Monday, March 3, 2025

2025 State Team Wrestling Tournament Preview

THE TOURNAMENT:  The 34th Annual Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association State Team Wrestling Tournament will take place Friday and Saturday, March 7-8. The tournament is held at the Field House on the University of Wisconsin campus in Madison, Wis.

TICKET INFORMATION:  Ticket prices for the tourney are $16 plus online fees for the Friday session and $11 plus fees for the Saturday sessions. They can be purchased on-line on the WIAA website through GoFan, the WIAA digital ticketing partner, at:  https://gofan.co/app/school/WIAA2.

TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE AND PAIRINGS:  The single elimination tournament features eight teams in Division 1 and four each in Divisions 2 and 3. Here are the pairings and schedule for the divisions:

Division 1
Quarterfinals - Friday, March 7 - 5:30 p.m.
Match-1: #1 Kaukauna (17-0) vs. #8 West Allis Hale (14-3)
Match-2: #4 Holmen (13-4) vs. #5 Muskego (14-7)
Match-3: #3 Bay Port (20-2) vs. #6 Reedsburg (15-3)
Match-4: #2 Arrowhead (12-1) vs. #7 Waukesha West (27-4)

Semifinals - Friday, March 7 - 7:30 p.m.
Match-5: Match-1 Winner vs. Match-2 Winner
Match-6: Match-3 Winner vs. Match-4 Winner

Final - Saturday, March 8 - 3 p.m.
Division 1 Championship Match

Division 2
Semifinals - Saturday, March 8 - 10 a.m.
Match-1: #1 Coleman (17-1 ) vs. #4 Fennimore (6-2)
Match-2: #2 St. Croix Falls (10-1) vs. #3 Kewaskum (11-3)

Final - Saturday, March 8 - 3 p.m.
Division 2 Championship Match

Division 3
Semifinals - Saturday, March 8 - 10 a.m.
Match-1: #1 Weyauwega-Fremont (25-1) vs. #4 Oostburg (19-3)
Match-2: #2 Mineral Point (17-1) vs. #3 Stratford (19-2)

Final - Saturday, March 8 - 3 p.m.
Division 3 Championship Match

TOURNAMENT LIVE STREAMS:  The entire State Team Wrestling Tournament will be streamed live on the WIAA.TV portal of the NFHS Network on a consumer subscription basis. To purchase a subscription to the live programming for only $11.99 per month, log-on to www.wiaa.tv or www.nfhsnetwork.com and click on the subscribe button in the header of the page. Archived streams of the events will be available on demand on the NFHS Network 72 hours after the tournament.

TEAM TOURNAMENT OVERVIEW:  The first WIAA State Wrestling Tournament was held in 1940. Until 1992, team champions were determined by a point system based on individuals’ placing in what is currently the individual championships. For the first time in 1992, a team champion was determined by a separate tournament series involving dual matches. UW-Stevens Point hosted the first two championships, and West Allis Central hosted the meet from 1994-2005. The tournament has been held at the UW Field House from 2006-2020. The State Tournament was held in three separate locations in 2021 during the COVID-19 pandemic. This season, there were 337 programs entering the tournament series, including 128 in Division 1, 105 in Division 2 and 104 in Division 3.

LAST YEAR:  Kaukauna won the Division 1 team title for the fourth straight season by defeating Wisconsin Rapids Lincoln 36-27 in the championship match. Luxemburg-Casco won the Division 2 championship for the second year in a row by defeating St. Croix Falls 36-19 in the title bout. Fennimore won its third consecutive team championship with a 46-16 victory over Coleman in the Division 3 final.

