Shawano Leader Sports Headlines

Chiefs play near-perfect game as Bears’ season ends, 57-45By: 

Gary Seymour, [email protected]

There was no springing up in bed in a cold sweat, gathering your wits and waiting for the heart to stop pounding.

This nightmare was real.

One of the most successful high school girls basketball seasons ever at Bonduel ground to a gloomy halt Saturday night, as the Bears ran into a Shiocton club that coupled a near-flawless performance with a sub-par Bonduel showing en route to a 57-45 upset win in a WIAA Division 3 regional final.

Bad bounces, missed free throws and the general solid play of the visiting Chiefs (14-10) ruled the night as the Bears, who finished 22-2, could never get untracked.

“I guess we picked a really bad night to have a bad night,” Bonduel senior guard Deanna Zernicke said.

Zernicke very nearly took her place in the spotlight as the Bears’ hero du jour. She scored all 13 of her points in the fourth quarter on a free throw and four 3-pointers, one of which brought Bonduel back to within one point after the Bears had trailed by nine minutes earlier.

But as was the case throughout the second half as the Chiefs slowly built their lead, Bonduel could only come close. The normally sharpshooting Bears hit an unremarkable 17 of 34 from the free throw line while Shiocton, who four times this season shot less than 25 percent from the stripe in losing efforts, made 30 of 44, including 22 of 33 in the fourth quarter.

“Give Shiocton credit,” Bonduel coach Missy Dowden said. “Their defense frustrated us. They had a great game plan and played a heck of a game.”

After winning by a point in double-overtime in a Friday regional semifinal, Shiocton coach Rob Hendrickson opted to take the air out of the ball on offense to preserve his team’s energy.

“Our plan was to take 45 seconds to one minute before we took a shot,” he said. “Otherwise, our legs wouldn’t be there. We didn’t want to be playing defense against them any longer than we had to. They’re such a talented, well-coached team.

“I thought (Zernicke) had an outstanding game. She’s the glue that holds that team together. Their big girls are really tough, too. This is such a huge win for us. I’ve only been here two years, but this is our biggest win ever.”

Taylor Weier hit a bucket with :02 left in the first half to bring Bonduel to within 21-20 at intermission, but the Chiefs’ deliberate attack coupled with the cold front that drifted onto the Bears’ half of the court in the third quarter gave Shiocton the opening it needed.

A basket by Emily Sorenson and a free throw by Jen Dowden (13 points, eight rebounds) were the only points the Bears would muster in that period, as Shiocton’s lead grew to 31-23.

It was 32-23 when Zernicke went off, bookending a pair of all-net treys from the left wing around a free throw, and then drilling another 3-pointer with 4:56 left that brought the Bears to within 34-33.

That was as close as Bonduel would come, though, as Shiocton’s Carmen McCarthy (19 points), Carrie McCarthy (nine points), Tina Ubl (11 points) and Jackie Korth (eight points) kept the Bears at arm’s length the rest of the way with foul shots and short jumpers after the Chiefs had solved Bonduel’s full-court pressure.

It was a difficult loss to swallow for the Bears, who tasted defeat on their home court for the first time this season, but their coach and players were able to glean some perspective on a memorable season.

“At every practice the girls were out there working hard, very receptive to what we were doing, and to any new things we put into our offense or defense,” Missy Dowden said. “I got to coach my daughter, and two of her best friends. But all of us, the whole team, we really did become like a family. It was a pleasure to coach them all year. It was fun.”

Shiocton 7 14 10 26 - 57

Bonduel 7 13 3 22 - 45

Shiocton - Morack 0 2-2 2, Carm. McCarthy 4 11-14 19, Schmidt 1 0-4 2, Carr. McCarthy 1 7-10 9, Elliott 0 0-2 0, Korth 3 1-2 8, Moder 0 4-8 4, D. Stelter 1 0-1 2, Ubl 3 5-6 11.

Bonduel - Collier 0 0-1 0, H.Sorenson 0 1-4 1, E. Sorenson 1 0-2 2, Dowden 2 9-16 13, Reinke 3 1-2 7, Weier 1 5-6 7, Pedersen 1 0-1 2, Zernicke 4 1-2 13.

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Tauchen, Sokolski each suffer loss FridayBy: 

Troy A. Bruzewski Leader Correspondent

Photo by Above the Fold Media Bonduel High School senior Dan Tauchen has hold of Jared Roen, of Riverdale, during a semifinal match in the WIAA Division 2 state tournament Friday. Tauchen lost to Roen by a 5-0 decision but will still head to Saturday’s meet in the consolation bracket.

Bonduel will have two wrestlers still competing in the WIAA Division 2 state tournament’s final day.

Neither is sporting an undefeated record, though.

Bonduel was provided a victory in the 160-pound class by Dan Tauchen (43-3), who drew an opening-round bye. He pinned Zach Stluka (North Crawford/Seneca) in 3 minutes, 43 seconds in the quarterfinal. However, he was defeated in a 5-0 decision by Jared Roen (Riverdale) in the semifinal, sending him to the consolation bracket. Tauchen wrestles again Saturday.

Mitch Sokolski (40-11, 170 pounds) started his day with a loss in the semifinal, dropping a 10-5 decision to Luke Nowak (Iowa-Grant/Highland). He recovered in the consolation round, winning a 7-0 decision over Alex Stodola (Coleman) and advancing to a Saturday morning match.

After winning his first-round match at 106 pounds, Jordan Boldt (39-7) was defeated twice during Friday’s matches. Austin Wolfe (Boyceville) sent Boldt to the consolation bracket with a 6-0 decision over him in the quarterfinal. Boldt’s state final concluded in his following match, against Riley Blair (Fennimore), which ended in a 7-0 decision.

Garrett Siolka (42-9, 126 pounds) also suffered two defeats, dropping a technical fall to Kal Gerber (Cameron) in the quarterfinal and a major decision to Elton Kelsey (Oconto).

Matches against Wittenberg-Birnamwood’s August Peplinski in the WIAA Division 2 state finals have provided little for opponents to feel good about, as Peplinski has won his first two matches by shutout. So the wrestler who scored two points against him should feel somewhat accomplished.

Peplinski (50-1) propelled to Saturday’s 195-pound division with a 5-2 win over Brady Wetter (Dodgeville) in the semifinal, creating an interesting matchup for the title. Peplinski will face Ramsey Bloy (Freedom) for the title.

Alex Peplinski (45-5) nearly joined August in the finals of the 170 division, but was defeated in a close semifinal match. He scored the first point of the match against Tony Britton (Luck/Frederic) and held a 3-1 lead to close the second period.

However, Britton scored the next five points and finished with a 6-4 win over the Wittenberg-Birnamwood wrestler. He will face Brandon Bueschler (Wrightstown) in a morning match for the consolation bracket.

Zach Urquhart (34-13, 126 pounds) dropped his quarterfinal match to Hunter Marko (Amery) at 3 minutes, 43 seconds, then lost to Ryan McGinnes (Sheboygan Falls) in the consolation round in 3 minutes, 20 seconds.

“Zach is out of the tournament, but just getting to this day, I’m happy,” Witt-Birn coach Troy Ostrowski said.

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Bears stifle Amherst, advance to finalBy: 

Gary Seymour, [email protected]

Photo by Brad Luepke Bonduel High School senior guard Lexi Reinke drives past Amherst’s Kendra Dombrowski for two of her 11 points in Bonduel's 55-38 WIAA Division 4 regional semifinal win.
Photo by Brad Luepke Bonduel High School sophomore guard Kailee Pederson, right, puts the defensive clamps on Kelsey Holderman, of Amherst, Friday night during Bonduel's 55-38 WIAA Division 4 regional semifinal win at Bonduel.

