Third time is a charm

Tigers defeat Raiders in regional final

By Casey Krautkramer

It’s never easy to beat a good team three times in the same season.

Marathon’s varsity boys basketball squad found this out the hard way on Saturday night, as Stratford defeated Marathon for the first time in three attempts this season. Only this time, the stakes were much higher with a WIAA Division 4 regional championship on the line. The Tigers led the Red Raiders for the majority of the the game in its 56-45 home victory. Stratford senior Camden Daul and his teammates cut down the basketball net after the game. He was overjoyed by his team finally beating Marathon this season. The Red Raiders won the outright Marawood South Conference championship this year.

“It feels super good to beat Marathon,” said Camden Daul, who is the son of Dennis and Nicki Daul. “With Marathon beating us twice in the regular season, we definitely had revenge on our minds and we were able to revenge our previous defeats to them. It was a dog fight but we pushed through it and got the win.”

Camden Daul and two other senior starting players this season, Caden Bruesewitz and Zack Seitz, were sophomores on Stratford’s 2019-20 team that finished with an undefeated re- cord of 24-0 after its season was cut short because of COVID-19. Stratford was supposed to play Iola-Scandinavia in the WIAA Division 4 sectional championship game for a shot at making its first state tournament appearance in school history.

“It really hurt when our season was cut short two years ago due to COVID- 19, so we definitely wanted some hardware after that happened and this was the year we finally got it,” Camden Daul said.

Two years later, Stratford finally gets to play against Iola-Scandinavia in sectionals. The Tigers, 22-4, play against the Thunderbirds, 26-0, in a WIAA Division 4 sectional semifinal at 7 p.m. this Thursday, March 10, in Wautoma.

Stratford plays tough defense, which should give it a fighting chance against Iola-Scandinavia, even though the Thunderbirds are undefeated and ranked No. 3 in Division 4. Tigers head coach Curt Schmidt definitely believes his squad has a shot to knock off the Thunderbirds.

“Great offensive players can make a really good defense look a little pedestrian at times, but it all depends on the night,” Schmidt said. “Is your good defense forcing them to shoot some tough shots? We are excited just to have the opportunity to play in sectionals.”

Stratford’s defense will need to lock down on Iola-Scandinavia star senior Parker Prahl, who is averaging 19.6 points and 12.2 rebounds per game this season. Prahl tallied 28 points and 11 rebounds in his team’s 63-30 regularseason win against Marathon on Feb. 8, and he obtained 24 points and nine rebounds in a 57-42 regular-season victory against Athens on Feb. 14.

The winner between Stratford and Iola-Scandinavia will play against the winner of the other sectional semifinal pitting Manitowoc Roncalli, 23-2, against Saint Mary Catholic, 17-9, in the WIAA Division 4 sectional championship this Saturday, March 12.

Marathon senior Nathan Hanke scored the first basket in the regional championship on Saturday night, but Stratford senior Kaden Griesmer responded with five straight points to give the Tigers a 5-2 early lead against the Red Raiders.

The Red Raiders and Tigers then traded baskets with each other. Marathon six foot, eight-inch sophomore center Grant Warren scored three points the traditional way with a bucket and free throw to tie the game at five points apiece. Stratford junior guard Ashtyn Wrensch’s basket tied the game again. Daul knocked down a three pointer, only to see Marathon senior guard Jaden Koeller immediately answer with a trey of his own to knot up the game at 10 points for each team.

Stratford took the lead for good in the game on senior guard Caden Bruesewitz’s steal, which led to him scoring a basket while getting fouled. He sank the free throw to give the Tigers a 13-10 advantage with nine minutes, 39 seconds left in the first half. Tigers junior Braeden Schueller later drained a corner three pointer before the buzzer to give his team a 25-15 halftime advantage.

Marathon senior Ben Robbins scored the first basket in the second half, and then senior Noah Gage made one of two free throws to bring the Red Raiders within seven points of the Tigers. A little while later, Bruesewitz nailed a three pointer to give Stratford its largest lead of the game, 30-18, against Marathon.

