Wisconisn Rapids' Aspen Tritz, left, defeated Appleton North's Jackson Esser in the 126-pound final at a WIAA Division 1 individual wrestling sectional at Menasha High School on Saturday. Both qualify for the state tournament in Madison. (Photo courtesy of Appleton North Wrestling)

Appleton North’s Esser qualifies for state wrestling with second-place finish at WIAA Division 1 Menasha Sectional

February 22, 2025 plecker

AppletonSportsPage.com

MENASHA – Appleton North junior Jackson Esser is heading to state after taking second place at 126 pounds at a WIAA Division 1 individual wrestling sectional at Menasha High School on Saturday.

The top two finishers in each of the 14 weight classes at the sectional qualify for the 2025 WIAA State Individual Wrestling Tournament, which will be held Thursday, Feb. 27, through Saturday, March 1, at the Kohl Center in Madison.

Esser (31-6) reached the 126-pound championship before losing by pin in 4:23 to Aspen Tritz of Wisconsin Rapids, earning a spot in the state tournament field.

Appleton North’s other two sectional qualifiers, Bennett Hechel at 132 pounds and Pablo Salinas at 165, were eliminated with quarterfinal losses.

Appleton East and Appleton West also had three wrestlers reach sectionals and all six lost their first-round matches.

Appleton East’s Ido Vang (28-11, 106 pounds), Xander Schiltz (28-19, 126) and Xander DiMatteo (9-12, 157), and Appleton West’s Abdelrahman Zeineldin (25-12, 165), Quinn Meyers (8-8, 190) and Jevonte Johnson (19-8, 285) had their seasons come to an end.

Brackets for the state tournament will be announced on Sunday.

Click here for complete results, courtesy of trackwrestling.com