By John McLoone

Ellsworth and Prescott wrestlers will fight for a chance to compete at the WIAA State Tournament, with nine Panthers and two Cardinals advancing to the sectional meet from regionals held Saturday in Arcadia.

The WIAA Sectional Meet will be held Saturday in Amery with the top three finishers advancing to the WIAA State Individual Wrestling Meet starting Thursday, Feb. 24 at the Kohl Center in Madison.

Ellsworth crowned five regional champs: Carson Wright (106), William Penn (126), Ivan Veendendall (160), Anthony Madsen (170) and Louis Jahnke (182). Prescott’s lone champion was Sam Murphy (152). Also qualifying for Ellsworth were second-place finishers Logan Mueller (113), Levi Nelson (120), Ryan Matzek (220) and Ian Matzek (285). Prescott is also sending 106 runner-up Benny Olson to the Sectional meet.

Ellsworth just missed out on a trip to the WIAA Team Sectional competition, taking second place overall Saturday. West Salem/Bangor edged out Ellsworth by a 241.6-236.5 margin. Gale-Ettrick Trempealeau/ Melrose-Mindoro was third at 234.5, and Prescott was fourth with 89 points in the seven-team field.

Ellsworth hoping for splash at state With nine wrestlers advancing, Panther coach Mark Matzek is looking to bring a contingent to Madison after a rare year in 2021’s scaled back tournament where no Ellsworth wrestlers qualified.

“Saturday was a solid day for us,” said coach Mark Matzek. “Five champs and four runners-up is a good showing. It just wasn't good enough to win the tournament as a team. We knew it was going to be close with West Salem/Bangor. Regardless of the outcome, I am proud of how hard the team wrestled.”

At the regional meet, Wright was the first to take a podium spot at 106. He advanced to the championship match against Prescott’s Benny

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Olson with a 6-2 decision in his opening match. He then pinned Olson in 4:49 to claim the top spot.

Wrestling at 113, Logan Mueller made it to the finals with a pin. He lost the title match to Brett Plomedahl of West Salem/Bangor.

At 120, Levi Nelson earned a spot in the championship match with a close 3-2 win, before falling to Bradyn Glasspoole of WSB. He fought for a 5-3 decision in the second- place match. William Penn earned a quick pin in the semifinals and won 5-3 in his title match.

Ivan Veenendall, at 160, pinned his opening-match opponent and got to the championship with an 8-2 decision. He then scored an impressive 7-2 win in the title match.

Anthony Madsen, at 170, scored a technical fall in the semifinals and won, 502, in the championship match over a WSB wrestler.

At 182, Louis Jahnke pinned his way to the title, scoring a semifinal fall in 2:58 and pinning a WSB competitor in 3:08 for the top podium spot.

Ryan Matzek earned a spot in the finals at 220 with a fall in his first match. He then lost a close 8-7 decision in the championship match.

Ian Matzek scored a pin in the quarterfinal match and a 4-0 decision to set up his title match, where he lost a close 3-1 decision to take second overall.

Said Mark Matzek, “Carson Wright continues to improve each week. I am very happy with how he has become a tactical wrestler in his last two outings. William Penn showed a ton of guts and grit to win his finals match in overtime. William didn't wrestle his best match of the year, but champions find a way to win and that is what he did. Ivan Veenendall had a great turn-around from last weekend where he took fourth in our conference to winning the regional. In doing so he defeated two opponents who had previously beaten him. Ivan had fun too. Anthony Madsen continued dominating his opponents on Saturday. Anthony is wrestling well and continues to make small adjustments. Louis Jahnke won his second tournament in as many weeks with a fall in the finals. Louis' shot at wrestling sectionals was taken from him last year due to COVID rules, so he is excited to make the most of his opportunity this year.”

Matzek is hopeful to bring a good-sized group to Madison for the state meet.

“It has been an injuryplagued season for us for sure. We missed out on some experienced wrestlers due to this, but that is how it goes. Injuries are outside our control, and we must absorb them as best we can. Wrestlers that stepped up in the absence of those injured wrestlers got valuable experience this year that will pay dividends down the road,” he said. “Now we turn our attention to Saturday where we will try and get as many of our wrestlers through to the state tournament as possible. Our sectional is exceptionally tough this year, but I have confidence in our staff and our wrestlers that they will prevail.”

Prescott

Coach Jordan Poirier liked what he saw from Murphy and Olson, and he’s hopeful that both can work through the sectional meet to get to Madison.

Murphy, at 152, was unstoppable on the day at the regional meet as he cruised to the top podium spot. He picked up a pin in 1:22 in the semifinals and claimed first with an 11-4 title-match decision.

“Sam wrestled well, and hopefully that carries over this coming week,” said Poirier. “He has to go in with the right attitude Saturday and see what happens. He’s got a tough first match. He lost to this kid at the conference meet a couple weeks ago in a close match. We’ll have to game plan a little bit for that one. He’s working hard though, and we’re hoping to get through to state.”

Olson earned his place in the championship match at 106 with what could have been the quickest pin of the day, winning by fall in 40 seconds in the semifinals. He then fell in the championship match to take second.

“Benny wrestled well. He had a good day,” said Poirier. “He’s in a good spot at the sectional meet. His first match is against someone he’s already beaten once. It’s a good spot for him to be in. It’s a winnable match for him, then it’s wide open after that.”

“We were hoping to get a couple more through to sectionals, but that’s how it goes,” said Poirier. “It’s been a good year overall. It’s definitely a lot better than where we were last year with being able to compete. Kids can improve. You can see them improve throughout the year. Last year, with being limited, you didn’t see the dramatic improvement. It’s nice to have it back.”

22 Ellsworth's Anthony Madsen works to turn G-E-T/Melrose-Mindoro's Alex Wieczorek to his back during the 170 pound semifinal match at Saturday's regional in Arcadia. Madsen won by tech fall and went on to claim the 170 pound title. Photo by Nate Beier/GX3 Media

Ellsworth's Levi Nelson takes Arcadia's Ivan Aguilar to the mat in a 120 semifinal match at the Division 2 regional in Arcadia. Nelson won with a 3-2 decision and finished second in the weight class. Photo by Nate Beier/GX3 Media

Prescott's Nolan Thomley works on a single leg takedown against West Salem/Bangor's Trevor Arentz during the 145 semifinal at Saturday's regional wrestling tournament in Arcadia.

Photo by Nate Beier/GX3 Media

Prescott’s Sam Murphy works on finishing a takedown in the 152 regional semifinal match at Arcadia Saturday morning. Murphy won by fall and went on to claim the 152 bracket championship via an 11-4 decision. Photo by Nate Beier/GX3 Media