Tigers win Marawood

Squad earns McChickens from Davison

By Casey Krautkramer

Stratford senior wrestler Elijah Lucio had plenty of reason to smile while pinning Edgar freshman Jace Apfelbeck in the 160-pound bout on Thursday in Marathon.

That’s because Lucio performed the ratchet wrestling hold to earn he and his teammates McChickens from their head coach, Adam Davison. Lucio also helped the Tigers beat the Wildcats to earn their ninth consecutive Marawood Conference regular-season championship.

Lucio accepted the friendly bet coach Davison made with he and his teammates in practice. “We knew Marathon was known for the chest crusher, so we practiced to defend it,” Lucio said. “During practice we also made a bet with our coach that if anyone during Thursday’s matches did the ratchet and pinned their opponent that he’d buy us McChickens. Nobody had done the ratchet yet and I was one of the last wrestlers on the mat against Edgar, so I figured I needed to earn McChickens for the boys because they were hungry.”

Coach Davison made due on his bet to the high school team by spending $65 on 50 McChickens for all wrestlers, coaches and managers.

“It’s the most expensive wrestling move I’ve made in a while, but it’s fun and it gets the kids excited,” Davison said.

Stratford easily beat Edgar, 66-6, in its dual match in the Marathon High School gym. Lucio is proud his Tigers squad has won the Marawood Conference championship each year during his high-school wrestling career.

“It was our team’s goal to win another conference title, so we just went out and wrestled our hardest against Edgar, and we did it,” he said.

Stratford grapplers gaining pins against Edgar are Brandon Knetter against Stetson Lemmer in two minutes, 56 seconds in the 138-pound bout, Gavin Drexler against Jesse Jisko in 27 seconds at 145 pounds, Dillion Kirsch against Chris Kohl in 44 seconds at 152, Lucio against Apfelbeck in 1:04 at 160, Jackson Ormond against Corey Koeppl in 24 seconds at 182 and Patrick Greenberg against Dakota Ellenbecker in 1:07 at 195.

Stratford’s Cole Marten won a 16-1 technical fall against Edgar’s Harrison Graveen at 220 pounds and the Tigers’ Raife Smart won a 7-4 decision against Waylon Wirkus at 285. Edgar’s lone win was Austin Schreiber pinning Vance Kielman in 36 seconds at 126 pounds. Stratford wrestlers receiving forfeit victories against Edgar are Trenton Cournoyer at 106 pounds, Jesse Bauer at 113, Cadyn Leonhardt at 120 and Gavin Kirsch at 170. Both teams forfeited 132 pounds.

Tigers down Red Raiders

Stratford also defeated host Marathon, 57-12, on Thursday. Stratford wrestlers gaining pins against Marathon are Cournoyer against Levi Krautkramer in 5:03 at 106 pounds, Drexler against Derek Vesely at 145 pounds in 1:16, Dillon Kirsch against Nick Van Rixel in 46 seconds at 152, Ormond against Juan Gomez in 1:17 at 182, Greenberg against Ian Hunter in 1:39 at 195 and Smart against Logan Werner in 2:19 at 285.

Stratford’s Knetter won a 10-5 decision against Marathon’s Mason Putnam at 138 pounds. Leonhardt won by forfeit at 113 pounds, Kielman at 126 and Marten at 220. The Red Raiders’ two wins came via Hector Pintor pinning Gavin Kirsch in 1:58 at 170 pounds and Dylan Dodson receiving a forfeit at 120. Both squads forfeited 132 pounds.

Athens, Edgar, Marathon and Stratford wrestlers will compete in the Marawood Conference tournament at 10 a.m. this Saturday at Edgar High School. Stratford has won the last seven conferene tournament titles. There wasn’t a tournament championship last season because of COVID-19.

Wildcats down the Eagles

Edgar’s wrestling squad upended Auburndale, 36-27, on Thursday at the Marathon quad. The Wildcats only won one of the four competitive matches against the Eagles, consisting of Jesse Jisko’s 12-11 decision against Brett Thiel at 152 pounds, yet Edgar still won the match due to all of Auburndale’s forfeits.

Marathon nearly wins dual

The Marathon wrestling team nearly pulled off a home dual match victory against Auburndale on Thursday, by only losing 24-27 to the Eagles. The Red Raiders only won one of the six competitive matches against Auburndale, consisting of Dylan Dodson’s pin against Tanner Wargowsky at 126 pounds, yet Marathon almost beat Auburndale.

Marathon junior Hector Pintor lost a tough 7-2 decision to an outstanding Auburndale grappler in senior Sloan Welch at 182 pounds. Pintor has his sights set on qualifying for the individual state tournament this season, after falling just short of his goal with a third-place finish at sectionals last year.

“It would definitely be a big deal for me to make it to state this year after falling just short last season,” Pintor said.

Pintor took second place at the Wausau East tournament on Saturday. Dylan Dodson and Jacob Smith placed fourth in their weight class. Derek Vesely took home a seventhplace finish while both Logan Werner and Nick Van Rixel placed eighth in their respective weight classes. Mason Putnam placed ninth and Juan Gomez 10th in their weight classes.

Bluejays obtain wins

Athens junior Connor Lewandowski won a 9-5 decision in a 126-pound match against Brady Shepard of Wabeno/ Laona/Three Lakes on Thursday at the Abby/Colby quad. Athens senior Brooks Kraus pinned Zander Ginet in 3:54. Lewandowski and Kraus both pinned their Phillips opponents at the Abby/Colby quad.

Kraus had a 3-1 record with a pin at the Wausau East tournament on Saturday, while Lewandowski went 2-2 with a pair of pins.

GRUELING TAKEDOWN- Stratford heavyweight wrestler Raife Smart grabs Waylon Wirkus’ leg to take him down during their bout on Thursday in Marathon. The Tigers manhandled the Wildcats, 66-6, in their Marawood Conference dual match.STAFF PHOTO/CASEY KRAUTKRAMER

PINNING HIS OPPONENT- Marathon junior Hector Pintor pins Stratford senior Gavin Kirsch in their 170-pound bout on Thursday at the Marathon Quad.STAFF PHOTO/CASEY KRAUTKRAMER