Pairings set for state wrestling

The path to the podium won’t be easy for any of the 11 area wrestlers who qualified Saturday for the WIAA state individual wrestling tournament, which begins Thursday.

Six of the area wrestlers will compete in weight classes featuring returning state champions.

The Division 2 field includes six returning champions, including senior Jens Lantz (38-1), of Ellsworth, who is attempting to become only the 13th wrestler in the history of the state to win four individual championships. He was the 120-pound champion last season, the 113 winner in 2012 and the 103 gold medalist in 2011.

Lantz moved up to 126 this year, which is the same weight as Wittenberg-Birnamwood senior Bobby Uttecht (38-6). If Uttecht wins his first match, he will face Lantz in the quarterfinals.

There also are six champions returning in Division 3, including two-time champion Ethan Soderstrom (20-3), of Lancaster, who won at 160 last year and 152 as a sophomore. He moves up a weight class to 170, the same division as Bonduel senior Jacob Wudtke (38-6), who would need to win three matches to get a shot at Soderstrom in the final, if the Lancaster senior gets through his first two matches after a first-round bye.

Bonduel junior Dan Tauchen (38-7), fresh off his sectional championship, is in a tough weight class at state. Senior Trenton Cornell (41-2), of Lancaster, moved up to 152 this year after winning a state championship last year at 145. Tauchen earned a bye but Cornell did not, so the earliest they could meet would be in a semifinal match Friday.

Bonduel sophomore Garrett Siolka (39-7) also has a defending champion in his 113-pound weight class: sophomore Hunter Dischler (41-2), who won the 106 title last season, of Weston/Ithaca. Neither wrestler has a bye, so both would have to win three matches to meet in the final Saturday.

Witt-Birn senior Ben Vosters (46-2) also could face a 2013 champion. Senior J.J. McClelland, of Viroqua, won the 113 title last season and qualified at 120 this year with a 41-5 record.Vosters would have to win two matches and McClelland one to meet in the semifinals.

Last year’s champion at 160 maintains that weight in an attempt to repeat as title holder. Senior Gable Frandsen (50-1), of Ellsworth, is back to defend his 160-pound title, which might be bad news for Witt-Birn freshman Alex Peplinski (42-9). If he wins his first match, Peplinski will get a shot at Frandsen in the quarterfinals.

Division 2 and 3 preliminaries begin at 7:15 p.m. Thursday at the Kohl Center on the University of Wisconsin campus. Quarterfinals are scheduled to begin about 11:15 a.m. and semifinals 7 p.m. Friday, with the championship matches beginning at 6 p.m. Saturday.

As sectional champions, Tauchen and Witt-Birn senior Braxton Potrykus (42-2) received first-round byes and won’t wrestle until Friday morning.