This story is sponsored by: High Street Salon, Spa & Travel
By Paul Lecker
MarshfieldAreaSports.com
MADISON – Four Stratford wrestlers and a pair from Spencer/Columbus Catholic won semifinal matches on Friday night and will battle for state titles on Saturday at the 2018 WIAA State Individual Wrestling Tournament at the Kohl Center.
Stratford seniors A.J. Schoenfuss and Jeremy Schoenherr will look to be added to a short list of four-time state champions which currently stands at 14. They will be joined in the Division 3 finals by teammates junior Manny Drexler, who lost in the championship round a year ago at state, and sophomore Trevor Dennee, who is in his first state tournament.
Spencer/Columbus senior Hunter Luepke will look to maintain his undefeated record and win a second-straight state title, and teammate Logan Zschernitz will eye his first state championship after finishing third a year ago.
Luepke and Zschernitz pounded their opponents in the semifinals. Luepke pinned Chris Storandt (46-3) of East Troy in 1:36, and Zschernitz pinned Josh Frerk (42-2) of Denmark in 3:31 to qualify for the finals.
“We’ve been practicing hard all season and it’s awesome that both of us will be able to wrestle in the championship,” Luepke said.
Luepke is now 48-0 this season and will take on Jake Dietzen (42-1), a senior from Omro, in the Division 2 220-pound final.
“I don’t think I am as nervous as I was last year,” Luepke said. “I’ve been there before. I’m going to keep my offense going and just try for the ‘W’.”
Zschernitz (42-2), who also defeated Frerk in the third-place match at last year’s state tournament, said he and Luepke were both “locked in” during the quarterfinals and semifinals. He will take on Dan Ausioos (36-3) of Oconto Falls in the D-2 285-pound championship. Ausioos won his semifinal with a pin in 19 seconds.
“I was working on my shots and got on my game instead of letting (Frerk) control,” Zschernitz said. “It felt like he was running at me so I thought maybe I can throw him over. I didn’t think I was going to pin him, but both knees ended up inbounds and I went for the pin.”
Spencer/Columbus coach Jake Zschernitz, Logan’s uncle, said watching the two dominate their opponents throughout the season has been a thrill. Luepke has won 35 of his 48 matches by pin, while Logan Zschernitz had 32 pins.
“They know how to feel things out, how to set things up, and when they attack they just go for it,” Jake Zschernitz said. “It’s tough to stop. They’re two special athletes, two special kids and it’s a lot of fun.”
Four of the five Stratford wrestlers to reach the semifinals won, including Schoenherr and Schoenfuss.
Schoenfuss (45-4) pinned Landon Kasper (31-12) of Reedsville in 1:12 after taking control early with a takedown in the first 10 seconds. He will take on Jordan Boldt (43-4) of Bonduel in the 126-pound title match. Boldt beat Schoenfuss 3-1 in the sectional championship match last Saturday.
Schoenherr (35-0) used a catch-and-release method to wear down Zachary Foth (43-6) of Laconia. He had four takedowns, a reversal, and a two-point nearfall to beat Foth 14-6. Foth earned all of his points on escapes that Schoenherr allowed.
Schoenherr will face Jake Baldwin (45-5) of Coleman in the 138-pound championship. Schoenherr beat Baldwin 14-4 in a semifinal at the Shawano sectional last week.
Manny Drexler (42-3) moves into his second-straight state title match after handling Javis Pinter (49-5) of Kenosha Christian Life, 9-1. Drexler earned a takedown midway through the first period and beat the buzzer with a three-point nearfall to grab a 5-0 lead. He added a takedown in the second period and another nearfall in the third to hold on for the win.
Drexler will go up against undefeated Ryan Anderson (45-0), a senior from Clear Lake, in the 106-pound Division 3 final.
“I felt like I wrestled these past two matches pretty well and so know I just have to rest up and get ready for tomorrow,” Drexler said. “I knew if I could go and focus on scoring points I could win the match.”
