Marathon succumbs to last-second shot

By Casey Krautkramer

Marathon’s varsity boys basketball team has faced Auburndale numerous times in the regular season and playoffs over the last several years and Saturday’s WIAA Division 4 regional championship was another classic game between the two area traditional small school boys basketball powerhouses. Unfortunately this time, No. 4 playoff seed Marathon lost its road game to No. 1 seed Auburndale, 5149, on Eagles senior Thomas Aue’s made shot before the final buzzer sounded.

Red Raiders junior post player Drew Woelfel scored the game’s first basket. Auburndale junior guard Josh Lundgren sank his first three pointer of the game and the Eagles eventually soared to a 13-8 lead. Marathon junior guard Ean Shuda made back-to-back three pointers to give the Red Raiders a 14-13 advantage with just under six minutes left in the first half. This was Marathon’s first lead since the start of the game.

Marathon built an 18-13 lead on Shuda’s drive for a bucket and sophomore Logan Peters’ basket. Red Raiders junior guard Landon Sneider drilled a three pointer to give Marathon a 21-15 advantage, but Lundgren answered with a three pointer of his own to keep Auburndale close. Shuda’s layup gave the Red Raiders a 23-18 lead until Lundgren sank another three pointer before the end of the first half.

Marathon held a slim 23-21 halftime advantage. Lundgren sank a trio of three pointers in the first half to lead all players with 14 points at the break. Shuda made all three of Marathon’s three pointers in the first half to lead the team with 11 points at halftime.

A strange sequence of events occurred early in the second half. Woelfel missed a shot and grabbed his own rebound for a putback while getting fouled by Aue, which was his third foul in the game, to give the Red Raiders a 27-25 lead with 15 minutes, 23 seconds left in the second half. Woelfel was then called for a technical foul, which was also his third foul of the game, after the play ended. Woelfel missed his free throw but Eagles senior Blake Raab made both of his technical foul free throws to tie the game at 27 points apiece. This was a huge momentum swing for Auburndale because the Eagles built a nine-point advantage, 36-27, against Marathon until Sneider’s made three pointer cut the lead to six points.

Shuda sank a three pointer with three minutes, 50 seconds left in the game to give the Red Raiders a 45-44 advantage. On Marathon’s next possession, Shuda was fouled by Auburndale senior guard Keegan Empey while attempting a three pointer. Shuda made two of three free throws to give the Red Raiders a 47-44 lead. Raab quickly answered with a made basket while being fouled by Sneider. He made the free throw to tie the game at 47 points apiece.

Aue was fouled by Woelfel while attempting a shot and he made both free throws to give the Eagles a 49-47 lead with one minute, 17 seconds left in the game. On Marathon’s next possession, head coach Adam Jacobson called a timeout with 59 seconds remaining to set up a play to tie the game. Sneider did just that when he drove down the lane to score a basket with 40 seconds left. The only bad thing about Marathon’s quick score was then Auburndale was able to hold the ball for the last shot. Lundgren missed a three pointer but Aue, the tallest player on the court, grabbed the offensive rebound and turned around for a made shot before the final buzzer sounded.

Lundgren scored a game-high 20 points for Auburndale while Raab added 16 and Aue had eight. Shuda led Marathon with 19 points while Sneider and Woelfel scored eight points each. Red Raiders guard True Thurs scored two points but he paced the team with nine rebounds, five assists and two steals. Shuda added two assists. Woelfel contributed seven rebounds and senior Cody Radtke had six rebounds in his last high school basketball game.

Marathon concludes its season with a 17-9 record while Auburndale improves to 23-3 while advancing to play Stratford, 26-2, in a WIAA Division 4 sectional semifinal at 7 p.m. this Thursday, March 13, at Wausau West High School. The winner of this sectional semifinal will play against the winner of Thursday’s other sectional semifinal between Bonduel, 251, and Southern Door, 23-3, at Green Bay Southwest High School. The sectional championship is this Saturday, March 15,

See REGIONAL TITLE LOSS/ page 15

FINAL GAME IN A RED RAIDERS BASKETBALL UNIFORM - Marathon senior starting guard Cody Radtke may have played his last basketball game in Saturday’s 51-49 road loss to Auburndale, but he was a pivotal player for the Red Raiders this season by knocking down clutch three pointers when the team needed a boost in games.

