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Area wrestlers shine at state

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Div. 1 High School State Wrestling Round 2

Photos from Friday night's round of the State Wrestling tournament.

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MADISON — It’s official.

The stage is set for a rematch.

Janesville Craig junior Siven Furseth and Marshfield junior Torin Boernke have earned their way back to the WIAA Division 1 state wrestling finals.

Both advanced Friday night for a repeat of last year’s 112-pound state final by notching decisions in their 130-pound semifinals matches at the UW Kohl Center.

Boernke won last year’s bout with third-period flurry for the 10-3 decision, but Furseth is confident this year is his turn. If successful, Furseth will become Craig’s first state champion.

“I know I’ve been working harder than he has, so I’m ready for him,” Furseth said after pushing his season record to 39-0 with a 4-3 decision over Wisconsin Rapids sophomore Kasey Einerson (41-11).

The match was tied at 2-2 after the first period, but Furseth gained a reversal in the second period for 4-2 lead. The two-point margin looked like it would hold up, until Furseth was called for an illegal hold with 19 seconds left.

That cut Furseth’s lead to 4-3, but he stayed in control in the final seconds.

“I knew I could hold him down,” Furseth said. “He knew I was looking for the legs, so he just sat there and didn’t do anything.”

Furseth and Einerson were part of Advanced Wrestling in Madison, before Einerson transferred from Lodi High School to Wisconsin Rapids, so Furseth had an extensive scouting report.

“I wrestled that kid about 10 times in my life,” Furseth said. “I didn’t want him to beat me here going into the finals.

“I beat him every time but it’s always been a tough match. He was part of Advanced Wrestling last year, so every week would go there and battle it out.”

Sectional team champion Milton also had an impressive day as both of its semifinalists advanced to tonight’s title matches, which start at 6. Sophomores John Wells (43-5) and Ian Johnson (35-5) won by decisions for the Red Hawks at 103 and 160, respectively.

Wells defeated Bobby Nachreiner of Hartford, 7-2, after breaking a 2-2 tie in the third period with a takedown and near-fall.

“I did exactly what I wanted to do, so that’s what made the difference was that last period,” Wells said. “I knew that if I kept the tempo going that sooner or later he’d hopefully wear out and I could control the match.”

Wells will face Kenosha Tremper freshman Tyler Rice (47-6), who won a 6-5 decision in double overtime to reach the finals.

“We are going to have another brawl,” Wells said. “He beat me at regionals, and I beat him back at sectionals. So it’s going to be a good match again.”

Johnson also controlled the third period to break a 2-2 tie for the 7-3 decision over DeForest senior Mitch Hanson (38-15).

“I knew I just had to keep pushing the pace,” Johnson said. “If I pushed the pace, I knew I could take him down.”

Meanwhile, Beloit Memorial senior Alex Polizzi (44-0) kept rolling at 215 pounds in Division 1. The Northwestern University recruit, who was last year’s state runner-up, returned to the finals with a 6-0 decision over Appleton North senior Kolby Knuth (35-4).

Polizzi faces Greenfield senior Patrick Bruyette (44-2) in the finals.

In Division 2, Clinton also will be represented with two state finalists as Daniel Banh (43-2) and Brandon Wixon (41-5) won decisions at 112 and 125, respectively.

“They set a whole new path,” said Clinton coach Dan Wallace after seeing two Cougars wrestlers reach the state finals for the first time in history.

Banh won handily, claiming a 13-5 major decision over Jack Pearce of Ashland.

Wixom had one of the more exciting finishes of the day against Colin Dolata of Mauston. Trailing 4-2, the Cougar senior tied the match with a takedown with 25 seconds left and followed with another takedown 14 seconds into the overtime period to secure a 6-4 win.

“He’s an ornery cuss, no doubt about it,” Wallace said. “It was a little revenge, too, since it was a rematch from sectionals.

“The kid hammered him hard at sectionals. He’s a tough freshman. That was a tremendous job by Brandon. I never seen a kid come back like that.”

Wixom will face Jarod Donar of Cuba City-Southwestern in the finals, while Banh will square off against Hunter Weber of Marshall, who both won by pins Friday night.

Wixom will have to be at the top of his game to defeat Donar.

Donar (47-0) pinned Roarke Langer of Ellsworth in 5 minutes, 23 seconds to move into the Division 2 state finals at 125 pounds. He captured the 119-pound title a year ago.

After a first-round bye, Donar earned a 4-0 decision over Pewaukee’s Josh Berg in their quarterfinal match.

Donar is a sophomore and has yet to lose a match in his high school career.