Dennee held off Riley Workman (39-6) of Mineral Point 7-5 in a 170-pound semifinal.
Dennee (40-5) trailed 3-2 after a reversal by Workman early in the second period, but he earned an escape to tie the match, chose the down position for the third period, and added another escape to take the lead. Dennee had a takedown, and after a reversal with eight seconds to go by Workman, Dennee was allowed to escape to give Workman a chance to tie the match, but he was able to hold him off.
Dennee will go up against unbeaten Ryan Neu (43-0) of Dodgeland in the 170-pound Division 3 final.
Stratford’s lone semifinal loss came from senior Jake Drexler, who dropped a wild 13-8 match to Bill Condon (42-6) of Horicon at 145 pounds.
Drexler, who finished third a year ago at state, will try to equal that again after he fell into the consolation bracket with the loss to Condon.
Drexler led 2-0 early before a flurry from Condon in the second period put him behind 6-2.
Condon had a takedown and nearfall in the opening 30 seconds of the third period before Drexler escaped and nearly earned a pin, cutting the deficit to 11-8, but he couldn’t hold on. Condon earned a reversal and rode out the final 40 seconds to move into the finals.
Marshfield’s lone semifinalist, Sam Mitchell, lost his Division 1 182-pound semifinal match to Isaac Lahr (49-3) of Holmen, 3-2.
Mitchell led 1-0 entering the third period and neither wrestlers could do much offensively. Lahr earned an escape with 1:31 to go and got the match’s only takedown 20 seconds later. Mitchell escaped with 55 seconds left, but could not earn a takedown that would have won it.
Mitchell drops into the consolation bracket and is guaranteed a top-six medal in his second state meet appearance.
Marshfield’s Bentley Schwanebeck-Ostermann (Division 1, 170 pounds), and Stratford’s Max Schwabe (Division 3, 120) and Aiden Hoffman (Division 3, 195) will also wrestle in the consolation round Saturday morning.
Championship matches begin at 5 p.m. Saturday.
2018 WIAA State Individual Wrestling Tournament
Feb. 22-24, at Kohl Center, Madison
Friday, Feb. 23
Division 1 consolation matches
113: Parker Bevilacqua (38-12), jr., Muskego, def. Gabe Pugh (37-7), fr., Marshfield, 10-4.
126: Tanner Kanable (33-15), jr., Marshfield, def. Aaron Schulist (9-2), sr., Mukwonago, by injury forfeit.
170: Bentley Schwanebeck-Ostermann (39-4), jr., Marshfield, won by major dec. over Luke Geister-Jones (36-15), jr., Stoughton, 11-0.
Division 2 quarterfinals
220: Hunter Luepke (47-0), sr., Spencer/Columbus won major dec. over Nate Lloyd (42-7), sr., Luxemburg-Casco, 13-1.
285: Logan Zschernitz (41-2), jr., Spencer/Columbus, pinned Scott Klemme (29-16), jr., Sheboygan Falls, 0:42.
Division 3 quarterfinals
106: Manny Drexler (41-3), jr., Stratford, pinned Markus Brown (40-7), fr., Bayfield/Washburn, 0:51.
120: Jake Nadeau (29-5), sr., Glenwood City, pinned Max Schwabe (39-10), so., Stratford, 3:33.
126: A.J. Schoenfuss (44-4), sr., Stratford, pinned Carson Strong (31-4), sr., Glenwood City, 3:56.
138: Jeremy Schoenherr (34-0), sr., Stratford, won by technical fall over Nick Sempf (40-6), jr., Clear Lake, 22-7.
145: Jake Drexler (44-2), sr., Stratford, won major dec. over Guenther Hebbe (41-7), jr., Princeton, 12-4.
170: Trevor Dennee (39-5), so., Stratford, pinned Travis Reinke (38-13), jr., Kewaunee, 1:50.
