8 De Pere Wrestlers Facing Postseason Suspension

8 De Pere Wrestlers Facing Postseason Suspension

Eight De Pere wrestlers are facing a postseason suspension for exceeding the 14-meet limit.

Feb 17, 2017 by Ryan Holmes
8 De Pere Wrestlers Facing Postseason Suspension
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On Thursday, a tweet (see below) started to circulate about the De Pere High School wrestling team of Wisconsin and how a scheduling error is costing its wrestlers a chance to compete at Saturday's WIAA Division 1 Kaukauna sectional tournament.


According to reports by the Green Bay Press-Gazette, eight of De Pere's 10 sectional qualifiers have been ruled ineligible after exceeding the scheduling limit during the regular season, which is set at 14 meets.

"It was a mistake on our part," De Pere Superintendent Ben Villarruel told the Green Bay Press-Gazette. "We wish we could turn back the clocks, but we can't and the worst part is it has had a significant negative effect on our students who had no play in this. Like every other student that participates in an athletic contest, they just want to participate."

The entire situation came about when the school's athletic director self-reported a possible scheduling issue to the WIAA. The team's schedule was adjusted, which allowed De Pere to compete at the regional tournament. However, after WIAA member schools made inquiries regarding eligibility, the schedules of individual De Pere wrestlers were reviewed and it was deemed eight had gone over the 14-meet limit.

De Pere is making an appeal to the WIAA Board of Control on Friday.

"I just hope that common sense prevails here," said De Pere wrestling coach Matt Kincade in the same article. "I really hope common sense prevails. This is about the kids. If they want to punish somebody, they should punish myself, punish the school, punish us, but don't punish the kids. That's how I feel about it."