Appleton North wrestling earns pair of sectional qualifiers at WIAA Division 1 Wisconsin Rapids Regional

AppletonSportsPage.com

WISCONSIN RAPIDS – Appleton North has a pair of sectional qualifiers after competition at a WIAA Division 1 wrestling regional at Lincoln High School on Saturday.

Wisconsin Rapids won the team title with 224.5 points and Hortonville was second with 214 to advance to a D-1 team sectional at Stevens Point on Tuesday.

Wisconsin Rapids will take on Neenah and Kaukauna will face Hortonville in the semifinals, with the winners meeting for a spot in the 2025 WIAA State Team Wrestling Tournament at the UW Fieldhouse in Madison on March 7-8.

The top four in each weight class at the regional move on to a Division 1 individual sectional at Menasha next Saturday, Feb. 22. The top two at each weight at the sectional qualify for the 2025 WIAA State Individual Wrestling Tournament, which will be held Feb. 27-March 1 at the Kohl Center in Madison.

Jackson Esser, a Fox Valley Association Tournament champion, is moving on after placing second at 126 pounds for the Lightning.

Esser (29-5) lost in the 126-pound final to Wisconsin Rapids’ Aspen Tritz by pin in 2:58.

Also moving on for Appleton North is Pablo Salinas (25-16), who took third at 165 pounds. Salinas won the third-place match by medical forfeit before losing a second-place wrestleback to Hunter Opper of Merrill by pin in 3:14.

WIAA Division 1 Wrestling Regional
Feb. 15, at Wisconsin Rapids Lincoln High School
Team scores: 1. Wisconsin Rapids 224.5; 2. Hortonville 214; 3. D.C. Everest 186.5; 4. Merrill 151; 5. Wausau West 141; 6. Stevens Point 114; 7. Appleton North 68; 8. Wausau East.

Click here for complete results, courtesy of trackwrestling.com