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The Prescott wrestling team had two wrestlers qualify for WIAA State Sectionals by placing first or second in last week’s WIAA Regional. Nolan Thomley qualified for sectionals with his runner up finish at 145 pounds. Sam Murphy qualified with a firstplace finish at 152 pounds.

Thomley, just a freshman, had been wrestling well, especially the second half of the season. He faced some stiff competition at sectionals. In Thomley’s first match, he lost by fall at 2:52. In his second match, he battled hard, but lost in a 5-0 decision. The extra matches against quality competition should help the talented freshman gain more experience and help him continue to improve.

“Nolan made a huge jump from our last dual of the season. He went into regionals and was a completely different wrestler. In the COVID era we are currently in, he made tremendous gains. I am looking forward to having him for an entire season just to see how much more growth we_can get out of him,” said an impressed Coach Jordan Poirier.

Murphy, a junior, has had a dominant season and he had a legitimate chance to win his bracket. However, the first match of the day was a very rare loss. Murphy lost by fall at 1:30. In his next match, Murphy dominated, winning by a major decision, 10-1. In his third match, Murphy won by fall at 4:59. With that win, he wrestled in the third-place match. In a tough nail-biting match, Murphy won third place by the thinnest of margins, 8-7.

“Sam continued his dominating performance this season. He had a tough first match but battled back throughout the day and worked himself back into a position to possibly qualify for the state tournament. It didn't work out in our favor, unfortunately,” said Poirier.

“The next step for this team is to continue to progress and get better. We will keep recruiting and continue to pump numbers up,” Coach Poirier stated looking ahead to the offseason. _

Photo by John McLoone.