The 68th WIAA individual state wrestling tournament kicks off its 3-day run at the Kohl Center with Division 1 preliminaries at 3pm this afternoon.
A total of 224 wrestlers qualified in division 1 and 168 in both division 2 and division 3. 231 schools are represented.
Wisconsin Rapids leads the division 1 field with 12 wrestlers. Franklin and West Allis each qualified eight. In Division 2, Ellsworth leads with eight qualifiers, followed by Luxemburg-Casco with seven and Oconto Falls with six. In division 3, Coleman had eight qualifiers, followed by Ozaukee (7) and Edgar (6).
Germantown’s Jesse Thielke is the only three-time state champion in the field. He captured the Division 1, 112 lb field in 2008 and then took the 125 lb titles each of the last two years. There are 4 two-time state champs in the field and 18 wrestlers that have a single state title entering this years event in Madison.
Champions will be crowned on Saturday.