Preseason is officially underway and opportunities are on the rise for our youth wrestlers as the sanctioned events list grows! Team USA just wrapped up action at the World Championships and three Wisconsin natives are bringing home some serious hardware. This month’s highlights include the next women’s freestyle camp, information on USA Bracketing, and the WWCA Convention. Get all the details below.

Sanctioned Events in WI (current Nov. & Dec.)
Check out the current list of sanctioned events in WI. Hosting an event? Sanction it directly in the membership system (select here to learn more), or submit a completed application to sanction an event form to Sandy Russell. After that, send us your flyer and we’ll post it online!

• Nov. 3rd - Midwest Fall Brawl, Appleton WI
• Nov. 3rd - Women’s Freestyle Camp #3 at UW-Stevens Point
• Nov. 9th - Who’s the Big Cheese, Wisconsin Dells
• Nov. 15th-16th - Battle by the Border, LaCrosse WI
• Nov. 24th - Ranger Rumble Youth Tournament, Kenosha WI
• Dec. 8th - Women’s Freestyle Camp #4 at B.A.M. Training Center
• Dec. 8th - Watertown Youth Wrestling Tournament, Watertown WI
• Dec. 15th - Black Hawk Warrior Youth Wrestling, South Wayne WI
• Dec. 15th - Janesville Youth Beginners & Girls Wrestling Tournament, Janesville WI
• Dec. 15th - Burlington Demon Youth Open, Burlington WI
• Dec. 15th - Evansville Youth Wrestling Tournament, Evansville WI
• Dec. 15th - Grafton Raptors Rumble for the Ring, Grafton WI
• Dec. 15th - Milwaukee Youth Wrestling Tournament, Milwaukee WI
• Dec. 28th - Sawdust Nationals, Appleton WI 
• Dec. 29th - Poynette Panther Pride, Poynette WI

National Events

• Nov. 7th-9th: Bill Farrell Memorial International, New York NY

Women’s Freestyle Camp Series
We had a great camp in River Falls last month! National team coaches Alisha Howk and Josie Bartishofski brought campers through lots of work on the fundamentals of handfighting, setups, and transitioning from takedowns to turns—small things that make all the difference! Big thanks to Victory for hosting!

The series continues November 3rd at UW-Stevens Point for Wisconsin 14U, 16U and Junior female athletes. This camp follows the Pointer Open on Saturday which is a collegiate women’s wrestling tournament (freestyle, of course!). The technique focus will be 2:1 offense and defense, and Coach Jake Wozniak will lead the breakout discussion on how to build a strong recruiting profile.

• Register here | Learn more here | Share this flyer with a friend!
• NEW! (Re)Watch the technique, discussions, and other clips from camp on our YouTube channel here! We’ll be posting more regularly throughout the season.

USA Bracketing
This month we shared information about USA Bracketing, which many events will be run on beginning January 2025. USA Bracketing is a new comprehensive tournament management system where you can create, customize, and manage sports brackets effortlessly with real-time updates.

Athletes, parents, and coaches can create profiles TODAY, and event organizers can start setting up 2025 events! The WWF will use USA Bracketing for the 2025 Kids Folkstyle State Qualifiers; the Kids Folkstyle State Championships will be run on TrackWrestling through next year. Check out these resources:

• USA Bracketing User Guide
• USA Bracketing Website

WWCA Convention - Hall of Fame & WFS Presentation
We are excited to share the news that WWF State Coach Coordinator Scott Kluever will be inducted into the George Martin Wrestling Hall of Fame!  This event ceremony will take place in conjunction with the WWCA Fall Clinic and Awards Banquet on Friday, November 8th in Wisconsin Dells. Help us extend congratulations to Kluever on this well-deserved recognition! You can read more about the induction and Kluever’s bio and accomplishments online here. Congratulations, Scott!

Also at the convention, Women’s Freestyle Head Coach Bryan Koontz will deliver a presentation centered on “Opportunities for Women in Wrestling.” Learn more about the fall convention here.

Annual Meeting
The Annual Meeting was held in Mauston on October 6th. Board members and staff shared highlights from the past season and provided updates on upcoming tournaments. Todd Schaaf presented the proposed budget, which was unanimously approved. Dave Matthews shared a special demo presentation of the new USA Bracketing system highlighted above. The following individuals were re-elected into director positions for another two-year term: Neysa Bianchi, Women’s Director; Chris Persike, Junior Director; Tony Schaaf, Kids Director; and Randy Ferrell 16U Director. Read more about the annual meeting, here.

WI x Team USA Highlights
Over the past two weeks, Wisconsin natives delivered standout performances on the world stage for Team USA at the U23 and Senior World Championships in Tirana, Albania.

Kylie Welker led the charge, claiming a U23 World title and earning her first senior-level medal with a bronze at the Senior World Championships. Macey Kilty followed with a stellar showing, taking bronze at the Senior World Championships—her second senior-level medal—after a silver at U23 Worlds.

Mitchell Mesenbrink added to his growing international accolades with a bronze at the U23 World Championships, marking his third World medal. In Greco-Roman, Payton Jacobson battled to a strong 5th-place finish. Also competing for Team USA were John Gunderson (U23 freestyle), Brady Koontz, and Benji Peak (Senior Greco-Roman).

Congratulations to these athletes on their hard work and success! For full recaps, visit:

• Women’s Freestyle: Senior Worlds, U23 Worlds
• Men’s Freestyle: U23 Worlds
• Greco-Roman: Senior Worlds, U23 Worlds

Wisconsin wrestlers were also in action last weekend in Iowa at the Brian Keck Memorial Preseason Nationals and Boys High School Showcase! Check out the complete list of wrestlers that hit the podium here. As always, wrestlers across the state are training and competing at various offseason and preseason events. We see your hard work! As we move into the start of the WIAA high school season this month we are wishing all of our members the best of luck.

Membership Renewals

• Individual Athletes and Leaders: All individual memberships must be renewed on a yearly basis. Visit the USAW membership system to renew yours today. Please note that SafeSport training, refresher course and/or background check during the renewal process may be required. We recommend doing this immediately to ensure you are ready for the season. Check out all the benefits here.
• High School Teams: USA Wrestling presents an annual opportunity for high school teams to purchase memberships for their entire team for $500. Teams will receive an unlimited number of athlete memberships for the season and an official USA Wrestling Club Charter among other benefits. Select here to learn more.

__
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