Jacy Zollar sports@wolfrivermedia.com
Photo by Tina Bacon Three Wittenberg-Birnamwood High School wrestlers are heading to the WIAA Division 3 sectional after placing in the top two at the regional tournament in Amherst on Saturday. Shown are, from left, Duane Potrykus, assistant coach; Dylan Sprague, who finished second at 160 pounds; Chad Moegenburg, who finished first at 113 pounds; Jeremy Landowski, who finished second at 152 pounds; Phil Kersten, assistant coach; and Troy Ostrowski, head coach.
Three Wittenberg-Birnamwood High School wrestlers advanced to the WIAA Division 3 sectional tournament with top-two finishes at the regional tourney in Amherst on Saturday.
Eleven Chargers placed in the top five in their weight classes at the regional.
The three wrestlers who advanced to the sectional tourney in Shawano on Saturday are regional champion Chad Moegenburg, who took the 113-pound title, and regional runners-up Jeremy Landowski (152 pounds) and Dylan Sprague (160).
Moegenburg (38-6) pinned Shiocton’s Sam Flannery in 59 seconds in the semifinal round before defeating Weyauwega-Fremont’s Easton Groskreutz 6-2 in the championship.
“Chad has made big strides this year,” head coach Troy Ostrowski said. “Last year, he took fourth at sectionals, and I’ve seen huge mental improvements from him since then. His mentality is much tougher, and I think that’s been a key difference for him this year.”
Landowski (24-17), who will be competing at sectionals for the first time, pinned Brady Volkman, of Shiocton, in the regional semifinal and lost a 6-5 decision to Adam Charnecke, of Rosholt, in the championship round.
Sprague (29-10) pinned Rosholt’s Isaac Groshek in 35 seconds in the semifinal and dropped a 10-5 decision to Tri-County’s undefeated Brandon Peckham in the championship match.
“It’s a great experience for these kids to make it to the next level,” Ostrowski said. “They each wrestled up to par with what I know they’re capable of. (Landowski) only lost the championship by one point, so that was a match where we thought he could maybe take it, but otherwise they all placed where we expected.”
Chargers posting third-place finishes were Bryce Zoromski (120 pounds), Alex Lorbecke (126) and Allen Uttecht (285).
Larken Betry (132), Will Urquhart (138) and Zach Johnson (145) each placed fourth.
Dakotah Olson (106) and Wyatt Schoepke (182) each finished fifth.