ABOUT THE DIVISION 1 FIELD:  Four-time defending champion Kaukauna was issued the top seed in the bracket. The Galloping Ghosts qualify for the 16th time in the last 18 seasons and for a membership-leading 23rd time overall. They had a string of five straight appearances from 1999-2003 and have surpassed that streak with their current run of 13 consecutive appearances. They have won a total of eight State championships, including four straight from 2014-17 and the current streak of four in a row. The Galloping Ghosts have also finished runner-up four times, including 2000, 2003, 2008 and 2013. They qualified for State this year as champions of the Stevens Point Sectional following a 49-18 victory over Wisconsin Rapids Lincoln in the final. Second-seeded Arrowhead is making its 13th State appearance and its fifth in the past seven seasons. The Warhawks had a string of five successive appearances from 2004-2008. Their most notable achievements in the State Tournament have been runner-up finishes in 2005 and 2011. The Warhawks’ return to the tournament field comes as a result of a 39-35 win over Germantown in the Hartford Sectional final. Third-seeded Bay Port returns to the team tournament for the fourth time and for the first time since 2023. The Pirates finished runner-up in 2014, which represents the most notable finish in the tourney. The Pirates defeated Luxemburg-Casco 44-21 in the sectional final hosted by the Pirates. Holmen, the fourth seed, is making its 13th appearance at State and the first since 2022. The Vikings made six straight appearances from 2017-22, and their most notable achievements in the team tournament were runner-up finishes in 2018 and 2022. Their return to the tourney field comes following a 58-16 win over Menomonie in the Hudson Sectional final. Muskego is the #5 seed. The Warriors have qualified for the fourth year in a row and for the 13th time overall. The Warriors’ crowning achievement in their previous 12 experiences was the State title won in 1994. They also have a runner-up finish in 1963, which was prior to the inception of the dual team championship format. Muskego advances to the final eight again this season with a 47-27 victory over Oak Creek in the sectional final hosted by the Warriors. Sixth-seeded Reedsburg qualifies for the State Team Tournament for the second time in the last three seasons, which accounts for the Beavers’ overall number of appearances. They fell in the quarterfinals in their first appearance in 2023. They defeated Monona Grove/McFarland 40-23 in the final of the Middleton Sectional to advance to the State quarterfinals. Seventh-seeded Waukesha West qualifies for the second time in the past three seasons. The Wolverines’ first experience at State came in 1997. In both of their previous two experiences, they lost in the quarterfinals. The Wolverines return to the tournament field following a 58-22 win over Burlington in the sectional final held at Waukesha West. West Allis Hale, the #8 seed, makes its first-ever appearance in the State Team Tournament. The Huskies defeated Wisconsin Lutheran 58-42 in the Milwaukee Riverside Sectional to advance to the quarterfinal field of eight.

ABOUT THE DIVISION 2 FIELD:  Coleman has advanced to the title match in Division 3 in four of the past five years. The Cougars move up to Division 2 this year and have been issued the top seed in the bracket. They advance to State for the 18th time and for the fifth time in the past six seasons. They have won a total of 11 team championships. With the current dual format, they won the title in 2000, three in a row from 2010-12, in 2014, and again in 2020. They also claimed crowns before the dual format in 1960, 1962, 1963, 1964 and 1966 when there was only one division. In addition, they finished runner-up in 1959, 1961, 1981, 1983, 1996, 2008, 2013, 2015, 2021, 2022, and 2024. The Cougars are the champions of the Denmark Sectional this season with a 33-31 win over Freedom. Last year’s runner-up St. Croix Falls is the second seed. The Saints advance to State for the fifth time overall and for the third time in the past four seasons. Prior to the Saints’ advance to the final last season, their previous three experiences ended in the semifinals in Division 3. They are back in the final field of four after defeating St. Croix Central 36-26 in the sectional final held at Medford. Kewaskum, the third seed, will appear in the team tournament for the second straight season after making its first appearance in program history last season. That experience resulted in a loss in the semifinals. The lndians are back in the tournament following a 38-36 victory over Campbellsport in the North Fond du Lac/St. Mary’s Springs Sectional final. Three-time defending Division 3 champion Fennimore moves up a division this season. The Golden Eagles have been issued the #4 seed in the bracket. They make their 10th appearance in the State Team Wrestling Tournament, all coming in the last 11 seasons. In addition to the championships won the past three seasons, the Golden Eagles also won team titles in 2016 and 2019. They also advanced to championship matches and finished runner-up in 2017, 2018 and 2020. This season, they posted a 41-26 victory over Belmont/Platteville in the final of the Prairie du Chien Sectional to earn a chance to win a championship in Division 2.

