By Jennifer Eisenbart
Sports editor
It was a mostly successful afternoon Thursday for area wrestlers at the WIAA Division 1 state individual tournament.
Among the winners were 120-pound wrestlers Derek Gill of Burlington and Kody Azarian of Waterford – two wrestlers who wrestled essentially to a standstill in both regionals and sectionals but are in different halves of the bracket at state.
Gill opened his day with a pin in the first round, then defeated 103-pound defending state champion Andrew Crone of Arrowhead 7-3 in the quarterfinals.
Azarian, meanwhile, scored four points in the final 10 seconds of his opening match to squeak out a 5-4 win, then beat Zac Youngchild 6-1 in the quarterfinals. Azarian will wrestle 120-pound defending state champ Izzy Balsinger of Chippewa Falls in the semifinals at 7 p.m. Friday, while Gill wrestles Colin Bane of Wausau West at the same time.
BHS freshman Ben Hornickle also won both his matches to advance to the semifinals, beating Bee Lor of Wausau West 6-5 in the quarterfinals. Hornickle will face undefeated Ben Thornton of La Crosse Central in the semifinals. Thornton is the top-ranked Division 1 106-pounder in the state.
Also reaching the state semifinals was Waterford’s Francisco Mata, who won a pair of matches at 195 pounds. In the quarterfinals, Mata downed Mike Konvalinka of Hamilton by major decision, 9-0.
Wrestlers who won in the first round but lost in the second round earned berths in the consolation bracket were Waterford’s Cody Dolata (132), Burlington’s Brandt Gavin (160), Ryan Jazdzewski of Burlington (182), Cody Nannemann of Waterford (152)
Burlington’s Matt Ehlen (132), Willie Ehlen (145) and Brody Fitzpatrick (138) all lost in the first round. Matt Ehlen earned a wrestleback when his opponent in the first round also won his second-round match.
Consolation matches start at 10 a.m. Friday.
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