MADISON – Remember her name.
That’s what the public address announcer told the Kohl Center crowd at the conclusion of the WIAA girls state wrestling tournament Feb. 28.
Just moments before, Lena senior Taylor Whiting put the finishing touches on a historic career.
After beating Manitowoc senior Emjay Neumann 10-5 in the 114-pound title match, she became the first girl in the short five-year history of the tournament to win four state championships.
Others might join her on the list someday, but she will forever be the first.
And to think there was a time when she was younger that she didn’t even want to wrestle.
“You know, it’s such an honor,” Whiting said. “I have been working so hard for this, and at the same time, I had to stay very grounded. Knowing coming into the tournament that I am the favorite, and there is a lot of pressure.
“I had to stay calm and collected and wrestle my match.”
Whiting went ahead comfortably early on and remained in control throughout the match.
It was the third time she won a state title via decision, although her two earlier wins were closer.
She won her first title as a freshman with a 4-0 victory over Menasha’s Brianna Derouin in 2023 and had a 3-2 win over Pulaski’s Ava Peters as a sophomore the following year.
Her title win over Neumann could not have been a more fitting conclusion to her decorated career.
Whiting went 72-1 in her four seasons, which included one year at Oconto Falls before she transferred to Lena as a sophomore.
That one loss?
It came against Neumann when both were freshmen.
“To be able to get that back was awesome,” Whiting said. “I’m so grateful. She is an awesome competitor, too, so I’m really happy.”
Just like her first three years, it was a rather commanding journey through the bracket.
Whiting pinned Mineral Point’s Tatum Jones in 35 seconds in her first match and Brillion sophomore Brinley Miller in 1:54 in her second. She crushed Cadott’s Iszybelle Sonnentag in a 21-5 technical fall in a semifinal before beating Neumann.
Whiting won her first two state titles at 107 pounds and her last two at 114.
It has been quite the run, not just for Whiting, but her entire family.
The Whiting crew has made its mark on the big stage for almost a decade, winning a state wrestling championship each of the last eight years after former Oconto Falls star Clayton Whiting won four state titles from 2019 to 2022 before his little sister came along.
Clayton got the opportunity to be in her corner for her final match. The two had a long embrace after Taylor’s win.
He appeared far more nervous watching his sibling than he ever did on the mat while at this venue.
“My mind would shut off every time when I was there in high school,” Clayton said. “Now? Man, my heart was going a million miles an hour that whole match.”
Perhaps what is most impressive about Whiting is that she only started wrestling two years before she arrived in high school.
She not only ended up winning those four titles and is the top-ranked wrestler in the nation at 115 pounds, but she also earned a scholarship to compete at the University of Iowa next season after picking the school over Lehigh and McKendree.
“She always brings up that I was a great role model to her,” Clayton said. “I’m glad that I passed it down to her and that she kept the legacy going throughout this whole building.
“It means a lot that we kept it going for eight years straight.”
Two local wrestlers earn runner-up finishes
Wrightstown junior Chesney Bartoszek finished runner-up in the 126-pound title match with a 17-1 technical fall loss to Milton senor Madilyn Peach.
Peach pinned her first three opponents to reach the championship round, none lasting more than 1:50.
It was mostly the same against Bartoszek.
“For me, I feel like I just have to be so grateful for the opportunity to be here,” Bartoszek said. “I was just truly grateful to even be there and to accomplish being in the state finals.
“I just wanted to have fun out there. Honestly, all I could do is wrestle my best and doing what I’ve been doing all year.”
Beating Peach was always going to be difficult. She never lost a match this season and is now a three-time state champion at 126 pounds.
It still was a significant improvement on the big stage for Bartoszek, who placed sixth at 132 in her first trip here last season.
“To me, it’s really fixing the small details and really working my match and figuring out where I want to be,” Bartoszek said. “I just wanted to make sure I get those small improvements to win those matches that really meant getting to that next step and working out to second place.”
She will enter her final season with a big goal in mind.
“From here?” Bartoszek said. “A state championship, of course. I’m really excited for next year. Next year is my senior year, and I’m coming for it all.
“That’s for sure.”
West De Pere sophomore Mercedes Kruse looked heartbroken after her 4-0 loss to Wisconsin Lutheran senior Izabella Riebe in the 235-pound title match.
But she still had one of the more impressive runs of any girl in the tournament.
She entered as a No. 7 seed, and after beating No. 10 Ahnya Garrity, she pulled off a big upset in an 11-4 win over No. 2 seed Kiley Georgel before another 11-4 win over No. 6 seed Lexie Stoflet of Assumption/Stevens Point Pacelli.
Kruse had lost to Georgel twice during the season, both via pin.
Local wrestlers make podium
Green Bay Notre Dame freshman Mya Beckett, the first wrestler in school history, had a solid state debut after placing sixth at 100 pounds. The WIAA seeding criteria did not do Beckett any favors. She was the No. 4 seed despite beating No. 2 seed Katherine Cook of Freedom at both regionals and sectionals. … Bay Port had three grapplers place. Dakotah Athey, a junior, defeated Port Washington freshman Cora Stewart in an 11-3 major decision in the 120-pound third-place match, senior Anna Behling pinned Hudson’s Kylie Simpson in the fifth-place match at 126 pounds and junior Autumn King was fourth at 235 in her state debut. Athey has finished third two times in her career – the first at 114 in 2024 – while Behling made the podium for the first time. … Luxemburg-Casco senior Kiley Georgel won the fifth-place match at 235 with a 6-2 decision over Waunakee senior Ellie Lenzendorf. Georgel placed fourth at 235 as a sophomore and was runner-up at 185 as a junior.
This article originally appeared on Green Bay Press-Gazette: Lena’s Taylor Whiting makes history with fourth state wrestling title
Reporting by Scott Venci, Green Bay Press-Gazette / Green Bay Press-Gazette
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
