For the top wrestlers from Door and Kewaunee counties, next year's WIAA Individual State Wrestling Tournament cannot come soon enough.

Of the area's five medalists from this year's state tournament, four of them will be able to return to defend their spot on the podium in 2026. That includes Luxemburg-Casco's Carson Neubert, who won his first state title as a sophomore, and Kiley George, who became the program's top-finishing female with a second-place finish in the girl's state tournament. Both are proud of where their seasons ended but know the target is on their back for next season. 

Sturgeon Bay/Sevastopol wrestler Spencer Madsen took no time off to celebrate a third-place finish in this year's state tournament. He was back in the wrestling room the very next day, working toward a recent championship at a folkstyle tournament in Wisconsin Dells and preparing for the upcoming freestyle and Greco-Roman seasons. He says he can't stop because when he does, everyone else chasing the dream is getting better.

The top-finishing girls wrestler in Door County did not reach the podium, but just getting there was a big enough accomplishment for Sturgeon Bay Sevastopol's Tiani Lemieux. Shoulder surgery during the offseason kept her off the mat until just a couple of weeks before she would have the opportunity to defend her podium spot. While guarding her surgically repaired shoulder, she ended up injuring her other shoulder while working her way through the qualifying tournaments to make it back to state. With some time to rest, LeMieux hopes a state title is still in the cards.

Kewaunee's Mitchell Boeder (fourth place) and Luxemburg-Casco's Joseph Jeanquart (sixth place) are the other wrestlers with an opportunity to improve on their podium finish at next year's WIAA State Individual Wrestling Tournament.