In the lead-up to Friday night’s WIAA Division 4 regional semifinal, coach Missy Dowden imparted some basketball wisdom that perplexed her Bonduel High School team.

Dowden reminded her Bears, the top seed in the region, to take their time running their offense because teams generally don’t like to play defense. The confusion registered on the players’ faces said it all: But we like defense.

Throughout their 22-1 season, Dowden and her Bears have known that if the offense calls in sick, takes a personal day, or even just shows up a little late, as it did against Amherst, it’s all good when you have a shutdown defense in tow.

The Bears recovered quickly from a sluggish opening to bounce the visiting Falcons from the postseason, winning a 55-38 regional semifinal that was nowhere near as close as the final score reflects.

“Having that (first-round) bye is nice,” Dowden said, “but it’s also a hindrance. We didn’t play a game for a week, so it was like a Christmas break. I think it’s such a big hype, to get into the regionals and start playing. We just had to settle down a little bit. Once we settled down, we were fine.”

Nerves and rust were evident on both sides over the first five minutes of the game, when the Bears inched ahead 7-6 on a 3-pointer by Deanna Zernicke, but once they found their bearings it was a quick night for Amherst (10-14), a Central Wisconsin-8 club that lost to Bonduel for the third time.

Senior center Jen Dowden distinguished herself again as an irresistible force, pulling down eight rebounds and rolling in a team-high 13 points that included three from beyond the 3-point arc.

“We knew it would be a tough game, like it was the other two times against them,” she said. “But we also felt confident. We have a lot of fun on defense — we anticipate well and switch well. We’re playing together; I think we’re playing our best ball right now.”

Sophomore Emily Sorenson came off the bench and provided a big spark, netting 10 points and making three steals that helped the Bears pull away to a 28-10 halftime lead.

“That’s what I’m supposed to do when I’m in there, hustle and try to make something happen on defense,” Sorenson said. “Coach is always telling us to anticipate the passes and cut into the passing lanes.”

Bonduel got an early second-half scare when senior guard Lexi Reinke (11 points) banged the top of her right knee in a collision near midcourt. Reinke, whom Amherst coach Gregg Jensen singled out as the player who hurt them most in all three meetings, was not seriously injured.

“Just a charley horse,” she said.

Kailee Pedersen had eight points and Hayley Sorenson had two steals for Bonduel, which can clinch the regional title tonight with a win over visiting Shiocton (14-9), a 49-48 winner over Iola-Scandinavia in the other regional semifinal. Bonduel, 15-0 at home this year, has beaten Shiocton twice this season, by 16 and 15 points.

“It’s nice that we’re playing at home again,” Missy Dowden said. “We told our players at halftime, ‘This is your court. You’ve earned this, now go take care of it.’”

Amherst 6 4 4 22 — 38

Bonduel 10 18 14 13 — 55

Amherst (38)

Gliszinski 3 0-0 6, Glennon 0 2-5 2, S. Dombrowski 1 0-0 3, K. Dombrowski 5 7-7 17, B. Dombrowski 1 0-0 2, Pearson 3 2-4 8.

Bonduel (55)

Collier 1 0-0 2, H. Sorenson 1 0-0 2, E. Sorenson 5 0-1 10, Dowden 5 0-0 13, Reinke 3 3-4 11, Weier 1 2-4 4, Pedersen 3 0-0 8, Zernicke 2 0-0 5.

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Jensen scores 7 in 65-19 lossBy: 

Jason Arndt, [email protected]

The Gresham Community High School girls basketball team ran into a buzz saw in the second round of the WIAA Division 5 regional matchup Friday at Gillett, dropping a 65-19 verdict that ended Gresham's season.

Gillett ran off 17 straight points in the first half before Gresham sophomore Sydney Jensen’s back-to-back buckets reduced the deficit to 29-9. Gillett continued to widen the lead in the second quarter. Freshman Taylor Yonker scored six points, including a 3-pointer, to put Gillett ahead 35-9 at intermission. The Tigers continued their domination in the second half, including a 12-0 scoring edge in the fourth quarter.

Yonker drained five 3-pointers and scored a game-high 20 points.

Gresham coach Nick Yaeger knew it would be difficult to stay with Gillett (17-7, 13-3 Marinette & Oconto Conference), which finished second in its conference.

“Gillett is a really good team,” Yeager said. “You’ve got to give them credit, they came out on fire and made their shots.

“I told my team after this that you can’t define your season on this game alone. We won a regional game and got this far, and that’s something to build off of for the future.”

Yeager cited Jensen, who scored a team-leading seven points for Gresham (6-18, 1-17 Central Wisconsin Conference-10), as one of the bright spots for the future of the program. She entered the game averaging 12.3 points per game.

“I am glad that she is only a sophomore and coming back for a couple more years,” Yeager said. “She grew leaps and bounds.”

Jensen agreed that the Wildcats have plenty to look forward to next year.

“We just have a young team and we had a really good season, and we need to focus on the next season now,” Jensen said. “I feel like I have more to work on and I did as much as I could.”

Gillett coach Justin Daul said his team felt the rhythm from the start of the game, when senior Taylor Kohls pitched in the Tigers’ first four points.

“We just had it tonight,” Daul said. “The shots were just going in.”

Gresham (19)

Jensen 3 1-2 7, Arndt 2 0-0 4, Stehberger 1 0-2 2, Creapeau 0 1-2 1, Hoffman 1 0-0 2, Davids 1 1-2 3

Gillett (65)

Balthazor 2 0-0 4, Kohls 3 4-6 10, Wolfe 1 4-5 6, Yonker 6 3-4 20, Francois 1 0-0 2, Breed 1 1-2 3, A. Loberger 1 0-0 2, Schaal 1 0-0 2, V. Loberger 6 2-4 14.

Gresham 5 4 10 0 — 19

Gillett 22 13 18 12 — 65

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GIRLS BASKETBALL

Hortonville 70

Shawano 37

Courtney Vomastic had eight points, Megan Klitzke scored seven and Briana Boda added six for the Hawks (10-14), whose season ended at the hands of the state’s No. 3-ranked team in Division 2. Hortonville improved to 20-3 with the win.

“They’re a good team,” Shawano coach Ryan Koenig said. “Their defensive intensity got after us a little. But the positives were abundant for us this season. It was a really special group — everyone had such a strong commitment to what we’re doing. Their accomplishments were endless.”

Among the myriad achievements for the Hawks was their first double-digit win season since 1999, and their first postseason victory in 15 years.

“We’re losing three great seniors (Vomastic, Boda, Courtney Ainsworth), but this group really set the bar for the program,” Koenig said. “They made a statement — they all bought into what we’re doing here. The next class can build on what we’ve started here. We can hold our heads up.”

Witt-Birn 50

Clintonville 25

Micah Nier scored a game-high 18 points en route to a Chargers 50-25 WIAA Division 3 regional victory against visiting Clintonville.

Wittenberg-Birnamwood (21-2, 12-2 Central Wisconsin-8) widened its 20-11 lead entering the second half, outscoring the Truckers 30-14.

The Chargers also got 10 points and four rebounds from Siri Zeinert.

Clintonville (10-14, 8-8 Eastern Valley Conference) was led by Caitlin Carpenter’s nine points. The Truckers’ leading scorer during the regular season, Autumn Voigt, was held to four points.

Wittenberg-Birnamwood will host Marinette and Oconto Conference champion Peshtigo (20-3, 16-0 M&O) Saturday at 7 p.m.

