(WIAA) – The 35th Annual Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association State Team Wrestling Tournament will take place Friday and Saturday, March 6-7. The tournament is being held for the first time at the La Crosse Center.
TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE AND PAIRINGS: The single elimination tournament features eight teams in all three divisions for the first time. Here are the pairings and schedule for the divisions:
Division 1
Quarterfinals – Friday, March 6 – 5:30 p.m.
Match-1: #1 Kaukauna (23-2) vs. #8 Milton (9-4)
Match-2: #4 Waunakee (11-4) vs. #5 Brown Deer Co-op (9-6)
Quarterfinals – Friday, March 6 – 7:30 p.m.
Match-3: #3 Slinger (22-2) vs. #6 Bay Port (18-5)
Match-4: #2 Holmen (14-0) vs. #7 Muskego (16-5)
Semifinals – Saturday, March 7 – 10 a.m.
Match-5: Match-1 Winner vs. Match-2 Winner
Match-6: Match-3 Winner vs. Match-4 Winner
Final – Saturday, March 7 – 3 p.m.
Division 1 Championship Match
Division 2
Quarterfinals – Friday, March 6 – 5:30 p.m.
Match-1: #1 Evansville (29-1) vs. #8 East Troy (8-6)
Match-2: #4 St. Croix Falls (14-1) vs. #5 Osceola (22-5)
Quarterfinals – Friday, March 6 – 7:30 p.m.
Match-3: #3 Coleman (19-0) vs. #6 Port Washington (9-4)
Match-4: #2 Gale-Ettrick-Trempealeau/Melrose-Mindoro (17-2) vs. #7 Denmark (18-3)
Semifinals – Saturday, March 7 – 10 a.m.
Match-5: Match-1 Winner vs. Match-2 Winner
Match-6: Match-3 Winner vs. Match-4 Winner
Final – Saturday, March 7 – 3 p.m.
Division 2 Championship Match
Division 3
Quarterfinals – Friday, March 6 – 5:30 p.m.
Match-1: #1 Weyauwega-Fremont (20-1) vs. Glenwood City (20-2)
Match-2: #4 Marathon (16-5) vs. Aquinas (14-3)
Quarterfinals – Friday, March 6 – 7:30 p.m.
Match-3: #3 Shiocton (25-4) vs. #6 Auburndale (19-1)
Match-4: #2 Cedar Grove-Belgium (13-1) vs. #7 Mineral Point (17-2)
Semifinals – Saturday, March 7 – 10 a.m.
Match-5: Match-1 Winner vs. Match-2 Winner
Match-6: Match-3 Winner vs. Match-4 Winner
Final – Saturday, March 7 – 3 p.m.
Division 3 Championship Match
TOURNAMENT LIVE STREAMS: The entire State Team Wrestling Tournament will be streamed live on the WIAA.TV portal of the NFHS Network on a consumer subscription basis. To purchase a subscription to the live programming for $12.99 per month, log-on to WIAA.TV or www.nfhsnetwork.com and click on the subscribe button in the header of the page. Archived streams of the events will be available on demand on the NFHS Network 72 hours after the tournament.
TEAM TOURNAMENT OVERVIEW: The first WIAA State Wrestling Tournament was held in 1940. Until 1992, team champions were determined by a point system based on individuals’ placing in what is currently the individual championships. For the first time in 1992, a team champion was determined by a separate tournament series involving dual matches. UW-Stevens Point hosted the first two championships, and West Allis Central hosted the meet from 1994-2005. The tournament has been held at the UW Field House from 2006-2025 with the exception of 2021. The State Tournament was held in three separate locations that year, which was during the COVID-19 pandemic. The State Tournament was held in three separate locations in 2021 during the COVID-19 pandemic. This season, there were 334 programs entering the tournament series, including 112 in Division 1, 112 in Division 2 and 120 in Division 3.
