View from the cheap seats
A weekly perspective on sports
Casey Krautkramer Reporter The Record-Review It was a pleasure to learn about my native hometown of Marathon’s varsity boys basketball success in the late 1970s during Sunday’s Marathon Red Raider Athletic Hall of Fame ceremony.
I was born in 1978 after Marathon had just strung together three consecutive state boys basketball championships in 1975, 1976 and 1977. There was still much excitement for Marathon’s boys basketball program when I was a young boy, evidenced by the picture I still have of myself as a toddler wearing a Marathon Red Raiders basketball jersey.
It was interesting on Sunday to hear both former Marathon boys basketball player Frank Seubert and his head coach, Tom Weinkauf, share their experiences on how to this day they still have a bad taste in their mouths from losing to McFarland in the 1974 Class C state semifinals.
Both Marathon and McFarland were undefeated heading into the state tournament, and McFarland was the favorite after winning the 1973 Class B state championship. Marathon held a slim 26-25 halftime lead against McFarland, however the Red Raiders were down, 39-34, after the third quarter. Marathon ended up losing, 48-45, to McFarland which advanced to easily beat Mineral Point, 65-43, in the Class C state championship to obtain its second straight state title.
Frank Seubert’s younger brother, Claude Seubert, was a pivotal player on Marathon varsity boys basketball teams that went undefeated while winning Class C state championships in 1975 and 1976. My late uncle, Lloyd Krautkramer, and a cousin of mine, Randy Krautkramer, were on Marathon’s 1975 Class C state title squad. Marathon defeated Prentice, 69-63, in overtime during the 1975 state tournament semifinal and then downed Pardeeville, 65-57, in the state championship.
Frank and Claude Seubert’s younger brother, Paul Seubert, was a member of both the Marathon varsity boys basketball teams that won Class C state championships in 1976 and 1977. Claude and Paul Seubert were a formidable brother tandem on the 1976 Class C state title squad.
Marathon beat Washburn, 57-52, in a battle of unbeaten squads in the 1976 Class C state tournament semifinal before handily defeating Kohler, 78-59, in the state championship.
Marathon’s 1977 varsity boys basketball team lost twice to Marawood Conference champion Edgar during the regular season, but the Red Raiders defeated the Wildcats in the playoffs to eventually win their third consecutive Class C state title. Marathon edged Oostburg, 53-52, in overtime against favored and previously unbeaten Oostburg in the 1977 Class C state championship.
Red Raiders varsity boys basketball player Ken Hanke’s basket and his teammate Andy Berens’ free throw gave Marathon the edge against Oostburg in the overtime period.
