION 1

Kaukauna (7) – 106: Andy DiPiazza, fr., 41-5; 132: Lucas Peters, sr., 44-3; 150: Kolin DeGroot, so., 33-12; 157: Peyton Lee, jr., 40-7; 165: Liam Crook, so., 35-0; 175: Brady Sprangers, so., 38-8; 285: Nehemiah Lendobeja, so., 38-10.

Hortonville (5) – 126: Cash Botting, so., 38-9; 132: Nolan Skebba, jr., 33-6; 150: Henry Niebauer, sr., 41-2; 190: Ayden Needham, sr., 33-7; 215: Austin McHugh, jr., 35-13.

Appleton North (3) – 175: Jake Stoffel, sr., 38-0; 215: Blake Miller, sr., 10-3; 285: Brock Arndt, sr., 27-1.

Neenah (2) – 138: Declan Koch, so., 42-2; 144: Jacob Herm, jr., 43-0.

Kimberly (1) – 157: Tanner Hart, sr., 35-9.

DIVISION 2

Brillion (4) – 106: Parker Spierings, fr., 54-2; 120: Logan Mueller, jr., 38-5; 126: Bob Huntley, jr., 54-3; 138: Colton Klug, fr., 21-3.

Freedom (4) – 132: Peter Tomazevic, jr., 44-5; 165: Vincent Cook, jr., 32-12; 175: Patrick Moore, sr., 41-11; 285: Hunter Vander Heiden, jr., 45-3.

Winneconne (3) – 126: Chase Sternard, jr., 37-16; 132: Trey Zemke, so., 38-11; 157: Brody Hart, sr., 19-0.

Seymour (2) – 113: Aidan Peters, fr., 38-9; 215: Carl Leisgang, so., 40-4.

Wrightstown (2) – 150: Jacob Durocher, sr., 40-10; 285: Sam Keuler, sr., 40-7.

New London (1) – 120: Wyatt Magolski, sr., 44-3.

Fox Valley Lutheran (1) – 150: Austin Kufner, so., 34-7.

DIVISION 3

Weyauwega-Fremont (8) – 106: Jayden Le Noble, fr., 43-4; 113: Josue Azuara, fr., 39-13; 132: Carter Birdyshaw, fr., 41-4; 144: Aiden Marquette, jr., 32-12; 157: Connor Johnson, jr., 40-12; 165: Carter McDaniel, jr., 43-7; 190: Tellyer Alix, jr., 40-13; 285: Vander Hoffman, sr., 42-1.

Shiocton (6) – 106: Holdyn Volkman, fr., 31-15; 120: Mason Demerath, so., 40-9; 126: Izaiah Sanchez, so., 36-4; 144: Jordan Jahnke, jr., 43-8; 150: Blake Carton, jr., 43-3; 190: Ilijah Sanchez, jr., 36-4.

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GIRLS

Menasha (3) – 132: Lillie Banks, so., 43-0; 165: Lauryn Rubbert, jr., 21-12; 235: Allison Abel, so., 28-9.

Neenah (2) – 120: Amari Richard, fr., 35-6; 126: Kylee Kurszewski, so., 24-3.

Freedom (1) – 100: Katherine Cook, fr., 41-2.

Winneconne (1) – 107: Addison Brown, fr., 21-5.

Brillion (1) – 132: Sophia Galoff, sr., 37-6.

Waupaca (1) – 145: Caylin Johnson, fr., 27-4.

New London (1) – 152: Hailie Krueger, jr., 38-0.

Hortonville (1) – 152: Mackenzie Schiedemayer, so., 24-7.

Chilton/Hilbert (1) – 165: Gwen Breckheimer, sr., 29-5.

This article originally appeared on Appleton Post-Crescent: 14 wrestlers to watch at the WIAA state wrestling championships