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LA CROSSE – Stratford had seven wrestlers reach the semifinals to roll out to a huge lead in the Division 3 team standings after the opening day of the Bi-State Wrestling Classic on Thursday at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse.
The Tigers had nine wrestlers reach the quarterfinals, with seven of them posting victories, and accumulated a whopping 253.5 points to open up a 162-point lead over second-place Athens in the D-3 team standings. Stratford is seeking its fourth-straight Division 3 title at the Bi-State tournament.
Manny Drexler (106 pounds), Max Schwabe (113), A.J. Schoenfuss (120), Jake Drexler (132), David Marquardt (170), Kamren Bornbach (220), and Tyson Kauffman (285) all reached the semifinals for the Tigers, and will wrestle Friday as the tournament concludes.
Kauffman reach the semifinals by beating Spencer/Columbus Catholic’s Logan Zschernitz 3-2 in overtime, handing Zschernitz his first loss of the season (13-1).
The Rockets are ninth in the Division 2 standings as Ashton Ackman (106) also reached the quarterfinals before losing. Junior Hunter Luepke reached the 195-pound semifinals for SC, pinning three opponents before knocking off Stratford’s Aiden Hoffman 8-1 in the quarterfinals.
Marshfield is fifth in the Division 1 standings after the first day, racking up 129 points.
Marshfield had five wrestlers reach the quarterfinals, but all of them lost and will wrestle in the consolation bracket on Friday.
Caden Dennee (113), Caden Pearce (132), Nolan Hertel (145), Bentley Ostermann (160), and Alex Brost (182) all lost quarterfinal matches after posting three victories on Thursday. Dennee had three pins and Hertel had two pins and a technical fall victory.
Auburndale is also competing in the tournament and is in 12th place in the Division 3 standings. No Apaches reached the quarterfinals.