NGL advances three wrestlers to state
The Neillsville/Greenwood/ Loyal (NGL) wrestling team advanced three wrestlers out of the Amery WIAA Division 2 Sectional Tournament to the WIAA Division 2 State Tournament to be held at the Kohl Center in Madison Feb. 23-25. The top three wrestlers in each weight class advance to the state tournament.
Leading the way for the Warriors was senior Luke Dux, who decisioned William Penn from Ellsworth 8-1 to win the 126-pound title. Earlier Dux pinned Tracker Dodds of Luck/Frederic/ Grantsburg/Siren in 0:33 in his quarterfinal match and decisioned Teague Holzer of Saint Croix Central 12-6 in the semifinals. Dux now has a season record of 33-0.
Senior Gunner Hoffmann pinned Mason Baribeau of Baldwin-Woodville in 1:04 to claim the 285-pound weight class title. Before that, Hoffmann pinned Jacob Berands from Saint Croix Central in 1:07 to win his semifinal match. Hoffmann's season record now stands at 26-1.
Sophomore Hudzon Sebesta-Opelt pinned Brock Swenson of Saint Croix Central in 1:11 to win the third-place match at 145 pounds. Earlier, Sebesta-Opelt defeated Trevor Hintz of Amery 15-0 in his quarterfi nal match and lost 3-1 in overtime to Griffin Marko from Saint Croix Falls in his semifinal match. Sebesta-Opelt now has a season record of 46-9.
Other NGL wrestlers who didn't advance were senior Derek Zschernitz, senior Carter Schoengarth and junior Dane Luchterhand.
Zschernitz placed fourth at 132 pounds. He finished the season with a record of 30-11.
Schoengarth placed fourth at 182 pounds and ended the season with a record of 33-15.
Luchterhand wrestled at 170 pounds and finished his season with a record 40-15.
State wrestling begins this Thursday, Feb. 23, and continues throughout the weekend. Sebesta-Opelt’s first match will be Thursday evening at 7:15 p.m. Hoffmann and Dux will each wrestle on Friday around 11:15 a.m. The finals in all three boys’ divisions and the girls’ division will be held Saturday, with the Parade of Champions at 5:30 p.m. and wrestling starting at 6 p.m. The championship matches will be televised live on the Bally Sports Network.
From left to right, NGL’s Luke Dux, Hudzon Sebesta-Opelt and Gunner Hoffmann have earned a place at the state wrestling tournament this weekend. At sectionals, Dux took first at 126 pounds, Sebesta-Opelt took third at 145 pounds and Hoffmann took first at 285 pounds.
CONTRIBUTED PHOTO
