This story is sponsored by Victory Apparel
MarshfieldAreaSports.com
LA CROSSE – Make it five in a row for Stratford.
The Stratford wrestling team won three individual titles and had two other top-three finishes to roll to its fifth-straight Division 3 title at the Bi-State Wrestling Classic on Dec. 29-30 at the La Crosse Center.
Manny Drexler (106 pounds), Jake Drexler (145) and Aiden Hoffman (195) won individual titles for Stratford. A.J. Schoenfuss finished second at 126 pounds and Dylan Schoenherr was third at 220 as the Tigers racked up a whopping 319.5 points to beat second-place Goodhue (Minn.) by 148 points in the Division 3 standings.
Auburndale finished ninth in D-3 with 69 points.
Marshfield was second in Division 1 with 229 points, trailing only Holmen (342), and Spencer/Columbus Catholic also earned a runner-up spot by taking second in Division 2 with 199 points as Luxemburg-Casco won the team title with 263 points.
Drexler beat Lucas Joniaux of Luxemburg-Casco 5-1, Drexler topped Teagan Miller of Mauston in overtime 5-3, and Hoffman edged Riverdale’s Caleb Johnson 3-2 to claim titles for Stratford.
Spencer/Columbus senior Hunter Luepke (24-0), a defending WIAA Division 2 state champion, continued his torrid streak this season by pinning undefeated Drew Hennessey of Iowa-Grant/Highland in 1:39 to win the 220-pound title. Luepke pinned all six of his opponents in a total time of 13:29 at the two-day tournament, earning an award for Most Pins in Shortest Amount of Time.
The Rockets also got a second-place finish from junior Logan Zschernitz (23-1), who was pinned in the 285-pound championship match by Cole Godbout of Hudson in 1:10.
“As a whole we wrestled very well at one of the best tournaments in the state,” Spencer/Columbus coach Jake Zschernitz said. “Hunter dominated the competition. Logan wrestled very well, but fell a little short of where he wanted to be. Ash, Dom, and Bryce all had really good tournaments and a bunch of the other guys picked up much needed team points. I’m extremely proud of the guys effort this weekend and it definatly showed in the
team scores. We held our own and beat some of the top teams in our division.”
Marshfield had three third-place finishers.
Freshman Gabe Pugh took third at 113 pounds, beating Carter Jonsgaard of Lewiston-Altura/Rushford-Peterson (Minn.) 3-0; Bentley Schwanebeck-Ostermann defeated Kaleb O’Reilly of Goodhue 6-3 at 170; and Sam Mitchell beat Noah Friedl of Royall in an ultimate tiebreaker at 220 to all finish third for the Tigers.
“All wrestlers that competed scored points for the Tigers, and made big improvements throughout the tournament,” Marshfield coach Jackson Hein said. “Getting the opportunity to wrestle some of the best teams in the state of Wisconsin and Minnesota served as solid measurement for where we stand as a team and at each individual weight class. The second day of the tournament is a true test for each competitor. That is when hard work, dedication, and heart takes over to help win big matches. To have three guys win in that last round to take home third place at their weight classes was huge.”
Auburndale’s only wrestler to finish in the top 12 in their respective weight class was Keller Wolfe, who took sixth at 170 pounds after losing a fifth-place match to Tyler Hannah of Viroqua 3-1.
Other local wrestlers to place in the top 12 were: Spencer/Columbus Ashton Ackman (sixth, 106), Dominick Wichlacz (eighth 120) and Bryce Shaw (eighth 145); Stratford’s Derek Marten (sixth 132), Jordan Becker (sixth 152) and Max Schwabe (eighth 138); and Marshfield’s Tanner Kanable (sixth 126), Nolan Hertel (sixth 145), Caden Pearce (seventh 138) and Alex Brost (eighth 220).
Peace pinned Schwabe in 2:59 of the seventh-place match at 138.
Auburndale and Stratford return to action with Marawood Conference matches Jan. 4. Auburndale is at Marathon and Stratford is at Athens.
Marshfield hosts Merrill in a Wisconsin Valley Conference dual Jan. 5, while Spencer/Columbus is off until Jan. 9 when it takes on Wautoma at Columbus Catholic High School.
2017 Bi-State Classic
Dec. 29-30, at La Crosse Center
Team Standings
Division 1: 1. Holmen 342; 2. Marshfield 229; 3. Hudson 224.5; 4. Waunakee 203.5; 5. Stillwater (Minn.) 175; 6. Pulaski 159; 7. Sparta 137.5; 8. South St. Paul (Minn.) 130; 9. D.C. Everest 121.5; 10. Lakeville South (Minn.) 113.5; 11. Tomah 111.5; 12. Muskego 109.5; 13. Baraboo 100.5; 14. Bloomington Kennedy/Jefferson (Minn.) 85; 15. Middleton 84.5; 16. Eastview (Minn.) 84; 17. Eau Claire North 69.5; 19. New Richmond 44; 20. Portage 34.5; 21. Verona 33.5.
