ONTARIO — The Aquinas High School boys wrestling team was expected to dominate its WIAA Division 3 individual sectional on Saturday, and it backed up the hype with a team championship and six state qualifiers.
The Blugolds crowned four champions, added two second-place finishers and scored 271 points to finish comfortably ahead of second-place Iowa-Grant/Highland (209) and third-place Lancaster (197) in a meet hosted by Brookwood.
Aquinas, which is ranked first in Division 3 by Wisconsin Grappler, has qualified for the team sectional at Cashton next Saturday and will be led by sectional champions Martez Sheard, Roger Flege, Waylon Hargrove and Tyson Martin to the Kohl Center for the individual state tournament on Feb. 26-28.
Sheard (30-2), a sophomore and ranked second in the state at his weight, pinned his way to victory in the 126-pound bracket. His longest match last 3 minutes, 6 seconds, and that ended in a pin for North Crawford/Seneca’s Gavyn Wilkins (35-18) in the finals.
Flege (29-4), a senior, won twice by pin before handing Cashton’s Parker Mlsna (44-8) a 15-0 defeat in just 2:11 of the championship bout at 144. Flege is ranked second and Mlsna sixth in state rankings.
Hargrove (32-7), a senior ranked fifth at 165, pinned Brookwood senior Drew Powell (47-8) in 2:50 to win the 157 bracket. His quarterfinal match lasted 41 seconds and his semifinal bout 2:47.
Martin (38-1), a senior ranked first at 285, pinned his first two opponents in a combined 1:33 and then took care of Riverdale’s Grant Mathews (48-3) by an 11-1 score in the championship match. Martin is ranked first in the state, and Mathews is second.
The Blugolds will also be represented at the Kohl Center by sophomore Tyler Paulson (31-7) and senior Marcus Klar (30-12) after second-place finishes at 138 and 165, respectively.
Paulson won by technical fall and pin before a loss to top-seeded Brody Miess (44-3) of Riverdale in the finals and advancing by rule.
Klar lost to top-seeded and top-ranked Jaxon Busse (33-4) of Iowa-Grant/Highland in the semifinal round and earned his runner-up finish with three consolation victories. He beat second-seeded Brayden Lenz (25-9) of Lancaster 19-1 in the match for true second place.
