featured photo of Braeden Scoles, junior champ at 160, by Bret Peterson

WISCONSIN—The memory of such a standout 2022-23 season will be long-lasting for the Wisconsin wrestling community. As the state association for USA Wrestling, the Wisconsin Wrestling Federation (WWF) strives to provide quality opportunities for its members to achieve their full human and athletic potential. 

Wisconsin National Teams
In Fargo, 38 Wisconsin wrestlers earned All-American status. Six of them were champions, and six more placed runners-up. This is absolutely remarkable. The men’s freestyle team tied the national record for most junior champions in a single year by any state and produced the best team result in Wisconsin history with their second-place finish overall. Champions in men’s freestyle were Haakon Peterson (106), Braeden Scoles (160), Noah Mulvaney (170), Connor Mirasola (195) and Koy Hopke (285). Ashton Miess earned the Junior Greco title at 160 pounds. The six runners-up were Cole Mirasola (JR MFS 220), Alex Hofrichter (JR WFS 164), Carley Ceshker (16U WFS 127), Brooke Huffman (16U WFS 180), Daniel Heiser (16U MFS 145) and Colton Weiler (16U GR 138). Every single Wisconsin team placed in the top 10. Select here to read the complete All-American Summary.

Wisconsin teams produced seven top-ten finishes at National Duals: Junior Freestyle and 14U Greco both secured 3rd place, while 16U Greco and 14U Freestyle were 4th. 16U Freestyle was 5th, and both Junior Women’s Freestyle and 14U Women’s Freestyle were 9th. Finishing in 12th was Junior Greco and 16U Freestyle Blue was 18th.

Changes to the team selection for these two events went off without a hitch. The junior boys freestyle and Greco teams were selected for National Duals using USA Wrestling’s Performance Index Rating, which used historical data from all USAW-sanctioned freestyle & Greco events—athletes were able to strengthen their PIN at events like WWF freestyle and Greco State, Northern Plans and any other local freestyle and Greco tournament sanctioned by USA Wrestling. In women’s freestyle, events like Northern Plains gained more weight as the girls must now qualify to compete at Fargo, which brings the trio of Olympic styles into alignment for the largest event in the World.

WWF Events
Nearly 2,300 boys and girls competed at the WWF Kids Folkstyle State Championships in Madison. Athletes and coaches were provided printed ID passes for the first time which doubled as a keepsake for the athletes while enhancing athlete safety by allowing only credentialed coaches on the floor. During the event on Saturday, Koy Hopke was awarded his World Championship ring. Hopke, along with Dean Hamiti, Trent Hillger, and Jon Reader, were onsite to meet and greet with athletes. This season improvements were made with food trucks, smoother parking, and the availability of both tunnels for athletes on the floor. The WWF will continue improving this marquee event for our athletes in 2024.

The WWF Freestyle and Greco State tournaments were once again successfully hosted at the Woodside Dome in Wisconsin Dells and served as a major qualifying event for National Duals and Fargo.

Team USA Highlights
Wisconsin wrestlers continued to shine on the national stage, competing in various events across the country that serve as part of USA Wrestling’s team selection criteria. This included the US Open Events in Las Vegas, Men’s U20 and U23 World Team Trials in Ohio, and Women’s Nationals in Washington.

Mitchell Mesenbrink earned Junior World and Pan Am gold medals after winning the US Open and World Team Trials best-of-three series. Kylie Welker and Carley Ceshker, both World Team Trials runners-up, secured Pan Am gold medals this summer. Aeoden Sinclair, who won the U17 World Team Trials at the US Open, wrestled at the U17 World Championships in Istanbul, Turkey. Brady Koontz and Macey Kilty are headed to Serbia to compete at the Senior World Championships. Both won the US Open and the Final X best-of-three series. Alisha Howk, Macey Kilty, Payton Jacobson, and Hunter Lewis earned a spot to compete at the U23 World Championships, which will be in October.

Earning spots on the Senior National Team are Macey Kilty (No. 1 at 65kg), Alisha Howk (No. 2 at 55kg) and Kylie Welker (No. 3 at 76kg) in women’s freestyle, Keegan O'Toole (No. 3 at 74kg) and Alex Dieringer (No. 3 at 79kg) in men’s freestyle, and Brady Koontz (No. 1 at 55kg), Jesse Thielke (No. 3 at 67kg) and Ben Provisor (No. 3 at 82kg) in Greco-Roman.

The WWF partnered with USA Wrestling to host Dominate in the Dells and the Northern Plains Regional Championships at the Woodside Dome in Wisconsin Dells, creating an at-home atmosphere for Wisconsin athletes and serving as an extension of the National Governing Body.

Training Opportunities
The WWF continued off-season training camp opportunities for the women’s freestyle program with five camps run by the National Team coaches. These camps were monthly from October to February and complemented the spring training team camps. In March, the WWF partnered with Team Iowa to host a joint team camp with wrestlers from Iowa, Missouri, and Texas. These women’s freestyle initiatives are part of a larger effort to generate a championship team from Wisconsin while exposing more girl wrestlers to available opportunities through the sport (read more).

This spring the WWF partnered with hosts of freestyle and Greco tournaments to highlight the Olympic styles, and to share more about the opportunities for athletes within the WWF programs. Technique clinics, led by members of the National team coaching staff, were held prior to local events and will continue this season.

Communications
The WWF continues to utilize the USA Wrestling membership system to send monthly communications highlighting key dates and information. If you are not receiving these emails please ensure your membership profile is updated with your preferred/active email. Additionally, Scott Kluever has continued monthly Zoom calls from February to June leading up to National Duals and Fargo. You can stay connected on our social platforms via the WWF Blog, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. 

THANK YOU!
Wisconsin surpassed its USA Wrestling membership record for any year this season in March, and closed the 2022-23 membership season with 13,048 members! This included 10,813 athlete memberships and 2,235 wrestling leaders with 159 sanctioned clubs statewide. 

We’re thrilled to be at the beginning of another exciting year. Together, we'll build on the incredible momentum from previous seasons, fostering growth and excellence in the sport throughout Wisconsin and on the world stage. We look forward to another season of teamwork, competition, and camaraderie. Thank you to our wrestlers, coaches, staff, volunteers, officials, parents, and membership community for being an integral part of the WWF and USA Wrestling!

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The Wisconsin Wrestling Federation, guided by USA Wrestling, provides quality opportunities for its members to achieve their full human and athletic potential. Wisconsin Wrestling Federation will strive to be USA Wrestling’s best state organization