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By Paul Lecker
MarshfieldAreaSports.com
SPENCER – The expectations are simple for Spencer wrestlers Danny Schubert and Nick Vaughan and this weekend’s WIAA State Individual Wrestling Tournament – place in the top six and earn a spot on the state medal podium on Saturday night.
Schubert and Vaughan, both seniors, will wrestle in Division 2 first-round matches on Thursday night at Kohl Center – the first step in getting to that medal stand.
“I’ve had this dream since I was a freshman and this year I got enough work in, and got some people in that knew what they were talking about who showed me a lot of things I didn’t know before, and it ended up snowballing and being a great season,” Schubert said. “From year to year I got better, finally now I got to where I wanted to be, but I won’t be happy unless I get to a spot on the podium.”
Schubert (34-4) will face Garrett Riek of River Falls (31-11) in a 160-pound first-round matchup, with the winner moving on to a quarterfinal match against Jordan Newman of St. John’s Northwest Military Acaemy (24-2) on Friday.
Vaughan (41-4), who qualified but did not place at last year’s state tournament, will battle Brandon Brennan of valders (35-10) in a first-round match Thursday, with the winner taking on defending 215-pound Division 2 state champion Riley Delzer of Oconto Falls (39-1) in a quarterfinal Friday.
Vaughan said his season changed focus after winning a tournament at St. Croix Falls earlier in the season and from there he was focused on making it to sectionals and securing a spot in the state tournament field.
“I’m not as nervous this year and I am focused on getting to the podium,” Vaughan said. “Everybody down there is going to be tough. Delzer, that’s my second match, he’s defending state champ, but everybody’s beatable down there. If you get there, you deserve to be there.”
Conditioning plays a strong part in his preparation, Vaughan said. Using his riding skills and forcing his opponents through a grueling match has led to a lot of wins.
“This weekend I am going to be working on my riding, riding tough the whole six minutes,” Vaughan said. “I would say this year I am in better shape than last year. We work on conditioning and that’s what helps us win close matches at the end.”
First-year coach Jake Zschernitz said Schubert and Vaughan have met his expectations of making it to state, now it is up to them to continue to improve and make it to the medal stand.
“You always try to hold the guys to a high standard,” Zschernitz said. “Nick qualified for state last year as a junior, so I knew in my mind that it wouldn’t be anything less than that. Danny was injured all of last year, was a conference champ as a sophomore with only two losses on the year, but I knew he had just as much ability and was able to get there too. So, they’ve met my expectations for them.”
Check back with MarshfieldAreaSports.com for coverage from the WIAA State Individual Wrestling Tournament in Madison from the first matches on Thursday through the championship matches Saturday evening.