NGL takes fifth place at Sparta

The Neillsville/Greenwood/Loyal (NGL) wrestling team took fifth place at the Sparta Invitational on Jan. 21. Earning 127.5 points, the team was led by Luke Dux, Derek Zschernitz and Hudzon Sebesta-Opelt, with the three members taking top individual placings at the invite.

Dux took first place in the 126-pound class, scoring 30 of the team's points. After getting a bye in the first round, Dux proceeded to plow through his quarterfinal match against Xavier Denman of Monona Grove/McFarland (1:19) and his semifinal match against Peyton Oberg of Baraboo (2:29) before taking the win by fall over Holmen's Turner Campbell in 1:22.

In the 132-pound weight class, Zschernitz placed second. After his first-round bye, Zschernitz won by fall over AJ Alesch of Holmen (1:19) in the quarterfinals and again by fall over Jaden Kondor of Sparta (1:20) in the semifinals. In the first-place match, Zschernitz was pinned by Viroqua’s Ethan Dobbs in 1:44, putting him in second place overall.

Sebesta-Opelt also took second place at Sparta, competing in the 145-pound class. He took a bye in the first round before winning his quarterfinal match in 50 seconds against Joe White of Marshfield. His semifinal match took a little longer (1:30), but he overcame Holmen’s Carter Gault to proceed to the final round where he fell in 48 seconds to Hoyt Blaskowski of Marshfield.

In other matchups, two NGL wrestlers took fifth place. Keeghan Anding competed in the 152-pound class, winning three of his matches by fall and one by major decision, and losing one by decision to earn his fifth-place finish. Dane Luchterhand also took fifth, competing in the 170-pound weight class, winning four of his matches by fall and losing his quarterfinal match by decision. Jakob Luchterhand took seventh place in the 160-pound class and Braxton Kauth placed eighth in the 195-pound class. Also competing at Sparta were Evan Kautzer (138) and Heath Jordan (182).

Taking it down the court

Spencer’s Sam Bezlyk works against his Neillsville opponent during the Rockets’ Jan. 17 game against the Warriors. Spencer fell to Neillsville 85-45.

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Granton wrestler takes 5th

Granton’s Wyatt Karl (r) took fifth place at the Wisconsin Wrestling Challenge Series Championship held Jan. 21.

CONTRIBUTED PHOTO