Crandon 50

Menominee Indian 48

The Eagles’ stellar season came to a halt despite 16 points from center Ania Smith. Erin Wynos added 15 for Menominee Indian, which finished 16-4.

Crandon (18-6) was led by Amira Erdmann’s 13 points.

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Hawks hammer Denmark on Senior NightBy: 

Gary Seymour, [email protected]

Photo by Jen Kuhn Shawano Community High School senior center Zeke Gueths goes up for two of his game-high 18 points Thursday night during the Hawks’ regular season finale, a 56-40 win over visiting Bay Conference opponent Denmark.
Photo by Jen Kuhn Shawano Community High School senior guard Sajen Knueppel scored 13 points Thursday in his last regular-season game, which the Hawks won 56-40 over visiting Bay Conference opponent Denmark.

After a season marred by question marks, Sajen Knueppel had not only the last word in Shawano Community High School’s regular season finale, but also the exclamation point that came after it.

Knueppel missed much of the Hawks’ outstanding regular season with a torn right quadricep he suffered in the fourth game of the season but was in fine fettle for Thursday night’s 56-40 Bay Conference win over Denmark.

He scored six of his 13 points in the final half-minute, all on breakaways, and saved the best for last — a thundering dunk as time ran out that drove an already jacked crowd wild.

“To be honest, I was trying to go for (the slam) all three times, but I just didn’t have position until that last one,” Knueppel said. “It’s been a rough year for me, coming off the injury, but tonight was very satisfying. It was a good way to finish.”

It was gratifying on a number of levels, the main of which was how the Hawks (17-5, 11-5 Bay Conference) clicked as a unit heading into next week’s regional action.

Shawano coach Chris Kellett started five seniors who normally come off the bench — Knueppel, Noah Bell, Theodore Mickelson, Cole Reuter and Cole Huntington — and that quintet responded by holding the Vikings (8-14, 7-9) to two points over the first six minutes of the game.

When the time came to bring on the regulars, it was a familiar story — senior point guard Zach Sousek turned in another outstanding floor game running the offense, and senior center Zeke Gueths (game-high 18 points) was almost unstoppable underneath.

“We’re starting to jell as a team,” said Sousek, whose deft ballhandling set up multiple easy buckets for Gueths. “We know to get it inside to Zeke — he’s got the big body, he’s smart and he can shoot.”

“Zach is a phenomenal point guard, probably the best in the league,” Kellett said.

Shawano, which led 12-3 after the first quarter and 33-14 at half, was never seriously threatened down the stretch, which gave Kellett an opportunity to send his upperclassmen out for a final run in the waning minutes.

“Senior Night is always special,” Kellett said. “For Sajen to finish it like he did will be something he’ll remember for a long time. But all of the seniors who we started played well. To hold them to two points for as long as they did … their defense set the tempo for us tonight.”

Shawano, by virtue of its No. 1 regional seed, has a first-round bye before playing at home March 6 against the winner of Tuesday’s Waupaca-New London tilt.

“Our goal all year is to be playing our best by the end of the season,” Kellett said. “We have to keep working, but we’re getting to where we want to be.”

Denmark (40)

Deprey 2 1-1 5, Umentum 4 3-3 13, Brunner 0 1-2 1, Rabas 3 0-0 6, Derricks 1 2-2 5, Bonlander 0 5-6 5, Pelischek 1 0-0 2, Collins 1 1-2 3.

Shawano (56)

Reuter 0 3-5 3, Mickelson 2 0-0 6, Knueppel 5 3-3 13, Mueller 1 1-2 3, Huntington 0 1-2 1, Sousek 0 2-2 2, Bell 1 0-0 2, Carl 1 1-2 4, Hintz 2 0-0 4, Gueths 7 3-3 18.

Denmark 3 11 13 13 — 40

Shawano 12 21 6 17 — 56

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Two Witt-Birn wrestlers also advanceBy: 

Troy A. Bruzewski Leader Correspondent

Photo by Above The Fold Media Bonduel High School 170-pounder Mitch Sokolski gets the upper hand on Aaron Huber, of Martin Luther, during Thursday’s Division 3 state wrestling tournament. Sokolski advanced with a pin at 1:48 of the match.
Photo by Above The Fold Media Wittenberg-Birnamwood High School 126-pounder Zach Urquhart wrestles Isaac Brook, of Cedar Grove-Belgium, Thursday at the state tournament in Madison. Urquhart won a 7-3 decision to advance to the next round.

Bonduel High School will enter day two of the WIAA Individual Wrestling Championship Tournament in Madison with four of its five wrestlers still in the running for state titles.

The Bears qualified five wrestlers for the Division 3 state finals, with four opening their tourney run Thursday at the Kohl Center.

Dan Tauchen drew a first-round bye in the 160-pound division, guaranteeing at least one team member would wrestle on Friday. However, three Bonduel wrestlers will join him after winning their first-round matches Thursday.

Jordan Boldt (106, 39-5) earned a 8-5 victory over Lucas Schevikhoven, of Shoreland Lutheran. Boldt will wrestle Austin Wolfe, of Boyceville, Friday morning.

Garrett Siolka (126, 42-7) also advanced, winning his match against Cesar Luis, of Random Lake, in a 9-3 decision. He will wrestle Kal Gerber, of Cameron, in the second round.

Mitch Sokolski (170, 39-10) was the third Bonduel wrestler to advance. Sokolski needed just 1:48 to pin Aaron Huber, of Martin Luther, and will face Luke Nowak, of Iowa-Grant/Highland, in the second round.

Bonduel was tripped up only in the 138-pound division, where Travis Wollenberg (32-13) lost a 3-2 decision to Jacob Erbe, of Arcadia, in the opening round.

Bonduel coach Chris Rank said having four of the team’s five wrestlers still around meant a successful opening day.

“We’re very pleased with the outcome, with three guys advancing,” he said. “Our first objective is trying to get all our athletes on the podium, and that first round is very crucial. You win that, you’re wrestling Friday and we’d like to get a few guys through to Saturday.”

Two Bonduel rivals from the Central Wisconsin Conference-8 also advanced Thursday.

Wittenberg-Birnamwood’s Zach Urquhart (126, 35-11) posted a 7-3 decision over Isaac Brock, of Cedar Grove-Belgium, in the first round. He will be joined by teammate August Peplinski (195, 49-1), who defeated Corwin Deetz, of Rice Lake, in a 1-0 decision.

Urquhart faces Hunter Marko, of Amery, Friday, while Peplinski faces Duncan Calnin, of Chilton-Hilbert.

Witt-Birn’s Alex Peplinski had a first-round bye in the 170-pound class and wrestles Friday against Tristen Mueller, of Ellsworth.

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Contributed Photo The Families Helping Families All-Tournament team was, from left, Destiny Reindl, Shawano, Salena O’Kimosh, Shawano, Serenity Corona, Gillett B, Abby Petersen, Gillett B, Karissa Schaal, Gillett A, Emily Umentum, Gillett A, Stephanie Frappy, St. Paul Bonduel, and Halea Sporisky, St. Paul Bonduel.

The Shawano Hawks sixth-grade girls basketball team brought home the championship Feb. 21 at the Families Helping Families Tournament.

Proceeds from the tourney, which included two teams from Gillett, one from Shawano and one from St. Paul Lutheran, Bonduel, went to benefit Josie Anvelink, of Bonduel, who is battling juvenile dermatomyositis, an autoimmune disease affecting approximately three in every million children per year.

At the conclusion of the tournament and in a show of solidarity, all four teams opted to take a group photo with Josie rather than having one team pose in the winner’s circle.

