OSSEO — The G-ET/Melrose-Mindoro and West Salem/Bangor boys wrestling teams were the top two performers and will continue their individual and team seasons in the WIAA tournament series over the next two weeks.
The Titans scored 267.5 points and the Catbirds 228.5 to finish first and second in the team standings of the WIAA Division 2 Osseo-Fairchild Sectional on Saturday and earned spots in a sectional dual tournament at Black River Falls next Saturday.
G-E-T/Melrose-Mindoro — ranked sixth in Division 2 by Wisconsin Grappler — also qualified eight wrestlers and seventh-ranked West Salem/Bangor five for the individual state tournament at the Kohl Center in Madison on Feb. 26-28.
The Titans crowned bracket champions in senior Colton Koss, junior Brody Banse, sophomore Merek Windsor and junior Aaron Dunigan, while the Catbirds did the same with senior Teghan Moore and senior Mason Chambers.
West Salem/Bangor also had runner-up finishers in senior Cayson Anderson (15-7, 113), senior Caden Anderson (43-7, 190) and senior Kaiden Stello (44-12, 285). G-E-T/Melrose-Mindoro added to its state contingent with second-place finishes from senior Koda Purney (37-11, 120), senior Gunnar Kremer (33-10, 126), senior Jayce Stetzer (43-7, 157) and junior Braden Peterson (26-5, 175).
Koss (39-7), a senior who was seeded first and is ranked fifth at his weight by Wisconsin Grappler, used a technical fall and pin to qualify for the championship match at 132 pounds. He then beat second-seeded Adam Kautzer (44-8) of Neillsville/Greenwood/Loyal 14-7 to win the title.
Banse (39-7) was the top seed at 144 and won the championship with a 15-8 decision over Espen Pitts (20-8) of Mauston/Necedah. Banse, ranked seventh in the state, won his quarterfinal and semifinal matches in 33 and 34 seconds, respectively.
Windsor (33-15) entered at the second seed at 165 and advanced to a match against top-seeded David Aguilar (43-8) of Arcadia. Windsor grabbed the championship with a 10-2 major decision after beating West Salem/Bangor’s Lucas Fry (17-13) 11-4 in the semifinal round.
Dunigan (42-4), seeded first and ranked fourth at 190, cruised to his championship match against West Salem/Bangor senior Caden Anderson (43-7), who was seeded second and ranked sixth. Dunigan led 7-5 after one period and 12-6 after two on the way to a 14-9 victory over Anderson, who earned true second place with a technical fall.
Moore (46-5) was the top seed at 126 and entered the meet ranked third in the state. A technical fall and major decision set him up with a championship match against G-E-T/Melrose-Mindoro’s Kremer, and Moore won that one 18-1 in 2:39. Kremer advanced by rule.
Chambers (40-4), seeded first and ranked second in the state at 157, wasn’t challenged in his bracket. Two quick pins were followed by a 24-8 technical fall over G-E-T/Melrose-Mindoro’s Stetzer — ranked sixth in the state — for the championship.
