This story is sponsored by: Valley Communities Credit Union
By Paul Lecker
MarshfieldAreaSports.com
MADISON – Spencer senior Danny Schubert will not get a gold or silver medal, but he is still making the most of his first and only trip to the WIAA State Individual Wrestling Tournament.
Schubert (36-5) shored up a spot on the medal stand with a 16-9 win over Jordan Newman of St. John’s Northwest Military Academy in a Division 2 160-pound quarterfinal Friday morning at the Kohl Center, then lost a semifinal match to Mitch Berceau (42-5) of Luxemburg-Casco 15-3 Friday night.
Schubert will battle Thurston Schuster (53-2) of Marshall in a consolation match Saturday at approximately 12:15 p.m. The winner will battle for a third-place medal, while the loser will move into the fifth-place match, which are both scheduled for later Saturday afternoon.
“There are a lot of kids’ dreams that get crushed down here,” Schubert said. “They come to get the gold and they end up going home with nothing. I’m still going to make the podium and I will come back tomorrow and work as hard as possible.
“I didn’t get to wrestle at all last year (shoulder surgery). I ended up coming back this year and got myself down here. I’m showing everybody that I am better than what they thought. I gave it 110 percent and it wasn’t enough. He (Berceau) was a tough opponent and he got what he deserved.”
Schuster was unable to make a scoring move on Berceau, who won the 140-pound title in 2010 and was a runner-up at 145 last year.
All three of Schuster’s points on escapes. Berceau had four takedowns in the last 2:25 of the match, and had two three-point nearfalls in the third period.
“I tried to make my move on him, but in general he seemed like he was a little stronger than me,” Schubert said. “He paid a little more attention to his position. I tried some new things that I really haven’t tried all season to try to score some points on him. He was just a tough opponent. He wanted the same thing I wanted, he’s going for the gold.”
In the quarterfinal match against Newman, Schubert trailed 5-2 midway through the second period before earning a reversal and a three-point nearfall to grab a short-lived lead.
Newman gained a reversal just before the buzzer to tie the match again at 7-7 heading into the third period.
Schubert responded in the third period. He was given an escape to start the period then earned a takedown with 1:48 left. After Newman gained a reversal, Schubert held his own and eventually earned an escape, takedown and nearfall in the final 15 seconds to earn the win.
Schubert’s teammate, Nick Vaughan, didn’t fare as well on Friday.
Vaughan lost a quarterfinal match to last year’s Division 2 215-pound champion Riley Delzer of Oconto Falls, then dropped a consolation match 2-1 in double overtime to Anthony Mrdjenovich of Ashland.
Vaughan, who finishes his senior season with a 42-6 record, was unable to do much against Delzer, falling behind 5-0 in the first period. Delzer held control throughout the second period and eventually pinned Vaughan with 10 seconds to go.