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Sports Archives for 2023-03

Weather wrecks weekend slate

Local teams wanted to play this weekend, but the weather had other plans.

 

In addition to the games that were already canceled heading into the weekend, the soccer quadrangular featuring Luxemburg-Casco and Sturgeon Bay was postponed Friday and canceled for Saturday. The Spartans were able their Friday night game, a 3-0 loss to host Notre Dame. Tabi Lemens led the team with 15 saves.

 

Luxemburg-Casco's matchup against Shawano at Capital Credit Union Park was also canceled for Saturday.

 

Gibraltar/Sevastopol's soccer match against Denmark was postponed as was every Packerland softball and baseball game.

 

Not even indoor events were safe as severe weather in the plains canceled hockey games in Iowa, including the Green Bay Gamblers' contest at Dubuque. They will play in Green Bay Saturday night at 7:05 p.m.

Brewers hope for second chance vs. Cubs

The Milwaukee Brewers hope the day off will bring good luck when they play game two of three at Wrigley Field Saturday against the Chicago Cubs.

 

In their 4-0 loss Thursday, the Brewers' Corbin Burnes and the Cubs' Marcus Stroman were locked in a pitchers' duel early with the visitors' biggest threat coming in the third inning with the bases loaded and one out before Rowdy Tellez grounded into a double play. The Cubs would take control in the bottom half of the frame when Dansby Swanson singled home one run and a throwing error by Willy Adames brought home another to make 2-0. Trey Mancini and Yan Gomes would drive in the other runs to make it 4-0. 

 

Brandon Woodruff and Jameson Taillon will face off against each other at 1:20 p.m. if Mother Nature allows. 


Blizzard battle Barnstormers at home

The Green Bay Blizzard hope they will be able to snag their first win of the season when they welcome the Iowa Barnstormers to the Resch Center Friday night.
 

The second quarter proved fatal for the Green Bay Blizzard as they dropped their second straight game to start the season 55-41 to the Massachusetts Pirates. Both the Blizzard's Ja'rome Johnson and the Pirates' Ale Bennefield threw for approximately 190 yards and three touchdowns, though it was Johnson that threw a costly pick. Both quarterbacks also ran for a pair of scores in the game.

 

The Barnstormers enter the game 0-1 after losing to Las Vegas 57-44 last weekend.

 

Kickoff is set for 6:05 p.m.

Gamblers battle Fighting Saints in home-and-home

The Green Bay Gamblers and the Dubuque Fighting Saints will share hosting duties this weekend beginning in Iowa Friday night.

 

The Gamblers have posted a forgettable March up to this point, winning just two of its 11 games in the month, including three shootout losses. That includes Sunday's second straight shootout loss to the Youngstown Phantoms. At the very least, the Gamblers showed excitement during the weekend as they scored a second last-second goal of the weekend when Raimonds Vitolins found the back of the net with a second to spare to tie the game at 1-1. After a scoreless overtime, the two teams needed six shootout participants to settle the game with the Phantoms' Jake Rozzi ending the game to pick up the extra point.

 

The Fighting Saints can overtake the Gamblers in the USHL standings with a pair of wins this weekend. 

 

After playing in Dubuque on Friday at 7:05 p.m., the Gamblers will be the hosts on Saturday at 7:05 p.m. 


Brewers drop opening day tilt vs. Cubs

The Milwaukee Brewers started their 2023 campaign with a loss on Thursday afternoon at chilly Wrigley Field, losing to the Chicago Cubs 4-0.

 

The Brewers' Corbin Burnes and the Cubs' Marcus Stroman were locked in a pitchers' duel early with the visitors' biggest threat coming in the third inning with the bases loaded and one out before Rowdy Tellez grounded into a double play. The Cubs would take control in the bottom half of the frame when Dansby Swanson singled home one run and a throwing error by Willy Adames brought home another to make 2-0. Trey Mancini and Yan Gomes would drive in the other runs to make it 4-0. 

 

The combination of Stroman, Keegan Thompson, Brad Boxberger, and Carson Fulmer would collaborate on a four-hitter that also saw them strike out 12 Brewers. Adames, William Contreas, Brian Anderson, and Brice Turang go the lone hits for the Brewers while Christian Yelich drew two walks.

 

The Brewers will try to even the series on Saturday at 1:20 p.m.

Track and Field teams head to UW-Stevens Point

Two local area Track and Field teams will held to the center of the state to compete at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point on Friday night. 

 

The boys Kewaunee Track and Field team have been in full gear since the start of their season, finishing top 5 in many meets in the indoor season. Jordan Lamack (High Jump) and Christopher Cullen (400m) are coming off of 1st place finishes in their last competition. 

 

Sevastopol will compete in their second indoor meet of the season, with their other meet coming at Ripon College for the Waters Meet. Bea Dramm is fresh off of a win in the 1600m Run and Kylie Duessler finished in the Top 10 in the 1600m and 60m events. 

 

The meet is set to begin at 4:00 P.M. 


Girls Soccer season opens up at Notre Dame Quad

The Girls Soccer season may give local athletes a glimmer of hope for their seasons, as two local teams will participate in the Notre Dame Quad this weekend. 

 

The Luxemburg-Casco Spartans start off the season locally playing at 5:00 P.M. against the host school of Notre Dame Academy. The Spartans will look to improve on their 7-10 record from last season. 

 

In the second match of the night, Sturgeon Bay will take the turf against Lakeland Union at 7:00 P.M. The Clippers were 7-7-2 last season, and will need to replace the production from their two lost EWC/Packerland All-Conference selections due to graduation. 

 

The Quad will continue into Saturday. 

New coach forecasts Sunny days in Green Bay

He has been in town for well over a week, but new Green Bay Phoenix men's basketball coach Sundance Wicks received his formal introduction to the community at the Kress Events Center on Wednesday morning.

 

Wicks thanked the university leadership and the community for the warm welcome during his opening days in Green Bay, which included a pair of appearances during the women's basketball run in the WNIT. After giving credit to his family and his coaches, Wicks began to outline the future of his program, which only garnered three wins last season and will see its third straight offseason with approximately half of its roster leaving the program through the transfer portal. Contagious energy, belief, active ownership, humility-driven leadership, and community-driven culture were four of the facets Wicks outlined during his opening comments. He said the open Green Bay job was the greatest in the country because the only direction the program can go is up. 

 

You can watch the full press conference below:

 

Screenshot from press conference streamed by the Green Bay Athletics Department

Brewers begin season against rival Cubs in Chicago

After a long winter offseason for the Milwaukee Brewers that involved sending away two former players in trades and going to arbitration with their star pitcher Corbin Burnes, the team will open their season against their rival, the Chicago Cubs.

 

Milwaukee opened up their season in Chicago last season as well, ultimately splitting the series after one of the games had to be played later in May due to a rain out. Thursday’s opening day game looks clear of any precipitation, but Saturday’s forecast calls for rain and snow. Milwaukee has many new faces to the team and potentially the starting lineup this year. Jesse Winker, Brian Anderson, William Contreras and Luke Voit are all new to the team, and Brice Turang made the team after a strong year in the minors last season and a good spring training. 


