The day didn’t start the way Jake Reiter would have liked, but when it was all said and done, he had secured a third place finish in the 195-pound weight class at the Seymour Sectional and punched a ticket to state.
Reiter lost his first match to Luxemburg-Casco’s Dan Dorner by a score of 7-13. Reiter led 5-1 early in the match, but Dorner took control in the second and third periods.
Dorner advanced to the championship match, while Reiter had a chance to wrestle back for second place.
Reiter beat David Miracle by and 11-8 decision in his first wrestleback match. He then beat Dylan Bauer by a score of 11-6 to advance to the second place match.
Dorner lost in the championship match. Since he had beaten Reiter earlier in the day, he was awarded second place by rule. Reiter placed third, and advanced to state with Dorner and Scott Skomicka of Two Rivers.
The state tournament will be held Thursday, Feb. 21-Saturday, Feb. 23 at the Kohl Center in Madison.
Reiter, who is a junior, enters the state tournament with a 39-7 record. In the first round, he will face Jack Nelson, a senior from Belleville/Montello/New Glarus with a record of 27-13.
This will be Reiter’s first trip to state after being a three-time sectional qualifier in his first three years of high school.
Reiter’s career record going into the 2013 WIAA Individual State Wrestling Tournament is 90-36.