Hornets send 11 on to Sectional competition
The Cadott Hornets Wrestling program had a goal this season – to be Cloverbelt Dual Meet champions, Cloverbelt Conference champions and Division 3 Regional champions. Sadly, that goal went unfulfilled, as Cadott battled a tough Stratford squad for the Regional title Feb. 15.
“The two best teams in any division in northwest Wisconsin wrestled on Saturday,” said coach Josh Spaeth. “It is too bad that we had to face off in the Regional.”
With only the first place team advancing to team Sectionals, Cadott wrestled their hearts out in front of their loyal fans, leaving nothing on the mat. However, Cadott fell just short of taking first, with 276 points, falling behind Stratford, who had 296.5.
“I could not be more proud of our team, even though we did not reach our team goal,” said Spaeth. “The boys gave their best effort and just simply came up a little short.”
The Hornets had no lack of support, as, on their home turf, Cadott fans turned out in full force to cheer on the athletes.
“The atmosphere was electric to wrestle in,” said Spaeth. “Cadott has some of the best fans in the state. For that, we all would like to say thank you.”
Individually, Cadott fared much better, sending 11 wrestlers on to Sectional competition in Edgar.
“Twenty-eight wrestlers moved on to individual Sectionals from our Regional, 23 of them were Cadott and Stratford wrestlers,” said Spaeth. “Only five wrestlers from other schools qualified. That shows the shear strength of the two teams.”
Looking to repeat as State champion, senior Brady Spaeth (170 pounds) sealed his Regional championship with a win over Hunter Ford from Stratford, in just 23 seconds.
Fellow senior Steven Pfeiffer (182) also punched his ticket to Sectionals, winning over Raife Smart of Stratford, in a hard-fought 8-6 decision. After advancing through the bracket, senior Josh Briggs (285) earned an 8-2 decision over Stratford’s Beau Gross for a Regional championship.
Sophomore Kaleb Sonnentag (120) also cashed in on the action, getting a fall over Stratford’s Benno Wenzel in 1:42. Freshman Brayden Sonnentag (106) made his mark at Regionals, winning his first place match over Brooks Kraus from Athens in 1:02.
Coming in second to advance to Sectionals, were senior Ethan Tegels (220) over Stratford’s Cole Marten; junior Nelson Wahl (152) over Marathon’s Hector Pintor; and freshman Cole Pfeiffer (138) over Jared Sweno of Marathon.
Also winning their second place matches to advance, were freshman Tristan Drier (132) over Chase Ellenbecker of Athens; freshman Nick Fasbender (126) over Edgar’s Blake Tarter; and sophomore Logan Harel (113) over Cornell-Gilman’s Ethan Person.
The WIAA Division 4 Individual Sectional will be held in Edgar this coming Saturday, Feb. 22, with wrestling beginning at 10 a.m.
“I hope we have the same crowd in Edgar, cheering on our wrestlers,” said J. Spaeth.
