STAR JOURNAL REPORT

The Rhinelander High School wrestling team has qualified for next Saturday’s Division 1 Sectional at River Falls in seven of the 14 weight classes.

The Hodags, who competed at Saturday’s Division 1 Regional at Merrill, had three regional champions, three runner-up finishers and one third-place wrestler qualify for the sectional, to which the top-four regional finishers advance in Division 1.

At 145 pounds, RHS’s Jacob DeMeyer recorded two pins before winning the title match with a 12-3 major decision over Wisconsin Rapids’ Bergh Diebel.

The Hodags’ Alec Bess received an opening-round bye before recording two match victories on pins to win the title at 160 pounds.

RHS junior Alec Kurtz had two wins on pins before being victorious in the 182-pound title match with an 8-4 decision over Wausau West’s Jordan LaRue.

The Hodags’ Rueben Guzik (113), Tyler Olson (120) and Colton Krueger (195) ended up in second place after losing their title matches, while Eric Grulke (138) won his opening match on a pin and then lost on a 9-4 decision to Steven Point’s Dylan Trigg before winning a 10-7 decision over Merrill’s Brody Gehrke and ending up in third place.

Of the eight teams at the Division 1 Merrill Regional, Marshfield had the top team score and advances to Tuesday’s Division 1 Team Sectional at Stevens Point to face Hudson. RHS finished second in the regional team standings.