Marathon wins regional title

Team beats Stratford in second half

By Casey Krautkramer

Marathon’s varsity boys basketball team overcame a rough first half against Stratford on Saturday for a 5943 home win in the WIAA Division 4 regional championship.

The Red Raiders avenged last season’s 56-45 road loss to Stratford in the regional title. At first it appeared number four seed Stratford would pull off the upset against number one seed Marathon. The Tigers led in the first half until the Red Raiders tied the game at 26 points apiece at halftime.

It was all Marathon in the second half as the Red Raiders outscored the Tigers, 33-17. Marathon shot 51 percent overall from the field while Stratford shot 39 percent.

Marathon junior center Grant Warren achieved a double-double with a game-high 23 points and 19 rebounds. He also had a game-high six assists in the victory. Junior forward Tyler Underwood added 15 points and junior guard Cooper Hoeksema had eight.

Marathon senior forward Mason Seehafer contributed four assists and senior Drew Love had three. Love was second on the team in rebounding with six boards.

Stratford senior guard Ashton Wrensch led his team with 20 points and four rebounds in the loss. Senior forward Izaiah Hadlock added nine points. Sophomore guard Drew Bruesewitz paced the Tigers with four assists and junior Brady Schmidt led the squad with two steals. Stratford concludes its season with a 13-12 record.

Tigers’ road to the final

Stratford advanced into Saturday’s regional championship against Marathon by defeating number five seed Necedah, 55-38, in Friday’s home regional semifinal. Stratford shot 46 percent overall from the field against Necedah.

The Tigers built a 25-11 halftime advantage. Schmidt led Stratford with 24 points and Wrensch added 13. Wrensch paced the Tigers with six assists and five steals. Junior Henry Zaleski led Stratford with eight rebounds. Bruesewitz added four assists and John Seitz III had three steals.

Stratford won its home regional quarterfinal, 66-26, against Abbotsford on February 28. Schmidt led the Tigers with 15 points while Seitz and Wrensch added 13 points apiece and Bruesewitz had 12. Seitz paced the team with six rebounds and Wrensch led the squad with six steals. Bruesewitz led Stratford with seven assists.

Raiders advance to finals

Marathon advanced into Saturday’s home regional championship against Stratford by defeating Westfield, 7649, in Friday’s home regional semifinal. Warren achieved his 1,000 career points in the win against the Pioneers.

The Red Raiders shot 62 percent overall from the field while the Pioneers only shot 33 percent. Warren led Marathon with another double-double of 27 points and 11 rebounds. Seehafer added 15 points and Underwood had 13. Love led the Red Raiders with nine assists and three steals and Underwood contributed four assists. Marathon had a first round bye in the regional playoffs.

Next up for Marathon

Marathon has a 23-3 record heading into its third matchup of the season against Auburndale, who also holds a 23-3 record, in the WIAA Division 4 sectional semifinal at 7 p.m. this Thursday, March 9, at Marshfield Senior High School.

Two of Auburndale’s three losses this season were to Marathon during the regular season. Marathon beat Auburndale, 58-53, in the season opener on November 29 at home. Marathon also defeated Auburndale, 65-55, in a January 13 road game. Auburndale’s only other defeat this season was at Newman Catholic.

Auburndale has been ranked ahead of Marathon all season in the wissports. net Division 4 coaches poll, despite the Eagles losing both regularseason games to the Red Raiders. In the final regular-season poll, Auburndale is ranked number seven just ahead of Marathon at number eight.

The winner of Thursday’s sectional semifinal between Marathon and Auburndale will advance to play against the winner of Crivitz, 26-1, and Saint Mary Catholic, 26-2, in the WIAA Division 4 sectional championship at 2 p.m. this Saturday, March 11, at Appleton East High School. The winner of the sectional championship then advances to play in the state tournament semifinal on Thursday night, March 16, at the Kohl Center in Madison.

Edgar’s season ends

The Edgar varsity boys basketball team lost, 44-42, on the road to Weyauwega- Fremont in Friday’s WIAA Division 4 regional semifinal. Senior guard Justin Davis led Edgar with 13 points while junior guard Teegan Streit added 10 and sophomore Leyton Schuett had eight.

Junior forward Karter Butt paced the Wildcats with nine rebounds and Schuett added six. Butt and Davis led Edgar with three steals apiece. Edgar concludes the season with a 10-16 record.

Edgar won its home regional semifi nal, 59-52, against Nekoosa in overtime on February 28. Wildcats junior forward Brett Baumgartner achieved a double-double with 15 points and 10 rebounds. Streit also scored 15 points. Schuett added 12 points and he paced the squad with seven assists.

Butt just missed obtaining a doubledouble with 10 points and eight rebounds. Butt led Edgar with six steals while Davis and Schuett had three apiece.

Weyauwega-Fremont, 16-10, ended up losing to Auburndale, 64-48, in Saturday’s road regional championship.

Athens concludes season

The number three seed Athens varsity boys basketball team lost to number six seed Port Edwards, 53-49, in Friday’s WIAA Division 5 home regional semifinal. Athens ends this season with a 20-6 record. The Bluejays won their third consecutive Marawood North Conference championship this season.

Senior center Aiden Janke led Athens with 15 points, 12 rebounds and three assists against Port Edwards. Senior forward Connor Komarek contributed 14 points while senior guard Connor Sheahan and junior forward Andy Schaer added nine points apiece.

Sheahan added seven rebounds in the loss. Senior guard Kyle Peel and Sheahan paced Athens with two steals each.

Port Edwards ended up losing to number two seed Stevens Point Pacelli, 66-45, in the regional championship. Pacelli plays against number one seed Newman Catholic in a sectional semifi nal at 7 p.m. this Thursday, March 9, at Wausau West High School.

Janke scored 27 points to help Athens easily defeat Rosholt, 74-39, in a home regional quarterfinal on February 28. Sheahan added 20 points and he paced the Bluejays with eight assists and four steals. Schaer led the Bluejays with six rebounds and he also scored 10 points. Senior Nathan Wolf contributed six assists and five rebounds. Freshman Riley Schultz-Becker had five assists.

REGIONAL TITLE CELEBRATION- Marathon varsity boys basketball players rejoice after beating Stratford, 59-43, in Saturday night’s home WIAA Division 4 regional championship. Marathon advances to play Auburndale in the sectional semifinal.STAFF PHOTO/NATHANIEL UNDERWOOD