This story is sponsored by Dental Clinic of Marshfield
By Paul Lecker
MarshfieldAreaSports.com
Spencer/Marshfield Columbus Catholic wrestling coach Adam Vaughan said he thought all three of his wrestlers that competed at last week’s Division 3 sectional would have a chance to get through to state.
All three did, and they will take the mat on Thursday night as the WIAA State Individual Wrestling Tournament kicks off at the Kohl Center in Madison.
Trevor Ackman (119 pounds), Nick Vaughan (215) and Kyle Andreae (285) will compete in Division 3 preliminary round matches – and all face tough matchups, according to Coach Vaughan as they embark on their first career state tournament appearances.
All three finished third at the sectional at Osseo-Fairchild, pitting them against wrestlers who finished second at their sectionals.
“We felt pretty going in and it went the way we thought it was going to go,” Adam Vaughan said. “We knew Nick had a tough first match, as long as he could mentally stay together, he would have a pretty good shot getting through.
“Trevor, we knew he would be going against the second-ranked kid in state in the semifinal, so realistically he had to come through the consolation matches. Kyle, winning those first two matches would get in through and he did.
“They are all wrestling the best they could all year and are peaking at the right time of the year.”
Ackman (36-8), the cousin of Tye Ackman who qualified for last year’s state tournament, will take on Bryce Krejcarek (28-2), a senior from Mishicot, in a 119-pound preliminary match.
“Ackman drew a tough, competitive first-round match,” Adam Vaughan said. “He’s a senior, ranked fifth, and was at state last year. But Trevor (a freshman) is wrestling so well now.”
Nick Vaughan (32-12), a junior, beat Mitchel Williams of Cadott, whom he had lost to the week before in regionals, to secure third place at the sectional. He will face senior Tyler Reynolds (28-12) of Riverdale in the opening round.
Andreae (21-9) has been especially hot lately, coming in second at the Cloverbelt Conference Meet and winning a Division 3 regional title, will battle junior Matt Mueller (30-7) of Cedar Grove-Belgium.
Andreae’s work ethic has helped propel him to his first state tournament.
“We’re staying focused on all six minutes and if he does that, we’ll put our money on him,” Adam Vaughan said. “He’s not a big thrower, with heavyweights, a lot of guys like to throw, but he’s an unbelieveable worker. Typically, heavyweights don’t go to three periods, but he’s beaten a lot of good kids this year because he’s still ready to go at the end of a match and other kids are dragging.”
Stratford’s two state qualifiers each finished second at the Division 3 Shawano Sectional last Saturday and will face third-place sectional finishers in their state openers Thursday.
Mark Marquardt (30-7) will battle Mitch Wanner (32-8) of Turtle Lake/Clayton in a 152-pound preliminary, while Luke Radke (33-6) will take on Joe Sygulla (36-5) of Whitehall. All four wrestlers are seniors.
Check out MarshfieldAreaSports.com for updates and full coverage from Madison of the five local Division 3 wrestlers at the WIAA State Individual Wrestling Tournament.