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By Paul Lecker
MarshfieldAreaSports.com
MADISON – Eight Stratford wrestlers will be vying for spots in the championship matches after winning quarterfinal bouts on Friday afternoon at the 2016 WIAA State Individual Wrestling Tournament at the Kohl Center.
The Tigers have 10 wrestlers in all competing in the Division 3 quarterfinals and eight of them came away with victories to earn spots in the semifinals on Friday night. Winners move on to the championship matches on Saturday night, while the losers are still guaranteed a top-six finish and a medal, and will compete in consolation wrestlebacks beginning Saturday morning.
Moving on for Stratford are Macey Kilty (27-4) at 106 pounds, Jake Drexler (46-2) at 113, A.J. Schoenfuss (47-3) at 120, Jeremy Schoenherr (39-0) at 126, David Marquardt (37-11) at 145, Mason Kauffman (49-0) at 152, Kamren Bornbach (46-2) at 182, and Tyson Kauffman (46-3) at 285.
Derek Marten (132) and Sam Wenzel (138) lost quarterfinal and consolation bracket matches and were eliminated from the tournament on Friday. Jon Aguirre (220) lost his opening match on Thursday and was eliminated.
The most exciting match of the day for the Tigers came with Mason Kauffman’s match against Dustin Reynolds of Lancaster in a 152-pound quarterfinal.
Kauffman, a defending Division 3 state champion at 126 pounds and undefeated this season, trailed 3-2 after his second stalling penalty gave Reynolds the lead with 35 seconds to go.
As time was ticking away, Kauffman gave one last burst of energy to get away from Reynolds and earn a reversal as the buzzer sounded, giving him a 4-3 victory and keeping his hopes of another state title alive. Kauffman has matched his record from last year at 49-0, giving him 98-straight wins in his two-year varsity career. He will face James Pfeiffer (38-7) of Cadott in a semifinal Friday night.
Schoenfuss, Schoenherr, and Bornbach, the other three defending state champions for Stratford, all rolled to quarterfinal wins with first-period pins.
Schoenfuss tagged Zachary Foth (41-8) of Laconia with a pin at 1:19, while Schoenherr took care of Ethan Leis (34-15) of Cashton in 1:20.
Not to be outdone, Bornbach need just one minute even to pin Jaden Schmitz (40-12) of Cashton in an 182-pound quarterfinal, and Tyson Kauffman drilled Carson McCauley (30-13) of Ithaca/Weston in just 1:11.
Kilty advanced with an 8-2 win over Caden Calabrese (35-10) of Kenosha Christian Life; Drexler beat Dylan Bune (38-11) of Spring Valley/Elmwood 5-2; and Marquardt pulled off an upset with a 4-0 shutout of Luke Meihack (37-3) of Winnebago Lutheran.
The Division 3 semifinals are set to begin at 7 p.m. Friday night. Check back later tonight for updates on how the Stratford wrestlers fared at the state tournament
2016 WIAA State Individual Wrestling Championships
Feb. 25-27, Kohl Center, Madison
Friday, Feb. 26
7 p.m. – Semifinals, all divisions
Saturday, Feb. 27
11 a.m. – Consolation wrestlebacks, all divisions; followed by fifth-place and third-place matches in all divisions
6 p.m. – Championship matches, all divisions
Stratford matches
Division 3 semifinals (Friday night)
106 pounds: Macey Kilty (27-4) Stratford vs. Zack Anglin (37-1) Bayfield/Washburn.
113 pounds: Jake Drexler (46-2) Stratford vs. Josh Depies (38-3) Random Lake.
120 pounds: A.J. Schoenfuss (47-3) Stratford vs. Seth Schlegel (36-5) Spring Valley/Elmwood.
126 pounds: Jeremy Schoenherr (39-0) Stratford vs. Tate Murty (35-1) Cochrane-Fountain City.
145 pounds: David Marquardt (37-11) Stratford vs. Wilder Wichman (42-0) Johnson Creek.
152 pounds: Mason Kauffman (49-0) Stratford vs. James Pfeiffer (38-7) Cadott.
182 pounds: Kamren Bornbach (46-2) vs. Rowdy Kochevar (40-4) Flambeau.
285 pounds: Tyson Kauffman (46-3) vs. Deven O’Brien (35-14) Fennimore.