Stratford’s Gavin Drexler repeats as champion, nine others win medals at WIAA State Individual Wrestling Tournaments

Stratford’s Gavin Drexler, right, won his second-straight state title at the 2021 WIAA Division 3 State Individual Wrestling Championships on Saturday at Wausau West High School. (Photo courtesy of School District of Stratford Facebook page)
Marshfield wrestlers Ryan Dolezal, Gabe Pugh and Hoyt Blaskowski earned medals at the 2021 WIAA Division 1 State Individual Wrestling Tournament at Kaukauna. (Photo courtesy of the Marshfield Tigers Wrestling Facebook page).
Spencer/Columbus junior Treyton Ackman finished third at the 2021 WIAA Division 2 State Individual Wrestling Championships at Adams-Friendship High School on Saturday. (Photo courtesy of the Spencer/Columbus wrestling Facebook page)

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The WIAA State Individual Wrestling Tournaments were held Saturday at three sites across the state.

Three Marshfield wrestlers competed at the Division 1 state meet at Kaukauna High School, Spencer/Columbus Catholic had one athlete at the Division 2 meet at Adams-Friendship High School, and Stratford have five wrestlers and Auburndale one at the Division 3 state tournament at Wausau West High School.

Stratford junior Gavin Drexler repeated as a Division 3 champion, winning the 138-pound championship and completing his second-straight undefeated season.

Drexler won the 138-pound championship with a 15-6 major decision over Javis Pinter of Kenosha Christian Life. He finishes the season a perfect 21-0 and runs his win streak over the past two seasons to 71.

Four other Stratford wrestlers also earned medals with top-six finishes.

Junior Raife Smart (14-2) finished second at 195 pounds, losing the championship match to Trett Joles of Boyceville by technical fall 21-5. It was Joles’ third-straight state title, having won the past two at 182 pounds.

Elijah Lucio (145 pounds), Jacob Heiden (152), and Logan Rueth (170) each earned fifth-place medals for the Tigers.

Lucio (18-4), a junior, took fifth at 145 pounds, while Heiden (20-4) and Rueth (17-4), both seniors, finished fifth at 152 and 170 pounds, respectively.

Auburndale’s Sloan Welch (16-2) finished fourth at 182 pounds, suffering his first two losses of the season. Welch lost a semifinal match then a third-place match to Ben Strehlow of Weyauwega-Fremont 8-4.

Marshfield sophomore Hoyt Blaskowski (17-2) and senior Gabe Pugh (13-2) earned fifth-place medals at 132 and 138 pounds, respectively. Junior Ryan Dolezal (16-4) finished sixth at 152 pounds.

Blaskowski won his fifth-place match with a 4-1 decision over Cody Goebel of Mukwonago, and Pugh downed Logan Stumpf of Kaukauna, 9-5, in the 138-pound fifth-place match.

Dolezal lost his fifth-place match as he was pinned by Titus Hammen of Kaukauna in 2:14.

Spencer/Columbus Catholic’s Treyton Ackman lost his first match of the year in the 113-pound semifinals at the Division 2 state meet, but rebounded by winning his third-place match over Parker Heintz of Lodi, 3-0. Ackman (13-1) finished fifth at state last year.

To view all of the state meet results, click here.