The 14 champions at the WIAA Division 1 wrestling regional at Kaukauna on Saturday included Appleton North's Jake Stoffel and Brock Arndt. (Photo courtesy of the Appleton Wrestle North Facebook page)

Appleton North, Appleton West, Appleton East combine for nine sectional berths at WIAA Division 1 wrestling regional

February 10, 2024 plecker

Appleton West wrestlers Ben Hilbert, Collin Evers, Abdelrahmain Zeineldin and
Lucas Collar had top-four finishes and earned spots in next week’s sectional at
a WIAA Division 1 wrestling regional at Kaukauna on Saturday. (Photo courtesy
of the Appleton West Terror Backers Facebook page)

AppletonSportsPage.com

KAUKAUNA – Appleton North had a pair of champions and six overall sectional qualifiers after competition at a WIAA Division 1 wrestling regional at Kaukauna High School on Saturday.

The top four finishers in each weight class at the regional on Saturday advance to next week’s WIAA Division 1 individual sectional at Kimberly on Saturday, Feb. 17. The top two finishers in each weight class qualify for the 2024 WIAA State Individual Wrestling Tournament at the Kohl Center in Madison on Feb. 22-24.

North’s Jake Stoffel (35-0) and Brock Arndt captured regional titles. Stoffel topped Kaukauna’s Brady Sprangers 12-4 in the 175-pound final, and Arndt (24-1) shut out Nehemiah Lendobeja of Kaukauna 6-0 to win the 285-pound title.

Also moving on for the Lightning to next week’s sectional were runner-up Blake Miller (215 pounds), Jackson Esser (third at 126), and fourth-place finishers Jayden Rasmussen (106) and Tomas Thao (120).

Appleton West had four sectional qualifiers as Ben Hilbert (113) and Collin Evers (144) finished second, and Lucas Collar (138) and Abdelrahmain Zeineldin (157) placed fourth.

Hilbert lost the 113-pound final to Nick Jenkins of Kaukauna 7-3, while Evers won a third-place match and ended up with a second-place finish with a wrestleback victory.

Appleton East’s lone sectional qualifier was 285-pounder Todd Marx (20-9), who placed fourth. He lost a third-place match to Nate Cleveland of Neenah, 5-0.

Kaukauna finished first in the team standings with 247.5 points, just ahead of second-place Hortonville (240), and both advance to a WIAA Division 1 team sectional at Bay Port on Tuesday. Kaukauna wrestles against Pulaski and Hortonville will face Bay Port in the semifinals, with the winners meeting up for a chance to advance to the 2024 WIAA State Team Wrestling Tournament on March 1-2 at the UW Fieldhouse in Madison. Kaukauna is the third-time defending Division 1 state champion.

Appleton North ended up fourth, West seventh and East eighth in team points.

WIAA Division 1 Wrestling Regional
Feb. 10, at Kaukauna High School
Team scores: 1. Kaukauna 247.5; 2. Hortonville 240; 3. Neenah 195.5; 4. Appleton North 142; 5. Kimberly 111; 6. Menasha 71; 7. Appleton West 66; 8. Appleton East 38.
Top four finishers in each weight class qualify for D-1 sectional at Kimberly on Feb. 17.
106 pounds
Championship: Andy DiPiazza (KAU) won major dec. over Sam Ellerman (HOR), 13-1.
Third place: Jaxon Ennis (NE) pinned Jayden Rasmussen (AN), 1:47.
113 pounds
Championship: Nick Jenkins (KAU) def. Ben Hilbert (AW), 7-3.
Third place: Jacob Natzke (MEN) def. Garrett Nedens (NE), 7-2.
120 pounds
Championship: Tristin Ellerman (HOR) pinned Eli Armatti (NE), 3:36.
Third place: Jacksyn Thorpe (KAU) pinned Tomas Thao (AN), 1:53.
126 pounds
Championship: Cash Botting (HOR) pinned James Thao (KIM), 5:50.
Third place: Jackson Esser (AN) def. C.J. Quick (MEN), injury time.
Fourth-place wrestleback: Logan Teissier (NE) def. Quick (MEN), medical forfeit.
132 pounds
Championship: Lucas Peters (KAU) def. Nolan Skebba (HOR), medical forfeit.
Third place: Landen Sheppard (NE) won by technical fall over Daniel Grey (KIM), 17-2.
138 pounds
Championship: Declan Koch (NE) won by major dec. over Collin Schroeder (HOR), 16-5.
Third place: Ryan Schmidt (KAU) won by major dec. over Lucas Collar (AW), 15-2.
144 pounds
Championship: Jacob Herm (NE) def. Jack Cleereman (HOR), medical forfeit.
Third place: Collin Evers (AW) def. Ramses Aguirre (KAU), 6-5.
Second-place wrestleback: Evers (AW) def. Cleereman (HOR), medical forfeit.
Fourth-place wrestleback: Aguirre (KAU) pinned Tyson Salm (AN), 2:47.
150 pounds
Championship: Henry Niebauer (HOR) def. Kolin DeGroot (KAU), 8-2.
Third place: Alex Reichenberger (KIM) def. Jaden Reay (NE), 4-3.
Fourth-place wrestleback: Reay (NE) pinned Pablo Salinas (AN), 3:00.
157 pounds
Championship: Peyton Lee (KAU) def. Tanner Hart (KIM), 14-7.
Third place: Grant Harris (HOR) def. Abdelrahman Zeineldin (AW), 8-5.
165 pounds
Championship: Liam Crook (KAU) def. Tage Wasmund (HOR), medical forfeit.
Third place: Kaden Roth (NE) won by major dec. over Nathan Messman (MEN), 14-2.
Second-place wrestleback: Wasmund (HOR) pinned Roth (NE), 1:31.
Fourth-place wrestleback: Thao (KIM) def. Messman (MEN), 10-6.
175 pounds
Championship: Jake Stoffel (AN) won major dec. over Brady Sprangers (KAU), 12-4.
Third place: Kyle Agnew (HOR) def. Miguel Mora (NE), 5-0.
190 pounds
Championship: Ayden Needham (HOR) def. Brody Beck (KIM), 7-1.
Third place: Cole Tomchek (KAU) won major dec. over Richard Waldburger (MEN), 9-1.
215 pounds
Championship: Austin McHugh (HOR) def. Blake Miller (AN), 7-2.
Third place: Jeremy Wiggs-Schmalz (NE) def. Sam Weber (KAU), 8-7 (SV-1).
Second-place wrestleback: Miller (AN) pinned Wiggs-Schmalz (NE), 1:19.
285 pounds
Championship: Brock Arndt (AN) def. Nehemiah Lendobeja (KAU), 6-0.
Third place: Nate Cleveland (NE) def. Todd Marx (AE), 5-0.