Auburndale finishes 15th

By Paul Lecker

Sports Reporter

STEVENS POINT — The Stratford eighth grade basketball team finished second at the 2016 Wisconsin State Invitational Championship Tournament on April 2-3.

In the Division 4/5 bracket round robin play, Stratford defeated Manitowoc Lutheran 50-39, Randolph 54-31, and Cambridge 56-17. Stratford went on to beat Laconia 51-36 in the quarterfinals and Kohler 49-26 in the semifinals. In the finals Stratford lost to Mineral Point 29-27.

The group of Stratford players finished in second place in each of the last four state tournaments and compiled a record of 113-15 the past three seasons under coach Eric Custer.

Team members are Tyler Lappe, Isaac Thompson, James Heeg, Justin Radke, Chander Schmidt, Dawnson Danen, Ben Barten, Vaughn Breit, Teddy Redman, and Jaykob Mikelson.

Auburndale also competed in the tournament and placed 15th, beating Chippewa Falls McDonell 56-46 in the 15th-place game.

In round robin Auburndale beat Hilbert 49-41 and lost to Laconia 62-47 and Mineral Point 57-50. In the 13th-through-16th place bracket semifinals, Auburndale lost to Belleville 51-49.

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