Hellendrung mines sectional silver to earn second straight state wrestling berth
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BULLDOG PIN — Boyceville sophomore Zach Hellendrung is shown pinning Flambeau’s Jakob Taylor in a 215-pound quarterfinal’s match at the WIAA Individual Sectional tournament held Saturday, February 17 at Edgar High School. Hellendrung finished second to earn his second straight berth in the state wrestling tournament. —photo by Jacob Maes Photography
EDGAR — Boyceville sophomore Zach Hellendrung is returning to the state wrestling championships in Madison this week.
For the second consecutive year, Hellendrung claimed sectional silver after finishing as the runner-up at 215 pounds at the 2024 WIAA Division 3 Individual Sectional held once again at Edgar High School this past Saturday, February 17.
In doing so, Hellendrung, a state-ranked wrestler, qualified for his second straight WIAA Individual State Championships which will be held in the Kohl Center in Madison this Thursday through Saturday, February 22-24.
The Bulldogs’ other sectional competitor, junior Rony Ramos, came up short in his second bid to garner a state berth when he did not place in the 120-pound weight class.
Only the top three place finishers in each of the 14 weight classes qualify for the state meet.
Hellendrung dominated his first two sectional opponents before dropping a heart-breaking, one-point decision in the 215-pound championship.
In his quarterfinal match, it took Hellendrung, who is ranked sixth in the latest Division 3 state poll at his weight, all of 48 seconds to pin Flambeau’s Jakob Taylor.
Waiting in the semifinals was Taydyn Angell of Cornell/Gilman/Lake Holcombe. The pair had also grappled the previous Saturday in the regional semifinals at Auburndale with Hellendrung prevailing 4 to 2. This time around it wasn’t even close as Hellendrung punched his ticket to the finals with a 12-2 major decision.
“Zach wrestled tough,” said Boyceville head coach Jamie Olson. “Getting a pin and a major going into the finals, I thought Zach was in a good place to beat Tegels. We’ve been talking about scoring points and opening up our offense and Zach did that the first two rounds.”
For the second time in as many Saturdays, Hellendrung matched up with Cadott senior Axel Tegels for the 215 pound gold. Hellendrung scored a 4-3 win in Auburndale a week earlier, but this time around, Tegels, ranked eighth, flipped the script and won 4-3.
“We didn’t wrestle a bad match in the finals,” said Olson of Hellendrung’s effort. “It was just that Tegels’ wrestled a great match.
“We have a lot to take away from that match, we will correct a couple of things,” noted Olson.
“Zach’s excited about competing again at the state tournament, last year we lost a heartbreaker the first round. We feel good about our seed,” added he coach.
Hellendrung, who carries a 25-5 mark into the state tournament is seeded fifth in his 215-pound weight bracket and will take on senior Alexzander Larson (32-12), the 12th seed from Princeton/Green Lake in Thursday evenings’ preliminary round. A win will allow Hellendrung to move on to Friday’s quarterfinal round for his third showdown in as many weeks against Axel Tegels who drew the fourth seed.
“One period at a time mentality,” said Olson of Hellendrung’s approach on the eve of his second state tournament.
“Score points and control what we can control. Zach’s a competitor, he will leave everything out there. He has goals for this weekend,” concluded Olson.
Rony Ramos had another tough draw in this, his second consecutive sectional tournament. He was paired against Cumberland senior Noah Hile (40-11), who if ranked fifth in state in the 120-pound weight class, in the quarterfinal. Hile scored a 16-0 technical fall over Ramos who never received another opportunity to wrestle in Edgar last Saturday and finished his junior season with a 22-13 record.
“I’m super proud of Rony and what he has accomplished this year,” Olson said. “He is now a two-time sectional qualifier.”
“Such a great story with this kid. It’s fun to watch him improve and smile when he has success. This has been such a great sport for him to get involved with, and I’m happy I get a chance to coach him one more year,” said Olson.