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Milton sends six wrestlers to state; Craig advances two

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Division 1 Wrestling Sectional

Photos from the Division 1 Wrestling Sectional at Wilmot Union High School.

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WILMOT — Just how certain was Milton High coach Pat Jauch that his prized wrestler, Garrett Whitehead, would advance to the state tournament?

The Red Hawks’ coach said he would have staked his family on it.

It’s a good thing Jauch didn’t make that wager.

Janesville Craig junior Jamie Kumlien stunned the Milton crowd by pinning Whitehead at 57 seconds in the first period of their 125-pound WIAA Division 1 semifinal matchup here Saturday.

“If I had to send one kid out there to fight in a wrestling match for my family’s survival, Garrett Whitehead would be the one I’d put out there,” Jauch said of the sophomore with a 41-6 record. “Still, even right now as we speak, he’d still be the person I’d put out there.”

The stunning upset dampened an otherwise successful day for the Red Hawks, who ended up with six state qualifiers. The Milton winners included sophomore John Wells (40-5) at 103, sophomore Ian Johnson (32-5), 160; senior Michael Johnson (33-13), 171; and senior James Miller (43-2), 189. The Red Hawks also advanced sophomore Landon Shea (34-10) at 119 and senior Chase Letson (33-10) at 215 as sectional runners-up.

It will be the fourth trip to state for Miller and a repeat appearance for Wells and Ian Johnson.

Wells earned a 7-5 decision over Kenosha Tremper’s Tyler Rice in the sectional finals. Ian Johnson took a 7-6 decision from Oregon’s Eric Walsh, Michael Johnson was a 7-2 winner over Wilmot’s James Huey, and Miller gained a 9-7 decision over Oregon’s Kevin Sommers.

Shea lost his title match, 9-2, to Kenosha Tremper’s Dominic Garcia (49-1). Beloit Memorial’s unbeaten Alex Polizzi (41-0) pinned Letson in 3:16, marking one of the rare times anybody has taken the Purple Knights’ top-ranked star beyond the first period.

“All of our guys who made the state wrestled solidly,” Jauch said. “We’re really proud of all our guys who qualified.”

Meanwhile, in finishing as the runner-up to Stoughton’s Ben Hite, Kumlien (29-10) joined 130-pound champion Siven Furseth as the second Craig qualifier.

“I’m still a little bit excited,” Kumlien said after a 12-1 loss in the finals. “I’m a little disappointed that I didn’t win the championship, but I can’t be too disappointed because I made it to state.’’

Furseth’s victory, however, didn’t have quite the intrigue of Kumlien’s performance. The unbeaten junior cruised to his championship by pinning Adam Neal of Wilmot in 2:46.

While going to 36-0 for the season, Furseth reached the finals by pinning Tremper’s Trevor Mongeau in 1:06 and Verona’s Jared Kissinger in 3:08.

The three-pin sweep sent Furseth to the state tournament for the third time He was the 112-pound state runner-up last year with a 45-2 record.

“It was a very good day,” Craig coach Jeff Kaster said. “Overall, I can’t be happier. Did I want all six of our qualifiers to win state? Yes, but two is good.”

While Kaster was pleased with two out of six sectional qualifiers making the state tournament, none of the six Janesville Parker qualifiers earned a state berth.

Parker junior Brennan Casey-Schmidt, a Big Eight Conference and regional champ, lost his 119-pound semifinal bout, 8-6, to Shea. Casey-Schmidt finished third with a 9-5 win over Burlington’s Nathan Gill.

The Vikings’ Adam Cavey, also a Big Eight champ, lost his 112-pound semifinal bout to Stoughton’s Nick Urso.

Meanwhile, Polizzi pinned his way through the sectional to earn a shot at improving on last year’s state runner-up finish and 43-1 record. The Northwestern University recruit took out the quarterfinal and semifinal opposition in 50 and 55 seconds before getting a tougher test from Letson.