By Jared Schmeltzer
Reporter
On Saturday the Merrill wrestling team hosted the division one regional tournament. Four Bluejay wrestlers finished in the top four, advancing them to the sectional tournament.
At 120 pounds Tanner Depies finished in third place, winning two of his four matches. Depies first match saw him win by pin in 5:36. His second match would be another victory, this time by a 2-1 decision. Depies then fell in his first and second place matches to finish in third place for the tournament.
Carter Bayer finished in fourth place at 152 pounds for the Jays. After winning his first match of the day Bayer would then drop the next two, leaving him with a chance to take fourth place. Bayer did win his final match by a score of 12-11 to advance to the sectional tournament.
Bradley Leiskau would finish in first place at 170 pounds, going undefeated in his three matches. Leiskau made quick work of his opponents, pinning all three in a minute or less.
Zach Iribarren punched his ticket to the sectional tournament, taking second place at heavyweight. After receiving a bye in the first round Iribarren then pinned his opponent in round two. Iribarren would fall in the first place match and then bounce back and take the second place match by a score of 21-10.
Merrill head coach Brian Suchocki was happy for his wrestlers saying, “Carter had a tough bracket, but competed well to make it to the sectional tournament for his first time. Also making their first trip to the sectional are Tanner and Zach. Each of them have worked very hard this season and it would be nice to see them reach their goals. Bradley is our only senior and he finished the day with all first rounds pins, getting his 100th career win along the way. It has been awesome seeing Bradley continue to get better over the years. He is wrestling well and it will be fun seeing him compete next weekend.”
These four wrestlers will compete for a chance to go to the State Tournament on Saturday, as they travel to Menominee for sectionals.