Division 2: 1. Luxemburg-Casco 263; 2. Spencer/Columbus Catholic 199; 3. River Valley 188; 4. Prairie du Chien 172.5; 5. Lodi 159.5; 6. Viroqua 132.5; 7. Gale-Ettrick-Trempeleau/Melrose-Mindoro 126; 8. Lewiston-Altura/Rushford-Peterson (Minn.) 117; 9. Medford 114; 10. Dodgeville 108; 11. West Salem/Bangor 106; 12. Monroe 96; 13. Mauston 93; 14. Sheboygan Falls 79; 15. Nekoosa/Assumption/Port Edwards 76.5; 16. Belmont/Platteville 73; 17. Westby 42; 18. Cuba City/Southwestern and Mount Horeb 37; 20. La Crescent-Hokah (Minn.) 27; 21. Richland Center 21; 22. Adams-Friendship 13.
Division 3: 1. Stratford 319.5; 2. Goodhue (Minn.) 171.5; 3. Iowa-Grant/Highland 154.5; 4. Athens 142.5; 5. Kenyon-Wanamingo (Minn.) 136.5; 6. Lancaster 124.5; 7. Caledonia/Houston 123; 8. Riverdale 93; 9. Auburndale 69; 10. Ithaca/Weston 61.5; 11. Royall 57; 12. Hillsboro 48; 13. New Lisbon 42; 14. Boscobel 23; 15. Cashton 13; 16. North Crawford/Seneca 11; 17. Kickapoo/La Farge 6; 18. De Soto 2.
Championship matches and other local finishers
106 pounds
Championship: Manny Drexler (STR) def. Lucas Joniaux (LC) 5-1.
Fifth place: Ross Herber (LARP) def. Ashton Ackman (SC) 3-1.
113 pounds
Championship: Dawson Lambert (TOM) def. Javon Taschuk (STIL) 6-1.
Third place: Gabe Pugh (MAR) def. Carter Jonsgaard (LARP) 3-0.
120 pounds
Championship: Reid Ballantyne (STIL) won major dec. over Jeron Matson (KW) 13-3.
Seventh place: Owen Heinz (PUL) pinned Dominick Wichlacz (SC) 2:51.
126 pounds
Championship: Bryce Bosman (LC) def. A.J. Schoenfuss (STR) 6-5.
Fifth place: Cole Gille (PUL) def. Tanner Kanable (MAR) 7-2.
132 pounds
Championship: Zach Licht (RV) def. Thomas Severson (DCE) 8-5.
Fifth place: Dalton Schams (WSB) def. Derek Marten (STR) SV-1 5-3.
138 pounds
Championship: Tanner Schultz (HOL) def. Mason Phillips (ECN), injury default, 4:06.
Seventh place: Caden Pearce (MAR) pinned Max Schwabe (STR), 2:59.
145 pounds
Championship: Jake Drexler (STR) def. Teagen Miller (MAU) SV-1 5-3.
Fifth place: Kyle Cavanaugh (CH) def. Nolan Hertel (MAR) 3-2.
Seventh place: Seth Brossard (KW) def. Bryce Shaw (SC) 7-3.
152 pounds
Championship: Kevin Meicher (MID) def. Jarrett Dolata (MAU) 2-1.
Fifth place: Willie Bastyr (LS) pinned Jordan Becker, 4:23.
160 pounds
Championship: Max Maylor (IGH) won major dec. over Jacob Anderson (HUD) 16-4.
170 pounds
Championship: Shane Liegel (RV) def. Kalyn Jahn (HOL) 3-1.
Third place: Bentley Schwanebeck-Ostermann (MAR) def. Kaleb O’Reilly (GOOD) 6-3.
Fifth place: Tyler Hannah (VIR) def. Keller Wolfe (AUB) 3-1.
182 pounds
Championship: Isaac Lahr (HOL) def. Brady Peat (IGH) 5-3.
195 pounds
Championship: Aiden Hoffman (STR) def. Caleb Johnson (RIV) 3-2.
Third place: Sam Mitchell (MAR) def. Noah Friedl (ROY) UTB 4-4.
220 pounds
Championship: Hunter Luepke (SC) pinned Drew Hennessey (IGH), 1:39.
Third place: Dylan Schoenherr (STR) def. Jared Stewart (LS) 9-2.
Seventh place: Ryan Schoenfelder (GOOD) pinned Alex Brost (MAR), 4:44.
285 pounds
Championship: Cole Godbout (HUD) pinned Logan Zschnernitz (SC), 1:10.