For the second consecutive season, the Waterloo wrestling program will be represented by multiple Pirates at the Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association (WIAA) individual state finals. A pair of seniors made the cut, 190 lbs. Trevor Firari and 157 lbs. Ryan Sturgill.
This is familiar territory for Firari, who will return to UW-Madison’s Kohl Center for the third time after accomplishing the feat as a freshman at 152 lbs. and as a junior at 160 lbs.. This season, he punched his ticket at 190 lbs. thanks to a championship-level performance at WIAA sectionals, hosted at Dodgeland High School on Saturday, Feb. 17.
Firari entered the day as the No. 2 seed but left a sectional champion. He started off hot win a pin win over a Tri-County wrestler in 1:28 in the quarterfinals and another against a Weyauwega-Fremont wrestler in 1:44 in the semifinals. He saved his best for the championship match against Markesan senior Noah Hanefeld, the top seed. Firari dominated, pinning his opponent in just 39 seconds to earn himself a sectional title.
He’s already been shown an impressive level of respect entering the state finals, also. Firari earned the No. 3 seed in the Division 3, 190 lbs. bracket. He will await the results of Thursday, Feb. 22’s matchup between No. 6 seed Sam Schwengels of Parkview/Albany and No. 11 seed Tellyer Alix of Weyauwega-Fremont. With his opening round bye, Firari will not compete until Friday, Feb. 23 with the match scheduled to begin around 11:15 AM.
Firari’s state experience should serve him well. As a freshman, he lost his one and only match. He did pick up a win last season, though. He pinned a wrestler from Shiocton in 3:46 to advance to the quarterfinals. There, he took a 16-1 tech fall loss to the eventual state runner-up.
Ryan Sturgill’s state qualification feels like a long time coming. He came incredibly close last season, entering sectionals as the No. 2 seed only to fall short in the third place match. He found himself in a similar situation as a senior, wrestling in the 157 lbs. weight class.
Sturgill lost his opening match of the day, a pin loss in 5:25 to Weyauwega-Fremont’s Connor Johnson, the eventual sectional runner-up. With his back against the wall, Sturgill got to work on the consolation bracket. He pinned a Deerfield wrestler in 3:50 and a Westfield wrestler in 3:12 to reach the third place match. It was ruled “no contest” as he met Johnson of Weyauwega-Fremont there. Still, Sturgill’s third place finish was enough for him to punch a ticket.
His state experience begins on Thursday, Feb. 22 at 7:15 PM. As the No. 11 seed in Division 3’s 157 lbs. weight class, he’ll be up against Pardeeville junior and No. 6 seed Caleb Mackey. The winner advances to face No. 3 seed Jaxon Busse of Iowa-Grant/Highland the following day.
Outside of state qualifications from Firari and Sturgill, 12 other Pirates were in action at Saturday’s sectional, eight more boys and four girls.
Senior Michaela Lewellin came very close to punching a return ticket to the state finals, finishing as runner-up in the 152 lbs. weight class. She entered Saturday as the No. 2 seed and received byes up until the semifinal round. There, she pinned a Johnson Creek wrestler in 1:06 to reach the championship match. With only one spot at state available, Lomira senior Kara Kuge snatched it with a 17-1 tech fall victory.
The Waterloo girls were well represented overall. Freshman Sully Dominguez finished third at 185 lbs., senior Reina Degler finished fourth at 120 lbs., and freshman Olivia Otte also placed fourth in the 114 lbs. weight class.
As for the rest of the boys, none placed in their respective weight classes. Between freshman Zack Aguero (106 lbs.), sophomore Avery Skalitzky (120 lbs.), sophomore Brady Ebert (126 lbs.), junior Owen Koele (138 lbs.), freshman Gavin Schroud (144 lbs.), junior Derek Pochowski (175 lbs.), sophomore Andy Carrillo (215 lbs.), and senior Modou Demba (285 lbs.), only Carrillo had a win.
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