Marquette junior Koby Clark had a familiar opponent in the Class 1A Princeton Regional 132-pound title match Saturday – St. Bede sophomore Max Moreno.

“We wrestled all the way through middle school and club on the same team,” Clark said. “Every time we’re on the mat, it’s straight business. When we’re off the mat, we’re friends.”

Clark took care of business Saturday after losing to Moreno in the Bob Milton Invitational on Jan. 23. Moreno scored an early takedown, but Clark tied it then tallied a takedown just before the first period buzzer to take the lead and went on to win by 20-11 decision.

“This felt amazing,” Clark said. “I lost to him last week. I was up 7-4, and he got a double on me and pinned me. So I threw everything in this match, gave it all I got, and I came out on top.”

Clark was one of three champions for the Crusaders and one of nine Marquette wrestlers to advance to the Byron Sectional on Feb. 14.

Brysen Manly (157 pounds) and Wesley Janick (120) also won titles for Marquette, while Alex Schaefer (215), Connor Eggers (113), Logan Huenefeld (126) and Reily Leifheit (165) placed second. Beau Thompson (138) and Dakota Harmon (106) finished third.

The Crusaders placed third in the team standings with 172 points, behind champion Dixon (221) and Sandwich (177).

“It’s so amazing what we built up,” Clark said. “Our freshman year, we had I think seven kids on the team. When people used to look at us it was like, ‘Who is Marquette?’ Now we aren’t so much the underdogs. We come out here and we’re known.”

Manly won his title with an 8-5 win over Mendota’s Gavin Evans. Manly led 5-4 after the second period before Evans tied it with an escape. Manly scored a takedown with less than a minute left for the win.

Janick won 12-5 over Dixon’s Jack Ragan in the title match. He led 6-2 after the first period and 12-4 after two.

“It feels pretty good to win regionals,” Janick said. “My first two matches were all right. The finals match was my best match. Everything felt like it flowed a lot better.

“It was mainly just takedowns on my feet and getting my re-attacks.”

The host Tigers finished fourth behind four champions in Augustus Swanson (113), Kane Dauber (138), Casey Etheridge (165) and Eli Berlin (190). Corbin Brown (132) placed third to also advance for Princeton.

Swanson won by pin in 1:01 in his title match. Dauber returned from a month off due to a knee injury to pin his way through the 138 bracket, including a pin of Sandwich’s Jaxson Blanchard in 2:24 in the title match.

“It’s just nice to be back wrestling, getting the shoes on and competing again,” Dauber said. “It’s nice showing what I can do. It’s just fun.

“There was no rust (after a month off), because I kept pretty active during my recovery and just came back stronger.”

Etheridge, the No. 2 seed, scored three takedowns and an escape to beat Marquette’s Leifheit, the No. 1 seed, 10-5.

Berlin pinned his way to the 190 title. He won his first two matches by first period fall before pinning Sandwich’s Kai Kern with seven seconds left in the third period, giving him the school record for pins in a season.

“It means a lot (to win the title), because last year I came in and I was sick and I didn’t even make it out of regional, so to come back here and get first this year is a big deal for me.”

Cooper Corder (150) and Joshua Kotalik (175) won titles for Sandwich, while Kern (190) and Jaxson Blanchard (138) took second. Connor Blanchard (120), Dom Urbanski (126), Jack Forth (157) and Kaden Clevenger finished third for the Indians.

“Every year I come in and the goal is to win regionals, win sectionals and hopefully get that state title,” Corder said. “With all the work I’ve been doing in the offseason, in season, groups I’ve been training with all around the state, it’s definitely coming full circle. It’s just a step in the right direction.”

Corder defeated Dixon’s Preston Richards 16-5 in the final, while Kotalik pinned Dixon’s Blake Dingley in 1:28 in the title match.

Moreno is St. Bede’s only wrestler who advanced to sectional.

“I just expect myself to win some matches and do the best that I can,” Moreno said about sectional. “I think (my sectional experience last year) will help me out a lot and help me figure out what I need to do better.”

Evans is Mendota’s lone sectional qualifier.

“I think I did very well,” Evans said. “I had a clear mind going into it. My setup was very nice. I was just flowing.

“(At sectional), I strive to keep working hard. The end goal is always to qualify for state, but I’m just going to give it my all.”

Putnam County/Hall had one sectional qualifier, Justin Doden, who placed third at 285. He beat ROWVA’s Tommy DeRidder 7-2 in the third-place match.

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Princeton's Eli Berlin reacts after defeating Sandwich's Kai Kern during the Class 1A Regional wrestling meet on Saturday, Jan. 31, 2026 at Princeton High School. (Scott Anderson)