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Bonduel's Tauchen gets No. 2 seedBy: 

Gary Seymour, [email protected]

As if it wasn’t intense enough at the sectionals, the competition gets even more fierce this weekend for eight area wrestlers seeking to make their mark at the 72nd annual WIAA Individual Wrestling Championship Tournament.

Bonduel sends five athletes to the Division 3 tourney, including 160-pound sectional champion Dan Tauchen, who might have to unseat a former state champ to get to the top step of the podium.

Tauchen (42-2), who by virtue of his sectional title drew a first-round bye, could face Jared Roen, of Riverdale, in his second match. Roen (39-3) won the state championship at 145 pounds last year before moving up two weight classes this season.

Roen, who does not have a first-round bye, must defeat Ryan Shmauz (34-10), of Horicon, and then Jed Schlegel (40-3), of Spring Valley/Elmwood, to earn a possible showdown with Tauchen, whose first-round opponent Friday morning is the winner of the match between Mishicot’s Weston Paplham (14-11) and Zach Stluka (37-8), of North Crawford/Seneca.

Bonduel’s Jordan Boldt (38-5) meets Lucas Schevikhoven (39-6), of Shoreland Lutheran, in a 106-pound match Thursday evening, with Boyceville’s Austin Wolfe (38-4) awaiting in the second round.

In the 138-pound class, a win Thursday night for the Bears’ Travis Wollenberg (32-12) over first-round foe Jacob Erbe (42-5), of Arcadia, would earn him a second-round match Friday with another 40-plus winner, Mishicot’s Weston Cracraft (43-2).

Bonduel’s Garrett Siolka (41-7) is among the 126-pound wrestlers standing between Cameron’s Kal Gerber and a third state title. Gerber won the crown in 2013 at 113 pounds and took the title last year at 120. He moved up to 126 this year, where he has posted a 42-0 mark.

If Siolka wins his Thursday opening match against Cesar Luis (27-12), of Random Lake, he would meet Gerber in his next match, on Friday morning. Gerber and sophomore Mason Kauffman (46-0), of Stratford, are among four undefeated wrestlers in Division 3. Should they both keep winning, Siolka would meet Kauffman in the 126-pound final.

The 170-pound class will present some tough tests for Bonduel qualifier Mitch Sokolski (38-10), beginning with his opening-round match Thursday against Martin Luther’s Aaron Huber (27-13). Two former state champions will be competing in the bracket. Senior Luke Nowak, of Iowa-Grant/Highland, won the title last year at 160, and has posted a 43-4 mark this season at 170. Senior Devin Lemanski (38-0), of Edgar, won the title at 126 pounds in 2013, then finished sixth last year at 145 before moving up another three weight classes this season. Sokolski would wrestle Nowak in the second round if he defeats Huber.

In Division 2, Wittenberg-Birnamwood’s 126-pounder Zach Urquhart (34-11) must contend with a multiple state champion in his bracket. Junior Hunter Marko (37-1), of Amery, won the 2013 title at 106 and took home the crown last year at 113 before moving up to 126 this season. Urquhart, whose first-round match is Thursday evening against Isaac Brockman (44-4), of Cedar Grove-Belgium, would face Marko in the second round.

At 195 pounds, Witt-Birn’s August Peplinski (48-1), who fell from the ranks of the unbeaten at the Oconto Falls Sectional, meets Corwin Deetz (40-5), of Rice Lake, in the opening round Thursday.

On Friday morning, 170-pound Alex Peplinski (45-4) goes against the winner of a first-round match between Sparta’s Logan VanTassel (38-11) and Tristen Mueller (21-3), of Ellsworth.

Division 2 and 3 preliminaries begin at 7:15 p.m. Thursday at the Kohl Center on the University of Wisconsin campus in Madison. Quarterfinals are scheduled to begin about 11:15 a.m. and semifinals 7 p.m. Friday, with the championship matches beginning at 6 p.m. Saturday.

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Bonduel boys get 3 seed, face Manawa on TuesdayBy: 

Leader Staff

The Shawano Community High School boys basketball team will spend the first day of the WIAA Division 2 state playoffs watching film and practicing, thanks to the No. 1 seed the Hawks drew in their sectional bracket.

Shawano (16-5) will play at 7 p.m. March 6, hosting the winner of the Tuesday feed-in game between Waupaca (6-15) and New London (5-16). The Hawks, who have not faced Waupaca this season, knocked off New London in two Bay Conference encounters this season, winning 62-31 and 65-38.

Should it survive the opener, Shawano would then play again March 7 against the winner of No. 3-seed Antigo (14-6) vs. No. 2-seed Hortonville (8-12).

Regional and sectional games in all divisions tip off at 7 p.m.

In Division 3, No. 6-seed Wittenberg-Birnamwood (3-18) plays its opener Tuesday at No. 3-seed Oconto Falls (4-17), with the winner advancing to a March 6 date at No. 2-seed Clintonville (8-13).

Surging Bonduel (16-5), a No. 3 seed in its Division 4 sectional bracket (16-5), plays a feed-in game Tuesday against sixth-seeded Manawa (2-19), with the winner moving on to a March 6 showdown with No. 2-seed Iola-Scandinavia (17-4).

Menominee Indian (11-9) is a No. 5 seed in Division 4. The Eagles play on Tuesday at No. 4-seed Oconto (12-9). The winner travels to No. 1-seed Wabeno/Laona (19-1) on March 6.

Gresham (18-3), which drew a top seed in its sectional bracket of Division 5 action, faces off at home against Sevastopol (3-18) Tuesday.

Other playoff openers Tuesday in Division 5 include No. 5-seed Bowler (9-12) at No. 4-seed Assumption (13-8), No. 7-seed Marion (4-17) at No. 2-seed Wild Rose (15-6) and No. 8-seed Tigerton (0-21) at No. 1-seed Port Edwards (18-2).

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Hawks score season-high 69 in rout of WaupacaBy: 

Gary Seymour, [email protected]

Photo by JLW Photography Shawano’s Courtney Vomastic lets fly one of her three 3-point field goals in the second quarter of the Hawks’ 69-26 WIAA Division 1 Regional win Tuesday night over Waupaca. Vomastic led all scorers with 14 points.

There probably weren’t enough fast-break baskets to call it a 32-minute layup drill.

With the Shawano Community High School girls team playing one of its best games of the year, however, Tuesday night’s WIAA Division 2 regional opener was a keeper for the highlight reel.

The Hawks shot well, defended and controlled the boards, passing their first-round test with flying colors, straight A’s and extra credit in a 69-26 shellacking of a young and overmatched Waupaca.

“It was very encouraging,” Shawano coach Ryan Koenig said. “We want to peak at the right time, and we had really good intensity on defense all night.”

In winning the fifth of their last seven games, the Hawks improved to 10-13 — the first time the Shawano girls have broken the double-digit win mark since 1999.

After the Hawks jumped in front 9-0 and then 17-2, there was such little drama that Koenig emptied his bench in the first quarter and got significant minutes for everyone wearing a white uniform.

Waupaca, which finished its rebuilding season at 1-22, had only one senior on the roster and had trouble all night with not only Shawano’s fullcourt pressure — which Koenig humanely called off after one quarter — but also the Hawks’ halfcourt defense.

Briana Boda set the defensive tone with one of her four steals in the first period, taking a beautiful theft the length of the court and converting the layup to give Shawano a 19-4 lead.

“This was a good game for us because we hadn’t been pulling it together in our last couple of practices,” said Boda, who finished with 10 points. “It was really good for our confidence.”

Courtney Vomastic came off the bench to put on a brilliant display of outside shooting, as her game-high 14 points included a second-quarter stretch where she hit an outside shot and then three straight long 3-pointers, two of which had to clear customs before dropping through.

