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By Paul Lecker
MarshfieldAreaSports.com
STRATFORD – Thee Stratford wrestling team left no doubt that it did not suffer from a letdown following its sixth-straight Division 3 title at the Bi-State Classic last weekend.
The Tigers won 12 of 14 matches, including six by pin, to blast Athens 67-9 in a Marawood Conference dual meet on Thursday night at Stratford High School.
Stratford coach Joe Schwabe said he was kind of surprised by the Tigers’ 134-point D-3 team victory, and second-place overall finish at the 69-team Bi-State tournament in La Crosse on Dec. 28-29. After a grueling two days against some of the top competition that Wisconsin and Minnesota has to offer, Schwabe said he was happy with the way the kids responded in the dual meet.
“You never know how you are going to bounce back after a big tournament like the Bi-State, and we were very happy with how that went, obviously,” Schwabe said. “We know Athens has a lot of good kids. They have probably five or six kids that have a good shot to make it to the state tournament. We matched up well with them and won a lot of those battles.”
Max Schwabe (132 pounds), Derek Marten (152), Devin Dennee (160), Hunter Ford (170) and Gavin Drexler (113) all earned first-period pins for the Tigers. Dennee’s came in just 36 seconds, while Marten finished off his opponent in 1:06.
Dylan Schoenherr earned Stratford’s other pin, taking down Mitchell Gore in 3:33 in the 285-pound match to improve to 23-1 this season.
Trevor Dennee won his match at 182 over Jordan Drexler 10-0, to improve to 23-1.
Gavin Drexler improves to 24-0, and Schwabe is now 24-1 after their pins on Thursday.
Manny Drexler (120), Jake Heiden (138), Trevor Steiner (195), and Logan Gaulke (103) all won by forfeit, and Stratford also had a victory from Mav Licciardi at 145, as he won 8-5 over Jonathan Albrect.
Athens’ two victories came from Carter Brunke at 126, as he beat Dillon Kirsch 6-3, and on a pin by Connor Westfall at 220.
“We had some guys that had to work on some things coming off last weekend,” Schwabe said. “We had to work better on our feet. We worked on it a little bit in practice, and then they went after it and did some things.”
Stratford will continue a busy return to the mat by competing at the D.C. Everest Invitational on Saturday and at Medford for a dual meet on Tuesday.
On Jan. 11, the Tigers, the two-time defending WIAA Division 3 state team champions, will host a triple-dual meet against defending Division 2 state champion Luxemburg-Casco, last year’s Division 1 state runner-up Holmen, and Antigo.
“I’m really excited about this triple dual,” Schwabe said. “To have an event on a Friday night where we have the Division 1 state runner-ups, the Division 2 state champs, and the Division 3 state champs, all come together on a Friday, we just think it’s probably the neatest high school event of the season on a one-night deal.”
Stratford 67, Athens 9
120: Manny Drexler (ST) won by forfeit.
126: Carter Brunke (AT) def. Dillon Kirsch, 6-4.
132: Max Schwabe (ST) pinned Chase Ellenbecker, 1:49.
138: Jacob Heiden (ST) won by forfeit.
145: Mav Licciardi (ST) def. Jonathan Albrecht, 8-5.
152: Derek Marten (ST) pinned Kaden Redmann, 1:06.
160: Devin Dennee (ST) pinned Trystan Cator, 0:36.
170: Hunter Ford (ST) pinned Patrick Redmann, 1:18.
182: Trevor Dennee (ST) won major dec. over Jordan Decker, 10-0.
195: Trevor Steiner (ST) won by forfeit.
220: Connor Westfall (AT) pinned Cole Marten, 3:00.
285: Dylan Schoenherr (ST) pinned Mitchell Gore, 3:33.
106: Logan Gaulke (ST) won by forfeit.
113: Gavin Drexler (ST) pinned Gabe Weiks, 1:18.