LAST YEAR: Kaukauna won the Division 1 team title for the fifth straight season by defeating Arrowhead 54-13 in the championship match. St. Croix Falls won the Division 2 championship by defeating Coleman 38-29 in the title bout. Mineral Point won the team championship with a 32-28 victory over Weyauwega-Fremont in the Division 3 final.
ABOUT THE DIVISION 1 FIELD: Five-time defending champion Kaukauna was issued the top seed in the bracket. The Galloping Ghosts qualified for the 17th time in the last 19 seasons and for a membership-leading 24th time overall. They had a string of five straight appearances from 1999-2003 and have surpassed that streak with their current run of 14 consecutive appearances. They have won a total of nine State championships, including four straight from 2014-17 and the current streak of five in a row. The Galloping Ghosts have also finished runner-up four times, including 2000, 2003, 2008 and 2013. They qualified for State this year as champions of the Neenah Sectional following a 62-11 victory over Luxemburg-Casco in the final. Holmen, the #2 seed, is making its second straight appearance at State and its 14th overall. The Vikings made six straight appearances from 2017-22, and their most notable achievements in the team tournament were runner-up finishes in 2018 and 2022. Their return to the tourney field comes following a 45-21 win over Marshfield in the Marshfield Sectional final. Third-seeded Slinger is making its fifth team tournament appearance and the first since the final year of a four-year run in 2021. The Owls most notable experience at State came in 2021 when they advanced to the semifinals for the first time. They defeated Arrowhead 38-32 in the final of the sectional hosted at Slinger to advance to the State quarterfinals. Waunakee is the fourth seed, making its second appearance. The only other experience in the State Team Tournament came in 2021, which resulted in a loss in the quarterfinals. The Warriors are the champions of the Verona Sectional by virtue of their 47-31 victory over Oregon in the final. Fifth-seeded Brown Deer/Messmer/Shorewood will make the co-op’s first-ever appearance in the State Team Tournament. They downed Brookfield East 45-29 in the final of the sectional final held at Brookfield East to earn the Falcons first berth in the tourney. Sixth-seeded Bay Port was the recipient of the wildcard to appear in its second consecutive State tourney and its fifth overall. The Pirates have advanced past the semifinal round in all five of their previous experiences, including a runner-up finish in 2014. They finished second in the Neenah sectional behind Kaukauna. Muskego is the #7 seed. The Warriors have qualified for the fifth year in a row and for the 14th time overall. The Warriors’ most notable achievement in their previous 13 experiences was the State title won in 1994. They also have a runner-up finish in 1963, which was prior to the inception of the dual team championship format. Muskego advances to the final eight again this season with a 48-27 victory over Mukwonago in the sectional final held at South Milwaukee. Milton, the #8 seed, qualifies for the 10th time and for the first time since 2010. The Red Hawks won their lone State championship in 2002. They also advanced to the title match in 1995 and 2010, finishing runner-up. They qualified this season following a 46-33 victory over Oak Creek in the Franklin Sectional final.
