STEVENS POINT, WI -The Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association revised the 2021 Individual and Team Wrestling Tournament Series assignments and procedures.
The WIAA Sports Medical Advisory and the Board of Control approved an increase to six teams gathering for wrestling competitions during the period of Jan. 17-23, and an increase to eight teams beginning Jan. 30, which clears a threshold to conduct the Tournament Series with revised procedures.
One major change this year is that Bonduel will not be hosting the Division 3 Sectional at Shawano High School.
The top two individuals from each weight class in each of the 16 regionals in each division will advance to Sectionals for a field of 8 wrestlers in each bracket. This is the same format for Division 2 and 3, but a change in Division 1 where the top four wrestlers from each weight class advance. Instead of having 4 wrestlers from two different Regionals advance to Sectionals in Division 1, there will be 2 wrestlers from four different Regionals advancing to each Sectional, reducing the field of qualifiers for Sectionals in half, but keeping the brackets the same size.
The top two individual finishers at each weight class from each of the four sectionals in all three divisions will advance to the State Individual Wrestling Tournament Saturday, Feb. 13. This also reduces the field in half for Division 1 qualifiers with 8 advancing to state in each weight class instead of 16. The move also reduces the field in Division 2 and Division 3 state brackets from 12 to 8, eliminating the third-place qualifying position.
In the end, the state tournament will be reduced from 560 wrestlers to 336 and will be split in three locations with 112 wrestlers at each high school.
For the team tournament, teams qualifying for State will be determined by point values assigned to individual placements in determining sectional team scores. The top two teams at each of the four sectionals qualify in Division 1. The sectional team champion at each of the four sectionals in each division will qualify in Division 2 and Division 3.
The State Team and Individual Tournaments in Division 1 will be held at Kaukauna High School. The Division 2 tournaments will be conducted at Adams-Friendship High School, and the Division 3 team tournament will be held at Wausau West High School with the individual tournament site to be determined. The team tournaments are scheduled for Saturday, Feb. 20.
“The Executive Staff and the WIAA Sports Medical Advisory Committee have become much more comfortable as the season has progressed with no major spreads of COVID-19 linked to high school sports or wrestling,” WIAA Deputy Director Wade Labecki said. “While the plan provides for significant reductions, this is the best opportunity that we can provide for our member schools and their wrestlers considering the pandemic restrictions.”
In Northeast Wisconsin in Division 1, Regionals for area teams will be held at Shawano and Kaukauna. Area teams will be divided between two different regionals and two different sectionals.
Shawano Regional
– Ashwaubenon, Bay Port, De Pere, GB Preble, GB United, Pulaski and Shawano.
Sectionals will be wrestled at Wausau East and will include Chippewa Falls, Eau Claire Memorial, Eau Claire North, Hudson, Menomonie, New Richmond, River Falls, Superior, Holmen, La Crosse, Onalaska, Sparta, Stevens Point, Tomah, Wisconsin Rapids Lincoln, DC Everest, Lakeland Union, Marshfield, Merrill, Rhinelander, Wausau East, and Wausau West.
Kaukauna Regional
-Appleton East, Appleton North, Appleton West, Hortonville, Kimberly, Kaukauna and West De Pere.
Sectionals will be wrestled at Hartford Union and will include Menasha, Neenah, Oshkosh North, Oshkosh West, Manitowoc Lincoln, Sheboygan North, Sheboygan South, Cedarburg, Fond Du Lac, Hartford Union, Port Washington, Slinger, West Bend East, West Bend West, Brown Deer, Germantown, Homestead, Menominee Falls, Milwaukee Lutheran, Nicolet, and Whitefish Bay.
Division 2 Regionals for area teams will be held in Tomahawk, Oconto Falls, New London and Two Rivers.
Tomahawk Regional- Antigo, Mosinee, Nekoosa/Port Edwards, Tomahawk, Waupaca and Wautoma/Wild Rose.
Oconto Falls Regional- Clintonville, Florence, Marinette, Oconto Falls, Peshtigo and Seymour
New London Regional- Berlin, FVL, Little Chute, New London, Omro, Winneconne and Xavier
Two Rivers Regional- Brillion, Denmark, Freedom, Luxemburg-Casco, Sturgeon Bay, Two Rivers and Wrightstown
Those that advance from the four regional sites will wrestle Sectionals at Seymour
Division 3 Regionals for area teams will be held in Three Lakes, Lena, Amherst and Mishicot
Three Lakes Regional: Crandon, Elcho, Menominee Indian, Three Lakes, Wabeno/Laona and Wittenberg-Birnamwood.
Lena Regional: Bonduel, Coleman, Crivitz, Gillett/Suring, Lena, Oconto and Shiocton
Amherst Regional: Almond Bancroft, Amherst, Auburndale, Manawa, Rosholt, Tri-County, Weyauwega-Fremont
Those that advance from the four regional sites will wrestle Sectionals in Valders. This is the first year in a long time that Sectionals will not be wrestled at Shawano.
Here are the revised tournament assignments for each division:
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