Area recap from Day 2 from the 2024 WIAA boys and girls state wrestling tournaments
On Saturday night in Madison, 15 area wrestlers will have a chance to win a state championship in front of a raucous crowd at the Kohl Center.
Nine of those 15 grapplers will be in search of at least a second state title with four of them sitting on three titles or are in search of their third individual championship.
Here's a breakdown of the happenings from Day 2 at the 2024 WIAA boys and girls state individual wrestling tournaments, starting with a star-studded group of guys left in Division 1.
Division 1 semifinals
Saturday night's championship matches will feature 11 local products, including defending state champions in Oconomowoc's Kellen Wolbert (132), Wyatt Duchateau (150) from Arrowhead, Homestead's Charlie Millard (157), and the twin-brother combination of Connor (190) and Cole (285) Mirasola from West Bend West.
Others in search of their first state championships include Wilmot's William Du Chemin (106), West Bend West's Ethan Bast (113), Brown Deer co-op's Maximus Hay (120), Arrowhead's Ramon Gulmatico (157), Nicolet's Ben Ott (175) and Port Washington's Garett Kawczynski (215).
Division 2 quarterfinals and semifinals
The remaining local grapplers in Division 2 all fell in either the quarterfinals or the semifinals on Friday. East Troy's Landen Bogard (47-5) won his quarterfinal matchup at 106 pounds, but fell in an 8-2 decision to No. 2 seed Westin Ingham (40-8) from Amery. Kewaskum junior Brent Krejcarek (22-4) also won his quarterfinal match in the morning and fell in the semifinals at 113 to No. 2 seed Ethan Hady (39-9) from Richland Center. East Troy sophomore Brady Collins (27-2) and Lake Country Lutheran's McAllister Ramage (35-5) lost in Friday's quarterfinals at 120.
East Troy freshman Max Gonzalez saw his 50-match win streak end in the 126-pound semifinals to top-seeded Reid Spurley from Dodgeville in a hard-fought six-minute pinfall defeat. Kewaskum junior James Racer (45-5) fell in Friday morning's quarters in a 6-3 decision to Brillion's Bob Huntley (56-3), while teammates Bryston Scoles (44-3) lost a 6-5 heartbreaker to Luxemburg-Casco's Caleb Delebreau (52-6) at 138 and freshman Gage Weseman (21-8) lost via pinfall at 150 to Brohead/Juda's Joe Lohmar (40-6).
Division 3 quarterfinals and semifinals
Both defending champions from the Kenosha area will have a shot to repeat in their respective weight classes Saturday night. Kenosha Christian Life's Drew Dolphin (41-1) spent a total of 4:58 on the mats Friday and picked up a pair of pinfall victories at 113 pounds to give him a shot at a second straight state title after winning the 106-pound crown as a junior.
At 120 pounds, Kenosha St. Joseph's Co'ji Campbell (37-1) can win his third straight championship after a 21-4 technical fall victory in the quarterfinals and a quick 34-second pinfall win in the semifinals to put him on the doorstep of another title at 120.
Girls semifinals
New year, same results for a pair of Lake Geneva Badger grapplers.
Badger sophomore Carley Ceshker (138) and Ella Creighton (185) can both win back-to-back titles after a stellar Friday. Ceshker dominated with an 18-3 technical fall victory in the quarters and then pinned Gale-Ettrick-Trempealeau co-op's Macki Kaz (32-2) in 1:13 seconds to put her on the cusp of another title after winning the 126-pound crown as a freshman.
Creighton had her work cut out for her, but after a grueling 3-2 decision victory over Muskego's Killian Kierman (25-6) in the quarters, she pinned Milwaukee Reagan co-op sophomore Kayla Craig (21-4) at the 3:39 mark.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Day 2 recap from 2024 WIAA boys and girls state wrestling tournaments
