View from the cheap seats
A weekly perspective on sports
Casey Krautkramer Reporter The Record-Review
Stratford’s wrestling team normally cruises to WIAA Division 3 regional team championship wins, like they’ve accomplished six straight seasons. Edgar was the last team to beat Stratford for the 2013 regional title. That season Edgar lost to Coleman, 38-34, in the sectional finals. The Tigers are in a more competitive regional this year, however, as they’ll battle against the Cadott Hornets for the regional crown this Saturday, Feb. 15. The Athens, Edgar and Marathon wrestling teams will also compete in this Saturday’s regional, which begins at 10 a.m. at Cadott High School.
Stratford’s wrestling team is currently ranked third and Cadott fourth in Division 3, according to Wisconsin Wrestling online. The Tigers and Hornets appear evenly matched, therefore it’ll be a close finish on Saturday to determine which team advances to the sectional finals match this Tuesday, Feb. 18. The sectional semifinal match is at 6 p.m. and the finals match at 8 p.m., both at Cumberland High School.
Cadott competed in a tough Division 3 regional against Boyceville and Elmwood/ Spring Valley the last few years. Cadott lost to Boycevillle by 7-1/2 points last season.
Stratford won both the Marawood Conference regular season dual and tournament championships, while Cadott won both the Cloverbelt Conference dual and tournament titles.
Nine Tiger wrestlers won individual Marawood Conference championships, and six Hornet grapplers won individual Cloverbelt Conference titles.
Returning individual state champion Brady Spaeth is Cadott’s best wrestler this season. The senior is currently undefeated and ranked No. 1 at 170 pound in Division 3. Spaeth has committed to wrestle for the Division 1 Minnesota Golden Gophers next year.
Cadott freshman Brayden Sonnentag is ranked No. 1 at 106 pounds in Division 3.
Stratford counters with defending individual state champions in seniors Max Schwabe and Trevor Dennee. Schwabe is ranked No. 1 at 132 pounds in Division 3, while Trevor Dennee is No. 2 at 182 pounds this season. Stratford sophomore Gavin Drexler is also ranked No. 1 at 126 pounds in Division 3.
The top two individual wrestlers who place in each weight class at the regional in Cadott would advance to the individual sectional competition, which begins at 10 a.m. on Saturday, Feb. 22, at Edgar High School. The top three individual wrestlers who place in each weight class at the Edgar sectional meet would qualify for the 77th annual individual state wrestling championships on Feb. 27-29 at the Kohl Center in Madison. The state team tournament is March 6-7 at the UW Fieldhouse in Madison.
