Wrestling regional

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escaped from both. Another escape in the second period made the score 4-3 heading into the third, where Nevienski elected to start in a neutral starting position. Hoppe took advantage, briefly grabbing the lead with a takedown, but a reversal from the Mosinee wrestler turned the tables once more. Hoppe managed a mid-period escape to tie things up and a final takedown led to the pin that would push him on to the finals.

There he faced off against Medford’s Logan Kawa, who had breezed past his own semifinal opponent. Kawa earned the first takedown, and while Hoppe was able to escape the initial rush, the Red Raider’s second takedown led to a first round pin. However, Hoppe’s day was not yet finished, as he needed to still face off against Mondovi/Eleva-Strum’s Ethan Odegard in a second-place bout. Hoppe was largely in control of the match, earning five points in the first period before ending things at the 3:15 mark by pinning his opponent and securing the runner-up position. He ended the day with 26.0 team points.

Alix Colby’s third-place performance in the 132-pound bracket started off with a win over Mosinee’s Zach Nechuta. A first round takedown by Colby led to an early pin of his opponent and the freshman moved on to the semifinals.

There he faced off against fellow freshman Adam Kautzer (Neillsville/Greenwood/ Loyal). Colby struggled to find a way to put up points against his fellow Cloverbelt wrestler and while he was able to force a decision, Kautzer moved on with a 7-0 victory.

Pushed to the third place match, Colby faced off against Tomahawk’s Fletcher Baumann. In his final bout of the day, the Abby-Colby freshman held control of the first period, earning a takedown. After Baumann elected to start with top position in the second, Colby forced a reversal and then used it to eventually pin his opponent at the 3:37 mark. His third-place finish earned 19.0 team points.

Martinez had the longest journey of any of the Abby-Colby wrestlers on Saturday, wrestling in six matches total in the 190-pound bracket. The senior went 5-1 in those matches and none of them went to a final decision, all being decided by fall.

He started his day with a pin of Brody Mathison (McDonell/Elk Mound) but then faced off against eventual second-place finisher Logan Schwinger of Rhinelander in the quarterfinals. Schwinger was able to earn a quick victory by fall, relegating Martinez into the consolation bracket.

Martinez then began the grueling challenge of battling his way through back half of the bracket to try to earn the final sectional spot. Pins of Kolten Burgess (Bloomer/Coflax), Alex Coffey (Mondovi/ Eleva-Strum), and Dylan Seitcher (Stanley-Boyd) set up a meeting with Tomahawk’s Blake Younker for the fourth-place match. Just as he had in the matches leading up to his final bout, Martinez controlled the affair. A takedown in the first round earned him an early 2-0 lead and a nine-point second period pushed the match significantly in his favor. Martinez then pinned Younker in the third, securing his spot in the next round of the WIAA playoffs while earning 21.0 team points.

Sundermeyer found himself in a similar position as Martinez after a quarterfinal loss to Tomahawk’s Zander Zehner in his first match of the day relegated him to the 144-pound consolation bracket. He then defeated Noah Nechuta (Mosinee) with an 18-3 technical fall and Mason Liermo of Mondovi/Eleva Strum with a first round pin in the fifth place match to potentially earn a spot in the fourth place match. Unfortunately for Sundermeyer, Zehner was the one that would have been his opponent, and since Zehner had earned the win between the two earlier in the day, he was given the no contest victory.

Also wrestling for the A-C squad at the regional tournament, were Christian Satay, who went 2-2 in the 150-pound bracket after earning victories over Cyrus Leisure (Rhinelander) and Brock Stendahl (Mondovi/ Eleva-Strum), Ayden Michlig, who suffered two defeats in the 138-pound bracket, and Aiden Burt, who fell in both his wrestled matches in the 215-pound weight class.

Those who advanced will take part in the individual sectional tournament held in Tomahawk this Saturday, Feb. 17. The first match is scheduled for 10 a.m.

BATTLING IN MEDFORD - Alex Sundermeyer fends off his opponent in his first round bout.

STAFF PHOTO/NATHANIEL UNDERWOOD