“I was feeling it,” she sad. “It was probably my best shooting game of the year.”

“That’s typical for her in practice,” Koenig said. “It was nice to see her do that in the game. She’s the best shooter around, as far as consistency goes.”

Up 44-17 at half, it was evident that the hosts could practically name their score. Ten Hawks players scored at least three points, with Megan Klitzke and Sydney Schreiber getting nine apiece. As the saying goes, if it was a boxing match, they would have stopped it.

They did the next best thing, though, as the 40-point slaughter rule kicked in with 7:13 left in the fourth period and the clock ran continuously until the final, merciful buzzer.

Next up is a Friday tilt at Hortonville, the regional’s top seed, and an erstwhile Bay Conference nemesis that has had its way with Shawano in recent years.

“We know Hortonville is good,” Koenig said. “We’ve got a lot of work to do, but we’re not going to roll over.”

Waupaca 7 10 8 1 — 26

Shawano 23 21 20 5 — 69

Waupaca (26)

Vaughn 4 0-0 11, Patzke 1 0-2 2, Nowak 3 7-12 13.

Shawano (69)

Monfils 2 0-0 6, Mo. Klitzke 3 0-0 7, Me. Klitzke 3 3-4 9, Vomastic 5 1-2 14, Boda 5 0-0 10, Ainsworth 1 4-4 6, Hokenstad 1 0-0 3 , Schreiber 3 0-0 9, Ward 1 1-2 3, Dunnam 1 0-0 2.

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WRESTLING

Wittenberg-Birnamwood sending 3 to state

Alex Peplinski won a WIAA Division 2 sectional title at 170 pounds at Oconto Falls High School on Saturday and was one of three state qualifiers for the Chargers. August Peplinski suffered his first loss of the season and finished second at 195 pounds, and Zach Urquhart was third at 126.

Alex Peplinski pinned Brice Delzer, of Oconto Falls, in 3:03 of the quarterfinals, defeated Brandon Buechler, of Wrightstown, 9-3, in the semifinal and claimed the sectional crown by pinning Dalton Smercheck, of Luxemburg-Casco, in 1:43.

Ramsey Bloy, of Freedom, defeated August Peplinski, 8-3, in their title match. Peplinski defeated David Meza, of Berlin, in the wrestleback for second place. Earlier in the day, Peplinski pinned Ryan Socha, of Ripon, in 5:13 and defeated Kevin Vandenlangenber, of Seymour, 11-0.

Urquhart defeated Evan Vosters, of Freedom, 5-2 and Laken Duerschmidt, of Two Rivers, 9-7, before falling to Sam Konitzer, of Oconto Falls, by pin in 3:08 of the title match. In a wrestleback for second place, Urquhart lost a 3-1 decision to Josh VandeHei, of Luxemburg-Casco.

BOYS BASKETBALL

Menominee Indian 62

Wisconsin Valley Lutheran 49

Michael Pecore led the Eagles with 22 points in a nonconference win Tuesday.

Dominic Caldwell had 17 and Dustin Waupoose added 10 as Menominee Indian improved to 12-9 heading into Thursday’s regular-season finale at Tigerton.

GIRLS BASKETBALL

Gresham 50

Sevastopol 46

Gresham worked overtime to post the WIAA Division 5 regional win, as the Wildcats improved to 6-17 and set up a second-round matchup at Gillett. Sevastopol finished 9-14.

Bowler 60

Port Edwards 45

The Panthers (14-9) took their WIAA Division 5 regional opener, winning for the 10th time in their last 12 games behind guards Ashlynn Brisk (21 points, five steals), Reanne Kietlinski (20 points, five assists, six steals) and Taylor Matsche (nine points, three steals).

Bowler takes its red-hot show on the road Friday to play Assumption, the state’s No. 1 ranked team in Division 5.

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Tauchen’s title at 160 pounds highlights Bears’ big dayBy: 

Gary Seymour, [email protected]

Photo by Jen Kuhn Bonduel High School freshman Jordan Boldt has the upper hand on Pittsville’s Matthew Grossman in a 106-pound semifinal match Saturday at the WIAA Division Sectional at Shawano. Boldt posted a 10-8 overtime win to ensure a trip to the Division 2 state finals.
Photo by Jen Kuhn Bonduel High School wrestler Mitch Sokolski maintains top position on Anthony Kligis, of Florence, Saturday during the WIAA Division 2 Sectional at Shawano. Sokolski went 4-1 at the meet, including an 8-3 win over Kligis in a wrestleback, to advance to the Division 2 state finals.

With the possible exception of tightrope walking, a five-of-six success ratio is cause for celebration in any athletic endeavor.

Bonduel High School can vouch for that and put exclamation points on it, after the Bears advanced five wrestlers at the talent-stacked WIAA Division 2 sectional they hosted Saturday at Shawano.

Jordan Boldt, Garrett Siolka, Travis Wollenberg, Dan Tauchen and Mitch Sokolski all extended their seasons another week by posting top-three finishes that kept their individual state title hopes flickering and matched Bonduel’s highest total of state finalists since 2006.

“Just a great day for us,” Bonduel coach Chris Rank said. “To have five wrestlers make it to the state finals is really an accomplishment. I could not be more proud of all these young men.”

Tauchen would like to remedy some unfinished business at the finals, and his sectional championship at 160 pounds got him started in the right direction.

The senior pinned Billy Retza, of Crivitz, and then overcame an injury to his right index finger sustained in a 10-9 semifinal win over Auburndale’s Wyatt Weiler to garner an impressive 5-2 title match win over Tony Kontney, of Rosholt.

“I rely more on my legs, anyway, and I’m able to push the pain aside, so (the injury) is not going to be a major issue,” said Tauchen, who finished sixth at last year’s finals. “The way I feel now is the most confident I’ve been since I started wrestling 13 years ago. I’ll be watching film and getting ready all week. To be in the finals is really something. It’s the best time of year.”

Boldt, a freshman who took third at 106 pounds, knocked off Rosholt’s Hampton Kedrowicz before taking on Matthew Grossman, of Pittsville, in a semifinal match. A double-leg takedown gave Boldt the winning margin in the 10-8 overtime triumph that assured his trip to state.

“It’s huge to make it to the state finals,” Boldt said. “I’ve never had a feeling like this. In (the semifinal match) I think I was being too laid back at first. Then I realized I had to step it up and just say, ‘OK, enough messing around.’ The intensity is going to be high this week at practice.”

Siolka bounced back from a semifinal loss to Mason Kauffman, of Stratford, to take third place, earning a return trip to state and bouncing Three Lakes’ Sam Logalbo and Auburndale’s Dylan Altmann from the playoff picture in the 126-pound division.

Wollenberg’s victories at 138 pounds were the finest sort of theater, as the senior who was nosed out for third place and a trip to the finals at last year’s sectional hit a couple of last-second moves to edge Zac Higgins, of Crandon, 5-4 in the quarterfinals and then tip David Marquardt, of Stratford, 4-3 in the semifinal.

“In the semifinal match, I saw there were six seconds left, and I needed to get two points,” said Wollenberg, whose second-place afternoon had been threatened to end on a 3-2 loss. “I was able to do an ankle pick and take him down.”

The same storyline played out in Wollenberg’s quarterfinal, when he hit a reverse on Higgins to erase a one-point deficit as time ran out.

“It’s definitely a good feeling to advance,” Wollenberg said, “especially after coming close last year. My confidence is up for the finals — probably around 210 percent.”

“Travis wrestled his heart out,” Rank said. “The determination of that young man is something.”

