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 Without question, the most dramatic championship match of the WIAA Team Wrestling State Tournament was the back-and-forth affair between No. 1 Stratford and No. 2 Fennimore for the Division 3 title.

A pin from Brody Lee (106) in the final match of the dual lifted Fennimore to a 31-24 victory over the two-time returning state champions Saturday afternoon at the UW Field House in Madison.

The Golden Eagles, having won seven of the thirteen bouts leading up to the finale at 106 pounds, were clinging to a 25-24 lead when Lee took to the mat in a winner-take-all scenario.

The two-time state qualifier delivered with a pin in the second period to give Fennimore its first state title since 2016 and second championship in program history.

It was the Tigers that got out to the early lead thanks to a pair of decisions from Gavin Drexler (113) and Manny Drexler (120).

Alex Birchman knotted the score at six apiece with a pin at 126.

Stratford regained the lead at 11-6 thanks to a tech fall from Max Schwabe at 132 pounds.

A pair of decisions form Aidan Nutter (138) and Trevor Wanek (145) helped Fennimore move back in front by a count of 12-11.

The two teams traded victories in the four bouts from 152-182.

A key moment in that sequence was the 160-pound matchup between Fennimore’s Maguire Fitzgerald and Stratford’s Derek Marten.

Marten, who placed fourth in D3 at 152 at the individual state tournament last weekend, bumped up a weight class to take on Fitzgerald who qualified for Individual State but did not place.

Fitzgerald kept Marten at bay and earned a crucial 3-0 decision.

The Golden Eagles ultimately took the lead for good courtesy of a 12-8 decision from Logan Klaas (195). That victory gave Fennimore a 22-21 advantage.

Though the Golden Eagles won four of the final five bouts, a decision from Dylan Schoenherr at 285 put Stratford within one heading to the final match of the afternoon.

That’s where Lee’s heroics secured the match for Fennimore once and for all.

Both of Fennimore’s state championship have come via victories over Stratford in the title dual. Conversely, both of Stratford’s state championships have come with wins over Fennimore in the championship tilt.

The Golden Eagles end the season with a spotless 11-0 record.

With the loss, Stratford ends its campaign with a 24-2 mark. The Tigers now have two state runner-up finishes to go along with a pair of state titles in the past four seasons.

No. 2 Fennimore 31, No. 1 Stratford 24

113: Gavin Drexler (S) dec. Luke Blair, 7-3

120: Manny Drexler (S) dec. Mason Lull, 4-3

126: Alex Birchman (F) p. Dillon Kirsch, 1:29

132: Max Schwabe (S) tf. Kohl Wardell, 16-0

138: Aidan Nutter (F) dec. Jacob Heiden, 10-4

145: Trevor Wanek (F) dec. Mavrick Licciardi, 11-5

152: Devin Dennee (S) maj. dec. Nick Blaschke, 14-0

160: Maguire Fitzgerald (F) dec. Derek Marten, 3-0

170: Trevor Dennee (S) p. Atai Berdaliev, 1:06

182: Will Ahnen (F) maj. dec. Hunter Ford, 10-2

195: Logan Klaas (F) dec. Jediah Knetter, 12-8

220: Aaron Ragels (F) dec. Trevor Steiner, 9-4

285: Dylan Schoenherr (S) dec. Brayden Leffler, 7-0

106: Brody Lee (F) p. Logan Gaulke, 2:52