Three Waunakee wrestlers punched their tickets to the state meet.
Jackson Lenzendorf, McCoy Smith and Mason Spear will all compete at the Kohl Center in Madison for the Warriors and try to bring home a state title.
Spear is the only returning qualifier, as he goes back at 113 with a 3:57 pin of La Crosse Central/Logan’s Vincent Moua and a 3-0 decision over Wisconsin Rapids Lincoln’s Gavin Jacob. Spear dropped a 3-1 decision to Reedsburg’s Treynor Curtin in the finals.
“His first match, Mason was all over him, and in his second match, it was 3-0, but he dominated the whole way,” said Waunakee head coach Mark Natzke. “It was not as close as the final score would indicate.”
Spear was ready to go from the outset.
“When you go into sectionals, the guys who want to succeed are the ones who go out and go after it,” said Natzke.
That what Spear did, and so did McCoy Smith, who qualified for state at 215.
“He’s wrestled some big matches this year,” said Natzke. “When he’s on, he’s as good as anybody, and he was all over it all the way through.”
A 1:06 pin of Tomah’s Carter Habeck kicked things off for Smith, who then dispatched Wisconsin Rapids Lincoln’s Greysen Reimer 2-1. In the firsts-place match, Smith lost a 15-4 major decision to Reedsburg’s Jesus Gonzalez.
As for Lenzendorf, he won the 285-pound division by pinning all three of his opponents, sticking La Crosse Central/Logan’s Collin Wilson in 58 seconds, Sparta’s Cadence Zwefeil in 1:29 and Wisconsin Rapids Lincoln’s Tanner Gormanson in 1:47.
“I mean, he’s a man on a mission,” said Natzke. “And he’s been dominant all year. He doesn’t back down to anyone, and that shows on the mat.”
Others, like Gabe Metzler (144) and Brett Farrell (106), placed but did not advance to state. Metzler took third and Farrell was fourth, losing a touch 5-4 decision in his second round match after winning his first. In all, seven of Waunakee’s wrestlers won their first round matches at sectionals, which took place Saturday at West Salem/Bangor,
Payton Schutz, who came on late in the year, also took fourth at 126, and Dane Spencer suffered an injury and defaulted after also winning his first match at 138.
The future’s bright for Waunakee wrestling, as 12 of the 14 wrestlers who competed at regionals will be back next year.
Katelyn Ottosen (120), Madison Mercurio (126) and Ellie Lenzendorf (165) all competed at sectionals, but none of them advanced to state. Mercurio is a senior. Ottosen and Lenzendorf both placed second, while Mercurio dropped a tough 6-4 decision to the eventual champion.