Bonduel’s Bennett Gunderson dropped a tough 1-0 decision to Stratford’s Tyson Kauffman in their 285-pound match, thwarting Gunderson’s bid to advance, but Sokolski grinded out four wins at 170 pounds — including three wrestlebacks — to finish second and punch his ticket to the Kohl Center in Madison.

WIAA DIVISION 2

BONDUEL SECTIONAL

At Shawano

BONDUEL RESULTS

106 - (quarterfinal) Jordan Boldt def. Hampton Kedrowicz, Rosholt 11-4; (semifinal) Boldt def. Matthew Grossman, Pittsville 10-8 OT; (title) A.J. Schoenfuss, Stratford def. Boldt, fall 2:34; (2nd place wrestleback) Aiden Wusterbart, Oconto def. Boldt, 3-1 .

126 - (quarterfinal) Garrett Siolka def. Austin Baehnman, Weyauwega-Fremont, fall 1:19; (semifinal) Mason Kauffman, Stratford def. Siolka 10-2; (wrestleback) Siolka def. Sam Logalbo, Three Lakes, fall 2:25; (wrestleback) Siolka def. Dylan Altmann, Auburndale, 4-1; (2nd place wrestleback) Elton Kelsey, Oconto def. Siolka, 3-1.

138 - (quarterfinal) Travis Wollenberg def. Zac Higgins, Crandon 5-4; (semifinal) Wollenberg def. David Marquardt, Stratford 4-3; (title) Grant Fischer, Gillett/Suring def. Wollenberg 5-4.

160 - (quarterfinal) Dan Tauchen def. Billy Retza, Crivitz, fall 3:48; (semifinal) Tauchen def. Wyatt Weiler, Auburndale, 10-9; (title) Tauchen def. Tony Kontney, Rosholt, 5-2.

170 - (quarterfinal) Mitch Sokolski def. Gavin Sneller, Amherst, fall 5:09; (semifinal) Devin Lemanski, Edgar def. Sokolski, fall 1:29; (wrestleback) Sokolski def. Anthony Kligis, Florence, 8-3; (wrestleback) Sokolski def. Zach Schneider, Spencer, 9-3; (2nd place wrestleback) Sokolski def. Alex Stodola, Coleman, fall 4:13.

285 - Tyson Kauffman, Stratford, def. Bennett Gunderson, 1-0.

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Bears play best game of the year in CWC-8 rompBy: 

Gary Seymour, [email protected]

Contrary to dogma, this time what they didn’t know, hurt them.

Pacelli High School never got much of a look at Bonduel center Peyton Czarapata the first time around, as the Bears’ 6-4 junior spent much of the Jan. 16 meeting on the bench, saddled with foul trouble.

Possibly not mindful of the impact that a free-roaming Czarapata could make, the visiting Cardinals were caught unawares Friday night, as Czarapata’s strong play underneath netted 19 points and helped lift the Bears to a 55-44 win that their coach called the team’s most impressive performance of the season.

“This was a huge game for us,” Bonduel coach Duke Copp said. “We hadn’t played very well lately, but this was the most intensity we played with all year, it was the best defense we played all year, and we were hitting our shots.”

That pretty much summed it up for the Bears (16-5, 10-3 Central Wisconsin Conference-8), who stayed true to their game plan of putting the clamps on Pacelli’s Division 1 horse, James Gollon, and pounding the ball inside on offense.

The Ohio University-bound Gollon racked up a game-high 22 points but was not able to operate with the same impunity he enjoyed during the Cardinals’ five-point win over Bonduel last month. Eleven of his points were of the lost-cause variety, deep into the fourth period when the Bears had safely iced it.

“I think it might’ve made a little difference, not being in foul trouble this time,” Czarapata said. “They didn’t really see what I could do the first time we played, and we were moving it around and working it inside really well tonight. We’re playing good team ball now; we’re all on the same page.”

With Czarapata handling things in the paint, good looks became available from the outside, which was where Connor Rosin stepped in.

Rosin’s 17 points included four 3-pointers, which made defending the Bears even more difficult for the smaller visitors.

Czarapata had six points during Bonduel’s 12-0 first quarter run that gave the Bears a 16-10 lead that they would not relinquish. Bonduel led 32-23 at halftime and opened it up to 53-33 on Trevor Pedersen’s hoop with 5:31 left in the fourth quarter before the Cardinals (10-11, 7-6 CWC-8) made a futile late-game charge.

“This was a very encouraging performance for us offensively and defensively,” said Copp, whose club has a regular season-ending finale Feb. 26 at Iola-Scandinavia. “I like the way we’re playing right now. We’re just going to keep playing hard and see what happens in our regional.”

Pacelli (44)

Flugaur 1 2-2 5, Elliott 3 0-0 6, Gollon 7 3-8 22, Shibilski 1 0-0 2, Jamison 3 0-0 9.

Bonduel (55)

Pedersen 2 0-0 4, Berry 3 0-2 8, Rosin 6 1-2 17, Dobratz 2 0-0 5, Vanderlinden 1 0-0 2, Czarapata 8 3-4 19.

Pacelli 10 13 10 11 — 44

Bonduel 16 16 16 7 — 55

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SCHS senior finishes second in butterflyBy: 

Troy A. Bruzewski Leader Correspondent

Photo by Above the Fold Media Shawano Community High School senior swimmer Zach Soper launches from the starting line for the 100 backstroke Friday at the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Natatorium during the WIAA state swim meet. Soper won the state title for the backstroke and finished second in the 100 butterfly.
Photo by Above the Fold Media Shawano Community High School senior swimmer Zach Soper happily checks his time after winning the 100 backstroke Friday at the WIAA Division 2 state swimming championships.

The cliché reference “in the blink of an eye” couldn’t be more accurate.

Zach Soper – a senior and defending state champion for Shawano Community High School – was crunching the numbers leading to Friday’s WIAA Division 2 state final at the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Natatorium. The defending state champ in the 100 backstroke wanted to become just the fourth swimmer to crack the 50-second mark in the event.

Soper would have joined an NCAA champion, an Olympic gold medalist and a current member of the Badger men’s swim team by finishing with a 4 at the front of his time Friday. He literally couldn’t have come any closer. Soper again bested the field in the 100 backstroke and already was checking the large scoreboard for his time before everyone had touched the wall.

Upon completing their race, the competition saw Soper making the “‘miniscule” gesture with his fingers, to describe how close he came to joining that elite company. He finished in precisely 50 seconds, just .01 seconds from making the 50-second club a four-member organization.

“Very, very close,” Soper said after the meet. “After the sectional I thought, maybe I’d try to get below 50 (seconds) or shoot for the record.”

He finished the sectional in 50.63, which was his career-best mark until Friday. Soper’s time put him 1.65 seconds behind the all-time Division 2 state final record, set by current Badgers swimmer Ryan O’Donnell (48.35).

But while Soper was close to rare company, no other swimmer was close to Soper in the event. Madison Edgewood’s Philip Fochios was the runner-up, finishing more than three seconds behind Soper. He was one of just four swimmers to come within five seconds of the Shawano senior, who said this was the most satisfying of his trips to Madison in February.

Soper earned Shawano’s lone victory in the state final, helping the team to a 14th-place finish in the final team standings.

The Hawks finished with 51 points, while Monona Grove ended with the overall win, finishing with 309 points. McFarland was second with 267 and Shorewood was third with 213.

Shorewood also had the swimmer who prevented Soper from repeating in two events. Michael Perry (50.78) edged Soper (50.88) in the 100 butterfly, which Soper also won in 2014 finals.

Soper said though another title would have been nice, it certainly didn’t put a damper on his night.