A potential bounceback year from Christian Yelich may be in the cards, and the pitching will take the team as far as they want to carry them. The only question for the Crew this season is if the bullpen will thrive or fail with all the new faces. 

 

The Cubs also had an active offseason, signing one of the best shortstops on the market in Dansby Swanson. Other faces becoming Cubs included Cody Bellinger and Jameson Taillon. Chicago won the season series against Milwaukee last season, which included many different series wins for the Cubs. 

 

First pitch from Wrigley Park is set for 1:20 P.M. 

Bucks' Holiday takes no break, drops 51 on Pacers

Giannis Antetokounmpo registered the fastest triple-double of his career, but it was Jrue Holiday that stole the show in the Milwaukee Bucks' 149-136 win over the Indiana Pacers Wednesday night.

 

Antetokounmpo contributed 38 points, 17 rebounds, and 12 assists on the night for the triple-double, a feat he nearly had by halftime. The difference was Holiday, who scored 51 points on the night including 18 points in what proved to be a pivotal third quarter for the Bucks. Brook Lopez added 21 in the win.

 

The Pacers were without three of their top scorers, so it was rookie Bennedict Mathurin carrying the load for the home team with 29 points.

 

The Bucks flew out to Boston right after the game for their Thursday night matchup against the Boston Celtics in a challenge for the top-seed in the Eastern Conference. Tip-off is set for 6:30 p.m.

Opening day delayed for high school teams

If it is not on turf, you likely will not see area teams compete in their respective sports for a few more days yet.

 

Thursday's slate of games have been postponed and canceled including

  • Kewaunee baseball vs Green Bay Preble
  • Gibraltar softball at Manitowoc Lutheran
  • Kewaunee softball at Wrightstown
  • Luxemburg-Casco JV baseball at Green Bay Southwest
  • Southern Door JV Softball vs Algoma

Friday's schedule of games is also changed due to postponements and cancellations. Those games include: 

  • Sturgeon Bay baseball and softball at Manitowoc Lutheran
  • Luxemburg-Casco softball at Denmark
  • Algoma softball vs. Reedsville

As of Wednesday, a soccer quad hosted by Green Bay Notre Dame Academy and involving Luxemburg-Casco and Sturgeon Bay on Friday and Saturday and Luxemburg-Casco baseball's game against Shawano Community at Capital Credit Union Park are still on the calendar. Those matchups will all take place on a turf surface.

Bucks visit Pacers in first night of back to back

The Milwaukee Bucks narrowly squeaked out a win over the Detroit Pistons on Monday night 126-117, although the game was closer than the scoreboard may read. The Bucks will move onto the first game of their crucial back to back, taking a trip to Indianapolis to take on the Pacers. 

 

Milwaukee will match up against the Boston Celtics after the game with the Pacers, which could be the telling sign of who will grab the top seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs. The team will have to focus on the Pacers first however, as the Bucks fell to Indiana the last time the two teams played. No Brook Lopez, Jae Crowder, Khris Middleton or Grayson Allen did not help the Bucks in that matchup, but the Pacers are a feisty trap game if Milwaukee is caught looking ahead. 

 

Indiana is currently 3.5 games out of the final play-in spot for the tournament, and will look to give it their all down the stretch. At 33-43, the team is led by Wisconsin native Tyrese Haliburton. Haliburton averages just over 20 points per game, and is a combo guard who can score on multiple levels. The Pacers are one of the best transition offenses in the NBA, so the Bucks will need to be crisp in transition. 

 

Tipoff from Gainbridge Fieldhouse is set for 6:00 P.M. 

Badgers collapse in loss to North Texas in NIT

The Wisconsin Badgers basketball season came to a crashing end on Tuesday night, as the North Texas Mean Green overcame a 14-point deficit to win 56-54 in the NIT semi-finals in Las Vegas.

 

Held scoreless over the last nine minutes of the game, the Badgers were unable to get a shot off in their final possession after turning the ball over nine times in the second half.

 

Chucky Hepburn scored all his team-high 15 points in the first half, as the Badgers led 41-29 at halftime.  Tyler Wahl and Connor Essegian added 12 points each, but it was not enough as the Badgers managed only 13 points after intermission. 

 

Tylor Perry scored a game-high 16 points for the Mean Green,

 

Wisconsin ends the season 20-15, while North Texas (30-7) will play in the NIT Championship Game on Thursday night.

Sevastopol's Rikkola, Southern Door's Dufek set to play in WBCA All-Star Game

Allianna Dufek of Southern Door and Bailey Rikkola of Sevastopol were named to the 2023 Wisconsin Basketball Coaches Association All Star Game for each player's respective division. 

 

Dufek will play for the Division 4 North team, whereas Rikkola will play for the Division 5 North team. This event showcases seniors of each division who possess great talent and tremendous character. The WBCA All-Star games started back in 1978 and each year the purpose of these games is to raise funds to help fight against childhood cancer. Since 1978, the WBCA has donated over $3 Million to the MACC Fund (Midwest Athletes Against Childhood Cancer) in the effort to combat childhood cancer.

 

The two players were named to the Packerland All-Conference 1st Team this season, and Rikkola has compiled many recognitions and awards, including the Packerland Conference Player of the Year and a Division 5 All-State team nomination. 

 

Dufek led the Eagles to a 14-11 record on the season, a strong jump from last season’s record. This was her first season back after suffering a torn ACL in the 2021 Volleyball season. Rikkola led the Pioneers to historic heights, finishing with a 25-2 record and the school’s first Regional Title in Girls Basketball since 1985. 


Both players will be fundraising for charity for the game. The Division 5 game is set for 9:00 A.M. The Division Four game will follow at 11:00 A.M. at Justagame Fieldhouse in Wisconsin Dells on June 28th. 

Outdoor spring sports mostly on hold

Baseball and softball diamonds will largely sit silently on Tuesday after another round of winter weather added more snow to the equation over the weekend.

 

According to the Packerland Conference and Northeastern Conference athletic schedule website, these games have been postponed:

  • Baseball: Two Rivers vs. Gibraltar @ Gibraltar High School 
  • Baseball: Algoma vs. Luxemburg-Casco @ Luxemburg-Casco High School 
  • Softball: Chilton vs. Kewaunee @ Kewaunee High School 
  • Softball: Sevastopol vs. Algoma @ Algoma High School (JV 1 game)

Southern Door softball's matchup against Two Rivers at Vietnam Memorial Park is still scheduled to take place. The first pitch is scheduled for 4:30 p.m.

 

The Luxemburg-Casco's soccer team's scrimmage against De Pere is also still on with the first touch scheduled for 5 p.m.

Track round-up: Kirchman's personal best leads Algoma track

Many of he area's track teams head back to work on Tuesday at UW-Oshkosh, but Algoma got a head start on the week.

 

The Algoma track team brought their throwers and jumpers to Oconto Falls Monday night and post several top-five performances, including one event winner. Emily Kirchman won the girls' shotput competition with a personal best of 36-4 with teammate Faith Gerdmann right behind. Mason Melohn and Chris-Alan Ritchie rounded out the top five in the boys' competition with season-bests. Vivika Meverdenand Braden Crewe each leaped to top-five finishes in the high jump. 

