By Adam Knoll
Five Whitewater High School wrestlers participated in the Division 2 Sectional competition at Milwaukee Lutheran High School Feb. 21 with two of them earning a trip to the WIAA State Wrestling Tournament this week.
At the sectional, the top three in each weight class moved on to the state level. Whippet wrestlers Irving Sedano and James Ehlen, who both won with pins, represented WHS at the state competition.
After dropping his first match of the evening, Sedano (120 pounds) was fortunate enough to have that competitor make the final round. That put Sedano in a “wrestle back” position.
Sedano pinned his first opponent of the wrestle back, advancing himself to the third place match. After two scoreless rounds, Sedano was given the top position and needed to turn his opponent to win, or hold him and force overtime. After a few moments of struggling, Sedano turned a combination into a pin and earned himself a trip to state.
Ehlen, on the other hand started off very strong at the sectional, taking on a difficult opponent and hanging on during the ebbs and flow of the match. Toward the end of it, Ehlen found himself in a pin situation and was able to pull it off in what the coach described as “a very tough victory.”
In the semi-final, Ehlen took on another strong opponent, but was able to stave off the mat, winning the match 9-6.
“James did a great job maintaining his position throughout the match again during some crazy scrambles,” head coach John Schimming stated after the match.
In the finals, Ehlen found himself standing toe-to-toe with an opponent much like himself from East Troy. It may have been the previous two matches, or perhaps Eh-len got off to a bad start and couldn’t recover, in either case, the third match proved to be his downfall and he fell 8-5.
Other Whippet wrestlers also had strong showings at the sectional level.
Max Reid took fourth place at 152 pounds. He fell in his first match but was able to find himself in a wrestle back situation and nearly became the third wrestler headed to state from Whitewater, but fell 8-5 in a technical match.
“Reid put together a very nice finish to a season that saw him wrestling as high as 170 much of the season even though he only weighed about 158,” Schimming said.
John Saylor won his first match 17-7 after posting eight takedowns during the match. He then went into a brutal semi-final in which he lost, and lost in his wrestle back. Saylor, a senior, had a notable season, finishing with a 26-8 individual record.
Jameson Hutchins lost his first match at sectionals, though his opponent was so dominant the rest of the way that Hutchins also earned a wrestle back. During his second chance, however, Hutchins lost to the eventual third place finisher.
The state competition were held at the Kohl Center beginning Feb. 26. Results can be tracked online at www.trackwrestling.com.
