BOSCOBEL senior Braiden Pickett finished second in the 145-pound weight class at the WIAA Division 3 Sectional meet at Westby this past Saturday.  By doing so, Pickett advances to the Individual State Wrestling Tournament at the Kohl Center in Madison this weekend.

Bulldog head coach, and father, Jason Pickett believed the senior had an opportunity to advance, but wondered if he could find the confidence to believe it himself and perform the way his coach believed he could.  Braiden obviously found that confidence.

In his first match, Pickett (29-12) faced La Crosse Aquinas wrestler and number-ten ranked 145-pounder in the state, Zach De Groot who entered the match with a 31-7 season record.  The Bulldog senior took De Groot out with a 7-3 decision.

Pickett next faced a wrestler who had defeated him earlier in the season, by a fall at the Bi-State Tournament in late December.  Weston-Ithaca’s Monty Jennings entered the match as the sixth-ranked wrestler in Division 3 at 145 pounds with a 39-8 season record.  Pickett dominated this match, winning with a major decision, 17-4, and earning a spot in the championship match. His opponent in that match was a SWAL rival, Fennimore’s Mason Lull, ranked number five in the state. 

Lull earned first place with an 8-2 decision over Pickett, but both wrestlers go on to Madison this weekend.