 

Some of the girls' team will head to UW-Oshkosh for a meet Tuesday night. They will be joined by Lake Country Lutheran, Valley Christian, Lakeside Lutheran, Suring, Horicon, Seymour, Berlin, Brillion, Campbellsport, Chilton, Clintonville, Dodgeland, Elkhart Lake-Glenbeulah, Fox Valley Lutheran, Freedom, Gillett, Hustisford, Johnson Creek, Kiel
Laconia, Little Chute, Manawa, Lomira, Omro, Pacelli, Pardeeville, Peshtigo, Randolph, Rosholt, St. Mary Catholic, Sheboygan Falls, Shiocton, Two Rivers, Winnebago Lutheran Academy, New London, St. Mary's Springs Academy, Xavier, Southern Door, Green Lake/Princeton, Denmark, and Wrightstown.

 

Picture courtesy of Algoma Track and Field

Wisconsin set to battle North Texas in NIT Final Four

Despite all of the drama in the NCAA Tournament, the Wisconsin Badgers remain alive and in the Final Four in the NIT. Wisconsin is set to take on the North Texas Mean Green on Tuesday night. 

 

With all of the upsets and with the Badgers being on the NCAA Tournament bubble, who knows what would have happened if Wisconsin made the big dance, but we do know that with one more win they will be playing for a championship. The team has taken down some formidable opponents throughout their NIT run, defeating Bradley and Liberty at home, and recently taking down the top seeded Oregon Ducks in Eugene. 

 

Wisconsin will head to Vegas for the Final Four, and have found success there as of recently. Last season, the Badgers came back from Vegas with a different kind of trophy, after winning the Maui Jim Invitational last season en route to their 25-8 record and Big Ten Regular Season Championship. 

 

North Texas enters the matchup 29-7 and coming off a  65-59 win over the overall #1 Seeded Oklahoma State Cowboys. The Mean Green are led by their suffocating defense, as North Texas allows 55.7 points per game compared to the Badgers 63.8 points per game. 

 

Tip Off from Vegas is set for 6 PM on ESPN. 

New Eagles manager John Berns takes reins of successful program

After over 20+ years of coaching, John Berns will put the managerial cap back on for yet again another season, this time coaching his High School Alma Mater, Southern Door. 

 

After playing for the Eagles in the late 60’s, Berns returns to Southern Door to coach, replacing former Eagles head coach Dave Neinas. Neinas submitted his resignation in February, and the search for the next head coach had been ongoing since then. Coach Berns has recently been a coach at Sevastopol and Sturgeon Bay, and now after being inducted into the Southern Door Hall of Fame in early February, the longtime coach can finally call the Eagles his team. 

 

How Berns was hired however, was a bit of an interesting story. NRSN’s Gary Barta had a chance to sit down with the new Eagles coach, and was given some insight on how the job landed in his hands. 

 

 

Not only is he respected by the Eagles players, he is well known and respected by opposing coaches and fans as well. Sturgeon Bay’s new Baseball Head Coach Neal Henrigillis comes over from Peshtigo, and has had many battles with the coach. Henrigillis offered some thoughts and praises about the new Southern Door manager. 

 

 

With the beginning of the season pending due to the past snow storms and winter weather, the Eagles players will get an extended opportunity to gel with their one of a kind coach. Whether it be getting the swings back to normal, or ramping up their pitchers for game action, the Eagles of Southern Door are ready to chase their third straight Packerland Conference title. 

 

 

You can listen to the entire interview with Coach John Berns here

Blizzard fall to Pirates on the road

The second quarter proved fatal for the Green Bay Blizzard as they dropped their second straight game to start the season 55-41 to the Massachusetts Pirates.

 

The Blizzard were outscored 17-0 in the second quarter, rendering any attempt at a comeback against the Pirates futile. Trailing 31-7 in the third quarter, the Blizzard scored touchdowns on two straight possessions before they ended up trading scores with the Pirates the rest of the way.

 

Both the Blizzard's Ja'rome Johnson and the Pirates' Ale Bennefield threw for approximately 190 yards and three touchdowns, though it was Johnson that threw a costly pick. Both quarterbacks also ran for a pair of scores in the game.

 

The Blizzard's search for a win continues on Friday when they host Iowa at 6:05 p.m.

Tennis and golf begins on Monday

In between snow piles, you may find some athletes sneaking in their first workouts of the season.

 

According to the WIAA, calendar, Monday marks the first day of practice for the area's boys' golf and tennis teams. They could compete as soon as Thursday for golf and Friday for tennis, but Mother Nature may put the season on ice for the time being. Temperatures should at the very least be above freezing.

 

That is hopeful news for the area's baseball and girls' soccer teams, which can compete for the first time on Tuesday. 

Gamblers ghosted by Phantoms in shootout

The Green Bay Gamblers lost their second straight game by shootout Sunday afternoon 2-1 to the Youngstown Phantoms.

 

At the very least, the Gamblers showed excitement during the weekend as they scored a second last-second goal of the weekend when Raimonds Vitolins found the back of the net with a second to spare to tie the game at 1-1. After a scoreless overtime, the two teams needed six shootout participants to settle the game with the Phantoms' Jake Rozzi ending the game to pick up the extra point.

 

A Friday night matchup against Dubuque is all that separates the Gamblers from a forgettable Match for the team winning just two of its 11 games in the month, including three shootout losses. 

Algoma, Southern Door open week with indoor meet at Oconto Falls

Two Packerland Conference school teams will open their week with an indoor track meet on the road Monday afternoon.

 

Algoma and Southern Door will be joined by the host school. Coleman, and Crivitz for the meet that will feature both the girls and boys' teams. 

 

In their last meet, the Algoma Wolves' track team only had five kids compete but all five placed in the top six at Tuesday's indoor meet at Oconto Falls. Faith Gerdmann was the only girl to compete on Tuesday, taking second in the shot put with a season-best. For boys', Austin Miller won the pole vault while Braden Crewe's personal best leap was good enough for second place.

 

The first events begin at 4 p.m.

Gamblers trade goals with Steel in SO loss

The Green Bay Gamblers and the Chicago Steel traded goals until the bitter end of a 5-4 shootout loss Saturday night at the Resch Center.

 

After a scoreless first, the Gamblers' Jimmy Clark and Jayson Shaugabay answered goals by the Steel to make it 2-2 at the end of two. The Steel would be the ones answering the Gamblers' goals by Jimmy Clark and Matthew DiMarisco to tie the game at 4-4 at the end of regulation. After a scoreless overtime period, the Steel's Grayden Slipec scored the only goal in the shootout to give the visitors the victory.

 

The Gamblers are back in action on Sunday at 3:05 p.m. against Youngstown.  

Blizzard looks for first win vs. Pirates

The Green Bay Blizzard head east in hopes of capturing a victory away from the Massachusetts Pirates.

 

The Green Bay Blizzard closed out each half by being outscored by at least three touchdowns in a 76-30 loss last Sunday afternoon at the Resch Center to the Frisco Fighters. Blizzard quarterbacks Max Meylor and Ja'rome Johnson each threw one touchdown and a pair of interceptions while Terrence Johnson rushed for two touchdowns.