ABOUT THE DIVISION 3 FIELD: Top-seeded Weyauwega-Fremont returns to the Division 3 field for the second year in a row after making its first State appearance last season, which resulted in a loss in the semifinals. The Warhawks earned their return trip to State by downing Shiocton 39-29 in the final of the Bonduel Sectional. Second-seeded Mineral Point returns to the field for the 12th time and for the first time since 2021 when the Pointers won the championship. They have won 12 State championships overall, including five since the advent of the dual meet format. The Pointers won two straight Division 3 crowns from 2002-03 and three consecutive from 2007-09. They also claimed Class C crowns before the dual format in 1980, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1985 and 1986. They have also finished runner-up four times, including 1966, 1976, 2010 and 2011. This season, they are the champions of the sectional they hosted after edging Iowa-Grant/Highland 33-32. Stratford is seeded third. The Tigers will appear in the team tourney for the 11th time and for the second time in the past three seasons. They captured back-to-back titles in 2017-18 to account for their two championships. The Tigers also advanced to the finals and placed runner-up five times, including 2001, 2002, 2003, 2016 and 2019. They are in pursuit of their third State title following a 41-29 win over Glenwood City in the Clear Lake Sectional final. Fourth-seeded Oostburg is making its third State appearance overall and the Dutchmen’s first since back-to-back experiences in 2010-11. They lost in semifinals in both of their previous endeavors at State. Their return to the tournament field comes by virtue of a 53-26 win over Lomira in the sectional final hosted by the Dutchmen.

NEED THE QUALIFIERS?:  All rosters of qualifying teams are available on the media restricted area of the WIAA website at: www.wiaawi.org.

NEED LIVE RESULTS?: Access results through the WIAA website by navigating to the wrestling homepage and selecting the Tournament Information option in the right column or by accessing the Trackwrestling.com website directly.

NEED CREDENTIALS?:  Requesting media credentials for the 2025 WIAA Team Wrestling Championships must be submitted by noon, Tuesday, March 4. Complete and submit the online credential request form in the restricted media area of the WIAA website. Verification of approved credentials is also available in the restricted media area. Parking may be purchased at Lot 17 (north of Camp Randall), and media credentials will be available at Gate C located at the southwest corner of the Field House.

UW FIELD HOUSE UPDATES:  As a reminder, phone lines for use to transmit audio at the UW Field House have been removed from the media row where radio crews have called the action. To transmit, stations will need to connect with WiFi, ethernet or cell.

STATE MEET INFORMATION ONLINE:  Information for the 2025 State Team Wrestling Tournament is available online for the media in the restricted area of the WIAA Media Center. Access the wrestling option on the Winter Media Guide page and locate the State Tournament Info. page linked in the menu on the Media Center page.

ORDER STATE MEET APPAREL ONLINE:  Fans can commemorate their experience at the 2025 team wrestling championships at the UW Field House with exclusive souvenir merchandise for sale at Bucky’s Locker Room located in the concourse. Additional State Team Wrestling Tournament merchandise is available online. The online store will remain open now through Sunday, March 9 prior to midnight. Access the individual and team wrestling tournaments online store through a partnership with Sports World at https://sportsworld.chipply.com/wiaastatewrestling25/store.aspx?action=viewall.

FOLLOW STATE MEET ON SOCIAL MEDIA: Receive updates of the State Team Wrestling Tournament on the WIAA State Tournament Twitter account @wiaawistate with the hashtag #wiaawr. Also like us on Facebook and follow us on Instagram at wiaawi.

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2025 State Team Wrestling Tournament Preview

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