By David Paulsen
SPORTS CORRESPONDENT
For the second year in a row, seven Waterford High School wrestlers qualified for sectional competition from the WIAA Division 1 regional held at Greenfield. And for the second year in a row, two Wolverines came away with regional titles.
Kody Azarian, ranked No. 3 in the state at 120 pounds, and Max Fisher, No. 5 in the state at 138 pounds, each won their weight classes. Both had first-round byes.
Azarian dominated his bracket, winning the semifinal by a 16-0 technical fall, and the final by a 12-3 major decision.
Fisher, 37-5 overall, pinned his semifinal opponent and then won a 9-2 decision in the first-place match.
Four Wolverines captured second place.
At 106 pounds, Justin Ratkovec had a first-round bye, and then won a 6-2 decision in the semifinal. He lost a 9-1 decision in the first-place match, and did not have to wrestle again since he had already defeated the third-place finisher. Ratkovec is now 34-9 on the season.
Cody Nannemann, at 160 pounds, opened with an 18-2 technical fall, and then won by pin in the semifinal.
Nannemann lost 3-1 in overtime to Mukwonago’s Kirk Zylke in the final.
Since he had not wrestled the third-place winner, Nannemann had to wrestle one more match. He won that match by a 13-1 major decision to lock down second place. Nannemann is now 39-4 overall.
At 170 pounds, Liam Pritchard, 23-14 overall, opened with a quarterfinal pin and followed that up with a 10-3 decision in the semifinal match.
In the first-place match, Pritchard dropped a 10-6 decision which gave him second at regional since he had already defeated the third-place finisher.
The final Wolverine to place second was Dylan Malecki at 182 pounds. Malecki, 14-14 on the season, opened with a pin, and then won a close 4-3 decision in the semifinal.
In the final, Malecki was pinned by Mukwonago’ Mayson Madden. Malecki did not need to wrestle another match since he had already defeated the third-place wrestler.
The seventh Wolverine advancing to sectional action was Dan Mcgilvary at 113 pounds. Mcgilvary, who is 21-18 on the year, was third. He opened with a 12-3 major decision win, but then faced the No.2-ranked wrestler in the state at 113, and was pinned in the first period.
Mcgilvary came back to win the third-place match by pin, which earned him a chance to wrestle for second place. He lost that match by a 6-2 decision.
As a team, the Wolverines finished third with 165 points. Mukwonago won the regional with 236.5 points. Only the top team advances to the sectional team competition.
The Division 1 individual sectional competition takes place Saturday at Waukesha West.
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