“I wanted to repeat and get it again, but it wasn’t a huge disappointment,” he said. “I did what I could and the fly was a lot closer this year.”

Soper also joined the Hawks’ relay teams that qualified for the state final. In the 200 medley relay, Soper, Griffin Rades, Rolando Colon and Jake Klister finished in 1:44.82, placing them 16th overall. Whitewater won the event in 1:36.86.

The same lineup fared better in the 400 freestyle relay – the night’s final event. Klister, Colon, Rades and Soper finished in 3:24.81 to place 12th. Monona Grove won the event – its fourth of the night – with a time of 2:12.05.

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BOYS BASKETBALL

Port Edwards 61

Menominee Indian 36

Menominee Indian (11-9, 9-8 Central Wisconsin Conference-10) got 10 points from Alphonso Smith, but it wasn’t enough against conference-leading Port Edwards (18-2, 16-1 CWC-10).

Tigerton 33

Gresham 80

Gresham (18-3, 14-3 CWC-10) was led by Christian Haffner’s 33 points, with Neil Cerveny adding 19 and five assists.

Kevin Ile also finished in double figures with 11, while Kalen Fischer grabbed nine rebounds.

Tigerton (0-21, 0-17 CWC-10) was led by Jacob Minniecheski’s 10 points.

Bowler 68

Tri-County 64

The Panthers improved to 5-12 in the CWC-10 and 9-12 overall as Chase Nueski’s 26 points and 13 rebounds led the way. Cody Montez added 23 points for Bowler, which dropped Tri-County to 6-15 and 5-12 in conference.

“We usually don’t get in many high-scoring games like this,” Bowler coach Ted Kietlinski said. “It was nice to put up some points and get the win.”

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Wollenberg, Siolka join 2 othersBy: 

Gary Seymour, [email protected]

There are ways to be remembered that are more subtle than others, but there is something unforgettable about the century mark.

A couple of Bonduel High School wrestlers established membership in that elite group recently, as Travis Wollenberg and Garrett Siolka wrote their names in the school record book in permanent ink by posting their 100th career wins.

Wollenberg, a senior 138-pounder, recently notched his 100th win under Bears coach Chris Rank, and kept rolling from there, as his second-place finish at the Coleman Regional was enough to advance him on to sectional action. He will be joined at the Bonduel Sectional, to be held at Shawano, Saturday by five teammates who also survived at Coleman.

One is Siolka, a 126-pound junior who not only broke through the 100 mark this season, but has dominated his weight class to such a degree that with the sectional, state finals and another season ahead of him, the school record for all-time wins is within his sight.

“One hundred wins is obviously a milestone, a really good accomplishment,” Rank said. “We’re really fortunate to have as many quality kids out as we have this season. I couldn’t be more proud of these guys. Garrett and Travis have worked very hard to become the outstanding wrestlers they are now.”

Siolka, the defending state runnerup at 126, has 111 career victories at Bonduel; the all-time school record is 168.

“The career wins record a good goal to shoot for,” said Siolka, who finished second at the regional to Oconto’s Elton Kelsey. “It was one of my goals to get (100) as a junior. Now that I’ve reached that, I can look at the all-time record. I want to keep the family tradition going.”

Siolka’s brother Cody became a charter member of the 100 club at Bonduel before graduating, and his cousin Austin had chalked up 122 career wins when an illness earlier this year ended his season prematurely. The fourth member of the team to have hit the hundo mark this year was Dan Tauchen, a 160-pound virtuoso who was named Central Wisconsin Conference-8 Wrestler of the Year. Tauchen’s brother, Ben, a two-time state champion at 220 pounds, holds the career mark of 168 wins.

“Garrett will have to have a really good senior year, and maybe a strong finish to this year, too, in order to make a run at the career wins mark,” Rank said. “It’ll be quite a task. But I give him credit for making that one of his goals.”

Wollenberg credited Rank’s motivational style of coaching in helping give the boost he needed to go from good to outstanding.

“He always knows what to say after a match, whether you win or lose,” said Wollenberg, who dropped a tough a 6-1 decision to Grant Fischer of Gillett/Suring in the regional title match. “After the regional, he just reminded me that there is still next week to think about.”

After an unspectacular 19-20 freshman season, Wollenberg hung tough in the weight room and at practice, ran cross-country in the fall to improve his endurance, and before long, any lingering doubts he may have harbored about his ability were quashed.

“I don’t know if it was one match, or one week, but at some point I just started having a lot more confidence,” Wollenberg said. “It makes a big difference. A lot of the success that I’ve had was really just a matter of putting in the work, getting the techniques down and getting myself in the best shape I could be. (One hundred wins) is a pretty big thing. It says that I made my mark at the school.”

Career wins won’t amount to much once the whistle blows and the wrestling starts at sectional and state, but that which has made winning part of the routine at Bonduel will factor in the overall picture.

“Confidence is something we stress, something that the kids need,” Rank said. “They have to believe in their abilities when they go out there.”

Collectively and individually, the Bears couldn’t agree more.

“I know there will be a lot of good wrestlers at sectional and state,” Wollenberg said, “but I’m up for it.”

SECTIONAL WRESTLING PAIRINGS

D1 GREEN BAY WEST/SOUTHWEST

First-round matches

SHAWANO: 106 - Wyatt Welch (18-13) vs. Bryson Einerson (34-12), Wisconsin Rapids Lincoln; 113 - Danny Darling (15-20) vs. Matrix Jisco (39-7), Wisconsin Rapids Lincoln; 126 - Austin Oreskovic (12-21) vs. Curtis Diedrich (29-13), Hortonville; 145 - Jarrett Laatsch (11-23) vs. Joe Cliver (34-6), Hortonville; 285 - Damon Braatz (15-12) vs. Beau Thompson (45-1), Wisconsin Rapids Lincoln.

D2 OCONTO FALLS SECTIONAL

First-round matches

WITTENBERG-BIRNAMWOOD: 113 - Dylan Sprague (24-10) vs. Paul Bianchi (45-0), Two Rivers; 120 - Gavin Czerwonka (37-9) vs. Tanner Deist (39-6), Wautoma/Wild Rose; 126 - Zach Urquhart (32-9) vs. Evan Vosters (13-20), Freedom; 132 - Stetson Potrykus (35-12) vs. Michael Bertrand (41-4), Southern Door; 145 - Griffin Magee (29-16) vs. Nate Trepanier (34-4), Oconto Falls; 160 - Hunter Kreger (29-8) vs. Mitchell Crowley (33-9), Omro; 170 - Alex Peplinski (42-4) vs. Bruce Delzer (21-15), Oconto Falls; 182 - Cory Chroge (11-11) vs. Stetson Burmeister (34-7), Wrightstown; 195 - August Peplinski (45-0) vs. Ryan Socha (35-8), Ripon; 220 - Dylan Wieland (34-11) vs. Evan Philibeck (34-9), Freedom.

D3 BONDUEL SECTIONAL

First-round matches

BONDUEL: 106 - Jordan Boldt (36-3) vs. Hampton Kedrowicz (27-15), Rosholt; 126 - Garrett Siolka (38-5) vs. Austin Baehnman (15-12), Weyauwega-Fremont; 138 - Travis Wollenberg (30-11) vs. Zach Higgens (36-4), Crandon; 160 - Dan Tauchen (39-2) vs. Billy Retza (15-14), Crivitz; 170 - Mitch Sokolski (34-9) vs. Gavin Sneller (20-12), Amherst; 285 - Bennett Gunderson (31-11) vs. Tyson Kauffman (28-10), Stratford.