195: Garrett Joles (40-0), sr., Boyceville, won major dec. over Aiden Hoffman (29-6), sr., Stratford, 14-3.
220: Noah Wieczorek (42-1), sr., Clear Lake, pinned Dylan Schoenherr (46-4), jr., Stratford, 4:42.
Division 1 consolation semifinals
126: Cayden Henschel (48-4), sr., West Bend East, def. Tanner Kanable (33-16), jr., Marshfield, 3-2.
170: Bentley Schwanebeck-Ostermann (40-4), jr., Marshfield, def. Nolan Paar (45-4), jr., Oak Creek, 5-3.
Division 3 consolation semifinals
120: Max Schwabe (40-10), so., Stratford, won major dec. over Paul King (33-9), Darlington/Black Hawk, 9-0.
195: Aiden Hoffman (30-6), sr., Stratford, def. Caleb Johnson (45-4), sr., Riverdale, 5-2.
220: Dylan Schoenherr (47-4), jr., Stratford, pinned Frank Koeppel (30-16), so., Mishicot, 0:41.
Semifinals, all divisions
Division 1
182: Isaac Lohr (49-3), sr., Holmen, def. Sam Mitchell (45-3), jr., Marshfield, 3-2.
Division 2
220: Hunter Luepke (48-0), sr., Spencer/Columbus, pinned Chris Storandt (46-3), sr., East Troy, 1:36.
285: Logan Zschernitz (42-2), jr., Spencer/Columbus, pinned Josh Frerk (42-2), sr., Denmark, 3:31.
Division 3
106: Manny Drexler (42-3), jr., Stratford, won major dec. over Javis Pinter (49-5), Kenosha Christian Life, 9-1.
126: A.J. Schoenfuss (45-4), sr., Stratford, pinned Landon Kasper (31-12), so., Reedsville, 1:12.
138: Jeremy Schoenherr (35-0), sr., Stratford, won major dec. over Zachary Foth (43-6), sr., Laconia.
145: Bill Condon (42-6), sr., Horicon, def. Jake Drexler (44-3), sr., Stratford, 13-8.
170: Trevor Dennee (40-5), so., Stratford, def. Riley Workman (39-7), sr., Mineral Point, 7-5.
Saturday, Feb. 24
Consolation wrestlebacks all divisions, through third- and fifth-place matches, 10 a.m.
Division 1
170: Bentley Schwanebeck-Ostermann (40-4), jr., Marshfield, vs. Jacob Sklenar (49-4), sr., Pewaukee.
182: Sam Mitchell (45-3), jr., Marshfield, vs. Nate Crayton (45-6), sr., Burlington.
Division 3
120: Max Schwabe (40-10), so., Stratford, vs. Jack Severin (45-4), fr., Kewaunee.
145: Jake Drexler (44-3), sr., Stratford, vs. Gavin Burch (40-7), sr., Ithaca/Weston.
195: Aiden Hoffman (30-6), sr., Stratford, vs. Levi Galoff (32-13), fr., Brillion.
220: Dylan Schoenherr (47-4), jr., Stratford, vs. Jack Horihan (33-5), sr., La Crosse Aquinas.
Championship matches, all divisions, 5 p.m.
Division 2
220: Hunter Luepke (48-0), sr., Spencer/Columbus, vs. Jack Dietzen (42-1), sr., Omro.
285: Logan Zschernitz (42-2), jr., Spencer/Columbus, vs. Dan Ausioos (36-3), sr., Oconto Falls.
Division 3
106: Manny Drexler (42-3), jr., Stratford, vs. Ryan Anderson (45-0), sr., Clear Lake.
126: A.J. Schoenfuss (45-4), sr., Stratford, vs. Jordan Boldt (43-4), sr., Bonduel.
138: Jeremy Schoenherr (35-0), sr., Stratford, vs. Jake Baldwin (45-5), jr., Coleman.
170: Trevor Dennee (40-5), so., Stratford, vs. Ryan Neu (43-0), jr., Dodgeland.