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Luther High School senior John Poppie at 215 pounds became the fourth state champion in program history Saturday in Madison, beating Cadott senior Alan Yeager 3-1 in overtime in the championship match.

Yeager (45-5) was the one who shot for the takedown in overtime, but Poppie (29-9) was able to maneuver his way around it and show control for the victory with 15 seconds left on the clock. Poppie earned an escape 20 seconds into the third period to forge a 1-1 tie, with the two nullifiying each other the rest of the way to force overtime. Poppie just missed on two takedown opportunities in the second period, and Yeager did the same in the third.

“Yeager worked the edges real well,” Luther head coach Jon Benrud said. “Everytime we shot we couldn't get to him, and he'd just counter and get out-of-bounds. It was truly a match that could've gone either way.”

Poppie tried five 1st-period shots against Yeager, but couldn't convert. Yeager scored his only point when Poppie released him to start the second period.

“I'm better neural than I am at riding,” Poppie, who finished his high school career with a 79-11 record, said. “I thought it would be wiser to do that than to let him possibly get a reversal.“

Poppie advanced to the final by evening his mark over the past two years against Whitehall's Wes Dubiel (40-5) in a 6-4 decision. Poppie's earlier win in the four-match sequence was a 5-1 decision earlier this year, which Dubiel countered with a 9-7 decision.

“We didn't tie up with him this time and we didn't get tired out either,” Benrud said of improvements from the 9-7 loss. “We thought John could beat him if he saw him again.

“We were in better shape and were good with our takedowns. Those were keys all season. When John shot well, he did well.”

Poppie opened with a 6-3 decision over Spring Valley/Elmwood's Cory Lasure. Poppie led the entire match after earning the initial takedown, with an escape-takedown series to start the third period allowing Poppie to take a 5-1 lead.

Poppie wrestled the title match with four stitches above his right eye. Benrud said Poppie was given the option of having the stitches inserted by a trainer at the arena or having the stitches inserted at a local hospital. He opted for the former.

“The close matches he saw at sectionals helped him at state,” Benrud said. “He wrestled smart and stayed away from bad spots.”

Poppie, who will attend and attempt to continue in wrestling at UW-La Crosse, joins 2000 grad Stephan Pingel, 1997 grad Jared Benrud and Eric Moll as the lone state champions in program history. Luther's previous three champions came in WISAA. Benrud is Jon Benrud's son and the head coach at Central after competing in college at UW-Eau Claire.

“Jared and he are very similar wrestlers,” Benrud said of Poppie and his son. “Eric and Stephan were smaller and more finesse-type guys.

“Jared and John each worked hard on a lot of strength and conditioning stuff. They're both good leaders. They both have a lot of determination and dedication.”

Among the assistants who helped Poppie on his path to the title were John “Boomer” Thumann, Pete Peterson and Curt Mach. Poppie was able to share his semifinal win with his brother Ron, who is serving his second tour of duty in Iraq,

La Crosse Tribune prep sports coordinator Todd Sommerfeldt contributed to this article.