 

This is the first game of the season for the Pirates.

 

Kickoff is set for 1:05 p.m.

Packers re-signing contributors

With the team's biggest move still lurking somewhere between Wisconsin and New York, the Green Bay Packers have been making a number of smaller moves to make up their depth.

 

From Packers.com:

 

The Packers re-signed LB Justin Hollins. General Manager Brian Gutekunst announced the transaction Thursday. Hollins (6-5, 248), a fifth-year player out of the University of Oregon, played in six games for Green Bay last season after he was claimed off waivers from the Los Angeles Rams on Nov. 24, 2022. In those six contests for the Packers, he posted nine tackles (four solo), 2.5 sacks, four QB hits and three tackles for a loss.

 

The Packers re-signed LB Eric Wilson. General Manager Brian Gutekunst announced the transaction Saturday.

 

Wilson (6-1, 230), a seventh-year player out of the University of Cincinnati, was signed by the Packers off the New Orleans Saints' practice squad on Oct. 4, 2022. He went on to play in 13 games for the Packers and tied for the team lead with 13 special teams tackles. Wilson also recorded four tackles (two solo), a tackle for a loss and a sack on defense last season for Green Bay.

Brewers name Burnes opening day starter; inform Huira he will miss team

The Milwaukee Brewers announced many things on Friday, but the one that could mean the most is Corbin Burnes being named the Opening Day starter. 

 

Burnes figured to be the man that Manager Craig Counsell would appoint as the opening day starter, and it was confirmed early Friday morning. Counsell also released the starters for the Cubs series, which you can see down below in a tweet from Brewers beat report Adam McCalvy. 

The Cubs will throw Marcus Stroman as their opening day starter against the Brewers, who have moved on from their longtime prized prospect Keston Huira. Huira was notified mid-day yesterday that he would miss the Brewers opening day roster along with camp invite Tyler Naquin. 

Opening day for Major League Baseball is March 30th. 

Blizzard run past Barnstormers for first win

The Green Bay Blizzard led by 10 after the first quarter and never looked back in a 44-25 win over the Iowa Barnstormers at the Resch Center Friday night.

 

Quarterback Ja'Rome Johnson rushed for three scores and threw for another pair as the Blizzard had two separate 14-0 runs in the second half to put some distance between them after trading scores with the Barnstormers in the first half. Zach Reader found Caleb Smith twice in the endzone to lead the Barnstormers in the loss.

 

The Blizzard are next in action on April 16th at Sioux Falls.

Kewaunee, Gibraltar end week at Kjono Invite

Kewaunee and Gibraltar capped off the week with one last indoor track meet.

 

The Gibraltar girls' track team had a fruitful evening at the Pam Kjono Invite hosted by Manitowoc Lincoln. McKailey Reisen once again visited the top of the podium, winning the high jump and the 55m hurdles. Aria Nordahl (400m), Betsy Lecy (1600m), Rose Stackhouse (3200m), and the 4x400m and 4x800m relay teams also posted top 10 finishes.

 

Hannah Miller ran and leaped her way to several top-five finishes for the Kewaunee Storm girls' track team at the Kjono Invite hosted by Manitowoc Lincoln. Miller won the triple jump, took second in the long jump, and fourth in the 800m to lead the Storm. Jessica Barnica took third in the 55m hurdles and Fany Pecout took third in the 55m dash to also finish in the top five alongside the 4x400m relay.

 

 

Last-second goal puts Gamblers past Steel

The margins can't get much slimmer than they were Friday night in Geneva as the Green Bay Gamblers beat the Chicago Steel 4-3.

 

Down by two after the first period, Michael DeAngelo and Jacob Martin each tallied goals to make 2-2. The two teams would trade goals early in the third period, but Barrett Hall scored the game-winner with just one second remaining to send the Gamblers back to Green Bay on a high note. Kristoffer Eberly stopped 17 of the 20 shots he saw.

 

The two teams will head to the Resch Center for a Saturday 7:05 puck drop.

 

 

Track round-up: Storm boys takes fourth place at Herbert Invite

Luxemburg-Casco, Kewaunee, and Gibraltar all made the trip south on Thursday night to Manitowoc Lutheran High School for the 2023 edition of the Earl Herbert Invite.

 

The Kewaunee boys' track team scored the most points they have ever registered at the Earl Herbert Invite hosted by Manitowoc Lincoln High School on Thursday. Their 63 points were good enough to take fourth place overall. The team boasted several top-three performances to lead the way for the Storm, including event winners Jordan Lamack (high Jump) and Christopher Cullen (400m). Finishing just outside of the winner's circle was Maddix Mueller (Triple Jump) in second place. Mueller also captured a third-place finish in the high jump while the 3200m relay team featuring James Joski, Mitch Swagel, Paul Rosinsky, and Lamack and the 1600m relay team featuring Cullen, Swagel, Lamack, and Joski also took third.

 

The Luxemburg-Casco boys' track team made the trip down to Manitowoc Lincoln High School and posted several top-three performances at the Earl Hebert Invite Thursday. George Herlache was the top performer, pole vaulting his way to the top of the leaderboard with a height of over 12.5 feet. Trevor Beaupre leaped his way to a pair of third-place finishes in the long jump and the triple jump while the 4x200m relay also secured a third-place finish. Several other athletes earned personal records in the meet.

 

As the roster continues to build up after the winter sports season and vacations, so do the personal records for the Gibraltar boys' track team after competing at the Earl Herbert Invite at Manitowoc Lincoln High School Thursday afternoon. Much of the Vikings' success came from the 400m event, where all three entries finished in the top 10. Will Lecy (6th) and James Rericha (9th) finished on either side of 60 seconds and the 4x400m relay finished in eighth.

 

On Friday, it will be the girls' turn as Gibraltar and Kewaunee join Mishicot, Chilton, Elkhart Lake-Glenbeulah, Fond du Lac, Kimberly, Manitowoc Lutheran, Ozaukee, Plymouth, Sheboygan Falls, and Two Rivers.at Manitowoc Lincoln High School.

Softball, baseball seasons on standby

Don't expect to see any local teams in high school softball or baseball playing competitively anytime soon.

 

With much of the area still covered in snow from earlier in the month, several scrimmages and games have been either postponed or canceled. That includes a softball doubleheader between Southern Door and Wrightstown and a baseball scrimmage between Kewaunee and Oconto Falls.

 

Games on Tuesday have not been officially canceled, but at this point, they are unlikely to occur. 

 

The weather will delay the coaching debuts of several coaches. John Berns (Southern Door), Neal Henrigillis (Sturgeon Bay), and Jim Smasal (Sevastopol) are set to manage their new teams whenever the snow melts, but they will have to settle for indoor practices until then. 

Gamblers play home-and-home against Chicago

The Green Bay Gamblers and the Chicago Steel will take turns playing host this weekend as the two teams play a pair this weekend.

 

The Gamblers broke a month-long losing streak last weekend when they beat Team USA 7-3 at the Resch Center before they had the favor returned to them in a 7-4 loss the following night. The freefall has dropped the Gamblers to fourth place with 58 points, 12 points behind the Steel in the standings. The Steel meanwhile have won their last two games and four of their five games this month. A big reason for their success is their high firepower across its entire roster with six players in the top 10 for scoring. That includes Mack Celebrini with 74 points (41 goals, 33 assist). By comparison, the Gamblers are led in the scoring department by Eli Sebastian (17 G, 31A) with 48 points, which is the 21st most in the league.

