The Raiders wrestling team competed at regionals on Saturday at Evansville High School. The top two wrestlers in each weight class qualified for sectionals, which will take place at Richland Center High School.

The Evansville regional was one of the area's toughest, with the likes of Evansville, Monroe, Beloit Turner and Brodhead/Juda. 

John Chenoweth qualified for sectionals with a second place finish at the 126-pound weight class.  "John did a great job.  His semi-final match was against a tough opponent from Edgerton.  He controlled the takedowns and did not allow the man gain any momentum in the match," said Coach Peter Swenson.

Coming just short to qualifying and earning third place were Justin Knoebl at 113 lbs, Jack Diederich at 138 lbs, Hayden Latsch at 145 lbs, and Trent Siegenthaler at 195 lbs.  

"Those who placed third will continue to practice this week as if they are wrestling on Saturday.  They are the first alternate, and if the first or second place wrestler becomes ill or injured within the week, our guys will be able to step in.  It happens every year and we need to keep everyone ready to go," explained Swenson.

Max Gerner took 5th at 120 lbs, Tyler Varney took 5th at 152 lbs, Kyle Sparr took 5th at 160 lbs, Tanner Jelle took 4th at 182 lbs, Danny Enloe took 4th at 220 lbs, and Jonah Thompson took 4th at 285 lbs.  

"I can't express how happy I am on how well we wrestling on Saturday," said Swenson.  "Everyone wrestled each match as if it was their last.  There are many bright spots on the day, one of the biggest was Hayden Latsch coming in as the 7th seed and making the finals against the 2nd and 3rd seed.  He came up short in the finals and wrestleback, but he can draw on this for motivation for next season.  Everyone, I mean everyone, wrestled outstanding."

Saturday's results are as follows:

Justin Knoebl (14-13), wrestling at 113 lbs, won in his first round against Alex Gobeli of Brodhead/Juda. In round two, Knoebl fell to Adam Staver of Evansville/Albany. Knoebl won the third place match by major decision over Jack Sagaitis of Beloit Turner. Staver came back in the fourth place match to win by rule over Knoebl. Justin Knoebl placed third and scored 15 team points.

Max Gerner (21-14), wrestling at 120 lbs, lost by fall to Hunter Georgeson of Evansville/Albany in round one. Gerner received a bye for round two. In the fifth place match, Gerner won by fall over Clay Ward of Clinton. Max Gerner placed fifth and scored 9 team points.

John Chenoweth (28-11), wrestling at 126 lbs, received a bye for his first round. In round two, Chenoweth won by decision over Carter Klein of Edgerton. Chenoweth lost the first place match to Chase Katzenmeyer of Evansville/Albany. Chenoweth faced Edgerton's Klein again in the second place match, and won by rule. John Chenoweth placed second and scored 18 team points.

Jack Diederich (11-11), wrestling at 138 lbs, won by decision in the first round over Tyler Aasen of Evansville/Albany. In round two, Sam Kind of Monroe won by decision over Diederich. Diederich won the third place match by decision over Colin Warpula of Clinton. Monroe's Kind won by rule over Diederich in the second place match. Jack Diederich placed third and scored 12 team points.

Hayden Latsch (10-24), wrestling at 145 lbs, won his first round by decision over Forrest Haasl of Beloit Turner. Latsch also won round two by decision over Maverick Wellnitz of Clinton. In the first place match, Latsch fell to Jordan Meyer of Evansville/Albany. Travis Wolf of Monroe won by decision over Latsch in the second place match. Hayden Latsch placed third and scored 13 team points.

Tyler Varney (16-19), wrestling at 152 lbs, fell to Nick Hack of Brodhead/Juda in round one. Varney received a bye in round two. In the fifth place match, Varney won by fall over Trevor Evans of Edgerton. Tyler Varney placed fifth and scored 9 team points.

Kyle Sparr (8-14), wrestling at 160 lbs, lost by fall to Evansville/Albany's Trevor Schmidt in round one. He received a second round bye. In the fifth place match, Sparr again received a bye. Kyle Sparr placed fifth and scored 5 team points.

Tanner Jelle (12-14), wrestling at 182 lbs, won by fall over Logan Ford of Brodhead/Juda in round one. In round two, Evansville/Albany's Dakota Ringhand won by fall over Jelle. Jelle lost the third place match to Monroe's Isaac Allen. Tanner Jelle placed fourth and scored 11 team points.

Trent Siegenthaler (22-10), wrestling at 195 lbs, received a bye in round one. He fell to Hayden Arneson of Monroe in round two. In the third place match, Siegenthaler won by fall over Cody Krueger of Beloit Turner. Siegenthaler again wrestled Monroe's Arneson in the second place match, but lost by rule. Trent Siegenthaler placed third and scored 12 team points.

Daniel Enloe (13-13), wrestling at 220 lbs, won by fall over Jenson Herrera of Clinton in round one. Traiten Gorr of Monroe won by fall over Enloe in round two. In the third place match, Enloe fell to Trent Davis of Brodhead/Juda. Daniel Enloe placed fourth and scored 11 team points.

Jonah Thompson (12-15), wrestling at 285 lbs, won by fall in the first round over Sam Kloepping of Clinton. In round two, Thompson fell to Kyle Walter of Monroe. Branden Lange of Evansville/Albany won by fall over Thompson in the third place match. Jonah Thompson placed fourth and scored 11 team points.

Sectionals begin at Richland Center High School on Saturday, February 20, at 9:30 a.m.