Ticket punched

WAUNAKEE — The damage was done. Don’t cry over spilled milk. Max Schroeder needed to turn the page or risk seeing his season come to a close. And he delivered. The Sauk Prairie/Wisconsin Heights 106-pounder rebounded from a loss to rival Braiden Hale-Toomey of Reedsburg in the finals at Saturday’s WIAA Division 1 Waunakee Sectional. Schreoder wasted no time in the wrestleback match for second place, pinning DeForest’s Tayden Ringstad in just 57 seconds to punch his ticket to the state tournament. Schroeder beat Hale-Toomey at regionals a week earlier, but is now 1-3 against the freshman this season. He couldn’t dwell on the 11-5 loss in the finals.  This wasn’t the time for that, because only the top two at each weight earn trips to state. Schroeder quickly regrouped, then pinned Ringstad and will now compete at the state tournament, which runs Thursday through Saturday at the UW Kohl Center. “I just had to realize, ‘This kid’s beatable. I beat him before, beat him at conference, so just wrestle how I know to wrestle and don’t let that last match get me all messed up in the head,’ ” Schroeder said of the match against Ringstad. “I just had to stay focused on the prize, and that’s making it to the state tournament.” Mission accomplished. Schroeder, who won by first-period pin in the opening round and by technical fall (17-0) in 2 minutes, 20 seconds in the semifinals, got a takedown right away against RIngstad in the wrestleback. He then maintained control before getting the pin, washing away at least some of the bitter taste left behind by the loss to Hale-Toomey. Schroeder, who’s now 39-5 on the year en route to his first state berth, defeated Hale-Toomey by an 11-7 score at regionals. But the script was flipped Saturday. “He got hit with two fireman’s carries, and that was kind of the deciding factor,” Sauk/Heights coach Matt Gaffney said. “But he bounced back really well, and I guess that was what I was most impressed with. “To qualify as a sophomore, that’s a big accomplishment. We’ll go back to the drawing board and make the adjustments that he needs to make and we’ll go to work on Thursday (at the Kohl Center). Looking forward to getting back in the room and making those final preparations with him.” Schroeder is looking forward to that, too. His goal is to win the state title. And he knows that entering as a sectional runner-up means he’s not among the favorites to do so. “Taking second, you’re still not there, so there’s room to improve,” Schroeder said. “Go back to the room and keep getting better, keep moving forward so I can compete at an even higher level next week. “I just look at this one as a building block. Learn from it and move on.” Given the choice, Schroeder would obviously rather have a better showing at state than at sectionals. “The work’s not done yet,” he said. “The goal is to win there (more) than win here -- win when it matters, at the state tournament.” Schroeder wasn’t Sauk/Heights’ only sectional qualifier. The Eagles also had 113-pounder Evan Dischler, 190-pounder Lane Albers and 215-pounder Logan McIntyre in action Saturday. Dischler lost in the opening round, but Albers and McIntyre both gave it a good go at advancing to state. Albers, a junior, suffered an 11-4 loss to Monona Grove/McFarland senior Luke Rux in the semifinals, but rebounded to pin Waunakee’s Sawyer Ellis in 1:11 in the third-place match. Rux, though, forfeited in the finals because of an undisclosed injury suffered against Albers in the semis — which meant that Rux earned second place by virtue of having already defeated Albers earlier in the tournament. “I couldn’t be more proud of Lane. He left it all out on the mat (in the semis),” Gaffney said. “Hopefully moving forward