 

The puck drops at 7:05 p.m. on both nights with the Gamblers traveling to Geneva, Ill. on Friday and back to Green Bay on Saturday. The Gamblers will also host Youngstown for a 3:05 p.m. matinee on Sunday.

Bucks travel to Utah for date with Jazz

The Milwaukee Bucks will take a trip to the west coast to look to continue their season success against the Western Conference when they take on the Utah Jazz on Friday night. 

 

That season success was shown after Milwaukee blew the doors off of the Spurs Wednesday night 130-94 behind Giannis Antetokoumpo’s 31 point 14 rebound night. Bobby Portis and Khris Middleton also registered double doubles in the win over the Spurs. The Bucks have 10 games remaining on their schedule, but still have three back to backs to deal with before the end of the season with those games coming against the Nuggets, Celtics and Bulls. 

 

The Utah Jazz this season have had a roller coaster of results thus far. From trading away their All-Stars in Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert in the offseason, to starting the season as one of the best teams in the West, the Jazz have done it all. They currently sit just a half game out of the play-in tournament, and will need help with wins or from the Dallas Mavericks or Los Angeles Lakers to make it in. Utah has been led this season by Lauri Markkanen. 

 

Tip from Utah is set for 8:00 P.M. 

Local Track and Field teams head to indoor meets

The Track and Field season is beginning to get into full swing as every local team has competed in at least one indoor meet up to this point. Once the snow finally melts, the teams can hit the outdoor track. 

 

At Manitowoc Lincoln, teams from Luxemburg-Casco, Gibraltar and Kewaunee will compete in the Earl Hebert Indoor Invite at Manitowoc Lincoln. They all will compete against the likes of Appleton East, Chilton, Elkhart Lake-Glenbeulah, Fond du Lac, Kiel, Manitowoc Lincoln, Manitowoc Lutheran, Mishicot, Ozaukee, Plymouth, Sheboygan Falls and Two Rivers.

 

Southern Door's JV Track and Field team will have a meet in Seymour. 

 

Both meets will have their events start at 4:00 P.M. 

 

 

Transfer portal wreaks havoc on Green Bay men's roster

For the third straight offseason, the Green Bay men's basketball will get a massive makeover thanks in part to the transfer portal.

 

WBAY reports that forward Cade Meyer and guard Davin Zeigler have entered the transfer portal just under two weeks after the school's athletic department announced the hiring of new head coach Sundance Wicks. Earlier this week, Zae Blake, Clarence Cummings III, and Randy Tucker entered the transfer portal according to WLUK. That represents five of the Phoenix's top six scorers leaving the program after a 3-29 season and two of the worst seasons in program history, which led to the firing of Will Ryan before the end of the year.

 

UPDATE: Since this story was published, Donovan Short, Garren Davis, and Nate Jenkins have also submitted their names into the transfer portal. 

 

Losing players to the transfer portal has not been new for the Phoenix, which had almost complete roster turnover following the 2020-2021 and the 2021-2022 seasons.

 

In his various interviews since taking the job, Wicks has embraced the challenge of rebuilding a dormant program, pointing out that with the exception of the last coach, every person that has led the program has won at some point in their tenure. 

Bucks blow past Spurs

The Milwaukee Bucks outscored the San Antonio Spurs in every quarter of its 130-94 victory on Wednesday.

 

Both teams had five players reach double figures, but it was the Bucks' Giannis Antetokounmpo, Khris Middleton, and Bobby Portis that had the final laugh. The trio each registered a double-double with Antetokounmpo scoring 31 points and grabbing 14 boards while Portis registered 19 points and 10 rebounds. Middleton's double-double was a little different, scoring 19 points and adding 10 assists. 

 

The Spurs' Devin Vassell led the way with 16 points in his team's 54th loss of the season.

 

The Bucks are back in action on Friday when they face the Utah Jazz at 8 p.m.

Door County Baseball League in need of umpires

Door County Baseball League players are practicing and the 2023 schedule is finalized.  But, the pool of DCBL umpires continues to dwindle and threatens the future of weekly games.  There is a need for eight umpires every week. There are literally only four Door County resident umpires.  Others are brought in from outside the county to fill the void. But that pool continues to drain, also. And host managers are being asked to have a stand-by at each game to step in if there is a need for an umpire at their home game.

 

Umpire-in-Chief for the DCBL, Roger Van Lanen, urges anyone interested in becoming a baseball umpire to seek certification through the WIAA or document their experience to be considered.  It’s just a matter of taking the WIAA test and having a background check. Umpires are compensated for each game they officiate.  The 2023 season kicks off on Sunday, May 14. For more information, contact Van Lanen at (920) 609-2214 or rvanlanen@new.rr.com .

 

The love of the sport is a means of giving back for the years of participation and passion for baseball.  Officiating can be mentally and physically challenging.  But it also brings fellowship, humor, boos and adrenaline rushes.  Whether behind the plate or in the field, umpires are key to a successful season of great home-town baseball. For love of the sport, step up to the plate.

Gibraltar's Reisen, Algoma's Miller capture top spots at Oconto Falls indoor track meet

Two local track athletes picked up event victories on Tuesday at their indoor meet hosted by Oconto Falls. 

 

The Algoma Wolves' track team only had five kids compete but all five placed in the top six at Tuesday's indoor meet at Oconto Falls.  Faith Gerdmann was the only girl to compete on Tuesday, taking second in the shot put with a season-best. For boys', Austin Miller won the pole vault while Braden Crewe's personal best leap  was good enough for second place.

 

McKailey Reisen opened her indoor track season on an impressive note for Gibraltar as the teams traveled to Oconto Falls. Reisen won the 55m hurdles and had top three performances in the 45m dash and high jump. The 4x800m relay also had an impressive showing as the team made up of Betsy Lecy, Chloe Alexander, Krista Church, and Lilla Szakala took second place. For the boys, Sean Neal, Emmett Moroney, Charlie Sauter, and James Rericha took third place in the 4x100m relay.

 

Click on the links above for more results for each school

 

Badgers advance in NIT with nailbiter over Oregon

Behind 18 points by Max Klesmit, the Wisconsin Badgers men's team rallied to beat the Oregon Ducks 61-58 in the third round of the NIT tournament on the road. 

The Badgers held a 27-26 lead at halftime, only to see the Ducks go on a 10-0 run early in the second half to take a 43-37 lead.   Wisconsin was able to come up with key stops at the end of game and Chucky Hepburn hit a three-pointer with 55 seconds left to give the Badgers the lead for good.

Hepburn added 12 points while Steven Crowl chipped in nine points and ten rebounds.

Oregon (21-15) were led by Keeshawn Barthelemy who scored 15 points.

Wisconsin (20-14) will now travel to Las Vegas to play North Texas next Tuesday in the final four of the NIT.   

