KAUKAUNA — The Galloping Ghosts’ wrestling team entered the WIAA Division 1 state team wrestling tournament as the No. 1 seed, and they ended the day as state champions.
The Ghosts defeated rival Stoughton, the No. 2 seed, 38-26 in the title match. The tournament was held on the Ghosts’ home floor in Kaukauna because of the pandemic.
They now have won a total of five State championships. Their four previous championships all come in a row from 2014-’17.
Kaukauna advanced to the final by defeating Brookfield East 59-16 in the quarterfinal and Waunakee, 60-18 in the semifinal.
Stoughton defeated Waterford 51-30 in the quarterfinal and Slinger 39-34 to set up the championship showdown.
The Ghosts were in the tournament for the 12th time in the last 14 seasons and for the 19th time overall.
They had a string of five straight appearances from 1999-2003 and have now surpassed that streak with their current run of nine consecutive appearances.
Kaukauna has also finished runner-up four times, including 2000, 2003, 2008 and 2013.
The three-time champion Vikings made their eighth straight appearance and their 15th overall.
They have won 10 State team titles overall, including three since the advent of the team tournament format. Prior to the team tournament, the Vikings won seven State championships (1968, 1972, 1975-77, 1987-88).
In addition, they have finished runner-up 10 times.
Your now 5x WIAA Team Wrestling State Champions#GrapplingGhosts#KaukaunaStrong#GoGhosts@KaukaunaGhosts@kaukaunasd pic.twitter.com/HoZ8GqeHRr
— Corey Baumgartner (@coreybaum79) February 20, 2021
Kaukauna wrestlers include:
Weight Wrestler Season
Class Name Gr. Record
106 Lucas Peters 9 11-1
106 Michael Posorski 10 3-1
113 Connor Smith 10 12-4
120 Bryan Winans 10 15-2
126 Greyson Clark 10 15-0
126 Chase Vanderlinden 10 0-2
126 Reggie Bollinger 12 0-0
132 Jager Eisch 12 14-0
138 Logan Stumpf 12 13-2
138 Carson Smith 12 4-1
138 Hunter Champeau 12 0-0
145 Judah Hammen 10 5-5
152 Titus Hammen 12 15-1
152 Brandon Ott 12 2-0
160 Clay Wendzicki 12 5-5
160 Jon Alvarez 11 0-0
160 Toby Kavanaugh 11 0-0
170 Griffin Bekish 12 15-1
170 Brett Hartzheim 12 0-0
182 Trevor Stuyvenberg 12 16-2
182 Drew Wendzicki 10 9-3
195 Bryant Correa 11 0-0
220 Alex Ashauer 12 14-1
220 Ben Krueger 10 2-3
285 Jordan Loose 10 3-4
Head Coach: Jeff Matczak
Download the state tournament program HERE.
