Stratford earns redemption and D3 title

MADISON - This year, the Stratford High School wrestlers left no doubt.

Last year’s disappointment in the Division 3 State Team Tournament was washed away by a dominating 49-13 win over Fennimore Saturday afternoon.

A year removed from falling short to Fennimore in the state championship match by criteria, the Tigers won 11 of 14 matches, including four pins, a technical fall and two major decisions.

“Losing by criteria last year might have been one of the best things that happened to us,” Stratford senior Kam Bornbach said. “It refocused our team and we had a different mindset this year. We came into the weekend focused and knew what we had to do. This was everything we’ve worked for.”

After the first five matches, the Golden Eagles had a 13-7 lead, then Jeremy Schoenherr sparked the Tigers with a pin at 145 pounds. Stratford then won nine straight matches to close out the match and claim its first state championship.

Four times in the past — 2001, 2002, 2004 and 2016 — Stratford settled for silver.

“We’ve proven dominance all year and we looked at ourselves as the better team,” Stratford 160-pound senior David Marquardt said. “We looked at this as a test coming back facing I guess a demon you’d say after getting upset last year. We stayed calm and had fun, but still doing what we had to do. It was crisp wrestling and we had our goal in our minds.”

As the wins started piling up, the Tigers bench and large fan base grew more excited.

Mason Kauffman won by technical fall at 152 pounds, then Marquardt and Kade Ehrike flipped weight classes and both posted wins.

Kam Bornbach won by pin at 220 pounds and then Manny Drexler closed out the championship with a pin at 106 pounds.

Early on, Jake Drexler led 7-3 and was thrown for five points. He escaped with 5 seconds left in regulation to force overtime. He pulled out a 10-8 sudden victory win with a takedown 24 seconds into the one-minute overtime.

“We won the close matches today. We won an overtime match that we might have lost last year,” Tigers coach Joe Schwabe said. “We’ve taken second four times and I couldn’t ask for a better group of seniors, juniors, sophomores and freshmen. They worked hard every day and put the hammer down tonight.

“They’ve earned it. I’m very happy for them.”

Kaukauna beat Stoughton 35-27 to win its fourth straight Division 1 championship and Ellsworth edged Luxemburg-Casco 27-26 to claim its eighth D2 title.

STATE CHAMPIONSHIP

Stratford 49, Fennimore 13

113: Alex Birchman (F) def. Maverick Licciardi (S), 11-2. 120: A.J. Schoenfuss (S) def. Aidan Nutter (F), 13-0. 126: Trevor Wanek (F) def. Derek Marten (S), 5-1. 132: Jake Drexler (S) def. Maguire Fitzgerald (F), 10-8 SV-1. 138: Justin Tollefson (F) p. Dilan Dehlinger (S), 4:50. 145: Jeremy Schoenherr (S) p. Hunter Wardell (F), 4:58. 152: Mason Kauffman (S) tf. Tyler Klaas (F), 17-2. 160: Kade Ehrike (S) def. Will Ahnen (F), 6-5. 170: David Marquardt (S) p. Connor Blaschke (S), 3:36. 182: Dylan Schoenherr (S) def. Tavian Kaschub (F), 10-1. 195: Aiden Hoffman (S) def. Cody McCollough (F), 7-4. 220: Kam Bonrbach (S) p. Dylan Kehoe (F), 1:40. 285: Tyson Kauffman (S) def. Deven O’Brien (F), 3-0. 106: Manny Drexler (S) p. Mason Lull (F), 2:40.

State semifinal

Stratford 52, Random Lake

106: Manny Drexler (S) p. Dylan Weiss (RL), :48. 113: Anthony Rautman (RL) def. Mavrick Licciardi (S), 10-3. 120: A.J. Schoenfuss (S) def. Josh Depies (RL), 7-6. 126: Derek Marten (S) tf. Trisatn Hammen (RL), 15-0 (6:00). 132: Jake Drexler (ST) p. Stone Goral (RL), :58. 138: Jeremy Schoenherr (S) def. Cesar Luis (RL), 13-5. 145: Grayson Vandenbush (RL) def. Jordan Becker (S), 5-3. 152: Mason Kauffman (S) p. Jake Sagal (RL), 1:19. 160: David Marquardt (S) p. Allan Arendt (RL), 1:29. 170: Levi Kohn (RL) def. Kade Ehrike (S), 12-5. 182: Helton Vandenbush (RL) def. Dylan Schoenherr (S), 17-6. 195: Aiden HOffman (S) p. Deryk Labinski (RL), 2:48. 220: Kam Bornbach (S) def. Hunter Huiras (RL, 19-6. 285: Ethan Fabry (S) p. Ben Drenski (RL), 5:33.

Mark Massoglia: 715-424-7309 or mark.massoglia@gannettwisconsin.com; on Twitter @markmazzy.