Bucks set for matchup with Spurs

The Milwaukee Bucks are slowly closing in on clinching the top overall seed in the Eastern Conference, and a win against the San Antonio Spurs on Wednesday night would certainly help their case. 

 

Still without the likes of Jae Crowder and Goran Dragic, Milwaukee defeated the Toronto Raptors 118-111 Sunday night. The Bucks find themselves 2.5 games ahead of the Boston Celtics for the top spot in the Eastern Conference postseason, with 11 games yet to be played, including one against those Celtics. Khris Middleton has seemed to find his stride as of late, going 5 for 8 from deep in the win over Toronto. Milwaukee finds themselves with potentially 10 players that could contribute come playoff time. 

 

San Antonio has been eliminated from playoff contention as they enter the matchup against Milwaukee at 19-52 overall. An overall down season from Gregg Popovich and the Spurs could end up in a trap game scenario for the Bucks. San Antonio won the last matchup between the two teams 11-93, but Milwaukee was without Giannis Antetokoumpo, Jrue Holiday, Khris Middleton and others. 

 

Tip from the Fiserv Forum is set for 7:00 P.M. 

DCY Swim Team has prolific showing at state

A record number of DCY Swimmers competed at the Wisconsin YMCA State Championships this past weekend in Brown Deer, WI, with fantastic individual and relay results. 64 DCY swimmers, ranging in age from 8 to 18,  swam in the 3 day event against 22 teams from Ys around the state. Overall, the boys team was leading the entire meet until the last event, where 2 teams edged us out. The top 3 boys teams’ scores were separated by a mere 33 points with 186 events swam throughout the 3 day meet. It was an incredible accomplishment for our boy's team to be so close! Our nine and ten year old boys and girls led the way, becoming state champions in their age division! Our 8-Under age group was 2nd overall, for both boys and girls. These results show how dynamic our younger swimmers are at the state level. Despite having a smaller team, our girl's team placed 6th overall, and our DCY team placed 6th combined! Congratulations to all of our DCY Swimmers on a great season!

 

STATE CHAMPIONS: 

Jack Monfils, 13-14 Mens 200 Breastroke, 400 Individual Medley. 

Daylia Sund, 13-14 Womens 100 Breastroke, 200 Breastroke. 

Nadia Kurek, 8-Under girls 100 freestyle. 

Michael Hoernke, 7-Under 100 freestyle. 

 

STATE CHAMPION RELAYS:

9-10 Boys 200 FREE RELAY and 200 MEDLEY RELAY: Odin Deviley, Derek Kratcha, Aiden Schley, Landon Reinhardt. 

 

STATE RUNNER-UP (2ND Place)

Max Aleksandrowicz, 8-Under boys 25 back. 

Nadia Kurek, 8-Under girls 50 free and 50 back. 

Landon Reinhardt, 9-10 boys 50 breastroke, 200 Ind Medley. 

Aiden Schley, 9-10 boys 50 butterfly, 100 Ind. Medley. 

Zofia Michalski, 9-10 girls 100 back. 

Reese Sund, 11-12 boys 100 yard Ind. Medley, 50 breastroke. 

Jack Nonfils,13-14 girls 200 Ind. Medley. 

Christiana Braun, 15-open girls 400 Ind. Medley. 

 

State Runner-up Relays: 

15 Open Boys 800 yard Free Relay: Colton Blackley, Thomas Kratcha, Jack Monfils, Logan Filar 

15 Open Girls 800 yard Free Relay: Christiana Braun, Julia Michalski, Cassie Rankin, Sanya Wienke 

9-10 Girls 200 yard Medley: Relay Ashlyn Sixel, Avery Hanson, Zofia Michalski, Gwen Preis 

9-10 Girls 200 yard Free Relay :Ashlyn Sixel, Avery Hanson, Zofia Michalski, Gwen Preis 

 

High Points 

Girls 

1. Nadia Kurek 75 

2. Daylia Sund 67 

3. Christiana Braun 62 

4. Zofia Michalski 60 

5. Harper Jennerjohn 42 

 

Boys

1.Reese Sund 71 

2. Landon Reinhardt 70 

3. Aiden Schley 68 

4. Jack Monfils 68 

5. Leo Mathews 52

Algoma and Gibraltar track team head to Oconto Falls

Algoma and Gibraltar will have their track teams competing at the Oconto Falls Indoor Meet on Tuesday afternoon. 

 

This will be the 3rd meet of the season already for the Wolves of Algoma, with a boys meet at UW-Oshkosh and team meet at Ripon. For Gibraltar, it will be their first meet of the season so far, getting themselves ready for the outdoor season whenever that may come. 

 

Algoma and Gibraltar will be competing against Gillett, Oconto Falls and Suring. The first events will begin at 4:00 P.M. 

 

 

Packers lining up support for NFL Draft bid

The Green Bay Packers are trying to put the pieces together for a bid to welcome the NFL Draft to its Titletown campus as soon as 2025.

 

According to the Green Bay Press-Gazette, the municipal governing bodies of Green Bay and Ashwaubenon are looking to pass resolutions signaling their support for the bid. That includes considering community leader agreements that would have to the two municipalities pick up the tab for the NFL among other requirements. The Packers have pledged $1 million for the cause. 

 

Discover Green Bay predicts hosting the NFL Draft would have a $6 million to $7 million impact on the city as hundreds of thousands of people come to attend and work at the draft. 

 

An announcement is expected to occur in May.

Second quarter woes send Phoenix women into offseason vs. Bowling Green

For the second time this month, the Green Bay Phoenix women's basketball team went cold against a talented team from Ohio as they saw their season end in a 68-51 loss to Bowling Green in the second round of the WNIT.

 

The two teams traded shots early to enter the second quarter tied at 17. The Phoenix did not shoot great in the opening period and saw it plummet in the second quarter, scoring only five points in the second quarter and entered halftime down 30-22. The Falcons, led by 25 points and 10 rebounds by Allison Day, would extend their lead throughout the second half, leading by over 20 points in the final quarter. The Phoenix simply could not handle the size of the Falcons as they were outrebounded 41-30 and outscored in the paint 38-10.

 

According to the Green Bay sports information office, Jasmine Kondrakiewicz led Green Bay with 11 points, two steals, and three blocks. Jenna Guyer and Natalie McNeal were strong off the bench, with the latter adding six points and two steals while Guyer chipped in with seven points, three steals, and two blocks.

 

In other college basketball action, the Wisconsin men will play at Oregon in the third round of the NIT while Milwaukee lost to Charlotte 76-65.

Drew Daoust receives All-State honor alongside regional basketball success

Door County has its second All-State player of the season for Basketball as Drew Daoust on the boys circuit was named to the Division 3 All-State team. He joins Bailey Rikkola who was named to the Division 5 All-State team on the girls side early last week. 

 

Daoust had one of the best seasons in the local area's history, finishing third in the state in scoring at 32.1 points per game. Drew shot 53 percent from the floor, 82 percent from the free-throw line and 39 percent from three-point range. Daoust will enter next year with 1,340 career points, looking to break the county record held by Nathan Vogel, and reach 2,000 points. 

 

The last All-State player for the Eagles of Southern Door was Ryan Claflin on the 2020 team. Claflin finished his Eagle career with over 1,100 career points. 

