NGL second at Cloverbelt tournament

Neillsville-Greenwood-Loyal had a strong team at the

2022 Cloverbelt Conference wrestling tournament held on Feb. 5 in Cadott. The host Hornets had a better one.

NGL claimed championships in three weight classes, just one fewer than Cadott, but the Hornets had more depth in claiming the conference crown with

232 points. NGL scored 198 for runner-up status, with Regis/Altoona taking third at 176. Other teams competing were Bloomer/Colfax at 102, Abbotsford-Colby at 101, Stanley-Boyd at 97, Osseo-Fairchild/Augusta/ Fall Creek at 85, Spencer-Columbus at 84.5 and Thorp/ Owen-Withee at 35.

Winning conference titles for NGL were junior Luke Dux at 120 pounds, senior Jarick Young at 138, and junior Gunner Hoffmann at 285.Finishing in second place were junior Derek Zschernitz at 126 pounds, freshman Hudzon Sebesta-Opelt at 132, and junior Dan Polzin at 195.

Spencer-Columbus had one weight class champion in freshman Mason Wolf at 113 pounds. Senior Treyton Ackman took second at 120.

This year’s Cloverbelt Conference individual champions: 106 -- Junior Deaglan O’Connell, Regis/Altoona, 28-11 season record

113: Freshman Mason Wolf, Spencer/Columbus, 13-10

120: Junior Luke Dux, NGL, 23-4

126: Junior Brayden Sonnentag, Cadott, 34-1

132: Sophomore Troy Trevino, Stanley-Boyd, 23-9

138: Senior Jarick Young, NGL, 26-9

145: Sophomore Tanner Halopka, Abbotsford/Colby,

41-1

152: Junior Tristan Drier, Cadott, 36-2

160: Senior Bowen Rothbauer, Bloomer-Colfax, 36-2

170: Junior Dawson Webster, Cadott, 33-7

182: Junior Caden Weber, Regis/Altoona, 27-0

195: Senior Carter Grewe, Abbotsford/Colby, 38-2

220: Senior Gavin Tegels, Cadott, 37-1

285: Junior Gunner Hoffmann, NGL, 30-1 Among the highlights at Cadott was the 120-pound championship match between Dux and Ackman. Dux placed second at last year’s WIAA individual state tournament and Ackman was third. Ackman won last year’s conference title match over Dux, but Dux turned the tables this year with a 10-3 decision.

Young won his title with a 14-3 major decision in the finals over Cadott senior Ethan Duck (14-10). In the

285-pound title match, Hoffman pinned Thorp/Owen-Withee junior Nathan Zarins (17-6) in 1:44.

Wolf won his title match at 113 pounds with a pin of Osseo-Fairchild/Augusta/Fall Creek junior Bryce Armstrong-Bagli ( 22-16) in 47 seconds.

DEAN LESAR/STAFF PHOTOS