West Salem second at state tournament

Gale-Ettrick-Trempealeau graduate and former coach Mark Wagner was one half away from bringing a Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association State Championship to West Salem, but the Panthers stumbled in the second half.

Wagner — in his first season as the head coach at West Salem after coaching G-E-T for 17 years — was in position for the Division Three state title as his Panthers led Lake Country Lutheran 31-29 at halftime. LCL scored the first 10 points of the second half to take a 39-31 lead. 

After West Salem scored to cut the lead to six, LCL scored eight straight to take a 47-33 lead with 10 minutes left in the game. 

West Salem got the lead down to six with about five minutes left, but they weren’t able to get any closer, falling 67-56.

This was the third time Wagner has coached in the state tournament and the second time he has come away with a trophy as he led the Red Hawks to a second-place finish in 2012. 

The Panthers advanced to the championship with a 71-61 win over Brillion in the state semifinal round. 

La Crosse Central also brought a silver trophy home to La Crosse County, taking second in Division Two. Central lost to Pewaukee, 67-48, in the championship.

In Division Five, the team that beat the last remaining school in the Times coverage area also took second. Bangor, which topped Blair-Taylor in the sectional semifinal round, fell to Randolph, 65-51, in the state title. The Cardinals beat Hurley, 62-54, in the semifinal round. 

In Division Four, Manitowoc Roncalli beat Milwaukee Academy of Science, 55-45. Neenah won the Division One championship, beating Brookfield Central, 64-52.