WWF KIDS FOLKSTYLE TOURNAMENT - Medford Youth Wrestling sends eight to this weekend’s state championships
WWF KIDS FOLKSTYLE TOURNAMENT
Eight youths from Medford have earned spots in the Wisconsin Wrestling Federation’s Kids Folkstyle state championships set for Friday and Saturday at the Alliant Energy Center in Madison.
Top-three finishes by wrestlers in their individual age/weight classes were needed to advance from this past Saturday’s eight qualifying tournaments held throughout the state.
Most of Medford’s wrestlers competed in the Merrill regional tournament with four winning championships. Two of Medford’s statebound wrestlers are repeat qualifiers from a year ago.
Amara Gudmundson returns to state thanks to her championship in the 135-pound weight class for girls born in 2013-14. She had just one match at the regional and won it 2-0 over Crandon’s Monroe Brockway. Gudmundson went 1-2 in last year’s state tournament.
Trevor Kautzer is Medford’s other repeat qualifier. He took third in a six-wrestler bracket at 85 pounds in the 2011-12 age group. Kautzer opened with a 4-0 win over Crandon’s Nathan Wagoner but then lost 4-0 to eventual champion Gavin Lamers of Wrightstown in the semifinals.
On the consolation side of the bracket, Kautzer beat his Medford teammate Tristan Nemitz 6-2 to advance to the third-place match, where he clinched his state spot with a 4-0 win over Rocklyn Scharenbroch of Rosholt. Kautzer aims to get his first state win after going 0-2 in Madison last March.
Croix Hartl, Taiylor Kautzer and Kaylyn Bratland were the rest of Medford’s regional champions.
Hartl won two matches to claim his round-robin 165-pound bracket in the 2013-14 age class. Hartl pinned runner-up Mason Borchardt of Wausau West in 50 seconds and third-place wrestler James Trunkel of Owen-Withee in 52 seconds.
Kautzer did the same in her 50-pound bracket in the girls 2015-16 age class. She pinned runner-up Layla Johnson of Marshfield in 42 seconds and pinned Raighyn Skaar of Elk Mound, the thirdplace wrestler, in 2:20.
Bratland was the only wrestler registered at 45 pounds in the girls 2015-16 age class.
Three Medford wrestlers advanced with second-place finishes in their brackets.
Ashton Noland was the runner-up in a six-wrestler competition at 175 pounds in the 2009-10 age class. After a first-round bye, he met Stanley’s Kaiden Parker in the semifinals and pinned him in 41 seconds. In the championship match, Noland was pinned in 1:16 by Antigo’s Joseph Stimac. Noland faced a second-place wrestleback, which he won 9-5 over Davion Griffin of Kronenwetter.
Anthony Grant went 1-2 and won a tiebreaker to place second out of four wrestlers at 84 pounds in the 2013-14 age class. Grant lost his first match 9-6 to Nolan Johnson of Marshfield and his second to eventual champion Brock Switlick of Wausau West in 3:00. Grant was a 6-5 winner over Mosinee’s Grayson Martens of Mosinee. Grant, Martens and Johnson all went 1-2. Johnson got the third state spot.
Ian Stickney placed second out of three wrestlers at 210 pounds in the 2009-10 age group. After falling 4-1 to champion Levi Peterson of Antigo, he defeated Jeremy Peterson of Markesan by pin in 3:16.
Medford had three near-misses at Merrill Saturday. Marcin Gasek was fourth at 79 pounds in the 2011-12 age class after going 2-2. He beat Wittenberg-Birnamwood’s Ethan Schulist 10-5, then lost by pin in 2:43 in the semifinals to Crass Trained wrestler Vernon Karl. Gasek beat Tomahawk’s Robert Guzman 6-4 to get to the third-place match, where he lost 7-1 to Schulist.
Branch Walton was fourth at 185 pounds in the 2011-12 age group, which had five wrestlers. He drew a bye into the semifinals where lost 5-3 to Rosholt’s Reid Huffman and was pinned by Marathon’s Bradly Seefeldt in 1:21 in the third-place bout.
Angus Peterson was fourth out of seven wrestlers at 60 pounds in the 2013-14 age group. After an opening 4-2 loss to Edgar’s Caiden Seubert, Peterson was a 5-3 winner over Antigo’s Jason Allen to get to the third-place match, where he lost a rematch with Seubert 15-1.
