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By Paul Lecker
MarshfieldAreaSports.com
MADISON – Marshfield’s Mitch Hertel and Justin Sternweis will have to work their way back through the consolation bracket to earn a medal after dropping Division 1 quarterfinal matches Thursday at the WIAA State Individual Wrestling Tournament at the Kohl Center.
Both of the Tigers won their first-round matches Thursday afternoon but were unable to advance to the semifinals.
Hertel, a freshman, beat Alex Kueck of Neenah 6-3 before dropping a 132-pound quarterfinal match to and Garrett Whitehead of Milton 11-6.
Sternweis dominated Adair Ebright of Baraboo and eventually earned a pin with 1 second left in the match to advance at 182 pounds, but lost a hard-fought 6-4 decision in overtime to undefeated Ryan Bonikowske of Neenah (40-0).
Sternweis had three takedowns in the first period of his opening-round match to build a 6-2 lead, and led 11-3 in the third before pinning Ebright just before the final buzzer.
In the quarterfinal match, neither wrestler was able to generate much action until late in the match.
Bonikowske earned a takedown with 32 seconds left in the third period to go up 4-3 before Sternweis nearly reversed control. He did earn an escape with 8 seconds to go to force overtime.
The OT began with a flurry as each wrestler nearly gained takedowns, but finally Bonikowske grabbed control 16 seconds into the extra session to earn the victory.
Sternweis (42-2) now faces Torren Peebles (25-10) of Appleton North in a consolation bracket match at approximately 11 a.m. on Friday. Sternweis will have to win two matches Friday to be guaranteed a top-six finish and a medal at the tournament.
Hertel was never able to earn control of Whitehead, falling behind 6-2 after the first period and 9-3 after two. Five of Hertel’s six points were on escapes, with the final point coming on a stalling call in the final seconds.
Hertel (34-11) will battle Ryan Stalsberg (27-16) of Holmen in a first-round consolation match at approximately 10:30 a.m. on Friday.
Check back tonight for more from the WIAA State Individual Wrestling Tournament at the Kohl Center in Madison.