When the Bonduel event jumped on my radar I got a huge feeling of excitement as to the implications of it. Now don’t get me wrong, team state tickets are not punched in early December, but this one does have huge implications for seeding and who is the front-runner in D3 Sectional B. Come mid-February, three of the teams (Shiocton, Wabeno/Laona/Three Lakes, and Wittenberg-Birnamwood) will be duking it out for a trip to team state held for the first time at the LaCrosse Center. As a huge fan of D3 wrestling I wish they would have invited Crandon and Lena along and we would have ourselves a huge team sectional preview party!!
Schedule Starting at 5PM
- Round 1 – Shiocton vs Almond Bancroft, Bonduel vs Laona Wabeno, Witt Birn – Bye
- Round 2 – Laona Wabeno vs Almond Bancroft, Bonduel vs Witt Birn, Shiocton – Bye
- Round 3 – Laona Wabeno vs Shiocton, Almond Bancroft vs Witt Birn, Bonduel – Bye
- Round 4 – Laona Wabeno vs Witt Birn, Bonduel vs Shiocton, Almond Bancroft – Bye
- Round 5 – Witt Birn vs Shiocton, Bonduel vs Almond Bancroft, Laona Wabeno – Bye
Projected Lineups
Wittenberg-Birnamwood #4
- 106
- 113 Landon Meronk – 10 #7
- 120
- 126 Koleton Beran – 9
- 132 Dalton Fletcher – 11 #9
- 138
- 144 Devin Wudtke – 12 #8
- 150 Bo Davis – 11
- 157 Ben Miller – 12 #3
- 165 Frank Wierzba – 10
- 175 Grayson Niswander – 12
- 190 Colby Wincensten
- 215 George Seegmiller – 12 #11
- 285 Eli Komanekin – 10
Bonduel
- 106
- 113
- 120 John Parsons – 10
- 126
- 132 Beau Diemel – 9
- 138 Christopher Hammen-Jung – 11
- 144 Garrett Hofman – 9
- 150 Aiden Robarge – 10
- 157 Thomas Vanderzanden – 11
- 165 Carson Kolaske – 11
- 175 Ryler Kurtz – 10, #14
- 190 Jayden Popp – 11
- 215 William Baciak – 10, Tucker Hischke – 12
- 285 Jackson Krause – 10, Brody Vosters
Shiocton
- 106 Tucker Keberlein – 10, #6
- 113 Mason Affeldt – 10, #11, Devin Biese – 11
- 120 Lincoln Volkman – 9, #14
- 126 Collin Guyette – 9
- 132 Holdyn Volkman – 11, #7
- 138 Mason Demerath – 12, #9
- 144 Izaiah Sanchez – 12, #4
- 150 Jackson Young – 12, #13
- 157 Brody Slaets – 11, Royne Vasquez – 10
- 165 Scott Daniels – 12, Antonio Rangel – 10
- 175 Alejandro Garcia – 10
- 190 Luis Vasquez – 11
- 215 Sawyer Richl – 9, Karson Lutzewitz – 9
- 285 Brent Collar – 10
Wabeno/Laona/Three Lakes
- 106
- 113 Maximus Clark – 12, #11
- 120 Ryan DeMars – 9
- 126 Reegan Roy – 11, #4
- 132 Jayse Demerath – 11, #11,
- 138 Ryker Schingeck – 10
- 144 Michael Yager – 10
- 150 Cameron Tilton – 10
- 157 Sawyer Jameson – 12
- 165 Yukon Volk – 12
- 175
- 190 Brody Hoffman – 11, #10
- 215 Worawat Thawonwan – 11
- 285 Sawyer Christianson – 10
Almond-Bancroft
- 132 Kaden Marinez
- 138 Jeysson Perez-Herrera
- 190 David Castellanos
- 190 Jared Pena
- 215 Malachi Ramirez
The Match-Ups
Note – With all due respect to Almond-Bacraft as they are here with some tough teams and trying to grow their program, we will not do an analysis of the dual they are wrestling in as sheer numbers will prevent them from being competitive as a dual team. We know their five competitors will come to compete and we are excited to see that aspect of their program.
Round 1:
Bonduel vs Wabeno/Laona/Three Lakes (WLTL) – We can only hope that the host school doesn’t take offense to us overlooking them and their competitiveness in their home gym. They are 1-2 on the year with a 33-24 win over Oconto and did not compete in a tournament this past weekend. Wabeno/Laona/Three Lakes (WLT) is 4-1 in dual competition with a tight loss to Oconto Falls and took 7th at the John Roberts Invite, just a half point behind Antigo.
In any dual the “swing matches” are what make it make or break for either team and the three “big boy” weight classes are going to be just that up top. At 190 we have two returning sectional qualifiers in Jayden Popp for Bonduel and Brody Hoffman for WLTL. The 215 weight class is the battle of the unknowns as Bonduel has William Baciak new to the varsity level going against Worawat Thawonwan who was 8-19 on varsity last year, but is coming off a good showing at the John Roberts Invite. The heavyweight class is similar to 215 in that you have new-to-varsity Jackson Krause, a sophomore for Bonduel against sophomore Sawyer Christianson who is looking to improve on last year’s varsity record.
