The Elkhorn High senior has the second-most wins in the history of a storied wrestling program and was a three-time state place-winner.
Photos of Janesville Craig's Keeanu Benton and Elkhorn's Daniel Stilling during their championship round matches at the WIAA state wrestling tournament in Madison on Saturday, Feb. 23.
The Janesville Craig senior was pinned by Max Meeuwsen of Bay Port at 2 minutes, 18 seconds in the Division 1 285-pound title match at the WIAA state wrestling tournament.
Four area wrestlers competed in semifinals Friday evening at the Kohl Center. Elkhorn's Daniel Stilling and Craig's Keeanu Benton won to reach finals tomorrow.
Thursday competition in the WIAA state wrestling tournament in Madison.
Elkhorn's Jacobson, Stilling also advance to Division 1 semifinal
Keeanu Benton and Jackson Hauri finished second at last year's WIAA state individual wrestling tournament. Both will be in search of gold this year when the tournament starts today.
Brodhead/Juda's Jackson Hauri and Beloit Turner's Devon Harbison won sectional titles Saturday to lead area wrestlers qualifying for next week's state meet.
Keeanu Benton pinned all three of his opponents in the first period Saturday in leading area wrestlers at the Division 1 Elkhorn Sectional.
The season ended Wednesday night for Evansville/Albany's wrestling team with a 54-30 defeat to Prairie du Chien at the WIAA Division 2 River Valley Team Sectional.
Janesville Craig head wrestling coach Mark Mullen lost his father, Richard, on Jan. 14. Richard Mullen was a captain on the first-ever Stoughton High wrestling team. Stoughton and Craig met in a team sectional Tuesday.
Stoughton's 59-9 victory was not a surprise, but the Cougars came away feeling like they laid a foundation for future years after winning their first regional title since 1975 to earn their spot against the Vikings.
Senior Adam Staver and his younger brother, freshman Camden, each won Division 2 regional titles, and Evansville/Albany added another regional championship to its banner in the gym Saturday.
The Division 2 regional wrestling at Evansville High School on Saturday, Feb. 9.
Janesville Craig won its first regional wrestling title since 1975 on Saturday and will wrestle at top-ranked Stoughton on Tuesday night for a chance to go to the WIAA Division 1 state team tournament.
Last weekend, anger served as fuel for the Janesville Craig wrestlers.
Thanks to five individual champions, Janesville Craig's wrestling team defended its team title at the Big Eight Conference tournament Saturday.
The Blue Devils won the title match at four different weights. Senior Jared Miller won the 120-pound match, while teammate Austin Scofield took home the 126-pound title.
Janesville Craig is the defending champion in Saturday's Big Eight Conference wrestling tournament at Verona High School.
Cole Bavery is compiling quite the resume on the wrestling mat. The Edgerton High junior is a two-time state placewinner and is currently ranked second in Division 2 at 138 pounds.
The Vikings led 21-16 midway through the match, but Middleton took over in the latter half to win. Five different wrestlers won a match for Parker.
Janesville Craig’s wrestling team had hoped to be competing for a Big Eight Conference dual title.
Keean Benton won the 285-pound weight class Saturday to lead Janesville Craig's wrestling team to a fifth-place finish at the Terry Kramer Open in Fort Atkinson.
Ricky Braunschweig set the tone with a pin in the first match, fellow freshmen Collin Roberts and Cutter Lange followed suit moments later, and Evansville/Albany ran away with a 52-24 road victory.
Five notable performances from area high school athletes in the past week, and five events to watch for over the next seven days.
Cougars go 2-3, after losing to Middleton on Friday night
Janesville Parker's wrestling team advanced to the championship match of the Big Eight Conference Showcase with a thrilling 39-30 come-from-behind win over Sun Prairie on Thursday night.
After finishing as the state runner-up in the Division 2 152-pound bracket last year, Brodhead/Juda senior Jackson Hauri is ranked No. 1 in the D2 state rankings as of this week. His only loss this season was to an out-of-state wrestler.
Five notable performances from the past week in area high school sports, and five events to watch out for over the next seven days:
Janesville Craig's wrestling team finished second Saturday at the Lodi Duals.
The Vikings totaled six pins and won 10 of 14 matches en route to a 51-19 Big Eight Conference dual win over Beloit Memorial.
Craig senior Keeanu Benton won the 285-pound weight class with a first-period pin of Lake Geneva Badger’s Kyle Freund to help the Cougars finish eighth in the 42-team event at Whitewater.
Five notable area high school performances from this past week and five events to watch for over the next two weeks.
Janesville Craig's wrestling team beat crosstown rival Janesville Parker for the 11th straight time Thursday night. The Cougars got eight pins in a 63-12 Big Eight Conference dual meet win.
Janesville Craig and Janesville Parker square off in wrestling tonight. The Cougars have won 10 straight in the series, but the Vikings lead the all-time series 31-25.
Five notable high school performances and five events to watch in the week to come of high school sports.
Janesville Craig's Keeanu Benton won the 285-pound weight class Saturday to highlight city wrestlers competing at the E.H. Stech Invitational in West Allis.
agate
The Cougars earned pins in three of the first four matches and finished with seven overall in an 80-0 Big Eight Conference victory Thursday.
Janesville Parker's wrestling team improved to 3-0 in the Big Eight Conference dual meets Wednesday night with a 57-24 win over Madison La Follette.
Sparked by three individual champions, Janesville Craig's wrestling team won the Whitewater Invitational on Saturday.
Janesville Parker's wrestling team won the Edgerton Duals team title with a 5-0 record.
Janesville Craig's wrestling team improved to 2-0 in the Big Eight Conference with a 67-12 win over Madison Memorial on Wednesday.
Random Lake beat Edgerton 52-23 to earn first place in the third-annual event that honors former coaches Ron Cramer and Ron Brown.
agate
The Janesville Parker wrestling team beat host Madison East 66-18 to open the season.
Area schools return a total of nine state wrestling qualifiers from a year ago, led by state runners-up Keeanu Benton (Janesville Craig, Division 1, 285 pounds) and Jackson Hauri (Brodhead/Juda, D2, 152). But with the high school wrestling season set to begin Tuesday, it seems the area landscape may be dominated by fresh faces.
Shane Fleming is Janesville Parker's most successful wrestler in school history, winning a state title in 1986. Earlier this month, Fleming was named the new head coach.
Jimmy DuVal is a busy man. The Whitewater High senior is active in a number of school and church activities, but also found time to earn 12 varsity letters in three sports.
Gazette sports writer John Barry wraps up the winter sports season with a couple of individual and team awards, along with a look at his crystal ball predictions for the state basketball tournaments.
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Senior defeats Brodhead/Juda's Jackson Hauri for Evansville's first championship in 42 years
Kluever successfully defended his 285-pound state championship at the Kohl Center on Saturday night, pinning Benton late in the first period.
Third-ranked Keeanu Benton (46-1) will wrestle top-ranked Keaton Kluever (47-2) in the championship bout today.
