MADISON – Austin Wolfe accomplished what he hadn’t in his first two trips to the state wrestling tournament, qualify for a state championship match.
Boyceville’s 106-pound senior made sure that his third and final run at a gold medal would be the charm.
Wolfe dominated his Friday evening’s semifinal match against Aiden Wusterbarth at the Kohl Center, shutting out the Oconto sophomore ten nil to gain tomorrow evening’s 106-pound state title match in Division 3.
“It feels amazing,” said a still breathless Wolfe just a few minutes after his win.
“All the hard work, all the time on the mat, and all the morning workouts, getting on the stair step every morning, it just feels so great for it to pay off.”
Wolfe worked Wusterbarth over in the first period until he found an opening and struck for a takedown with 37 seconds left.
Wolfe quickly added to the lead with two near fall points before the period closed.
After Wusterbarth chose to begin the middle period in the neutral (standing) position, Wolfe went on the attack again and scored a second takedown and two-point near fall to extend the lead to 8-0.
An illegal slam by a frustrated Westerbarth in the third period gave Wolfe his ninth point with the tenth and final one coming on an escape with just 15 seconds left in the match.
“I knew had to go in there and be aggressive on my feet,” Wolfe said of his strategy. “The kid was kind of a head thrower and had a couple of shots that I needed to watch out for.”
“I just went out there with my A’s and B’s and C’s (takedowns) and just performed well,” stated Wolfe.
Asked if he was relieved to finally make a finals, Wolfe said, “I am relieved to finally get my last weigh-in out of the way but there is a little bit of nerves but I am just going to go out and wrestle like it is any other match.”
Wolfe, the top ranked grappler in the Division 3, 106-pound weight class, will face second-seeded Stratford freshman AJ Schoenfuss in the championship match. Schoenfuss, 45-2, pinned Spring Valley’s Andrew Webb in the quarterfinals and won 17-7 in the semifinals over Kohl Center favorite Zach Anglin of Bayfield/Washburn.
