Dux, Hoffmann, Zschernitz clear sectional hurdle; Ackman makes fourth state trip

Neillsville-Greenwood-Loyal junior Luke Dux will get another crack at a WIAA individual state wrestling title this weekend at the Kohl Center in Madison. Teammate Gunner Hoffmann will try to improve on last year’s fifthplace state finish, and junior Derek Zschernitz will get his first chance to see what he can do against the state’s best. Meanwhile, Spencer-Columbus senior Treyton Ackman will be at the state tourney for the fourth and final time.

All four of those area wrestlers waded through the competition at the Feb. 19 D2 sectional meet in Amery to reach the coveted state tournament. Dux and Hoffmann qualified for state as sectional champs while Zschernitz and Ackman go as runners-up.

Dux improved his season record to 29-4 by going 3-0 at Amery at 120 pounds. He pinned freshman Levi Nelson (11-11) of Ellsworth in 1:41 in his quarterfinal match, then needed just 1:03 to do the same thing to Baldwin-Woodville junior Cole Braasch (32-14) in the semifnals. That set up yet another match against Ackman. The pair tangled in the finals at the Cloverbelt Conference meet on Feb. 5 and again at the regionals on Feb. 12, with Dux winning those matches on scores of 10-3 and 8-4. At Amery, Dux won again, 3-0.

Ackman (31-4) will be on the state meet mats for the fourth straight year, after placing third in 2021. At Amery, he pinned West Salem-Bangor junior Bradyn Glasspoole (29-11) in 3:47 in the quarterfinals and secured another match against Dux with an 18-3 technical fall over St. Croix Central sophomore Teague Holzer (40-4).

Hoffmann (37-1) ran through three opponents at Amery to get to Madison in the 285-pound weight class. He first pinned Ashland senior David Granados (32-9) in 1:24, and then faced off against Amery senior Robert Beese (47-4). Hoffmann came out with a 5-2 win, then pinned Baldwin-Woodville junior Jason Baribeau (22-13) in 1:12 to win the sectional title.

Zschernitz emerged from the Amery sectional with a 28-5 record after going 3-1 at 126 pounds. He started his day with a 14-10 decision over St. Croix Central freshman Will Schmitt (29-15), then advanced to the finals with a pin of Ellsworth sophomore William Penn (32-9) in 3:37.

Zschernitz was pinned in 3:39 in the finals by Ashland seniorAustin Defoe (40-2), then faced a wrestleback for his second-place standing. He survived that with an 11-6 overtime decision over Gale-Ettrick-Trempealeau/ Melrose-Mindoro sophomore Jackson Blaken (34-16).

Five other NGL wrestlers could not get through the Amery sectional. At 132 pounds, freshman Hudzon Sebesta-Opelt (29-10) won his first match at 132 pounds on a technical fall over Hayward-Northwestern senior Drake Marks (36-12). That’s as far as he would go, though, as he was pinned in 1:07 by eventual weight class champion Tanner Anderson (44-1) of GET/MM and then was eliminated on a 12-7 loss to Osceola senior Lucas Sedivy (39-10).

At 138 pounds, senior Jarick Young (29-10) lost his first match on a 7-0 decision. Junior Keeghan Anding

ROSS PATTERMANN/STAFF PHOTO (29-13, 152 pounds) lost his only match on a 7-2 decision, while sophomore Dane Luchterhand (32-16, 170 pounds) was pinned by eventual undefeated sectional champion Devin Wasley of St. Croix Central and Dan Polzin (27-11, 195 pounds) fell in 3:39 in his quarterfinal match.

For Spencer-Columbus, freshman Mason Wolfe (16-13) also qualified for the sectional, but was pinned in 1:08 in his only match at 113 pounds.