 

As a sophomore, Daoust has a chance to become a 3 time All-State player at his current pace. 

 

Other local players on the All-State list included two Green Bay NEW Lutheran seniors in Tristian Lynch and Elijah Meerstein. Meerstein was listed as an Honorable Mention with 15 points per game and nearly nine assists per game. Lynch was one of 10 players on the All-State list for Division Five. He led the Blazers with just under 23 points per game. 

 

Also, regional teams had their fair share of success at the Kohl Center this weekend, with two teams from the region taking home a gold ball, and another team who faced a local team in their path raising one as well. 

 

In Division 1 it was De Pere defeating Arrowhead 69-49 to complete their perfect season. The Redbirds had just two wins that were by less than 10 points, with both of those wins coming against powerhouses Wisconsin Lutheran (54-52) and Division 2 Champions Pewaukee (70-63). 

 

Division 3 saw the Brillion Lions take down West Salem 61-55. Brillion defeated local teams like Kewaunee (65-39), Southern Door (79-31), and Luxemburg-Casco (75-34). The Lions finished their season 29-1 with their only loss coming by 1 point against Mosinee. 

 

Finally, in Division 5 Newman Catholic defeated McDonell Catholic 66-54 for the state title. Newman Catholic defeated the Gibraltar Vikings in the Sectional Final to clinch their ticket to Madison. The Vikings have now lost to the last two reigning Division 5 Champions. 

Green Bay women welcome Bowling Green for WNIT matchup

The second round of the Women's NIT is for the birds as the Green Bay Phoenix host the Bowling Green Falcons Monday night.

 

They ran past Niagara 84-52 in the opening round of the WNIT, the Phoenix's first-ever win in the annual postseason tournament. The Phoenix were able to coast in the second half after outscoring the Purple Eagles 25-5 in the second quarter. A 7-0 run in the first quarter and a four-minute defensive stand made it a comfortable  49-18 lead at the break. Luxemburg-Casco alum Cassie Schiltz led the Phoenix with a career-high 22 points. Sydney Levy added 18 points and Jasmine Kondrakiewicz chipped in nine points. The Purple Eagles were led by Angel Parker, who scored 17 points as the team failed to shoot 30 percent as a team.

 

The Falcons finished 28-6 overall and second in the Mid-American Conference with a 14-4 conference record. They beat Liberty 87-80 to clinch a second game in their WNIT run. According to Green Bay's media department, the Falcons deploy a balanced offense, with five players averaging in double figures. Elissa Brett leads the team at 14.9 points and 6.0 rebounds per game. 

 

Tip-off is set for 7 p.m.

Blizzard roughed up by Fighters

The Green Bay Blizzard closed out each half by being outscored by at least three touchdowns in a 76-30 loss Sunday afternoon at the Resch Center to the Frisco Fighters.

 

The Blizzard opened up each half well, leading the game 16-13 after one quarter and closing the gap in the third quarter. They were outscored by the Fighters 33-0 in the second quarter and 21-0 in the fourth quarter to render the final result. 

 

Blizzard quarterbacks Max Meylor and Ja'rome Johnson each threw one touchdown and a pair of interceptions while Terrence Johnson rushed for two touchdowns. T.J. Edwards rushed for six touchdowns and threw for another to lead the Fighters to victory.

 

The Blizzard are back in action on March 26th at Massachusetts/

Area Baseball and Girls Soccer teams begin action Monday

Today the clock officially says go on the area’s baseball and girls soccer teams to get their first official practices underway, even though snow still covers most of the area. 

 

Southern Door will look to repeat as Packerland Conference champions after their undefeated regular season in baseball, and Sturgeon Bay girls soccer will look to improve on their record from last year as things get underway. Below are the local All-Packerland Conference selections from last season that may be returning to action this season. 

 

PITCHERS 

Cal Ihlenfeldt, Kewaunee (1st, SR)

Tyler Neinas, Southern Door (1st, SO)

Drew Daoust, Southern Door (HM, SO)

 

CATCHERS

Mitchell Thompson, Kewaunee (1st, SR)

Braden Kita, Gibraltar-Washington Island (2nd, SO)

Curt Meyer, Sturgeon Bay (2nd, JR)

 

INFIELDERS

Payton Kohnle, Kewaunee (1st, SR) 

Jack Peterson, Southern Door (1st, SR)

Emmett Braschnewitz, Sturgeon Bay (2nd, SR)

Chase Romdenne, Algoma (2nd, SO)

Collin Spranger, Kewaunee (HM, JR) 

 

OUTFIELDERS

Christian Counard, Southern Door (1st, SR)

Thomas Stangel, Kewaunee (1st, JR) 

Rylan Caldecott, Gibraltar-Washington Island (2nd, SR)

Jaden Diller, Southern Door (2nd, SR) 

Grant Vandervest, Algoma (2nd, JR) 

 

UTILITY-DH PLAYER

Caleb Schaller, Kewaunee (1st, SR) 

Carson Leist, Algoma (HM, SO) 

 

For Luxemburg-Casco, here are some potential returning players that made the NEC All-Conference teams. 

 

UTILITY-DH PLAYER

Chris VanderWielen (1st, JR)

 

OUTFIELDERS

Ryan Routhieaux (2nd, SR)

 

INFIELDERS

Garrett Simonar (HM, SR) 

 

For Soccer, Luxemburg Casco could be returning three All-NEC players to their team that went 7-10 last season. 

 

MIDFIELDERS

Heather Iverson (1st, SR)

 

KEEPERS

Tabi Lemens (1st, JR) 

 

FORWARDS

Haley Paye (2nd, SR)

Wisconsin basketball takes NIT to Oregon, Marquette's season ends

Two of the state's Division 1 basketball teams saw their season get extended by at least one more game while another had theirs end on Sunday.

 

Marquette had their run cut short in Columbus Sunday evening, losing to Michigan State 69-62. The Spartans took a five-point lead into the locker room, but the Golden Eagles took an early lead thanks to a few three-pointers. Their hot streak from behind the arc went cold, allowing the Spartans to climb back to retake the lead for the good despite a few charges from the Golden Eagles late. Tyson Walker led all scorers with 23 points in the victory for the Spartans with former Marquette product Joey Hauser adding 14. The Golden Eagles were led by Olivier-Maxence Prosper's 16 points. Kameron Johnson and Oso Ighodaro each posted double figures in the loss.

 

Wisconsin took back the Kohl Center after a weekend of high school hoops and outlasted the visiting Liberty Flames 75-71. The Badgers every one of Chucky Hepburn's 27 points in the victory.  They also used their size to their advantage as Tyler Wahl posted 16 points and Steven Crowl added 14 while the Badgers also grabbed seven more rebounds than the visiting Flames. The Badgers were down by seven points at one point in the second half and down by one entering the game's final minute, but the timely free throw shooting helped them secure the win and a trip to Oregon on Tuesday. The Ducks will host the Badgers for an 8 p.m. tip Tuesday after they beat UCF in their second-round matchup. 

 

Milwaukee beat Stetson in their CBI opener 87-83 in overtime. The Panthers outscored the Hatters 11-7 in the extra frame, led by BJ Freeman's 43 points. Three other Panthers scored in double figures. The Panthers will play against Charlotte in Daytona Beach Monday night at 6:30 p.m.

