Sparta will send three wrestlers to the 2007 WIAA State Tournament in Madison this Thursday, Friday and Saturday. Jared Rickert (140), Jeff Dolan (152) and Michael Jacobsen (171) will make up the 2007 State Tournament class for the Spartans. Rickert and Dolan took home sectional titles while Jacobsen fell to Reedsburg’s Michael Huber in overtime.
It was a solid day for Sparta, who sent 12 to sectionals. Nine Spartans won their first round matches while three Spartans (Matt Tourdot, Trevor Hutson and Quincy Degenhardt) missed qualifying for State by one place. The top two finishers qualify.
This will be Rickert’s third time at state, Dolan’s second and Jacobsen’s first. Two years ago Rickert went Seniors Rickert and Dolan will be looking to place for the first time. Here is a quick preview of the opening matches at state for each wrestler.
Rickert (43-1) will kick off the action by wrestling Beaver Dam’s Collin Sharkey (35-2). Sharkey was a state tournament qualifier last year and a two-time conference champion. He won every tournament he entered this year except one in Bayport. Should Rickert come out victorious, he would face either Milton’s James Miller (30-12) or Kaukauna’s Dillon Bera (43-3).
Dolan (38-5) starts off with Whitnall’s Russ Martiny (39-7). Martiny too second at his sectional and 4th at the 2006 West Allis Invite wrestling at 145 pounds. Jared Rickert met Martiny in the semifinals and pinned him in 1:41. Martiny went on to lose another match to Kris Magruder of Racine Case in the 3rd Place match. If Dolan wins, he would face Kaukauna’s Noah Budi (40-5) or Merrill’s Aaron Erickson (42-6).
Jacobsen (31-9) wrestles Milton’s David Miller (33-7) in his first match at State. Miller took 4th at 171 pounds in last year’s Badger State Games. During his junior year at Sectionals he lost in the opening round at 160 pounds. Should Jacobsen win, he will face either Evan Palmer (39-1) of Menomonie or Hartford Union’s Jared Filo (39-4).
Wrestling begins Thursday at 330. In the case of an opening round loss, Sparta would need the wrestler that beat them to win their next match in order to earn a wrestleback. You can check back here for updates at the end of the day or follow them live as they happen at TrackWrestling.com
Youth Photos Posted
In other news, check out some photos from Sparta’s Youth Wrestling program. You can CLICK HERE or click on the link titled "Sparta Youth Wrestling" under the Photo Albums section along the left hand side of the page. A special thanks to ex-Spartan coach Mike Roddick for submitting photos from the last three weekends.
