Marshfield wrestlers fall short in team sectional final
STEVENS POINT - The Marshfield wrestling team could not overcome five losses by pin in a 36-33 loss to Hudson in a Division 1 team sectional matchup at Stevens Point Area Senior High.
Marshfield got off to a promising start when Nolan Hertel earned a pin in just 23 seconds at 145 pounds.
“Wrestling is a team concept and we all feed off of each other,” Hertel said. “It was nice to get the pin right away to get the guys all pumped up.”
The only problem is it didn’t take long for the Tigers be brought back down to earth.
Hudson recorded consecutive pins from Cole Godbout (220), Isac Schindler (285) and Leo Draveling (106) to take control of the match. The Raiders also received falls from Jacob Anderson (160) and Mitchell Anderson (120).
With the sectional title, the Raiders will compete at team state for the third consecutive season. Hudson will face Kaukauna in the state quarterfinals on Friday, March 3, at 5:30 p.m. in Madison.
“This has proven our doubters wrong,” Hudson coach Chris Hansen said. “Last year, our team was so good and we graduated so much that everybody felt that we would fall off the edge of the world with this year’s team. We just keep backing it up, week after week.”
Hudson also got decision wins from the 152 and 126 weight classes.
Marshfield’s Conner Peterson (195) and Caden Dennee (113) each picked up wins by pins, before Anthony Kanable (138) closed out the meet with a pin to end the sectional on a positive note.
“I think that mostly it’s just trying to show our guys that if we battle and never give up, we can beat anyone,” Kanable said.
Alex Brost (170), Sam Mitchell (182) and Caden Pearce (132) also earned wins by decisions for Marshfield, which was searching for its first state trip since 2003.
While the Tigers came up short as a team, the season is not over yet, since 13 individuals qualified for sectionals Saturday.
“I hope this serves as a wake-up call for us,” Marshfield coach Jackson Hein said. “We just didn’t compete the way we could have tonight. We wrestled to their style. All year, in the matches that we won, it’s because we were the one on the attack.”
The Tigers can take some of the sting out of the loss to Hudson on Saturday.
“I think we just go back to practice, get on the grind and just keep wrestling, keep practicing and try to keep our heads up,” Kanable said.
Morgan Rode can be reached at 715-345-2258, or by email at mrode@gannett.com. Find him on Twitter as @mrodeSPJ.
Hudson 36, Marshfield 33
145: Nolan Hertel (M) pinned Brandon Rothmeier, 0:23; 152: Jake Midby (H) def. Payton Young, 13-7; 160: Jacob Anderson (H) pinned Alex Wehrman, 3:09; 170: Alex Brost (M) def. Cody Cicha, 14-8; 182: Sam Mitchell (M) def. Tyrel Busby, 9-2; 195: Conner Peterson (M) pinned Sam Kelcher, 1:08; 220: Cole Godbout (H) pinned Sam Bauman, 1:09; 285: Isac Schindler (H) pinned A.J. Leonhardt, 2:24; 106: Leo Draveling (H) pinned Shane Westerhausen, 3:43; 113: Caden Dennee (M) pinned Bryce Hunsberger, 1:25; 120: Mitchell Anderson (H) pinned Tanner Kanable, 3:45; 126: Isaac Hatch (H) def. Brayden Richardson, 9-6; 132: Caden Pearce (M) def. Vincent Fanning, 10-9; 138: Anthony Kanable (M) pinned Caleb Hatch, 1:37.