Mishicot’s Owen Schacht, Oostburg’s Liam Richards win WIAA titles

The WIAA state individual wrestling tournament continued on Feb. 28 across three boys divisions and one girls division at the Kohl Center in Madison.

Manitowoc and Sheboygan counties had eight wrestlers reach the state finals in their weight classes.

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The busiest division was the boys Division three which had three finalists and multiple wrestlers going for state medals.

The three finalists were in Division 3: Cedar Grove-Belgium’s Seth Race (175), Oostburg’s Liam Richards (165) and Mishicot’s Owen Schacht (190).

Schacht dominated his opponent in the state championship, winning a 14-5 major decision.

He became Mishicot’s fifth-ever state champion and first since Brant Cracraft in 2022.

Richards also capped his season by winning a state championship, rallying from a point down to earn a 4-1 decision.

He becomes the sixth state champion in Oostburg history and 11^th-overall individual title.

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Race was among the first matches of the evening with the state tournament beginning at 175 for the boys, losing a 5-0 decision for silver.

Cedar Grove-Belgium saw four Rockets earn medals after losing in the semifinals on Feb. 27 as Chase Heimerman (113) and Landon Heimerman (120), Carsen Voskuil (138) and Josh Anzia (215) all finished fourth.

Also in Division 3 and winning state medals were five area wrestlers.

Placing fifth were Ozaukee’s Sterling Schanen (106) and Random Lake’s Simon Schwabe (190).

Reedsville’s Tristen Verbeten (165), Random Lake’s Caleb Schreiber (120) and Cedar Grove-Belgium’s Syrus Anderson (190) each placed sixth.

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On the girls side seniors Angie Bianchi and Emjay Neumann, from Two Rivers and Manitowoc Lincoln were competing in their fourth finals of their high school careers.

Bianchi’s quest for an 11^th state title for her family ended with an extremely close 4-3 decision which saw her opponent pick up a takedown with a minute left in their match to finish with a silver medal at 120 pounds.

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Neumann, too, fell in the championship match via a 10-5 decision.

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There were three semifinalists in Division 2, Kiel’s Logan Schad (132), Plymouth’s Sawyer Dailey (190) and Two Rivers’ Max Matthias (215).

All three would finish second at their weights as Dailey was pinned in one minute and 48 seconds while Matthias dropped a 7-1 decision and Schad lost a 4-1 decision.

Rounding out Division 2, Plymouth’s Landen Fick (144) made the consolation semifinals and won the fifth-place match via an injury default to finish with a state medal.

Contact Tom Dombeck at 920-686-2965 or tdombeck@htrnews.com. Follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, at @Tom_Dombeck.

This article originally appeared on Manitowoc Herald Times Reporter: Mishicot’s Owen Schacht, Oostburg’s Liam Richards win WIAA titles