By Paul Lecker

Sports Reporter

CADOTT – Spencer/Columbus Catholic had four individual champions but came up just short of the team title for the second year in a row at the 2016 Cloverbelt Conference Wrestling Tournament on Saturday at Cadott High School.

Jake Dick (106 pounds), Bryce Shaw (120), Austin Post (132) and Hunter Luepke (220) won titles for Spencer/Columbus, which finished second in the team standings with 234 points. Neillsville/Greenwood/Loyal won the team championship with 274.5 points.

Dick (22-13) defeated Chance Clement of Abbotsford/Colby 5-3 to win the 106-pound championship match.

Shaw (27-10) earned a 10-2 major decision win at 120, Post (24-7) topped Dalton Smith of Stanley-Boyd/Owen-Withee 6-5 at 132, and Luepke won his second-straight Cloverbelt title with a first-period pin at 220.

The Rockets had four others place second – Dominick Wichlacz at 113, Tim Bauer at 138, Elijah Welsh at 182, and Logan Zschernitz at 285. Zschernitz (31-6) lost in overtime 3-2 to Nick Rueth of Neillsville/Greenwood/Loyal.

Nathan Neumann (152), Hunter Hildebrandt (160), and Austin Day (170) each finished third for the Rockets.

Spencer/Columbus will compete in the WIAA Division 2 regional on Feb. 13 at Neillsville. The top two finishers in each weight class will qualify for the D-2 individual sectional at Osceola on Feb. 20. The winning team moves on to the D-2 team sectional at Melrose-Mindoro on Feb. 16.

(Hub City Times Sports Reporter Paul Lecker is also the publisher of MarshfieldAreaSports.com.)

2016 Cloverbelt Conference Wrestling Tournament
Feb. 6, at Cadott High School
Team scores: 1. Neillsville/Greenwood/Loyal 274.5; 2. Spencer/Columbus Catholic 234; 3. Cadott 146; 4. Stanley-Boyd/Owen-Withee 123; 5. Osseo-Fairchild/Augusta/Fall Creek 105; 6. Abbotsford/Colby 75; 7. Eau Claire Regis 38; 8. Thorp 34.
Championship Matches and Spencer/Columbus finishers
106: Championship – Jake Dick (SC) def. Chance Clement (AC) 5-3.
113: Championship – Skylar Barth (NGL) def. Dominick Wichlacz (SC) 6-3.
120: Championship – Bryce Shaw (SC) won major dec. over Bailey Gillett (CAD) 10-2.
126: Championship – Andrew Gunderson (CAD) pinned Tranner Weiler (AC) in 1:12.
132: Championship – Austin Post (SC) def. Dalton Smith (SBOW) 6-5.
138: Championship – Zach Smith (NGL) def. Tim Bauer (SC) 11-8.
145: Championship – Stetson Rueth (NGL) def. Sam Burzynski (SBOW) 3-2; Third place – Tyler Gillett (CAD) def. Caden Schillinger (SC) 10-6.
152: Championship – Derek Nielsen (NGL) def. James Pfeiffer (CAD) 5-3; Third place – Nathan Neumann (SC) def. Tommy Fischer (OF) by injury default.
160: Championship – Stephen Buchanan (NGL) won by technical fall over Brandon Nitz (SBOW) 17-2; Third place – Hunter Hildebrandt (SC) pinned Dominick Grimm (CAD) in 3:28.
170: Championship – Dakota Steinke (OFAFC) def. Nate Scheidler (SBOW) 9-4; Third place – Austin Day (SC) def. Peyton Montgomery (TH) 15-9.
182: Championship – Andrew Buchanan (NGL) pinned Elijah Welsh (SC) in 1:24.
195: Championship – Jeffrey Breaker (OFAFC) pinned Luas Ingold (NGL) in 2:44.
220: Championship – Hunter Luepke (SC) pinned Sam Baumgartner (NGL) in 1:43.
285: Championship – Nick Rueth (NGL) def. Logan Zschernitz (SC) 3-2 TB-1.