Stoughton wrestlers claim team crown
For the second straight year, Mukwonago fell in the state team wrestling final.
The Classic 8 champion lost, 32-30, to Stoughton in the Division 1 championship of the WIAA team tournament Saturday at the UW Field House. Stoughton won three of the last five matches by pin to capture its third straight championship and avenge a 48-25 loss to Mukwonago earlier this season.
Mukwonago, the tournament's top seed, led, 24-14, after senior Tyler Pitcel scored a 7-3 decision over freshman Griffin Empey at 285 and owned a 27-20 lead after sophomore Cody Goebel's win at 113. However, pins at 120 and 126 left Mukwonago down, 32-27, with one match left.
In order to win the title junior Tyler Goebel needed to pin Stoughton sophomore Trenton Dow. Goebel got the win, 8-7, in overtime win to make the final margin two points.
"We were a whisker short and that's team wrestling," Mukwonago coach Jon Wierzbicki said. "It just felt different this year. We thought it was our turn and it didn't work out, but the effort was terrific."
Gymnastics
Whitefish Bay's Addie Gallun defended her Division 2 title in the allaround at the Wisconsin Rapids Lincoln Fieldhouse. Meanwhile, Menomonee Falls/Germantown junior Miranda Knabe won the all-around championship in Division 1.
Knabe posted the best score of either division, 38.150, to finish ahead of last year's champion, Grace Holland of Marshfield, who scored 37.899. Knabe finished second in the vault (9.433) and bars (9.6) and tied for third on the balance beam (9.7).
Gallun posted a total of 37.550 to put her ahead of Mount Horeb's Drea O'Connell (37.250). Gallun won the vault (9.533), uneven bars (9.383) and took second on the balance beam (9.317).
Four other area athletes won state titles Saturday and all of them were in Division 1: Waukesha West senior Grace Moran scored 9.617 win the uneven bars, Franklin Co-op sophomore Araceli De Leo Lopez won the balance beam with a 9.867 and Wilmot Co-op sophomore Annie Murphy and Hartford junior Emily Perkowski each scored 9.5 in the floor exercise to share the title in that event. Perkowski also won that event last year.
Boys hockey
Verona 2, Green Bay Notre Dame 1: For the second straight day the Wildcats won the in overtime. The difference in the final was an unassisted goal by junior forward Leo Renlund 6 minutes 17 second into overtime of the Division 1 final at Veterans Memorial Coliseum at the Alliant Energy Center in Madison.
The score gave the Wildcats (25-4) their second state title – they also won in 2014 – and gave them two victories in three meetings with Notre Dame, the state's top-ranked team. Verona trailed after two periods, but senior Cale Rufenacht's goal tied the game 3 minutes into the third period.
Fond du Lac Springs 5, Northland Pines 1: The Ledgers (24-3-2) got one goal and two assists from senior Mitchell Huettl to help his team win the first Division 2 title. He scored the first goal of the game 24 seconds in the second period off a power play and then assisted a power play goal to junior Brady Welsch at the 1:50 mark of the period. Welsh finished with two goals.
Girls hockey
Appleton Xavier Co-op 5, Middleton Co-op 3: Xavier, which is also known as the Fox Cities Stars, got first-period goals from senior Maddy Jablonski and sophomore Gwen Gillard and eventually led, 4-1. Senior Annika Horman had two goals and sophomore Mckayla Zilisch had two assists for the Stars, who finished 22-7.