B-T’s Shramek second at WIAA state wrestling
Two wins put Blair-Taylor’s Logan Shramek (182) in the championship match before he ran into a buzz saw and defending state champion.
Shramek received a bye in the first round of the tournament because he won the Westby sectional. He avoided a rematch from the 2019 Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association State Tournament as Ben Strehlow, a 42-10 junior from Weyauwega-Fremont defeated Steven Pfeiffer of Cadott in the first round.
While Shramek lost to Pfeiffer last year, he had no trouble with Strehlow, taking down the W-F wrestler and eventual sixth-place about 30 seconds into the match and pinning him in 1:37.
That set the B-T wrestlers up against Reese Anderson (41-8, Rosholt) in the semifinal. Shramek took the lead with an escape in the second period then turned Anderson to his back for two points in the third before allowing an escape in the final five seconds as he held on for the 3-1 win.
That set Shramek up in a match against Boyceville junior Trett Joles, the defending state champion who also took third two years ago as a freshman.
As the two battled early in the first period, Joles took Shramek down with 36 seconds left. Shramek escaped before the end of the first period.
The B-T wrestler tied the match with another escape six scones into the period, but Joles took him down again less than 20 seconds later. After Shramek got away to make the score 4-3, Joles took him down and this time didn’t let him up, securing the pin with 22 seconds remaining in the second period.
Shramek finished his career with 122 wins and had a fifth-place finish in the 2018 state tournament.
A wrestler looking to build off of his 2019-20 season is Whitehall junior Liam Herrick (220), who advanced to the state tournament as a second seed.
Herrick (34-8) had a tough draw in the tournament, drawing Cole Ebert (47-4) of Reedsville in the opening round. Ebert took Herrick down 30 seconds into the match and pinned him shortly after. Ebert eventually placed fifth in the tournament.
