Hoffmann takes state wrestling title; Dux places second for NGL

Neilsville/Greenwood/Loyal (NGL) senior Gunner Hoffmann, making his fourth trip to the WIAA State Wrestling Championship, won the Division 2 285-pound class at the annual tournament held at the Kohl Center in Madison Feb. 23-25.

Hoffmann -- who placed sixth at 220 lbs. as a freshman, fifth at 285 as a sophomore, and second as a junior -- pinned Porter Mandurano of Belmont/Platteville in 1:39 to win the title.

“After losing in the finals last year, I knew I didn’t want anything besides a championship,” Hoffmann said after the match.

Hoffmann, who pinned Ben Roman of Sturgeon Bay/Sevatapol in 2:41 to win his quarterfinal match and pinned Isaac Bunker of Monroe in 2:55 to win his semifi nal match, finishes his season with a 29-1 record and becomes the first NGL state champion since Stephen Buchanan won back to back state titles in 2018 and 2019.

“Gunner’s been wrestling since he’s a little kid, so he’s been working for this his whole life. His family is really invested in it. Last year he lost in overtime at state, so he was really wanting to win this year,” said NGL head coach Scott Bryant.

“Partway through the year, Gunner fractured his ankle. He came back to wrestle regionals. So he was worried about that, but he gave it a go.

“He’s someone that comes to practice, works and does his thing. He’s very strong and very dedicated. He definitely put the time in.”

Bryant also shares a connection to Hoffmann’s family, as he coached Hoffmann’s dad 29 years ago when he was a high school freshman. Hoffmann’s dad went on to wrestle at state as well.

Among the other NGL wreslters at state this year, senior Luke Dux also made his fourth trip to the state tournament and was defeated in the Division 2 126-pound championship match by Ostin Blanchard of Campbellsport 7-4. Dux -- who finished third at 106 lbs. as a freshman, second at 113 lbs. as a sophomore, and second at 120 lbs. as a junior -- won his quarterfinal match 9-2 over William Penn of Ellsworth and defeated Blakelee Bastien from Luxemburg- Casco 7-3 to win his semi-final match. Dux finished the season with a record of 35-1.

Hoffmann and Dux became the third and fourth wrestlers in NGL history to earn four trips to the WIAA state tournament and became the first two wrestlers in NGL history to place all four years at the WIAA state tournament.

Bryant shared about his time coaching Dux.

“He’s been wrestling his whole life; he came through the youth program. His parents are very involved.

“He dislocated his finger and tore the ligament from the bone in the preseason. It’s been bothering him all season but he worked through the pain.

“He’s a hard worker and a good kid. He’s very knowledgeable of the sport and wrestling techniques.”

Dux plans to attend Augsburg University in Minneapolis and continue wrestling there.

Sophomore Hudzon Sebesta-Opelt, making his first trip to the WIAA state tournament, lost his Division 2 145-pound preliminary match to Griffin Marko of Saint Croix Falls 4-3. Sebesta-Opelt ends his season with a 46-10 record.

“He’s very hardworking, one of the hardest workers we’ve got,” Bryant said of Sebesta-Opelt. “He comes from a wrestling family -- his uncles and grandpa and other relatives wrestled all the way through school.

“He lost to the same opponent at state as he did in sectionals. But it was good that he got an appearance and got the experience of being at state.”

Bryant was proud of all that the athletes accomplished through their effort.

“It’s always exciting to make it to that level. It’s been a while since having a state champ and that’s nice. It feels good and it shows that the program is still going strong. We hope to have more young wrestlers continue up the ranks.”

Editor Valorie Brecht contributed to this report.

Above, NGL’s Gunner Hoffmann works to get the pin on Porter Mandurano of Belmont/Plattville in his final match to earn the state title in the 285-pound class. He succeeded, finishing his senior season with a 29-1 record. Below left, Hudzon Sebesta-Opelt competes at the WIAA State Tournament for the first time in his wrestling career. The sophomore lost his preliminary match, but ended the season with a 46-10 record. Below right, Luke Dux rolls with his opponent during one of his matches at the State Wrestling Tournament. He finished in second place to close out his senior season.

CASEY KRAUTKRAMER-RECORD REVIEW/MATT FREY-STAR NEWS PHOTOS