TINA L. SCOTT
EDITOR
Division 1 Regional Wrestling Tournament
The Merrill Wrestling Team competed at the Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association (WIAA) Division 1 Regionals at Marshfield High School on Feb. 12, 2022.
The results for those who placed:
106 – Joey Jensen (19-14) placed fifth and scored 9.0 team points.
113 – Evan Fredericks (5-7) placed fifth and scored 9.0 team points.
120 – Jon Hart (18-26) placed sixth and scored 3.0 team points.
138 – Callum Wheeler (15-10) placed third and scored 10.0 team points.
160 – Austin Depies (21-16) placed fifth and scored 9.0 team points.
170 – Brian Ball (29-16) placed fifth and scored 9.0 team points.
182 – Dominic Roper (13-16) placed fifth and scored 9.0 team points.
195 – Wyatt Bathke (30-9) placed second and scored 21.0 team points.
220 – Ryder Depies (21-3) placed second and scored 21.0 team points.
As a result, three Merrill wrestlers – Ryder Depies, Wyatt Bathke, and Callum Wheeler – qualified for the Sectional Tournament at Eau Claire North on Feb. 19.
“Ryder Depies and Wyatt Bathke both placed second and Callum Wheeler placed third to qualify for the Individual Sectional Tournament,” said Merrill Varsity Wrestling Head Coach Brian Suchocki.
“Ryder Depies has gone back and forth with Colton Guerink of Wausau West. This week Ryder didn’t come out on top,” he said. “Ryder finished the day with a victory keeping him in second place. Ryder will continue working hard. Overall he did some good wrestling, but we have a few things to work on.”
“Wyatt Bathke came in as the third seed and moved up one position to take second,” Suchocki said. “Wyatt is wrestling well and needs to continue that.”
“Callum Wheeler placed third in a very competitive weight class as a freshman. Callum continues to improve each week,” he said. “I can see the improvement as a coach and hopefully he realizes it and he gets more confident.”
“Unfortunately we had several wrestlers just miss out on making it to the Sectional Tournament,” Suchocki said. “Each one has worked hard this season and many of them were so close. That is what makes advancing a special thing.”
“Many of the wrestlers are underclassmen and will have more opportunity,” he added. “We look forward to upcoming seasons and what they put in this offseason to improve. Dominic Roper was our only other Senior besides Wyatt. His fifth place finish was his final match. Dominic ended up with a pin, and even though he wanted to advance, it was good to get a win for his final time on the mat.”