By MIKE KEMMETER
of The Gazette
As many as five teams, including Pacelli High School, are in the running for the Wisconsin Independent Schools Athletic Association individual team title Friday and Saturday in Milwaukee.
The Cardinals, who won the WISAA Region 1 title last Saturday, have 11 qualifiers that will make a run for the school's first state championship since 1984. Milwaukee Lutheran, Waukesha Catholic Memorial, La Crosse Aquinas and Fox Valley Lutheran are join Pacelli in an even field. Aquinas is the two-time defending and finished second to the Cardinals at regionals. The two teams wrestled to a 30-30 tie in their dual meet last month.
"The goal is to win it," Pacelli coach Jay Yenter said. "Right now, I see five teams. Right now, we could finish first or fifth. There is no team that is head and shoulders above the rest. This year there are a bunch of teams that are very close.
"Right now, Milwaukee Lutheran is probably the favorite," Yenter said. Milwaukee Lutheran beat Catholic Memorial during the season, but the Cardinals haven't seen either team wrestle, he added.
Pacelli's top returning placewinner from last year is 160-pound senior Neil Jurgella (27-7). Jurgella finished second at 152 pounds a year ago but will likely meet the No. 1 seed, La Crosse's Luke Lefever (26-8), in Friday night's preliminaries. Lefever beat Jurgella for the regional title last Saturday.
Senior Franz Klein is Pacelli's lone top seed. The 112-pounder enters with a 28-8 record. Holding No. 2 seeds are junior Greg Snow at 145 (28-10) and senior Ben Kissel at 275 (30-7).
"The way he's been wrestling, I'd be disappointed if he didn't make it to the finals," Yenter said of Kissel.
Besides Klein, Greg Snow and Kissel, Pacelli had three other regional champions last Saturday who have high seeds at state - senior Tim Snow at 152 pounds, junior John Sniadajewski at 189 pounds (16-7) and freshman Tim Schwarz at 130 pounds (22-14).
Finishing second at regionals and advancing to state were senior Matt Schulist at 171 pounds (18-7); sophomores James Duncan-Zook at 125 pounds (11-12) and Clint Piotrowski at 135 pounds (14-21); and freshman Simon Hesch at 140 pounds (10-15).
Yenter said in past years, state champions have had between seven and nine placewinners. "From 145 on up, I expect us to place," he said, which would give the Cardinals six placewinners.
The longtime Pacelli assistant said it's now or never as he faces his first state meet as the head coach.
"We had a good regular season," Yenter said. "We lost some duals and tournaments but none of that really matters to me. This is what I shoot for," Yenter said.