MADISON — Four of Iowa–Grant/Highland’s state qualifiers reached the Division 3 medal podium Saturday, capping a successful weekend for the Panthers at the WIAA individual state wrestling tournament.
Senior Sawyer Sarbacker at 120 pounds and Brady Peat at 170 advance to Saturday night’s finals and both finished second. Junior Max Maylor battled back after a frustrating semifinal loss Friday night to finish third at 152 pounds. Sophomore Drew Hennessey placed fifth at 182, while junior Clayton Kite participated in his first state tournament.
The five Panthers combined to score 57.5 points to finish seventh in Division 3. Stratford crowned four champions and finished first with 172 points.
Number one-ranked Sarbacker (45–2) scored a dramatic overtime victory over third-ranked Josh Depies (37–3) of Random Lake with a takedown at the buzzer in Friday night’s semifinal round.
Sarbacker then took a 3–1 lead with an escape and a takedown in the second period of 120-pound championship match against second-ranked A.J. Schoenfuss (35–5) of Stratford. Sarbacker maintain the lead until the final half minute, but was called for stalling with 30 seconds left, then gave up a reversal with 10 seconds left to lost 4–3.
“It was very heartbreaking for Sawyer as he has come such a long way since his freshman year,” said Panthers’ head coach Ryan Allen. “ However, we are all still very proud of Sawyer and what he has done this year and the last four years for I–G/H wrestling.”
Peat (42–7) advance to the 170-pound finals with a 6–1 quarterfinal victory and a 14–3 major decision over Luke Clark of St. Croix Falls, but suffered a 5–2 loss to top-ranked Helton Vanderbush of Random Lake.
“In Brady’s finals match, we were able to get to the guy’s leg, but we just couldn’t get two hands on it to finish,” said Allen. “Vandenbush did a great job of controlling wrists to keep Brady from scoring. For Brady to get second is a great accomplishment and I am super proud of him. He is a very hard worker and I know he will have big plans for next year.”
Maylor (46–2) suffered a controversial 2–1 loss to eventual champion Mason Kauffman (32–0) of Straford in the semis. He bounced back with a technical fall and a 9–4 victory over Dodgeland’s Ryan Neu (40–4) in the 152-pound third-place match.
“In the first 20 seconds [against Kauffman] Max was called for an unsportsmanlike penalty for being too physical and that ultimately decided the match,” said Allen. “I didn’t agree with the call but it happened and we weren’t able to score to overcome it. It was a very unfortunate circumstance but Max, being Max, came back and rolled to an outstanding thirrd-place finish. Max has been dominant all year long and to not finish on top is disappointing to him and I know he will be pushing even harder now so he can go for gold next year.”
Hennsessey (36–11), who finished second at 170 pounds last year, went 2–2 at 182 this year with a 14-second consolation pin over Kenosha Life Christian’s Stephen Schostok and a 14-second in over Edgar’s Will Raatz in the fifth-place match.
Kite finished the season 33–13 after a first-round loss to Ladysmith’s Steven Jerry (32–7) in Thursday night’s preliminary round.
WIAA Division 3 State Championships
(from Feb. 23–25 @ Kohl Center, Madison)
Top 10 team scores — 1.Stratford 172, 2.Coleman 99, 3.Boyceville 80.5, 4.Fennimore 69, 5.Random Lake 66, 6.Athens 60, 7.Iowa–Grant/Highland 57.5, 8.Cadott 47, 9.Cochrane–Fountain City 43, 10.Spring Valley/Elmwood 35.
Iowa–Grant state qualifiers
120 — Sawyer Sarbacker (45-2) placed 2nd and scored 17.00 team points.
Quarterfinal - Sawyer Sarbacker (Iowa-Grant/Highland) 45-2 won by major decision over Jake Nadeau (Glenwood City) 37-10 (MD 8-0)
Semifinal - Sawyer Sarbacker (Iowa-Grant/Highland) 45-2 won in sudden victory - 1 over Josh Depies (Random Lake) 37-3 (SV-1 4-2)
1st Place Match - A. J. Schoenfuss (Stratford) 35-5 won by decision over Sawyer Sarbacker (Iowa-Grant/Highland) 45-2 (Dec 4-3)
145 — Clayton Kite (33-13) place is unknown and scored 0.00 team points.
Champ. Round 1 - Steven Jerry (Ladysmith) 32-7 won by decision over Clayton Kite (Iowa-Grant/Highland) 33-13 (Dec 17-13)
152 — Max Maylor (46-2) placed 3rd and scored 13.50 team points.
Quarterfinal - Max Maylor (Iowa-Grant/Highland) 46-2 won by decision over Ryan Neu (Dodgeland) 40-4 (Dec 14-7)
Semifinal - Mason Kauffman (Stratford) 32-0 won by decision over Max Maylor (Iowa-Grant/Highland) 46-2 (Dec 2-1)
Cons. Semi - Max Maylor (Iowa-Grant/Highland) 46-2 won by tech fall over Stetson Potrykus (Wittenberg-Birn.) 39-9 (TF-1.5 4:03 (19-3))
3rd Place Match - Max Maylor (Iowa-Grant/Highland) 46-2 won by decision over Ryan Neu (Dodgeland) 40-4 (Dec 9-4)
170 — Brady Peat (42-7) placed 2nd and scored 17.00 team points.
Quarterfinal - Brady Peat (Iowa-Grant/Highland) 42-7 won by decision over Jacob Banker (Bonduel) 35-7 (Dec 6-1)
Semifinal - Brady Peat (Iowa-Grant/Highland) 42-7 won by major decision over Luke Clark (Saint Croix Falls) 40-3 (MD 14-3)
1st Place Match - Helton Vandenbush (Random Lake) 46-1 won by decision over Brady Peat (Iowa-Grant/Highland) 42-7 (Dec 5-2)
182 — Drew Hennessey (36-11) placed 5th and scored 10.00 team points.
Quarterfinal - Caleb Hopp (Laconia) 45-8 won by fall over Drew Hennessey (Iowa-Grant/Highland) 36-11 (Fall 3:37)
Cons. Round 1 - Drew Hennessey (Iowa-Grant/Highland) 36-11 won by fall over Stephen Schostok (Ken. Christian Life) 36-11 (Fall 0:14)
Cons. Semi - Marshall Westfall (Athens) 36-10 won by fall over Drew Hennessey (Iowa-Grant/Highland) 36-11 (Fall 2:04)
5th Place Match - Drew Hennessey (Iowa-Grant/Highland) 36-11 won by fall over Will Raatz (Edgar) 35-7 (Fall 0:15)