ABOUT THE DIVISION 2 FIELD: Top-seeded Evansville returns to State for the second time after appearing for the first time in 2023, which resulted in a loss in the semifinals. They advance to State this season after defeating Mount Horeb/Barneveld 45-36 in the final of the Lodi Sectional. Gale-Ettrick-Trempealeau/Melrose-Mindoro, the #2 seed, will experience State for the fourth time and for the first time since the last of three straight appearances resulted in a runner-up finish in 2020. The Titans return to the team tournament following a 55-20 decision over West Salem/Bangor in the Black River Falls sectional final. Third-seeded Coleman has advanced to the title match in five of the past six years, including four times in Division 3 and last season in Division 2. The Cougars advance to State for the 19th time and for the sixth time in the past seven seasons. They have won a total of 11 team championships. With the current dual format, they won the title in 2000, three in a row from 2010-12, in 2014, and again in 2020. The Cougars also claimed crowns before the dual format in 1960, 1962, 1963, 1964 and 1966 when there was only one division. In addition, they finished runner-up in 1959, 1961, 1981, 1983, 1996, 2008, 2013, 2015, 2021, 2022, 2024 and 2025. The Cougars are the champions of the Oconto Falls Sectional this season with a 38-30 win over New London. Last year’s champion St. Croix Falls is the fourth seed. The Saints advance to State for the sixth time overall and for the fourth time in the past five seasons. Prior to the Saints’ Division 2 championship last season, they finished runner-up in Division 3 in 2024. They are back in the State tourney after defeating Osceola 42-31 in the sectional final hosted by the Saints. Osceola, the fifth seed, received the wildcard berth in the division after placing second in the St. Croix Falls Sectional. The Chieftains only other appearance in the team tournament came in 2005, which resulted in a loss in the semifinals. Sixth-seeded Port Washington will experience the State Tournament for the fourth time overall and for the first time since 2020. The most notable of the Pirates’ experiences came in 2007 when they advanced to the semifinal round in Division 1, which represents their furthest advance in the bracket. They qualified this season after defeating Pewaukee 49-22 in the Kewaskum Sectional final. Seventh-seeded Denmark embarks on its first-ever experience in the team tournament. The Vikings earned their berth in the State quarterfinals with a 39-32 victory over Chilton/Hilbert in the Wrightstown Sectional final. East Troy is the #8 seed. The Trojans are making their third appearance in the tourney. Their previous two experiences came in 2004 and 2006, and both resulted in losses in the semifinal round. This season, they advanced out of the Whitewater sectional with a 44-36 triumph over Wilmot Union in the final.
ABOUT THE DIVISION 3 FIELD: Last season’s runner-up Weyauwega-Fremont has been issued the top seed. The Warhawks qualify for the third year in a row after making its first State appearance in the 2024 season, which resulted in a loss in the semifinals. They earned their return trip to State by rolling over Omro 58-9 in the final of the Valders Sectional. Second-seeded Cedar Grove-Belgium returns to the team tournament for the fourth time and the first since 2023. The Rockets are seeking to advance past the first round for the first time. In each of their previous experiences, they fell in the semifinals when Division 3 qualified only four teams to State. They defeated Oostburg 64-9 in the sectional final hosted at Cedar Grove to earn their berth in the quarterfinals. Third-seeded Shiocton is making its second State appearance and the first since the Chiefs finished runner-up in their inaugural experience in 2023. Their return to the tournament field comes by virtue of a 58-19 win over Crandon in the sectional final hosted by Lena. As the #4 seed, Marathon is the highest-seed of the three teams in the bracket making their first appearance in the State Team Tournament with the expansion of the brackets to eight teams. The Cardinals advanced by defeating Auburndale 38-32 in the sectional final conducted at Auburndale. Aquinas, the #5 seed, qualifies for the first time. The Blugolds earned their first berth with a 47-30 triumph over Iowa-Grant/Highland in the Cashton Sectional. Sixth-seeded Auburndale will also be making its first appearance at State. The Eagles qualify as the wildcard in the division. They finished second in the sectional held at Auburndale, falling 38-32 to Marathon in the final. Defending champion Mineral Point is the seventh seed. The Pointers return to the field for the 13th time and for the second year in a row. They have won 13 State championships overall, including six since the advent of the dual meet format. The Pointers won two straight Division 3 crowns from 2002-03 and three consecutive from 2007-09. They added titles in 2021 and last year. Mineral Point also claimed Class C crowns before the dual format in 1980, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1985 and 1986. They have also finished runner-up four times, including 1966, 1976, 2010 and 2011. This season, they are the champions of the sectional they hosted after defeating Markesan 46-36 in the sectional final hosted by the Pointers. Eighth-seeded Glenwood City is a benefactor of the expanded field, making its first-ever appearance in the State Team Tournament. The Hilltoppers began celebrating the accomplishment following their 41-38 victory over Cumberland in the Chequamegon Sectional.
Comments