Over the past couple days, my dad and I have looked over some data about Sparta’s first round opponents at the state tournament and compiled that information below. Not much can be said beyond the first and second matches for these guys, but what we can say with certainty is below. Here goes…
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112 — Adam Wiedl
- First round opponent is sophomore Joe Selsing (36-3) of Berlin. Selsing won his regional while placing 3rd at sectionals winning 5-1 in the 3rd place match. During the year, he also won the Eastern Valley Conference Tournament as well as the Watertown Holiday Mini-scramble.
- If Wiedl wins his match against Selsing, he will face Jack sophomore Jack Pearce (38-1) of Ashland. Pearce is currently ranked 5th in D2 according to Wisconsin Wrestling Online. Pearce was a state qualifier a year ago at 103 pounds going 1-2 at the tournament. He finished his freshman campaign with a 26-10 record.
119 — Brandon Rickert
- First round opponent is senior Austin Eskola (36-10) of Luck/Frederic/Grant. Eskola finished his junior campaign with a 25-16 record and fourth place finish at sectionals. He is currently ranked 11th in D2 according to Wisconsin Wrestling Online and lost to 4th ranked Sam Huppert of Ellsworth in the sectional tournament.
- If Rickert wins his match against Eskola, he will face junior Joseph Her (35-5) of Two Rivers. Her is currently ranked 2nd in D2 behind Cuba City/Southwestern’s Bob Donar who Rickert lost to at the sectional tournament 4-3. Her won his sectional competition
189 — Jordan Stanek (44-5)
- First round opponent is junior Shaun Robotka (35-9) of Chetek/Prairie Farm. Robotka was 3rd at his sectional and 2nd at regionals. He was pinned in 2:19 by Dan Schoen who is the top ranked guy in D2 according to Wisconsin Wrestling Online. Robotka is currently ranked 12th in D2 according to Wisconsin Wrestling Online.
- If Stanek wins his first round match, he will wrestle senior Dylan Iczkowski (40-1) of Mosinee. Iczkowski placed 2nd last year at the state tournament at 189 pounds losing 2-1 in the finals. His only loss of the year was to Davion Willis of Milwaukee Custer. Willis is ranked 4th in D1 at 171 pounds. He pinned Tomah’s Josh Von Haden in 3:25 at the Nekoosa Invite. You can watch a video of Iczkowski below…
215 — Matt Tourdot (47-0)
- Tourdot is the top-ranked wrestler in D2 at 215 pounds and the favorite to win the state title. Being the top-ranked wrestler for most of the year, Tourdot has wrestled with a target on his back and performed well. In his biggest test of the year, the sectional semifinals, Tourdot dismantled Lodi’s Cody Endres in a matchup of the top-ranked (Tourdot) and 3rd-ranked wrestlers in D2 at 215 pounds. In the process, Tourdot also avenged a loss over the summer to Endres. After finishing 3rd at 189 pounds in D1 last year, Tourdot will be looking to add a state title to his list of accomplishments.
- First round opponent is … a bye. As a sectional champion in divisions two and three, you get a bye the first round of the state tournament. You don’t wrestle Thursday night, but you still need to make weight. Tourdot will wrestle the winner of the Kent Girmscheid-Steve Chojnacki match.
- Kent Girmscheid (43-8) is a senior out of Pewaukee. He was a state qualifier in 2009 at 215, but did not place and finished the year with a 41-10 record. At the Cheesehead in Kaukauna, he placed 7th. He was pinned in the sectional final by Cody Seibel (30-1) of Kewaskum. He enters the state tournament ranked 6th in D2 according to Wisconsin Wrestling Online. You can find a video of Girmscheid after the scouting report on Steve Chojnacki.
- Steve Chojnacki (32-8) is a senior out of Stanley-Boyd/Thorp. He is currently ranked 12th in D2 according to Wisconsin Wrestling Online. Chojnacki lost in overtime in sectionals 4-2 to Frank Dobbs of G.E.T. Was a regional champion this year after placing 3rd the previous year and finishing with a 18-15 record.
Kent Girmscheid (below in red)
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After what’s listed above, the possibilities become too much to review here. You can follow the action on Trackwrestling.com as well as here for updates on how the action is going. You’ll probably get quicker updates on Trackwrestling.com, but we will be updating this page with results throughout the tournament as well as photos and any video we might acquire of the matches. Good luck to Sparta!
