By Chris Bennett
Correspondent
Twelve of the 14 wrestlers in the lineup for Elkhorn Area High School Feb. 14 at the WIAA Division 1 Regional meet at Stoughton advanced to compete another day.
Next up is the WIAA Division 1 Sectional Meet Saturday at Sun Prairie, with berths at the WIAA Division 1 State Individual Wrestling Tournament at stake.
The WIAA Division 1 State Individual Wrestling Tournament is February 26-28 in Madison at the Kohl Center.
“We expected to finish better as a team, but the individuals making it, we expected that,” Elks coach Ken Reynolds said. “It didn’t work out as a team. We needed to have everything working, and it just didn’t. We couldn’t miss one beat.”
As a team, the Elks finished the sectional in second place with a total of 232 points. Host Stoughton won the regional with 253.5 points, and advances to the WIAA Division 1 Team State Tournament March 6-7 in Madison at the University of Wisconsin Fieldhouse.
Reynolds said he knows where the Elks missed their chance to advance to team state for the first time in school history.
“We had nine in the finals and only won three matches,’ Reynolds said. “We needed to win five.
“I think they wrestled their best. I have no issues with any of them. They did a great job and fought hard, and certainly represented Elkhorn well.”
John Olsen at 145 pounds pinned his way to a regional title. Olsen, with a record of 34-3, pinned Stoughton’s Tyler Dow in 5 minutes, 25 seconds in the final. He pinned Watertown’s Jason Reince in 1:29 in the quarterfinals and Fort Atkinson’s Austin Kind in 1:18 in the semifinals.
Konnor Mohr (152) and Richie Heidemann (285) also won regional titles. Mohr (36-3) beat Oconomowoc’s Tim Nelson 5-0in the final. Heidemann (35-8) pinned Verona Area’s Garrison Stauffer in 3:13.
Benji Peak (106, 36-4), Bryce Fitzgerald (126, 36-5), Keaton Verhoeven (170, 35-7) and Dylan Linhart (195, 35-4) each finished second in their weight.
Jordan Barr (182, 30-7), Bryce Jacobson (160, 30-11), Riley Remington (138, 28-13), Alex Brahm (132, 27-12) finished third. Connor Leahy (120, 21-18) finished fourth.
The top four in each weight class advanced from the regional to sectional meet. The top two in each weight class at the sectional advance to state.
Mohr, Fitzgerald and Linhart advanced to state last season. Linhart finished sixth at 220.
“Three of the top six teams in the state are at this sectional,” Reynolds said. “It’s got to be the hardest sectional in the state.
“We like our chances. We’ve got a mature, competitive team, and at the end of the day, we’re going to feel pretty good.”
Stoughton is ranked second in Division 1 in the latest Wisconsin Wrestling Online state team rankings. Milton is fourth and Elkhorn sixth, and all three compete in the Sun Prairie sectional.
Individually, Linhart is ranked fifth at 220. Heidemann is 10th at 285. Peak (106), Olsen (145) and Verhoeven (182) are ranked 11th. Fitzgerald is 12th at 126 and Mohr is 13th at 152.