Ultimately, WLT with their 12 returning starters and 5 ranked wrestlers will prove to be too much for the Bears.
Predictions:
- Steve: 49 – 21 WLTL
- Teague: 56-18 WLTL
Round 2
Bonduel Vs. Wittenberg-Birnamwood – Wittenberg-Birnhamwood is ranked for a reason. They have spent the last several years being battle tested in the juggernaut that used to be D2 Sectional B, with the powers of L-C, Freedom, Denmark, Wrightstown, just to name a few. They have 5 ranked wrestlers and are coming off a 2nd place finish at the Schoenherr Duals with their only blemish being a 1pt loss to a much improved DePere. Wittenberg-Birnamwood is hoping that tough competition has prepared them for their first trip to team state since 2014.
Two key weight classes are once again the battle of the unknowns. At 150 we have Aiden Robarge – 10 vs Bo Davis – 11, and 165 Carson Kolaske – 11 vs Frank Wierzba – 10. For these weight classes both schools will be putting out wrestlers with not a lot of varsity accolades yet.
Prediction:
- Steve: 46 – 18 Wittenberg-Birnamwood
- Teague: 50-24 Wittenberg-Birnamwood
Round 3:
Wabeno/Laona/Three Lakes (WLTL) vs Shiocton – Fresh off their 2nd place finish at the 42 team Papermaker Invite, Shiocton has moved into the state rankings for the first time this season. You can’t blame the committee for taking them out, they did lose their starters from 157 on up. But as you will see, Shiocton reloads rather than rebuilds.
There are way too many good matches in this one to break it down so let me just list all the solid head-to-head bouts:
- 113 – Shiocton Tucker Keberlein-10, 6th ranked vs WLTL Maximus Clark – 12, ranked #11. *Note – Tucker wrestled at 106 this weekend, but Shiocton’s depth may allow this to happen!!!
- 132 – Shiocton Holdyn Volkman – 11, 7th ranked vs WLTL Jayse Demerath – 11th ranked
- 150 – Shiocton Jackson Young – 12 ranked #13 vs WLTL Cameron Tilton – 10 20-9 last year
The line-ups leave a lot of room for each coach to play a chess match to get some match-ups in their favor. Especially with WLTL who has returning state champ Reegan Roy at 126 going against a freshman. The question is, if the coaches want to show too much of their hand this early in the season? Tune in Thursday night to find out folks!
Prediction:
- Steve: 42 – 30 Shiocton
- Teague: 39-36 WLTL
Round 4:
WLTL vs W-B – Expect this one to have multiple lead changes as one of the better match-ups of the night. Both teams give up 3 forfeits, but luckily for the fans, 2 of them are at the same weight classes. Do coaches work to get the free points or wrestle it straight up and let the chips fall where they may?
Key match-ups:
- 113 W-B Landon Meronk – 10, 7th ranked vs WLTL Maximus Clark – 12, 11th ranked
- 132 W-B Dalton Fletcher – 11, 9th ranked vs WLTL Jayse Demerath – 11, 11th ranked
- 285 W-B Eli Komanekin vs WLTL Sawyer Christianson – battle of newcomer sophomores
- Note – I have the team score 32-28 going into 285 (assuming we start at 106) with WLTL winning at that point. My nod at Hwt goes to Eli from W-B with more varsity experience last year and heavyweights usually end in a pin, so…see prediction below!
Prediction:
- Steve: 34-28 W-B!
- Teague: 32-31 WLTL
Shiocton vs Bonduel – With a full line-up and 7 state ranked wrestlers this one is going to be all Shiocton. A Key match-up is at 120 with #14 ranked freshman Lincoln Volkman for Shiocton vs Bonduel’s sophomore sectional qualifier John Parsons. I also have 157 and 215 as swing matches.
Prediction:
- Steve: 56 – 19 Shiocton
- Teague: 60-12 Shiocton
Round 5:
Wittenberg-Birnamwood #4 vs Shiocton #9 – The spotlight is set for the match of the night featuring two state ranked teams! W-B has 5 state ranked wrestlers in the line-up, Shiocton 7 and both squads are coming off a 2nd place finish in their respective tournaments. Once again, the winner gets handed nothing when it comes to the post season but it will definitely give the winner the early upper hand when it comes to seeding.
Shiocton has the advantage when it comes to free points with 12 and more state ranked wrestlers. If the Chargers are going to win this one they are going to have to weather the storm and not give up too many bonus points in the lower weights. Once they hit the mid weights Wittenberg-Birnamwood is going to have to make hay as Shiocton had to replace all of their starters from 157 on up from last year.
Ranked match-ups:
- 113 WB Landon Meronk – 10, #7 vs Shiocton Mason Affeldt – 10, #11
- 132 WB Dalton Fletcher – 11, #9 vs Shiocton Holdyn Volkman – 11, #7
- 144 WB Devin Wudtke – 12, #8 vs Shiocton Izaiah Sanchez – 12, #4
Predictions:
- Steve: 38 – 33 Shiocton
- Teague: 42-28 Shiocton