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Hawks’ 21-point lead almost vanishes in wild second half of 63-57 winBy: 

Gary Seymour, [email protected]

Photo by Jen Kuhn Shawano Community High School center Zeke Gueths goes up strong against the defense of Oconto Falls’ Michael Fifield during Shawano’s 63-57 Bay Conference win Thursday night in Shawano.
Photo by Jen Kuhn Shawano Community High School senior Zach Sousek readies an outside jumper that gave him two of his 12 points during the Hawks’ 63-57 Bay Conference win over Oconto Falls on Thursday night.

What began as a feel-good Senior Night of high energy, neat execution and pinpoint shooting at Shawano Community High School came disturbingly close to an episode of Monster Chiller Horror Theater.

The Hawks had visiting Oconto Falls on the ropes Thursday night, opening up a 21-point second-half lead and threatening to run the Panthers out of the gym, but couldn’t close the deal.

Oconto Falls fought back and came to within three points with less than two minutes to play before the Hawks pulled it together to avoid a full-blown nightmare, 63-57.

“We didn’t play as well as I would’ve liked,” Shawano coach Chris Kellett said. “Some of our defensive rotations weren’t good, and once they hit a couple of 3-pointers they started playing with some confidence.”

It was Shawano that came out with the confident air, as freshman Eric Carl (17 points) hit three 3-pointers in the first quarter that got the Hawks (16-5, 10-5 Bay Conference) out to the fast start.

Oconto Falls (4-16, 1-14 Bay Conference) made some adjustments to counteract Carl’s marksmanship, but also waiting in the open wings for the Hawks were guards Braden Mueller (14 points) and Zach Sousek (12 points), both of whom nailed important buckets throughout the night.

“Mueller had a big game for us, and we needed it,” Kellett said. “When they started focusing on Eric, Braden hit a couple of big shots for us.”

“I was glad my shot was there,” Mueller said. “We needed everybody at the end.”

Shawano led 23-22 after Tyler Hagemeier’s bucket had brought the Panthers to within one with 3:10 left in the half, and then proceeded to go on a 20-0 run that appeared to have settled things early.

The 43-22 deficit was temporary, as Oconto Falls came back behind the strong inside play of Michael Fifield (18 points, six rebounds) and the accurate shooting of Hagemeier, Jack Huberty and Riley Gruetzmacher, all of whom scored 12 points each.

“Jack Huberty played his best game all year,” Oconto Falls coach Kirk Hirst said. “To come back like we did, against a very good team like Shawano, I couldn’t be more proud of our guys. Shawano will probably be a No. 1 seed in its regional. This is a very good, well-coached team, and I’m really happy about how tough we played them.”

With Oconto Falls draining 3-pointers with regularity, the outcome was in question until a neatly executed play by the Hawks effectively ended it with :38 left in regulation.

The Panthers, trailing 58-53, applied a full-court press and were denying the inbounds pass when Mueller spotted a streaking Sousek, breaking open on a fly pattern. Sousek caught the perfect heave in stride and converted the layup that finally slammed the door on the persistent visitors.

“That’s our favorite play in that situation,” Mueller said.

“Our (regional) seeding meeting is Monday,” Kellett said. “We’ll see what happens. But we’re playing well enough right now. I think we’re going to be ready (for the playoffs).”

Oconto Falls (57)

Hagemeier 5 0-0 12, Huberty 5 0-0 12, Manns 1 0-0 3, Gruetzmacher 5 2-5 12, Fifield 7 3-4 18.

Shawano (63)

Mueller 5 0-0 14, Sousek 5 2-2 12, Bartz 1 0-0 3, Jack Lacy 2 3-4 7, Carl 5 2-2 17, Hintz 0 0-5 0, Gueths 2 6-9 10.

Oconto Falls 12 10 14 21 — 57

Shawano 16 22 11 14 — 63

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Shawano unable to break Panthers’ defenseBy: 

Jason Arndt, [email protected]

Photo by Josh Thompson Shawano Community High School junior Sara Hokenstad attempts a 3-pointer Thursday at Oconto Falls. Hokenstad led her team in scoring with seven points in a 27-22 Bay Conference loss.
Photo by Josh Thompson Shawano Community High School senior Briana Boda pushes through Oconto Falls junior Madison Helmle and senior Elizabeth Manns, driving to the hoop in the first quarter of Shawano Community High School’s 27-22 loss Thursday at Oconto Falls.

Oconto Falls scored five points in the final 32 seconds to edge Shawano 27-22 Thursday in a Bay Conference girls basketball matchup in Oconto Falls.

With the score tied at 22 each, Oconto Falls senior Kayla Virtues made a key layup to put the Panthers ahead by two points. Junior Bailey Wolf added the final three points, including a buzzer-beating layup.

Shawano coach Ryan Koenig took accountability for the loss.

“We didn’t execute anything, and that is my fault as a coach,” he said. “We were not prepared, and I have to do a better job of getting us prepared.”

The Hawks had won five of their last six games but were never in sync against Falls.

“Tonight was just a lack of things going our way,” Koenig said. “When we score 22 points, we are not going to win any games.”

Sophomore Jennifer Krueger, who led the Panthers with 10 points, knocked in four points to start the game for Oconto Falls. The Hawks, meanwhile, went scoreless until the middle of the first quarter when Meagan Ward hit one of two free throws.

Shawano (9-13, 6-10 Bay Conference) took a 7-6 lead on a layup by senior Courtney Vomastic, giving the Hawks their first of their four leads in the game.

Junior Sara Hokenstad kept Shawano in the game, scoring all of her team-leading seven points in the second half. Her 3-pointer in the final quarter gave the Hawks their final lead, 22-20.

“(Hokenstad) played really good tonight, especially in the second half,” Koenig said. “She had all of our points and kept us right there.”

The Hawks had an opportunity to tie the game in the closing seconds, but junior Madison Helmle made a key steal for Oconto Falls (9-13, 7-9 Bay Conference).

Coach Mike Kaczmarek Jr. knew his squad, which lost to the Hawks earlier this season in Shawano, played solid defense.

“Defensively, we have played really well all year,” he said. “We have been playing real well contesting shots and tried to limit their uncontested shots.”

The game was the final Bay Conference battle for the teams. Oconto Falls will move to the Eastern Valley Conference next year, but Koenig said the rivals will continue playing each other.

“We are going to keep up that relationship,” Koenig said. “Coach Kaczmarek is a good coach and a guy to work with.”

Shawano (22)

Mo. Klitzke 1 0-0 2, Me. Klitzke 0 1-2 1, Vomastic 2 0-0 4, Boda 2 1-4 5 , Hokenstad 3 0-0 7, Schreiber 1 0-0 2, Ward, 0 1-2 1.

Oconto Falls (27)

Helmle 1 0-0 2, Manns 2 0-0 5, Wolf 2 1-2 5, Virtues 2 1-4 5, Krueger 4 2-4 10.

Shawano 7 6 5 4 — 22

Oconto Falls 6 9 4 8 — 27

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GIRLS BASKETBALL

Bonduel 71

Pacelli 33

Jen Dowden scored 30 points and pulled down a dozen rebounds as Bonduel claimed sole possession of the Central Wisconsin Conference-8 title Thursday.

Hayley Sorenson added 13 points for Bonduel (21-1, 13-1 CWC-8). Emily Sorenson and Taylor Weier scored eight points each, and Kailee Pedersen tallied seven.

“Our regional is more or less a conference tournament, so we have to focus on what we did against those teams during the regular season,” Bonduel coach Missy Dowden said. “We’re sitting pretty well right now, so we’re ready to get it going for the playoffs.”

Pacelli fell to 4-18 and 2-12 in the CWC-8.

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