State champion wrestler Kren makes history for Regis
· Yahoo Sports
Sophomore Drey Kren accomplished something no Eau Claire Regis wrestler before him had ever done. And no Regis wrestler after him will achieve.
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Win the school’s first state championship.
Kren made history when he captured the Division 2 title at 106 pounds on Feb. 28 at the Kohl Center in Madison. The second-seeded Kren, competing for Regis/Altoona, topped No. 4 seed Madox Mau of Belleville 4-0 in the state title bout.
“It feels good to see all of the hard that I put in pay off,” Kren said late last week. “It is great to be able to accomplish a goal that I set about five years ago.”
Kren was recognized for his state title after he returned to school the following week.
“It is pretty cool,” Kren said of making history. “It is a record that can’t be broken.”
Competing in his first state tournament, Kren received a first round bye before dominating his next bouts by technical fall and major decision to reach the finals on Saturday night.
Kren took charge early in his finals bout against Mau.
“I got a takedown in the first 30 seconds,” he said. “I shot in on a low single and finished for a takedown. I was up 3-0 in the first period and then I rode him out.”
Mau won the coin toss after the first period and deferred. Kren chose down and scored an escape.
Down 4-0, Mau chose the neutral position in the third period but was unable to score against Kren. Kren used strong defense to close out the match and capture the state championship.
“I knew I just had to wrestle my style and do my own stuff,” he said. “I just had to stick to my game plan.”
When the match ended, Kren immediately recognized what he had just done.
“I put my arms out a little bit to celebrate,” he said. “There was a lot of happiness. It felt really good.”
Kren competed on varsity as a prep freshman, but was undersized. He only weighed 95 pounds while competing at the lowest weight class of 106.
“It was tough, wrestling against opponents who were bigger,” he said. “But I grew a little bit before this season and it definitely helped a lot.”
Kren, who finished the season with a 54-2 record, was one of three Regis/Altoona boys wrestlers to place high at state.
Sophomore Jacob Lootans Jr. took second at 150 pounds and freshman Corbyn Weiss was third at 120 pounds.
“Having my teammates there at state helps a lot,” Kren said. “They gave me a lot of support and encouragement.”
Kren hopes to compete in national events in freestyle wrestling this spring and summer.
And he has already set a goal for the next high school season.
“I want to win another state title,” he said.