River Valley wrestlers send eight to regionals, five move forward

The River Valley High School wrestling team sent eight boys to regionals this past weekend at Richland Center. Braden Prochaska (113 pounds), Cole White (132 pounds), Jimmy Jennings (138 pounds), Landon Radtke (145 pounds), Keeghan Kjos (152 pounds),  Jacob Bindl (195 pounds), Logan Tonstad (220 pounds), and Brett Bindl (285 pounds) competed in the match. White, Jennings, Radtke, Kjos, and Bindl all advance to sectionals next week in Richland Center.  River Valley head coach Dan Machovec discussed the event saying, ”Honestly, we had a good feeling going into the weekend. Our practices felt clean and we just knew mentally we were ready for the challenge. We spent some time on Wednesday watching a documentary as a team to bond before the tournament. We also had Shane Liegel (River Valley graduate and wrestling alumni) video chat with the team to talk about ‘pressure’ and advice before the tournament series starts. They were extremely pleased to hear from Shane and it impacted our focus as well. Our cardio has proven to be a big advantage in most of our matches. The matches are going to be a lot closer from here on out and that is going to be something we will rely on to finish opponents in the upcoming tournaments. Last year we brought three to sectionals and unfortunately they all lost in the first round. It is something I know the team is thinking about. They want to do better. They want to represent their school at a higher level than last year. If they have another good mental week of practice, I have no doubt that we will get someone to wrestle at state. It won’t be easy by any means, but anything is possible. If you are a wrestling fan, you know that it comes down to a lot of heart at the end of the year. It’s going to be a great time.” Individual results for the regional match are as follows:  113: Braden Prochaska (6-8) placed fourth and scored 7.0 team points. Quarterfinal - Braden Prochaska (River Valley) 6-8 received a bye. Semifinal - Will Van Dinter (Wisconsin Dells) 8-2 won by fall over Braden Prochaska (River Valley) 6-8 (Fall 1:33). Third Place Match - Alex Suhr (Mauston) 4-6 won by decision over Braden Prochaska (River Valley) 6-8 (Dec 9-3).  132 Cole White (9-5) placed first and scored 25.0 team points. Quarterfinal - Cole White (River Valley) 9-5 received a bye. Semifinal - Cole White (River Valley) 9-5 won by fall over Matias Bautista (Adams-Friendship) 5-3 (Fall 5:16). First Place Match - Cole White (River Valley) 9-5 won by major decision over Dean Finney (Lodi) 5-4 (MD 12-4).  138 Jimmy Jennings (13-3) placed second and scored 18.0 team points. Quarterfinal - Jimmy Jennings (River Valley) 13-3 won by fall over Mikolaj Amaya-Owerczuk (Wisconsin Dells) 2-5 (Fall 1:53). Semifinal - Jimmy Jennings (River Valley) 13-3 won by decision over Mason Lane (Lodi) 6-2 (Dec 5-0). First Place Match - Gus Donovan (Richland Center) 18-0 won by decision over Jimmy Jennings (River Valley) 13-3 (Dec 10-3). Second Place Match - Jimmy Jennings (River Valley) 13-3 won by decision over Jackson Whitney (Mauston) 8-6 (Dec 7-1).  145 Landon Radtke (13-3) placed second and scored 17.0 team points. Quarterfinal - Landon Radtke (River Valley) 13-3 won by decision over Jade Herzer (Wisconsin Dells) 3-3 (Dec 7-0). Semifinal - Zane Licht (Lodi) 6-1 won by decision over Landon Radtke (River Valley) 13-3 (Dec 8-3). Third Place Match - Landon Radtke (River Valley) 13-3 won by fall over Kole Breininger (Richland Center) 9-8 (Fall 2:50). Second Place Match - Landon Radtke (River Valley) 13-3 won by decision over Zach Presley (Adams-Friendship) 8-3 (Dec 7-0) 152 Keeghan Kjos (12-2) placed first and scored 25.5 team points. Quarterfinal - Keeghan Kjos (River Valley) 12-2 received a bye. Semifinal - Keeghan Kjos (River Valley) 12-2 won by tech fall over Evan Stevenson (Lodi) 3-5 (TF-1.5 2:21 (16-0)). First Place Match - Keeghan Kjos (River Valley) 12-2 won by fall over James Kujawa (Adams-Friendship) 7-4 (Fall 3:53).  195 Jacob Bindl (4-6) placed fourth and scored 7.0 team points. Quarterfinal - Jacob Bindl (River Valley) 4-6 received a bye. Semifinal - Lennon Stroede (Wisconsin Dells) 6-1 won by fall over Jacob Bindl (River Valley) 4-6 (Fall 3:23). Third Place Match - Noah Johnson (Lodi) 2-5 won by fall over Jacob Bindl (River Valley) 4-6 (Fall 3:35).  220 Logan Tonstad (4-2) placed third and scored 14.0 team points. Quarterfinal - Logan Tonstad (River Valley) 4-2 won by fall over Kaleb Bowman (Lodi) 0-3 (Fall 2:18). Semifinal - Hunter Isaacson (Wisconsin Dells) 7-1 won by fall over Logan Tonstad (River Valley) 4-2 (Fall 3:32). Third Place Match - Logan Tonstad (River Valley) 4-2 won by decision over Jake Quackenbush (Adams-Friendship) 4-5 (Dec 9-7). Second Place Match - Hunter Isaacson (Wisconsin Dells) 7-1 won by no contest over Logan Tonstad (River Valley) 4-2 (NC).  285 Brett Bindl (7-5) placed 2nd and scored 20.0 team points. Quarterfinal - Brett Bindl (River Valley) 7-5 received a bye. Semifinal - Brett Bindl (River Valley) 7-5 won by fall over Aaron Huff (Wisconsin Dells) 3-5 (Fall 1:35). First Place Match - Wyatt Wikman (Adams-Friendship) 7-1 won by fall over Brett Bindl (River Valley) 7-5 (Fall 1:25). Second Place Match - Brett Bindl (River Valley) 7-5 won by no contest over Aaron Huff (Wisconsin Dells) 3-5 (NC).