MCDONALD'S SWNEWS4U.COM GAME OF THE WEEK (Jan. 6–13)
PREP WRESTLING: Iowa–Grant/Highland wins Sauk Prairie Invitational

By Jason Nihles, The Platteville Journal / Fennimore Times / Boscobel Dial

Hoffman, Hinderman lead Panthers to team title at Sauk Prairie
PRAIRIE DU SAC — The Iowa–Grant/Highland wrestling team crowned a pair of champions and scored 168 points to win the team title at Saturday’s 22-team 2026 Sauk Prairie Eagle Invitational.

Freshman Wyatt Hoffman won the 120-pound title, while junior Brock Hinderman won the 175-pound bracket.

Senior Jaxon Busse finished second at 165, while sophomore Ty Cutts at 190 and junior Tanner Degenhardt at 215 each finished fourth to score 15 valuable team points for the Panthers.

Sophomores Griffin Wineski (113) and  Hayden Aultman (138) each finished fifth for IGH.

The Panthers (168) finished 16 points ahead of runner-up Seymour (152) and 21.5 in front of Middleton (146.5).

Hoffman, who is affectionately known as Trapper, went 4–0 in his 11-man bracket to win his first individual varsity championship.

Hoffman, who scored a team-high 28 points, used a first-round bye and back-to-back pins to reach the finals, where he kept the streak going with a 43-second pin of Seymour sophomore Zack Lee in the championship match.

Hinderman, who recently finished second at the 68-team Bi-State Classic two weeks ago, won the 175-pound title Saturday at Sauk Prairie with a first-round bye, a 20–3 tech fall in the quarterfinals, a narrow 5–4 win over Sun Prairie West’s Niko DeZiel in the semifinals, and a commanding 16–1 tech fall over previously undefeated Menominee senior Jacob Anderson (16–1). Hinderman scored 25 team points.

Busse, who did not wrestle at Bi-State, advanced to the 165-pound title match with a bye, a 1:20 pin and a 13–0 major decision over Middleton senior Finn Grauwels.

Division 2 top-ranked Haakon Peterson, who has committed to Division 1 Michigan, beat Busse in the finals, 20–4 by tech fall.

Cutts won his first two matches by pin before suffering back-to-back losses to place fourth at 190.

Degenhardt followed a similar path to fourth place at 215 with pins in his first two matches. 

The Panthers will travel to Fennimore Friday night for another SWAL triangular with the host Golden Eagles (2–6, 2–2) and Cuba City/Benton/Southwestern (6–4, 2–1) in a triangular that could determine second place in the conference standings.

The Iowa–Grant/Highland boys will then travel to Batavia, Ill. Saturday for the Batavia High School Invitational.

2026 Sauk Prairie Eagle Invitational
(from Jan. 10 @ Prairie du Sac)
Top 10 team scores: 1.Iowa–Grant/Highland 168, 2.Seymour 152, 3.Middleton 146.5, 4.Menomonie 126.5, 5.Sauk Prairie/Wisconsin Heights 125, 6.Dodgeville 99, 7.Riverdale 93.5, 8.Ithaca/Weston 89.5, 9.Monroe 80.5, 10.Mauston 80.
Iowa–Grant individual results
113: Griffin Wineski went 4–1, 5th place, scored 14.5 team points
120: Wyatt Hoffman went 4–0, CHAMPION, scored 28  team points
First round — Hoffman (IGH) had a bye
Quarters — Hoffman (IGH) over Charlie Krebs (Pec/Argyle) (Fall 2:57)
Semis — Hoffman (IGH) over Pearce Mathison (Sparta) (Fall 0:59)
1st place match — Hoffman (IGH) over Zack Lee (Seymour) (Fall 0:43)
126: Oliver Christiansen went 2–2, 7th place, scored 8 team points
138: Hayden Aultman went 4–1, 5th place, scored 13 team points
144: Max Kalley went 3–2, 7th place, scored 7 teams points
150: Colton Williams went 3–2, 7th place, scored 11 teams points
157: Bryar Yelinek went 3–2, 6th place, scored 10.5 points
165: Jaxon Busse went 3–1, 2nd place, scored, 21 points
First round — Busse (IGH) had a bye
Quarters — Busse (IGH) over Conway Knox (Sauk Prairie/WH) (Fall 1:20)
Semis — Busse (IGH) over Finn Grauwels (Middleton) (Major Dec. 13-0)
1st place match — Haakon Peterson (Dod) over Busse (IGH) (Tech Fall 20-4)
175: Brock Hinderman went 4–0, CHAMPION, scored 25 points
First round — Hinderman (IGH) had a bye
Quarters — Hinderman (IGH) over Aiden Duran (Dodgeville) (Tech Fall 20-3)
Semis — Hinderman (IGH) over Niko DeZiel (Sun Prairie West) (Dec. 5-4)
1st place match — Hinderman (IGH) over Jacob Anderson (Menominee) (Tech Fall 16-1)
190: Ty Cutts went 2–2, 4th place, scored 15 points
215: Tanner Degenhardt went 2–2, 4th place, scored 15 points