Photo by @kaukaunaghosts on Twitter

KAUKAUNA — The Galloping Ghosts’ wrestling team took advantage of familiar surroundings as host of its WIAA Division 1 wrestling regional to claim the title and advance to sectionals.

Seven Kaukauna wrestlers took home individual titles Feb. 11, 2023 at Kaukuna High School. (Scroll down fo all individual results.)

The team sectional is set for Tuesday at Slinger High School with the individual sectional on Saturday.

Results:

106 1st Place Match: Jackson Esser (Appleton North) 28-13, Fr. over Nick Jenkins (Kaukauna) 25-14, So. (SV-1 6-4)

113 3rd Place Match: James Thao (Kimberly) 25-15, So. over Michael Posorski (Kaukauna) 19-17, Sr. (Dec 5-4)

120 3rd Place Match: Eli Armatti (Neenah) 20-14, Jr. over Moses Hammen (Kaukauna) 10-14, So. (Dec 8-6)

126 1st Place Match: Lucas Peters (Kaukauna) 36-4, Jr. over Jacob Herm (Neenah) 35-5, So. (Dec 12-8)

132 1st Place Match: Bryan Winans (Kaukauna) 37-3, Sr. over Jayden Sheppard (Neenah) 31-4, Sr. (Dec 6-0)

138 1st Place Match: Greyson Clark (Kaukauna) 39-0, Sr. over Henry Niebauer (Hortonville) 34-7, Jr. (TF-1.5 4:15 (18-3))

145 1st Place Match: Connor Smith (Kaukauna) 27-6, Sr. over Tanner Hart (Kimberly) 32-9, Jr. (Dec 7-2)

152 3rd Place Match: Peyton Lee (Kaukauna) 29-13, So. over Tage Wasmund (Hortonville) 25-16, Jr. (TF-1.5 4:14 (17-0))

160 1st Place Match: Liam Crook (Kaukauna) 36-4, Fr. over Nick Novak (Neenah) 29-9, Sr. (TF-1.5 2:41 (15-0))

170 1st Place Match: Judah Hammen (Kaukauna) 32-9, Sr. over Eli Gast (Neenah) 33-11, Sr. (TF-1.5 4:00 (15-0))

182 1st Place Match: Drew Wendzicki (Kaukauna) 36-7, Sr. over Owen Ott (Kimberly) 27-14, Sr. (Fall 1:14)

195 5th Place Match: Brett Dietzler (Appleton East) 8-14, Jr. over Cole Tomchek (Kaukauna) 16-15, Jr. (M. For.)

220 2nd Place Wrestleback: Jordan Loose (Kaukauna) 26-13, Sr. over Ricardo Martinez (Menasha) 17-8, Sr. (NC)

285 2nd Place Wrestleback: Nate Cleveland (Neenah) 30-11, Jr. over Ben Krueger (Kaukauna) 28-12, Sr. (NC)

The WIAA State Individual Wrestling Tournament is Thursday-Saturday, Feb. 23-25, 2023 at the Kohl Center, UW-Madison.

The 2023 State Team Tournament is Friday and Saturday, March 3-4, 2023 at the UW Field House in Madison.

The Ghosts will be going for its third state title in a row, while Clark is aiming for his fourth straight individual wrestling title.

They have won a total of six state championships, including four straight from 2014-17.

Earlier this year, Head Coach Jeff Matczak was named the 2021-22 NFHS national wrestling coach of the year.

Each year, the NFHS recognizes a coach from each state for significant achievement in their sport. Award recipients are selected based upon a variety of criteria including their coaching record, background, coaching honors and involvement in community and school organizations.

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By Dan Plutchak

Dan Plutchak, born and raised in Kaukauna, is cofounder of Kaukauna Community News.