By Joe Shinners Madison – This was what West Allis Central wrestling coach Jason Stromberg wanted to see from his team. Emotional wrestling. Wrestling like the whole season came down to this weekend. That’s what Stromberg saw from the Bulldogs as the defeated the Franklin Sabers, 42-12, in the Division 1 quarterfinals Friday night in at the state team tournament at the UW-Fieldhouse. The starting weight was 125 pounds. Central (27-5) advanced to a semifinal against Milton (20-1) at 9 a.m. Saturday. In the other D1 final, defending champion Wisconsin Rapids (25-3) is to face Kaukauna (19-2). The semifinals in divisions 2 and 3 are at 1 p.m. The finals in all three divisions are at 6 p.m. “We had more big wins up and down the lineup than I can think of,” said Stromberg, whose team had six wrestlers finish third at the individual sectionals and only two wrestlers qualify for the individual state tournament. “I’m very happy with the way we wrestled tonight. I didn’t know what to expect tonight. They were pretty down after sectionals.” Franklin (16-5) won the first three matches and built a 9-0 lead. But Central responded by winning 11 of the final 12 matches, posted three pins and knocked of three of Franklin’s state qualifiers in the process. Four of Central’s six seniors also posted victories in tight matches as the Bulldogs won their first dual at the state team tournament in their second appearance. “I’m proud of my seniors,” said Stromberg. “It feels nice getting here. It feels pretty good to get one down here.” Franklin coach Louis Brown didn’t have any excuses after the loss. “There’s not much I can say,” said Brown. “That was the worst we wrestled all year. Give them credit. They wrestled well. Good luck tomorrow. But I told my guys that I was embarrassed. It seemed like some of the guys wrestled not to lose instead of to win.” Central and Stromberg were just happy to be moving on. “I don’t know anything about Milton,” said Stromberg. “It just feels good.” Milton 35, Muskego 31: Musekgo went from the verge of an upset victory at the state team tournament to heartbreak in the final match of the dual. Milton sophomore Landon Shea, a state qualifier a week at 119, sealed the victory for Milton when he upset Muskego sophomore Justin Scherkenbach, a state runner-up at 112 a week ago, by a 5-3 decision at 119. The dual was much tighter than many expected. Both teams won seven matches and posted three pins. Milton also had a forfeit when Muskego forfeited at 189 to try and get more points and put the dual in Scherkenbach’s hands. It just didn’t work out as Shea wrestled an inspired match and took down Sherkenbach twice in the match and didn’t relinquish one as Milton’s 32-31 lead held up with his victory. “We thought we were in the driver’s seat at that point,” said Muskego coach Ted Price. “But that’s not a huge upset. Shea’s a good wrestler.” What irked Price was his belief that Milton wrestlers were allowed to stall by running backward in several other matches. “There were a lot of matches where I thought the officials didn’t make the calls,” Price said. “I’m disappointed. I know it’s spring, but I didn’t know track season started already.” Milton coach Pat Jauch wasn’t praising his team after the victory. “It never should have been that close,” said Jauch. “We had kids rolling over and getting pinned. That’s not how we wrestle. We’re a better program than that. Still, it’s a big step for the program to get here and start winning again.” Kaukauna 49, Holmen 16: The Galloping Ghosts, ranked No. 2 in the state, won 10 of 14 matches, posted two technical falls and posted five pins in a rout of the Vikings (10-3). Kaukauna hasn’t faced Rapids this year. Kaukauna lost in 2005 (35-13) in the first round at state. Kaukauna also lost the D1 final to Rapids in 2003 (40-18). Wisconsin Rapids 33, Wausau West 18: The Red Raiders won nine of 14 matches, but were challenged by the Warriors (25-5). Earlier this year, Rapids beat West by a 44-12 score. West’s five victories were the most by a Wisconsin team against Rapids this year. Rapids had three pins and won seven matches by decision as West kept the match close but didn’t stop Rapids, the defending champions, from advancing in its quest for a 19th state title overall. Go Back to the Home Page Read More Articles by Joe../../../../Joeshinners.com.html../../../08-09_Articles.htmlshapeimage_3_link_0shapeimage_3_link_1