Toppers’ Wyatt Unser caps fantastic season as state wrestling runner-up
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VICTORIOUS — Glenwood City sophomore Wyatt Unser is shown scoring back points against Aquinas’ Jake Fitzpatrick to secure a 6-2 overtime win in a 113-pound state semifinal Friday, February 24 in the Kohl Center. Unser finished as the Division 3 state runner-up at that weight class. —photo by Shawn DeWitt
MADISON — Glenwood City’s Wyatt Unser is a young man of few words and loads of composure.
Instead, the Hilltopper sophomore chooses to let his wrestling speak for itself and oh, did it speak volumes at this year’s state wrestling tournament.
In his second straight appearance in Wisconsin’s premier prep wrestling tournament, Unser defeated a reigning state champion, one who had majored him in last year’s meet, and came within a few points of becoming Glenwood City’s first state champion in a decade. Instead, he finished as a state silver medalist, placing second in the Division 3, 113-pound weight class at the 2023 WIAA Individual State Wrestling Championship which was held at the Kohl Center last Thursday through Saturday, February 23-25.
In that state championship match against the top seed and number two ranked wrestler in the weight bracket, Fennimore senior Brett Birchman (25-5), Unser found himself trailing 6-1 but never panicked or even showed a bit of concern. He simply went to work, cutting his deficit to a pair of points twice during the six minute match before falling 9-6.
“Wyatt was in it all the way to the end,” said Glenwood City head coach Shane Strong of Unser’s championship match. “The best part about Wyatt’s wrestling is that he keeps his composure at all times, he is never out of a match, he is calm, he is under control and goes out and makes things happen. It makes it a lot easier on a coach. I am really never nervous when he is wrestling because I think that he is always in it.”
TOPPER Wyatt Unser turned Shiocton’s Izaiah Sanchez to his back during a 113-pound quarterfinal’s match Friday, February 24 at the WIAA Individual State Wrestling Championships in Madison. Unser went on to score the pin. —photo by Shawn DeWitt
Unser, who has spent much of this season carrying the number three state ranking and was the third seed in this year’s D3, 113-pound state bracket, was looking to improve on his fifth-place showing at 106 pounds a year ago and got a great jump on that goal as he saw his first action of the 2023 tournament in Friday’s quarterfinal round.
He faced off against freshman Izaiah Sanchez from Shiocton who had won 7-3 decision over Chase Koepp of Random Lake in the previous evening’s preliminary round to advance to the quarterfinals.
Unser was all business in his 2023 state tournament debut. He took Sanchez (43-10) to the mat within the first minute of action and then turned the Shiocton wrestler to his back for three near fall points and a 5-0 lead as the first period came to a close.
When Unser deferred his choice to open the second period, Sanchez opted to start the new frame on his feet and took a neutral stance. Well, Sanchez did not stay on his feet for long. Unser quickly put him on the mat and then rolled the freshman to his back, eventually getting the fall call at 3:46.
Later that night, Unser would face one of the biggest challenges of his wrestling career when he took on returning state champion and top-ranked Jake Fitzpatrick of La Crosse Aquinas in a much anticipated semifinal showdown.
A year earlier, Fitzpatrick had majored Unser 16-3 in the semis en route to winning the state title at 106 pounds.
Unser was determined that this semifinal match would be different.
And it was.
Fitzpatrick (41-3), however, drew first blood with a quick takedown of Unser just ten seconds into their Friday night fight. But, always a gamer, Unser broke free about a minute later to make it a 2-1 match. That’s how the first period ended.
Unser, who took the down position to begin the second period, got the match equalizer when he was awarded a penalty point after Fitzpatrick received a pair of stall warnings. Although the Aquinas wrestler did not relinquish control in that middle frame, the match entered the third period knotted at two.
When Fitzpatrick took the down position to wrestle the third stanza, it was Unser’s opportunity to see if he could maintain control for two minutes. And he did. Although Unser was not able to score any points, he made certain that Fitzpatrick didn’t either.
With a third-period stalemate and the score tied at two, the match went to overtime.
As the pair danced around the circle in the one-minute extra period, Unser finally found an opening and seized upon it, not only scoring the match-winning takedown but a pair of near fall points to claim a 6-2 win.
As he was holding Fitzpatrick on his back, a small smile broke across Unser’s face and he gave a couple of small head shakes to acknowledge that he had just pulled off the upset.
The victory vaulted Unser into his first state championship match where he would face Fennimore’s Brett Birchman, who after finishing third at 120 and 126 pounds in the previous two state tournaments dropped down to 113 pounds.
Only a few minutes after experiencing first hand the thrills of Saturday night’s March of Champions, Unser took to mat number four on the Kohl Center floor to compete for a state title.
Birchman quickly established a 2-0 advantage, taking Unser to the mat just six seconds into their match.
Fortunately, Unser was able to stave off Birchman’s subsequent offensive attacks to keep the score at 2-0 after the first two minutes were complete.
When Unser deferred his choice to start the second, Birchman decide on the down position. A minute into the middle frame, the Fennimore wrestle scored a reversal to double his lead to 4-0. But, Unser did not stay down for long as he worked a quick escape to score his first point of the bout to make it 4-1 after two periods.
Taking to the mat to start the third period, Unser surrendered his first back points of the tournament as Birchman was awarded a pair of near fall points to increase his advantage to 6-1.
Down by five, Unser continued to work and came up with a reversal to close the gap to 6-3. When Birchman was warned twice for stalling, Unser received a penalty point that made it 6-4.
But, just when the match looked like its was leaning Unser’s way, Birchman scored a reversal with 40 seconds remaining in the title match to go back up by four points – 8 to 4.
With time running out, Unser countered with a reversal of his own to once again narrow the deficit to two points. Birchman, however, added a late escape to win the gold-medal match 9-6.
“He wrestled a great tournament in a very tough bracket,” said Strong following Unser’s final match of the 2022-23 season.
“He beat the defending state champion in the semifinals to put himself in this position. And brought it all the way down to the wire again with an opportunity to win a state title,” said Strong.
“I know that he is not feeling good about it right now but, in all reality, the kid (Unser) has given everything he has and worked year-round to get to this point and so he can be proud of the process and what he has put in to it,” Strong stated.
“He can use this as motivation for next year,” added Strong.
It’s likely Unser, who finished this season with a 40-2 record, will soon begin laying the ground work for another run at a championship next season after enjoying a bit of rest and some vittles.
“He will be right back at it after he eats everything that he can find,” joked Strong. “He already told me he is wrestling 160 next year, so we will see.”