Larson, Koranda guarantee spot on state medal stand

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By Paul Lecker
MarshfieldAreaSports.com

MADISON – Marshfield seniors Trenton Larson and Jordan Koranda guaranteed medals after winning dramatic consolation-round matches Friday afternoon at the WIAA State Individual Wrestling Tournament at the Kohl Center.

Larson trailed Josh Weber of Kaukauna 3-1 entering the third period and was down 3-2 in the closing seconds before flipping the match around.

Larson reversed Weber onto his back with about 6 seconds left, gaining points for a reversal and a nearfall. Weber escpaed as the buzzer sounded, giving Larson (37-7) a 6-4 win and a chance to wrestle on Saturday for a medal, which will be anywhere from third to sixth place.

“I knew being down I had to pull something. I didn’t want it to end there. That would have been my last match of my career,” Larson said. “I gave it everything I had. It was pretty awesome.”

Larson pinned Darvel Winfrey of Wisconsin Lutheran at the 2:28 mark of his 160-pound consolation match on Friday morning. He will face Al Yde (45-7) of Hartland Arrowhead on Saturday at approximately 11:45 a.m., with a third- or fifth-place match to follow later in the afternoon.

Koranda (46-2) set a new Marshfield single-season pin record with his 26th this year, knocking out Brett Geilenfeldt of Milwaukee Marquette University at the 2:32 mark of his 215-pound consolation match. He added to the record by taking down Cody Yberra of Waukesha North at the 2:09 mark and will wrestle Steve Sizer (42-6) of West Bend West at approximately 12:15 p.m. for a chance to go into the third-place match later in the afternoon.

“Last night I just didn’t have it,” Koranda said of his first-round loss. “I was so nervous, I was nervous during the match and I was afraid to do something wrong. I’m ready to keep winning.”

For the seniors, earning a medal is a dream come true.

“It’s pretty awesome both being seniors and getting down here and getting on the podium,” Larson said. “It was both of our goals this and we got it done.”