Eleven Tigers in all will compete this weekend in Madison

By Paul Lecker

Sports Reporter

STRATFORD — The Stratford wrestling team has had a season for the ages. There is no disputing that.

The Tigers bringing 12 of their 14 wrestlers into the individual sectional was exciting, but to get 11 of them on to the state tournament is surreal, Stratford coach Joe Schwabe said.

Stratford had five sectional champions and six others place second or third at the Division 3 sectional at Shawano on Feb. 20 to advance a group of 11 on to this week’s WIAA State Individual Wrestling Tournament on the Kohl Center in Madison. The tournament begins Thursday and runs through Saturday.

Stratford had four state champions last year, and all of them will return to defend their titles.

Juniors Mason Kauffman (152 pounds) and Kamren Bornbach (182) and sophomores Jeremy Schoenherr (126) and A.J. Schoenfuss (120) will be back at state looking for their second Division 3 state titles.

Joining them will be Sam Wenzel (138) and Tyson Kauffman (285), who are both making return trips to Madison, as well as first-time participants Macey Kilty (106), Jake Drexler (113), Derek Marten (132), David Marquardt (145), and Jon Aguirre (220). This will be third-straight state appearance for Wenzel and Bornbach.

“We have talked in our practice room all season how this is a total team effort,” Schwabe said. “We must all practice hard together and push each other in order for us to reach our best, and that is exactly what has happened. Hopefully this weekend we are able to come back with a few kids placing and bringing back some hardware via the WIAA.”

Schoenherr (38-0), Mason Kauffman (48-0), and Bornbach (45-2) earned first-round byes into the Division 3 quarterfinals, which will take place Friday morning. The three returning champs, along with Tyson Kauffman (45-3) and Drexler (45-2), will watch as their six teammates take part in prelims on Thursday night after winning sectional titles.

“Last year we had eight kids down in Madison, and only one was a senior,” Schwabe said. “So to get six of those kids back to state, plus a few new ones, is very exciting. Every underclassman who makes it to state is really going to work hard to repeat that the next year.”

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

2016 WIAA State Individual Wrestling Championships

Feb. 25-27, Kohl Center, Madison

Thursday, Feb. 25

3 p.m. – Division 1 preliminaries
5:15 p.m. – Division 1 quarterfinals
7:15 p.m. – Division 2 & 3 preliminaries

Friday, Feb. 26

10 a.m. – Division 1 consolation matches
11:15 a.m. – Division 2 & 3 quarterfinals
1:45 p.m. – Division 1 consolation semifinals
2:45 p.m. – Division 2 & 3 consolation semifinals
7 p.m. – Semifinals, all divisions

Saturday, Feb. 27

11 a.m. – Consolation wrestlebacks, all divisions; followed by fifth-place and third-place matches in all divisions
6 p.m. – Championship matches, all divisions

Stratford matches

Division 3 preliminaries (Thursday evening)

106: Macey Kilty (25-4) Stratford vs. Jake Nadeau (33-10) Glenwood City.
120: A.J. Schoenfuss (45-3) Stratford vs. Kolbe Ubersox (34-10) Darlington/Black Hawk.
132: Derek Marten (41-9) Stratford vs. Cesar Luis (29-8) Random Lake.
138: Sam Wenzel (40-7) Stratford vs. Adam Becker (41-2) Johnson Creek.
145: David Marquardt (35-11) Stratford vs. Josh Conrad (33-10) Independence/Gilmanton.
220: Jon Aguirre (25-9) Stratford vs. Ian Ruble (33-7) Clear Lake.

Division 3 quarterfinals (Friday morning)

113: Jake Drexler (45-2) Stratford vs. winner of Sawyer Sarbacker (39-6) Iowa-Grant/Highland-Dylan Bune (36-10) Spring Valley/Elmwood.
126: Jeremy Schoenherr (38-0) Stratford vs. winner of Cameron Calabrese (40-5) Kenosha Chritian Life-Ethan Leis (33-13) Cashton.
152: Mason Kauffman (48-0) Stratford vs. winner of Dustin Reynolds (38-7) Lancaster-Jasper Dunn (30-9) Whitehall.
182: Kamren Bornbach (45-2) Stratford vs. winner of Jaden Schmidt (39-10) Cashton-Quinton Elliott (31-9) Spring Valley/Elmwood.
285: Tyson Kauffman (45-3) Stratford vs. winner of Carson McCauley (29-11) Ithaca/Weston-Austin Knopps (27-3) Whitehall.