Year comes together for Hornets, as Sectional champs

It was some tough competition the Cadott Hornets Wrestling program faced at the WIAA Division 3 Sectional Feb. 6, but the trip to St. Croix Falls was well worth it. The Hornets not only sent on four wrestlers to individual State competition, but also were crowned as Sectional team champions.

Out of the 14 weight classes, seven had the No. 1 wrestlers in the state vying for who would move on.

“Saturday was a great day for Cadott wrestling, as well as the Cadott community,” said coach Josh Spaeth. “We had a great team showing, with a lot of wrestlers showing a lot of grit and determination. Some wrestlers did not accomplish their goal of qualifying for team State. But, each wrestler came back after a tough loss and earned the next best thing.”

Coming through on the back side of the brackets, Cadott scored a lot of points, including much-needed bonus points for the team.

“The tournament came down to one final match, with Nelson Wahl earning a victory by fall, over a St. Croix Falls opponent,” said Spaeth. “This was a very exciting moment that many will never forget. We have been so close to qualifying the last few years. Everything’s come together for us this year.”

In addition to making team State, the senior Wahl (160 pounds, freshman Brayden Sonnentag (120), junior Gavin Tegels (220) and sophomore Tristan Drier (145), all qualifi ed for individual State competition.

For Wahl, he returns to State for the third time, as runnerup at Sectionals, with a 15-1 record.

“He joins a select few list of Hornets who have done the same,” said Spaeth.

Wahl started out the day facing off against Joshua Konvicka of Chetek-Weyerhaeuser-Prairie Farm, in the quarterfi nals, winning by fall, in 1:09. He then lost to Boyceville’s Tyler Dormanen, by fall, in 3:04.

However, Wahl got the chance to redeem himself in the consolation semifinals, winning over Mondovi’s Alan George, by fall, in just 25 seconds. It was then on to the third place match, where Wahl earned the fall over Ryan Becker, Stratford, in 5:34.

With a wrestleback match, Wahl was able to secure second place and a State berth, by taking out St. Croix Falls’ Grady Guggisberg, by a 2:00 fall.

“Nelson’s effort in his final match of the day this weekend, helped secure our team State goals,” said Spaeth.

Tegels also secured his place at State, by winning the quarterfinal match against Unity’s Ethan Feist, by a 4:49 fall, then making quick work of Ethan Brunner, Durand, in a mere 39 seconds in the semis.

Tegels then became the champion, after defeating Cumberland’s Milan Monchilovich in the first place match, winning by fall, in 2:31. Tegels was a State qualifier in 2019, as a freshman, and heads to this year’s competition with a 15-1 record.

“Gavin is another wrestler who has worked extremely hard in the off-season,” said Spaeth. “He truly dominated all of his opponents this weekend. Gavin leads by example, on and off the mat.”

Returning State place winner (sixth), with a 15-2 record, Drier came in second at the Sectional meet, after taking out Cumberland’s Devin Roff, by fall, in 3:17, during quarterfi nal action. Drier then faced off with Matthew Anderson, Clear Lake, winning the match with a 6-0 decision.

Drier couldn’t pull out the first place match with Stratford’s Elijah Lucio, losing in a 3-2 decision. State was still in reach, as Drier then wrestled for second place with Boyceville’s Ira Bialzik, winning with a 4-3 decision.

“Tristan is another wrestler who works extremely hard,” said Spaeth. “Tristan has high goals of moving up on the podium this year. He is another Hornet wrestler that shows a lot of grit on the mat, and is a leader on and off of the mat.”

Rounding out the list of those making their way to State, is the returning State champion Sonnentag, who has gone undefeated this season (16-0).

Sonnentag took care of his Chequamegon opponent Sebastian Barnabus in the quarterfinals, with a 1:07 fall, then faced Josh Davidsaver, St. Croix Falls, winning in 51 seconds, by fall. The first place match was then battled, with Sonnentag coming out the victor over Ladysmith’s Clayton Roscoe, with a fall in 2:57.

“Brayden is one of the hardest working kids I have ever coached,” said Spaeth. “He is determined to reach his goals. His accomplishments are a direct reflection of his hard work and determination. He dominated the competition this weekend.”

Finishing in third place for the Hornets, were junior Kaleb Sonnentag (138) and sophomore Dawson Webster (182).

“These two wrestlers had tough semi-final defeats, but both wrestled the best possible finish they could earn,” said Spaeth. “Their efforts helped secure a team State birth. In a normal year (pre-COVID), we would have sent six wrestlers to State.”

Sophomores Cole Pfeiffer (152) and Nick Fasbender (132) ended with fourth place finishes, and junior Logan Harel (113) came away with fifth place.

Falling short of the podium, were Lukas Simenson (106) and freshman Axel Tegels (195), with sixth place, while freshman Ashton Bremness (126) did not place.

The four Hornets moving on will compete individually at Wausau, Feb. 13, while the team competition will take place Feb. 20.

“We are extremely excited to represent our community in the WIAA Team State Tournament,” said Spaeth.