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It seems only fitting that, arguably, the most dominant team in the state of Wisconsin had the most decisive victory in the WIAA Team State Wrestling finals.

Top-seeded Stratford won 11 of 14 bouts en route to a 45-13 win over No. 2 Fennimore in the Division 3 state championship match Saturday evening at the UW Field House.

This year marked the third consecutive season the Tigers and Golden Eagles have met in the D3 championship match.

Fennimore won the first meeting 27-26 back in 2016. Stratford took last year’s edition 49-13.

“I’m very happy, very excited. We know they (Fennimore) are good. I’ve been nervous all year knowing that we had to go against these guys,” Tigers head coach Joe Schwabe said. “I know they are physical. I know they are aggressive. They come out throwing and launching. It’s kind of scary because they can score at any time on us.

“Our kids wrestled smart, stayed underneath where they couldn’t get thrown and did what they had to do and kind of weathered the storm.”

Trevor Denne got Stratford rolling with a major decision in the dual’s first match.

Fennimore got on the board in the next bout thanks to Trevor Neuroth’s win by decision. That put the Golden Eagles’ deficit at one, the smallest it would be the remainder of the day.

The Tigers went on to win the next four matches, including a pivotal pin from Hector Rojas at 285 pounds.

“Hector Rojas coming out at heavyweight and getting the pin when he was on his back earlier was kind of a momentum swing for us and kind of a killer for them,” Schwabe said. “It kind of ended the match.”

Rojas, a senior, has come a long way in his high school career. Not long ago, he was buried on the depth chart. Saturday, he was a key part in swinging the momentum Stratford’s way in the state championship dual.

“What a neat kid. He was third string, maybe, last year, fourth string if you will. Stayed out, battled, took his turn,” said Schwabe. “He got beat out earlier in the year, wasn’t even a starter. Earned his spot back and never looked back. He works hard and does what we ask of him. What a nice way for him and his team to end that way. “

Mason Lull managed to stop the bleeding for Fennimore with a major decision at 113 pounds. However, his team still trailed 20-7.

Though Stratford remained firmly in control, Schwabe refused to let his guard down.

“Well two years ago we lost in a tie and that broke a guy’s heart. Last year we had a really good team where we lost some seniors, so you don’t really know what to expect coming back here. We lost probably more than they did,” Schwabe said.

But, as they have all season, the Tigers quickly put their coach’s mind at ease and finished the deal.

Stratford won six of the final seven bouts to polish off the sound victory.

“As soon as we had it wrapped up, it was kind of a sigh of relief,” said Schwabe.

From the onset of the season, Stratford was the No. 1 team in Wisconsin Wrestling Online’s Division 3 Team Rankings. The Tigers also spent time in the InterMat Fab 50 national high school rankings.

Earlier in the day, the Tigers trounced previously undefeated Saint Croix Falls 47-12 in the semifinals.

Stratford ends the year 22-0. The impressive campaign included wins over D1 state champion Stoughton as well as Team State qualifiers, Slinger and GET/Melrose-Mindoro.

Stratford 45, Fennimore 13

170: Trevor Dennee (S) maj. dec. Tyler Klaas, 12-1

182: Trevor Neuroth (F) dec. Kade Ehrike, 6-5

195: Aiden Hoffman (S) dec. Logan Klaas, 11-6

220: Hector Rojas (S) p. Cameron Allen, 4:29

285: Dylan Schoenherr (S) maj. dec. Brayden Leffler, 11-0

106: Manny Drexler (S) dec. Brody Lee, 6-4

113: Mason Lull (F) maj. dec. Karter Stuttgen, 15-3

120: Max Schwabe (S) maj. dec. Alex Birchman, 11-3

126: AJ Schoenfuss (S) p. Aidan Nutter, 1:16

132: Trevor Wanek (F) p. Derek Kraus, :30

138: Derek Marten (S) p. Taggan Gommel, 1:22

145: Jeremy Schoenherr (S) dec. Riley Blair, 9-5

152: Jake Drexler (S) dec. Maguire Fitzgerald, 5-3

160: Jordan Becker (S) dec. Will Ahnen, 5-3