Unser and McGee repeat as sectional champs, four Toppers headed to state

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LADYSMITH — Glenwood City will have a quartet, including a pair of previous qualifiers along with two first timers, competing in the state wrestling championships later this week in Madison after  securing medals and state berths at the sectional tournament.

Hilltopper senior Wyatt Unser, a defending state titlist, capped his final sectional tournament with a fourth straight gold medal while fellow senior and teammate Mitchell McGee stepped atop the awards podium for a second consecutive season at the 2025 WIAA Division 3 Individual Wrestling Sectional held this past Saturday, February 22 at Ladysmith High School.

Unser, making his fourth trip to state, and McGee, heading to his third consecutive state championships, will be joined by first-time participants senior Logan McVeigh and sophomore Will Obermueller as all four vie for state titles at the WIAA Individual State Wrestling Championships to be held this Thursday through Saturday, February 27-March 1 at the Kohl Center in Madison.

“Sectionals is a tournament of highs and lows as a coach,” said Glenwood City head wrestling coach Shane Strong. “You feel so proud of the kids when they accomplish a goal to make it to the state tournament, yet you feel so low when a kid comes up short. I thought all of our kids showed up to compete at their best.”

The four state-bound wrestlers were part of the Hilltoppers 11-member contingent that participated in the Ladysmith sectional.
Of the remaining seven, three – seniors Dylan LaBeree (165), Jackson Logghe (215) and Blake Fayerweather (285) – capped their careers with fourth-place finishes in their respective weight classes, just missing a state berth which only go to the top three place finishers.

Four other Toppers wrestlers did not place in the sectional tournament.

Freshman Landon Standaert, at 120 pounds, lost his quarterfinals match, but remained in the competition when the wrestler that defeated him won in the semifinals. Standaert lost his subsequent match in the consolation-side of the bracket and was eliminated from the competition. Junior Landon Obermueller (132) and sophomores Preston Arvey (113) and  Brock Wood (150) also lost in the quarterfinal, but did not get another opportunity to wrestle.

Senior Andrew Blaser also qualified to compete in Ladysmith, but he had to withdraw after he suffered an injury while wrestling in the February 18 team sectional in Clear Lake.

“You can also feel their pain when they don’t reach their ultimate goal, it is tough,” stated Strong.

Conversely, coaches also share the joy, excitement and exhilaration when their wrestlers achieve a goal or win a big match.

“One of the greatest feelings as a coach is witnessing your kids’ faces when they win a big match. You can feel their happiness and excitement,” he added.

Strong and his coaches were able share the excitement with the Toppers four state qualifiers.

Top-ranked and defending state champion Wyatt Unser began his quest for a fourth sectional championship with a dominating 16-1 technical fall over Kyle Whitcome (18-19) of Bruce in the 138-pound quarterfinals.

For a second week in a row, Unser squared off against Stratford junior Lucas Forest in the semifinals. After shutting out Forest 15-0 in the regional competition, Unser scored a 19-3 technical fall against the Tiger wrestler in just the first period of action.

In the gold-medal match, Unser served up his third consecutive win via technical fall when he dispatched Marathon senior Levi Krautkramer 22 to 6 in 5:11. That win not only gave Unser his fourth sectional championship, but made him Glenwood City’s new career wins record holder. With the victory, Unser now has 167 victories surpassing the previous mark of 166 held by 2013 GCHS graduate Adam Holmquist.

Unser heads to Madison with a 42-0 record this season. As the top seed, he will receive a first round  bye and will wrestle the winner of the match between Grant Klimek (44-8), an Independence/Gilmanton sophomore, and Brexden Kane (44-13), and junior from Crandon in Thursday night’s quarterfinal round.

Teammate and fellow senior Mitchell McGee’s sectional performance at 157 pounds was even more impressive. Ranked fourth coming into last Saturday’s meet, McGee registered two pins and a technical fall en route to winning his second and final sectional crown.

Carter Daugherty was McGee’s first victim of the day. McGee shut out the Turtle Lake/Clayton sophomore 15-0 in 3:19 to advance via a technical fall. In the semifinal match, McGee stuck Stratford senior Brandon Knetter in just 1:04. His championship match was a replay of last year’s final at 150 pounds where McGee defeated Cumberland’s Logan Peterson via a third-period fall. Last Saturday, McGee put Peterson’s shoulders to the foam at the 3:29 mark of the second stanza.

Like Unser, McGee, who improved to 46-1 with his three sectional wins, will not wrestle until Thursday night’s quarterfinals. Seeded fourth in the D3, 157-pound state bracket, McGee will await the victor of Thursday’s preliminary match between  fifth-seeded sophomore Brayden Lenz (49-5) of Valders and senior Brandon Knetter (18-15) of Stratford, the 12th seed.

“These guys have led our team for the past two years,” Strong said of Unser and McGee. “They work hard in the room and are sure to get in additional training outside the room. They earn everything they accomplish, nothing is deserved.”

Will Obermueller’s path to the 106-pound sectional silver was a tough one. Ranked ninth, the Topper sophomore opened his first sectional tournament with a 15-0 technical fall shut out of Cumberland freshman Colin Hagen. In the semis, Obermueller took the daunting task of facing the state’s number two ranked, division 3 lightweight, Marathon freshman Taylor Underwood (43-4), head on. Obermueller emerged a 3-1 winner and advanced to the championship bout against 7th-ranked Stratford sophomore Kolton Haupt, who he had pinned in Tuesday’s team sectional championship dual in Clear Lake. This time around, Haupt controlled the narrative as he bested Obermueller 16-4 to take the individual sectional gold.

“I’m also so proud of the performance by Will Obermueller against a kid  (Taylor Underwood) many believed was a favorite to win a state title,” said Strong. “He competed for six minutes in good position and did not make a mistake.”

Will Obermueller, 38-10, received the tenth-seed in his 106-pound state bracket and will take on 7th-seeded freshman Zander Mueller (46-5) of Brillion  in a Thursday night prelim match up.

The Toppers’ fourth and final state qualifier is senior Logan McVeigh. He scored a thrilling 11-8 overtime win against Ladysmith sophomore Alex Mukunda (35-11) in a 126-pound quarterfinal. In his semifinal match, McVeigh was pinned by sixth-ranked Colin Cournoyer, a Stratford junior. McVeigh won via an 18-2 technical fall over Turtle Lake/Clayton’s Luke Poppenhagen in the consolation round and them pulled off an 11-1 win versus Cameron freshman Jason Saffert in the third-place match to earn bronze and a state berth.

“Logan opened up his offense this weekend, which led to a state tournament berth. We have been pushing him to open up all season, he did it at the right time.

McVeigh (31-17) drew the 12th seed in his state bracket and will  face Stratford’s Colin Cournoyer (44-6), the fifth seed, for the second time in two weeks in the Thursday’s prelims.

As a team, Glenwood City finished second out of 23 teams in the final sectional team standing with 101 points. Ironically, its was a half point ahead of Auburndale who the Toppers edged by the same margin at regionals.  Stratford came in first with 158 points.