Kelly takes third at state, Clark finishes fifth

“He lost last year in the blood round in Division 3 at 113 pounds as he failed to medal,” SCF coach Joe Raygor said. “For him to move up to 132 pounds and up to Division 2 and place third in the state is truly a reflection of his pursuit of excellence in wrestling. Kellen has lofty goals and hopefully that medal only fuels his fire.” 

Kelly started his tournament with a 5-1 decision over River Valley’s Noah Radtke. The semifinal opponent was Evansville’s Danny Heiser, who posted a 13-2 win over Kelly. Heiser went on to claim first place in the weight class. 

The consolation semifinal opponent was Baldwin-Woodville’s Tyler Fink. Kelly claimed another victory Fink, 6-2. 

Kaden Clark took fifth at 138 pounds to finish his season 45-8. 

Clark began his tournament with a pin over Belmont/Platteville’s Mason Oellerich. Seymour’s Ryan Tomazevic then defeated Clark 6-5 in the quarterfinal. 

He rebounded with a 11-6 victory over Regis/Altoona’s Chase Kostka but fell 20-8 to Darlington/Black Hawk’s Owen Seffrood in the consolation semifinal. 

Clark clinched fifth place thanks to a medical forfeit over Luxemburg-Casco’s Caleb Delebreau. 

“Kaden is a coaches’ dream of a kid to work with,” Raygor said about the senior. “Always does his job and leads by example. He’s had some tough breaks not go his way in years past and he always battled back. 

“I’m so happy for him to earn that state medal and get his name on our board of state place winners in our wrestling room.”

Raygor added Clark also surpassed 100 wins for his career. 

Griffin Marko concluded his sophomore season going 1-2 at 145 pounds to finish his season 38-7. Marko won his first-round match 4-3 over Neillsville/Greenwood/Loyal’s Hudzon Sebesta-Opelt and then lost 4-2 to Kiel’s Eyan Dessellier in the quarterfinal. River Valley’s Landon Radtke ended Marko’s season with a 3-1 sudden death victory in the consolation round. 

“Griffin is a hard worker and has extremely high goals for himself,” Raygor explained. “He’s going to use this adversity for motivation in the future and come back stronger next season.” 

Kasey Johnson (41-7) was the final boy Saint to compete as he lost 3-0 to Chilton/Hilbert’s Logan See in the first round at 285 pounds. 

“Kasey has been battling a few injuries and showed a lot of fortitude to finish his second year of wrestling at the state tournament and cap off his season off with 30 pins,” Raygor said of the junior. “The pin record for SCF is 36 set by Joe Rademacher in 2014 so next season Kasey is going to have his eyes set on trying to beat that.” 

With two wrestlers placing in state and earning a sectional runner-up finish as a team, Raygor was extremely pleased with how the season went. 

“It’s truly a reflection of how committed the kids are in buying into the team goals and individual goals. Also, it’s a reflection of how many phenomenal assistant and volunteer coaches come in daily. We have some amazing alumni that come back and donate their time as well as some fresh faces like Derek Spry and others that give back. It makes the difference for the kids and makes the program truly special. 

“Our goals for next year are to get back to team state and bring some hardware home. The work starts in the weight room and getting into freestyle and Greco Roman Wrestling as well as some summer training opportunities.” 

Girls Results 

The Saints also had four girls wrestlers down in Madison. 

Freshman Nevaeh Nwachukwu led the way with a sixth-place finish at 138 pounds. She went 3-3 at the tournament to finish 28-12 on the year. 

Her three wins were a 17-9 major decision over Mukwonago’s Ella Schueler, a pin over Wisconsin Lutheran’s Leah Lawrence and another pin over Sheboygan South’s Ellianna Robinson. 

“She became our first girl wrestler in program history to place at the state tournament,” Raygor said. “She committed herself to training in the weight room last year in the spring and the gains she made really gave her an advantage all season.” 

Paige Haaf won her opening round match at 120 pounds over Waunakee’s Katelyn Ottosen via pin but lost her next two. She ended her season 23-9. 

“She’s a tough kid that grew up wrestling her brother in the living room,” Raygor added about the junior. “Paige is committed to wrestling this off season and will come back next season a step ahead. She’s a tough kid and very happy with the season she had.” 

Senior Aleah Jensen and Kira Engquist lost both of their first-round matches at 126 and 114 pounds. Jensen ended her season with a 13-8 record while Engquist fell to 4-6. 

“Aleah has been involved in the program as a wrestling manager three years prior before trying to wrestle this season,” Raygor added. “Aleah is a high-quality individual that was a phenomenal leader to future girl wrestlers and led by example. Her impact was substantial, and she will be missed.

“Kira has a bright future and picks up wrestling techniques extremely quick. We’re excited to see her put work in the off season and come into next season more experienced.”

The sky is the limit for girls wrestling in St. Croix Falls and Wisconsin. “These four girls were fantastic trailblazers for the program and had a phenomenal first year. We’re going to continue to grow it in St. Croix Falls and work towards building teams that can win at the state level.”