Bourgeois Stopped in Semifinals by Arrowhead's Crone

A third-period takedown was the difference as Arrowhead sophomore Andrew Crone (42-5) beat Whitnall senior Kameron Bourgeois, 5-1, in a 103-pound state semifinal match at the WIAA Division 1 State Individual Wrestling Tournament.

Bourgeois (46-2) scored an escape to start the third period to snap a scoreless tie before Crone took the lead for good.

“Tough match,” Whitnall co-head coach John Quinlan said via the “whitwrestle” Twitter feed. “KB wrestled well, just came out of the wrong end of a scramble for position.

“I thought the match went pretty much like we thought. We just needed the takedown in the first period. … Just couldn’t quite finish it.”

Crone will compete for the state title at 6 p.m. Saturday against undefeated La Crosse Central freshman Ben Thornton (48-0).

Bourgeois will have his hands full Saturday morning as he tries to win twice more to take third place. At 11 a.m., he’ll face pre-tournament favorite Bobby Nachreiner, a sophomore from Hartford who is 51-3 and defeated Bourgeois, 17-1, in an opening-round match en route to a third-place finish last winter.

Bourgeois has already assured himself of becoming the first Whitnall wrestler since 2005 to place (sixth or better) at state and is trying to become the seventh different wrestler in school history to finish as high as third.