he can make those adjustments in the offseason, put some time in the weight room and some more time on the mat and hopefully next year at this time he has a different outcome. “He had a good day. I was proud of him.” McIntrye, a senior, suffered a similar fate, losing 9-4 to Verona junior Jack Rathfelder in the semis. That sent McIntrye to the third-place match, which he lost by major decision, 8-0, to Reedsburg freshman Rylen Knuth. “A little bit of a tearjerker. It’s always sad to see a senior end their career, but that’s life,” Gaffney said. “I know Logan will do great things in the future.  “An extremely hard worker. He was a captain on the football team, captain on the wrestling team. Really going to miss Logan. Just a super good kid.”   Feb. 22 Waunakee Sectional Sauk Prairie results 106 — Max Schroeder (39-5) placed second and scored 19.5 team points. • Championship Bracket - Schroeder won by fall over Pierce Patel (Oregon) 9-25 (Fall 1:36) • Championship Bracket - Schroeder won by tech fall over Charlie Peterson (Monona Grove/McFarland) 33-22 (TF-1.5 2:20 (17-0) • 1st Place Match - Braiden Hale-Toomey (Reedsburg Area) 43-4 won by decision over Schroeder (Dec 11-5) • 2nd Place Match - Schroeder won by fall over Tayden Ringstad (DeForest) 37-16 (Fall 0:58)   113 —  Evan Dischler (5-9) place is unknown and scored 0.0 team points. • Championship Bracket - Anthony Ballweg (Monona Grove/McFarland) 30-26 won by major decision over Dischler  (MD 12-0)   190 — Lane Albers (34-12) placed third and scored 13.0 team points. • Championship Bracket - Albers won by major decision over Melvin Hunter (Madison East) 38-14 (MD 15-4) • Championship Bracket - Luke Rux (Monona Grove/McFarland) 36-7 won by decision over Albers  (Dec 11-4) • 3rd Place Match - Albers won by fall over Sawyer Ellis (Waunakee) 25-21 (Fall 1:11) • 2nd Place Match - Luke Rux (Monona Grove/McFarland) 36-7 won by no contest over Albers 34-12 (NC)   215 — Logan McIntyre (26-18) placed fourth and scored 8.0 team points. • Championship Bracket - McIntyre won by fall over Trevor Ray (Monona Grove/McFarland) 18-16 (Fall 2:41) • Championship Bracket - Jack Rathfelder (Verona Area) 42-14 won by decision over McIntyre (Dec 9-4) • 3rd Place Match - Rylen Knuth (Reedsburg Area) 13-6 won by major decision over McIntyre (MD 8-0)    GIRLS The Eagles’ Margaret Barrett (107 pounds) and Naomi Bermudo (114) both finished first in their weight classes at the Prairie du Chien Sectional and earned trips to state. Barrett pinned Westby’s Kylie Klum in the title match in 2:43. Bermudo defeated Westby’s Marissa Klum in the championship match.   107 — Margaret Barrett (20-4) placed 1st and scored 24.0 team points. • Championship Bracket - Margaret Barrett (Sauk Prairie/Wis. Heights) 20-4 won by fall over Lily Vesperman (Lancaster) 17-20 (Fall 1:22) • Championship Bracket - Margaret Barrett (Sauk Prairie/Wis. Heights) 20-4 won by fall over Ava Lord (Dodgeville) 32-13 (Fall 3:01) • 1st Place Match - Margaret Barrett (Sauk Prairie/Wis. Heights) 20-4 won by fall over Kylie Klum (Westby) 36-5 (Fall 2:43)   114 — Naomi Bermudo (18-4) placed 1st and scored 20.0 team points. • Championship Bracket - Naomi Bermudo (Sauk Prairie/Wis. Heights) 18-4 received a bye () (Bye) • Championship Bracket - Naomi Bermudo (Sauk Prairie/Wis. Heights) 18-4 won by decision over Payten Sander (Boscobel/Wauzeka-Steuben) 21-9 (Dec 7-1) • 1st Place Match - Naomi Bermudo (Sauk Prairie/Wis. Heights) 18-4 won in sudden victory - 1 over Marissa Klum (Westby) 31-7 (SV-1 8-5).   185 — Lilly Hatfield (8-14) place is unknown and scored 0.0 team points. • Championship Bracket - Arwen Marse (Verona Area) 41-8 won by fall over Lilly Hatfield (Sauk Prairie/Wis. Heights) 8-14 (Fall 1:05).