Marathon put together a rally with just over six minutes remaining in the game. Koeller drilled a three pointer from the top of the key and then Warren stole the ball for a slam dunk. After Stratford’s Schueller was called for an offensive foul, Robbins’ basket cut the Tigers’ lead to only four points at 42-38. This was the closest, however, that Marathon came toward beating Stratford. Red Raiders senior Owen Marks received playing time at the end of the contest.

Bruesewitz and Daul led Stratford with 12 points each in the home regional finals win against Marathon. Bruesewitz and Wrensch paced the Tigers with four assists each, while Daul led the squad with eight rebounds and he was second on the team with three assists.

Warren led the Red Raiders with 17 points and six rebounds, and he tied with Gage for the team lead in assists with three each. Hanke added nine points in the loss. Stratford’s defense held Koeller in check with only six points.

Marathon head coach Adam Jacobson praised his seniors’ leadership during their high school basketball playing careers.

“We appreciate all of the dedication and hard work our seniors have brought to our program,” Jacobson said. “We unfortunately say goodbye to five seniors, including four senior starters in Noah Gage, Ben Robbins, Nathan Hanke and Jaden Koeller and one senior reserve in Owen Marks who gave everything he had to his teammates every single day, and is the epitome of a team player.

“Our seniors have been key contributors on varsity the past few seasons, including Jaden being a four-year varsity player. Jaden leaves Marathon playing more varsity basketball games than any Marathon boys basketball player and as the third-leading scorer in Marathon boys basketball history.”

Coach Jacobson said players having success at the varsity level starts at a very young age.

“Our seniors have worked very hard and dedicated a lot of time to the game of basketball, from 5k in the Little Red Raiders through their senior season. Through their efforts they have been able to accomplish many individual and team goals, and they were excellent representatives of our program, school and community.

“Having young children myself, I see first hand the impact their efforts have on our youth and how they have left their mark on our program for the promising future of Marathon basketball. We thank them and appreciate everything they have given to the Marathon basketball program and we wish them the very best in their future endeavors.”

Marathon concludes its 2021-22 season with a 21-5 record.

Stratford’s coach Schmidt, meanwhile, is happy his team at least won a trophy this season in a regional championship after Marathon won the conference title. “We had a nice season and now we get some form of a championship, so that makes you feel good as a team,” Schmidt said. “These kids work so hard and in some years it’s sad when your team has a good record yet it doesn’t win a conference or regional championship, so then it seems like you walked away with nothing. I’m proud of the kids because losing the conference title race is kinda erased by us winning the regional championship.”

Regional semifinal wins

Stratford upended Weyauwega/Fremont, 71-50, in a WIAA Division 4 regional home semifinal on Friday. The Tigers only led, 27-25, at halftime but they scored 44 points in the second half to gain an easy victory.

Junior guard Ashtyn Wrensch led Stratford with 22 points. Senior Camden Daul contributed 15 points while junior Braeden Schueller had 13 points and senior Kaden Griesmer added 10 points. Griesmer paced the Tigers with nine rebounds. Bruesewitz led the team with four assists and Daul added three. Senior Devin Ulrich, Wrensch and Daul each had three steals.

Marathon blasted Necedah, 86-47, in a WIAA Division 4 regional home semifinal on Friday. Senior guard Jaden Koeller erupted to score a game-high 32 points. Sophomore center Grant Warren added 17 points and he paced the Red Raiders with eight rebounds.

Junior guard Drew Love led Marathon with seven assists while seniors Ben Robbins and Noah Gage added five assists each. Koeller contributed four assists and Warren had three. Senior Nathan Hanke paced the squad with four steals while Love and Koeller added two apiece.

CUTTING DOWN THE NET CELEBRATION- Stratford varsity boys basketball players react to their head coach, Curt Schmidt, cutting the last string on the basketball net to remove it from the rim after the team’s 56-45 WIAA Division 4 home regional win against Marathon on Saturday night. Tiger players pictured, from left to right, are Cameron Mootz, Zack Seitz, Ashtyn Wrensch, Johnny Seitz, Henry Zaleski, Evan Danielson and Caden Bruesewitz.STAFF PHOTO/CASEY KRAUTKRAMER