BY TINA L. SCOTT
EDITOR
Several Merrill wrestlers traveled to Madison on May 4-5, 2024, to compete in the State Freestyle and Greco-Roman Wrestling Championship at the Aliant Energy Center. Allison Hunter, Adison Clark, and Dusty Schmirler competed in freestyle, while Brett Suchocki competed in Greco-Roman, and Brant Suchocki, Broc Suchocki, Remington Skic, Hunter Opper, and Austin Depies competed in both styles.
“Freestyle is a similar style of wrestling to folkstyle wrestling, which is what all high school wrestlers compete in throughout the regular season,” said Brian Suchocki, Merrill Head Wrestling Coach. “The main difference is in the scoring, but some techniques and rules are different for both styles. Greco-Roman wrestling is a style of wrestling where you cannot use legs in the same way as freestyle or Greco-Roman.”
“The Freestyle and Greco State Tournament brings out many of the best high school, middle school, and youth wrestlers in the state,” he said.
Brant took first place in Freestyle and second place in Greco-Roman, Allison took third place in Freestyle; Brett took fifth place in Greco-Roman, Remington took sixth place in Greco-Roman, and Austin took sixth place in Greco-Roman.
“It’s awesome to see so many Merrill wrestlers willing to compete at this level,” Suchocki said. “These wrestlers trained hard to compete, and the experience will help them in their future wrestling endeavors.”