Wisconsin Dells, WI — All freestyle divisions at the Northern Plains Regional Championships were contested from start to finish on Saturday.
Wisconsin had four champions and eight finalists in the Junior men’s freestyle division. Taking first were Gavin Drexler (145), Zane Licht (160), Connor Mirasola (182) and Jaren Rohde (285). The champions tallied up a combined 17 wins by technical superiority.
The finals matches at 145 and 182 were all-Wisconsin bouts, as Corbin Ramos (145) and Devin Wasley (182) were runners-up. Rounding out the finalists were Cole Mirasola (195) and Brayden Sonnentag (126).
Three wrestlers made their way back to a third-place finish. Ryan Dolezal (160) and Ethan Riddle only lost to the now-champions, and Gunner Hoffmann won five consecutive matches after a first-round loss to finish third in the 220-pound weight class.
In the 16U men’s freestyle division Wisconsin repeated with four champions: Caleb Noble (88), Kellen Wolbert (113), Aeodan Sinclair (182) and Ilijah Sanchez (195). Runners-up were Lincoln Flayter (113), Jake Stoffel (152) and Wade Kippers (220). At 152 pounds, Tristan Steldt wrestled back for third.
The top six placers are auto-qualified to represent Team Wisconsin at the Junior and 16U National Championships (Fargo) this summer. These qualifiers strengthen the team because they don’t count against the number of wrestlers Wisconsin can bring. In total, Wisconsin qualified 36 wrestlers in the men’s freestyle division.
Juniors
16U
In women’s freestyle, the brackets heavily favored numbers from Wisconsin. The six champions were Brooke Corrigan (100), Taylor Whiting (106), Avery Steldt (112), Larissa Kaz (127), Kylie Rule (132) and Aevri Ciha (144). Placing runners-up were Karina Torres (100), Angie Bianchi (112), Lauren Osborn (122), Emma Gruenhagen (127), Mattie Papenthien (138), Kara Kuge (144) and Breanna Wier (152).
All women’s freestyle athletes interested in wrestling at Fargo this year should submit this roster form. There are currently no limits on the number of athletes each state can bring in WFS, but all participants must go through the state association’s process.
All Greco-Roman divisions at Northern Plains begin at 9AM Sunday and will wrestle through to conclusion.