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LA CROSSE – Three local teams are in title contention after the first day of competition at the Bi-State Wrestling Classic at the La Crosse Center.
Stratford leads the Division 3 team standings after Day 1 on Friday with 202.5 points and owns a solid 80-point lead over second-place Goodhue (Minn.), as the Tigers look for their fifth-straight D-3 title at the event. Auburndale is ninth with 51 points.
Marshfield is second in the Division 1 standings with 155 points, trailing only Holmen (194).
In Division 2, Spencer/Columbus Catholic is tied with River Valley for second place with 129 points. Luxemburg-Casco tops the standings with 162 points.
Ten wrestlers from the area advanced through the semifinals in their respective weight classes.
Spencer/Columbus senior Hunter Luepke (22-0) won four matches, all by pin, to reach the 220-pound semifinals where he will face Dylan Schoenherr (19-0) of Stratford on Saturday. Schoenherr knocked off Marshfield’s Alex Brost 9-4 in the quarterfinals.
At 285 pounds, Logan Zschernitz of Spencer/Columbus improved to 22-0 this season with three wins, including two by pin, to reach the semifinals. He will go against Tyson Sommer of Athens (17-0) in a semifinal match Saturday.
Marshfield had three wrestlers move into the semifinal round. Freshman Gabe Pugh won three matches – by pin, major decision and technical fall – at 113 pounds; Bentley Schwanebeck-Ostermann earned a pin over Auburndale’s Keller Wolfe in 2:00 of a 170-pound quarterfinal match; and Sam Mitchell went 3-0 to reach the 195-pound semifinals.
In addition to Schoenherr, Stratford had four others move into the semifinals.
Aiden Hoffman won three matches by decision at 195 pounds and will face Marshfield’s Mitchell in a semifinal match. Manny Drexler had three pins to advance in the 106-pound semifinals; A.J. Schoenfuss went 4-0 with two pins to qualify for the semifinals at 126; and Jake Drexler defeated Marshfield’s Nolan Hertel in a 145-pound quarterfinal 3-2 to also stay alive for an individual title.
Stratford’s Derek Marten (132) and Max Schwabe (138), SC’s Ashton Ackman (106) and Dominick Wichlacz (120), and Marshfield’s Tanner Kanable (126) and Caden Pearce (138) also lost quarterfinal matches.
Consolation rounds, wrestlebacks, semifinals and championship matches will be held throughout the day Saturday.
For complete results, go to trackwrestling.com.