STAFF PHOTO/CASEY KRAUTKRAMER

WOELFEL FIGHTS FOR THE REBOUND - Marathon junior Drew Woelfel eventually gains full possession of the offensive rebound for a putback while being fouled by Auburndale senior Thomas Aue. Unfortunately, Woelfel got called for a technical foul at the end of the play. Woelfel missed his free throw while Auburndale senior Blake Raab made both of his free throws to tie the game at 27 points apiece.

STAFF PHOTO/CASEY KRAUTKRAMER

KNIFING THROUGH THE EAGLES’ DEFENSE - Marathon senior River Stanecki powers through two Auburndale defenders for a basket in the first half of Saturday night’s regional championship.

STAFF PHOTO/CASEY KRAUTKRAMER Regional title loss

Continued from page 13

at SPASH.

The Red Raiders easily beat the No. 5 playoff seed Phillips Loggers, 78-52, in Friday’s home regional semifinal and Auburndale defeated No. 8 Colby, 70-63 in overtime, in its home regional semifinal to advance into Saturday’s regional championship in Auburndale. Woelfel led Marathon with 17 points in its playoff win against Phillips while Peters added 15 points and he paced the Red Raiders with six rebounds. Radtke had 12 points. Thurs led Marathon with six assists and Sneider paced the team with three steals.

Strong basketball programs

Both the Marathon and Auburndale boys basketball programs have enjoyed a lot of playoff success in the last several years. Marathon has made nine appearances in the state tournament while Auburndale has made 10 appearances at state.

Marathon made its first state tournament appearance in 1974 under retired head coach Tom Weinkauf who led the Red Raiders to winning three straight Class C state championships in 1975-1977. Retired Marathon head coach Jeff Reiche guided the 2011 boys basketball team to winning the Division 4 state title in 2011. Current Red Raiders head coach Adam Jacobson led the 2018 team to a state runners-up finish. Auburndale made its first state tournament appearance in 1991 under retired head coach Tim Anderson, whom the Auburndale basketball court is now named after. Current Auburndale head coach Chad Weinfurter was a senior player on Anderson’s 1991 squad. Anderson led Auburndale to winning two Division 3 state championships in 1993 and 2000 along with a Division 3 state runnersup finish in 2003. Weinfurter coached Auburndale to a Division 4 state runnersup finish in 2013.

Jacobson has a 17-11 record against Auburndale in the regular season and a 3-5 record against Auburndale in the playoffs during his 14 years as varsity head coach. He commented on Saturday night’s close regional championship loss to Auburndale.

“It was a great high school basketball game between two excellent basketball programs,” Jacobson said. “The kids gave it everything they had all night long and it was big play after big play from both teams. Unfortunately for us, Auburndale made one more big play right before the buzzer. It wasn’t the result we were hoping for, but that does not change the journey. Through the course of the season I love the team we became. Individually and collectively the guys really improved and were playing their best basketball when it mattered most.”

“Major credit to that growth goes to our seniors Wilson Marks, Blake Kraft, River Stanecki and Cody Radtke. They are the epitome of the core standards of our basketball program. Their work ethic, humility, toughness, sacrifice and character led and molded our team into the team we became at the end of the year, which was a team that could compete with the best small school teams in our area night in and night out. I am thankful I have had the privilege to work with these young men over many years and I am hopeful that their experience in the Marathon basketball program was beneficial to not only their development as a basketball player but as a person. I know that our seniors have a bright future and they are ready to be servant leaders who will make a positive impact in our society into the future.”

IF YOU ARE A RAIDERS FAN STAND UP AND CLAP YOUR HANDS - A large group of Marathon students led the adult fans across the basketball court in cheers during Saturday night’s 51-49 WIAA Division 4 regional championship road playoff defeat to Auburndale. The front row of student fans, from left to right, are Addison Molepske, Katie LeBlanc, Logan Witberler and Chenpieng Phakitthong.

STAFF PHOTO/CASEY KRAUTKRAMER