Marshall senior wrestler Tucker Cobb is heading back to UW-Madison’s Kohl Center. He was one of three Cardinals to qualify for the 2023 Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association (WIAA) state finals last season. This year, he was the only one to advance from a talented sectional, hosted at Dodgeland High School on Saturday, Feb. 17.
Cobb entered as the No. 2 seed in the 132 lbs. weight class, behind only Weyauwega-Fremont freshman Carter Birdyshaw. Cobb kicked off his day with a 7-2 decision win over Dylan Kastein of Laconia in the quarterfinals, followed by a pin win in 5:46 in the semifinals against a Princeton/Green Lake wrestler.
This set up a championship match with Birdyshaw, who had pinned both his quarterfinal and semifinal opponents. This title bout lived up to its billing, going the distance in a tight match. Birdyshaw scored once in the opening period and again in the third. Cobb equalized the score with a reversal early in the final period. Birdyshaw picked up a late point with an escape to snag a narrow 3-2 decision win.
Knocked to the second place match, Cobb earned a no contest victory over Kastein, whom he had already beaten on the day. Cobb’s runner-up finish earned him the last of the two spots at state available for his weight class.
Cobb wasn’t the only Cardinal in action on Saturday. Three male teammates and one female also took on the Dodgeland sectional.
Freshman Kadiatou Sidibe tried to make it consecutive seasons Marshall sent a girl to the state finals, competing in the 114 lbs. weight class. She only competed in one match, a pin loss in 45 seconds. The opportunity served as a chance to gain some experience on a big stage and come back better next season.
A pair of seniors saw their high school careers come to an end on Saturday, Miles Zimmerman at 113 lbs. and Kody Finke at 144. Zimmerman had his work cut out for him as he had to open the quarterfinals against the top seed from Markesan, who pinned him in 38 seconds. Dropped to the consolation bracket, Zimmerman had to battle for his spot against a Westfield wrestler. He pushed the match to the second period, but eventually took a pin loss at 3:31 to finish his day. On the same note, Finke also had to wrestle the top seed to open his day. He took a 16-1 tech fall to the eventual sectional champion from Pardeeville. Down in the consolation bracket, Finke too would take a pin loss in the second period to bring his day to a close.
Junior Turner Cobb only got one shot at sectional wrestling in a loaded 157 lbs. bracket. He took a pin loss at 3:26 to a Westfield wrestler in the quarterfinals.
Next up, Tucker Cobb turns his attention towards the 2024 WIAA state finals, hosted at UW-Madison’s Kohl Center from Thursday, Feb. 22 through Saturday, Feb. 24. Cobb earned the No. 6 seed and will wrestle Stratford sophomore Mathias Kaiser, the No. 11 seed, on Thursday at 7:15 PM. The winner advances to face No. 3 seed Roen Carey of Mineral Point on Friday.
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