Bucks look to bounce back against Raptors

The Milwaukee Bucks will look to bounce back from a rare loss to the Indiana Pacers on Thursday by turning their attention to hosting the Toronto Raptors. 

 

No Brook Lopez, Jae Crowder or Goran Dragic was a problem for Milwaukee Thursday night, as they gave up their second highest scoring total of the season at 139 for a 139-123 final score. Two former Bucks gave Milwaukee fits as Jordan Nwora and George Hill combined for 27 points on the night. The bench for the Bucks struggled, and could not get shots to fall. The Bucks move onto their next game against the Raptors, who they are 2-0 against. 

 

Toronto is fresh off of a game against the Minnesota Timberwolves last night, so this will be the second night of a back to back for the Raptors. Pascal Siakam and Fred VanVleet have led the team so far this season in scoring, with 24.2 for Siakam and 19.4 for VanVleet. The Raptors find themselves fighting to stay in the play-in tournament, while also trying to get a playoff spot secured with a six seed. 

 

Tipoff from Fiserv Forum is set for 7 P.M. 

Badgers ready for Liberty in second round of NIT

The Wisconsin Badgers will look to win another game in the NIT Tournament on Sunday when they take on the Liberty Flames. 

 

Wisconsin took down Bradley early in the week on Tuesday by a score of 81-62 behind a career night from Steven Crowl. The win was the best basketball Wisconsin has played since maybe the non-conference slate. The Badgers will look to continue that trend throughout the tournament, and look for some hardware to bring home as well. 

 

The Flames of Liberty come into the matchup against Wisconsin with a 27-8 overall record. Liberty found themselves in the Atlantic Sun Conference finals against Kennesaw State, where they lost in the final seconds, preventing them from punching their ticket to the NCAA Tournament and putting them in the NIT. The Flames are coming off of a 62-57 win over Villanova in the opening round of the NIT, and will look to play upset to another power six conference team Sunday. 

 

The matchup between these two teams will be the first in the two schools history, with the only two familiar opponents between the teams being Northwestern and Bradley. Liberty played the two teams in the Cancun Challenge back in November, losing to the Wildcats 66-52, and beating Bradley 55-44. Wisconsin fell in two close games to Northwestern, and blew out Bradley last time out. 

 

Tip from Madison is set for 11 AM on ESPN2. The winner of this matchup will take on the winner of Oregon/UCF in the Quarterfinals. 

Six goal second sprints Gamblers past Team USA

It's hard to lose when you score six goals in a periodMatthew DiMarsico's 20th goal of the season cut the deficit to 2-1 heading into the second period before the Luck of the Irish reared its head at the Resch Center. The Gamblers scored six goals in the second period, four of which occurred in the opening eight minutes.Michael DeAngelo, Barrett Hall, DiMarisco, Carter Rose, and Nicholas Vantassell all scored in the frame. Eli Sebastian ended the evening with four assists while DiMarisco also registered four points with two assists paired with his two goals.

 

The Gamblers and Team USA are back at it Saturday night at 7:05 p.m. 

as the Green Bay Gamblers found out in their 7-4 win over Team USA Friday night.

 

 

Packers sign S Tarvarius Moore, LS Matt Orzech

The Green Bay Packers signed S Tarvarius Moore and LS Matt Orzech. The transaction was announced Friday by General Manager Brian Gutekunst.

Moore (6-1, 200), a sixth-year player, was originally drafted by the San Francisco 49ers in the third round (No. 95 overall) of the 2018 NFL Draft out of Southern Mississippi. He played in 61 regular season games with 13 starts during the regular season, registering 87 tackles (63 solo), six passes defensed, two forced fumbles and a fumble recovery. Moore also registered 26 tackles on special teams. He appeared in six postseason contests and recorded a tackle (solo), two passes defensed and an interception as well as three special teams tackles.

 

Orzech (6-3, 245), a fourth-year player, was originally signed as an undrafted free agent out of Azusa Pacific University by the Baltimore Ravens in 2019. After being released by the Ravens after training camp, he was claimed off waivers by the Jacksonville Jaguars and played in all 16 games in 2019. Orzech was released by the Jaguars on Sept. 5, 2020 and went on to spend time on the practice squads of the Miami Dolphins and Tennessee Titans during the 2020 season. After being released by the Titans in May of 2021, he was claimed off waivers by the Los Angeles Rams and went on to play in 34 regular season games and four postseason contests for the Rams over the next two seasons (2021-22).

 

You can keep of the Packers' other free agents here. The  list includes departing Packers players like DE Dean Lowry (Minnesota and TE Robert Tonyan (Chicago).

Algoma, Kewaunee finish off first week of indoor track

Two county rivals found themselves together at the same track meet for their second day of competition in as many days.

 

The Kewaunee track teams produced four event winners and several other top-five performances in Friday's Princeton/Green Lake Invitational hosted at Ripon College. On the boys' side, Christopher Cullen (400m), Maddix Mueller (high jump, triple jump), and the 4x800m relay all won their events. In addition, Cullen (800m), Maurits Chabre (3200m), Jordan Lamack (high jump,  triple jump), DJ Echos (long jump),  and the 4x400m relay produced top-five performances. For the girls, Hannah Miller (long jump, triple jump, 1600m), Wren Kunesh (pole vault),  Fany Pecout (60m, 400m), and the 4x400m relay captured top-five finishes.

 

It appears the Algoma track teams' success will lean on its field events after a strong showing by the specialists at the Princeton/Green Lake Invitational hosted by Ripon College Friday night. All six of its top-five finishers were in the field events. For the boys, Mason Melohn posted a personal record in the shot put, as did Braden Crewe in the high jump and Austin Miller in the pole vault. The girls stuck together for Algoma with Emily Kirchman and Faith Gerdmann finished 2 and 3 in the shootout. Vivika Meverden finished in the top five in high jump. 

Niagara falls as Green Bay women pick up first ever WNIT victory

The postseason will continue for the Green Bay women's basketball team as they ran past Niagara 84-52.

 

The Phoenix were able to coast in the second half after outscoring the Purple Eagles 25-5 in the second quarter. A 7-0 run in the first quarter and a four-minute defensive stand made it a comfortable  49-18 lead at the break. 

 

Luxemburg-Casco alum Cassie Schiltz led the Phoenix with a career-high 22 points. Sydney Levy added 18 points and Jasmine Kondrakiewicz chipped in nine points. The Purple Eagles were led by Angel Parker, who scored 17 points as the team failed to shoot 30 percent as a team.

 

The Phoenix's first WNIT win means they get to stay at the Kress Center to host Bowling Green. The Falcons defeated Liberty 87-80 on Thursday to advance to the second round. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m.

 

 

Track teams open season; Algoma and Kewaunee head out again Friday

Several track teams headed out on the road Thursday afternoon for their first indoor meets of the year.

 

The Algoma Track and Field Boys Team will have two meets in two days after competing at UW-Oshkosh on Thursday. Part of their boys competed at UW Oshkosh last night. Leading the boys in points was Senior Austin Miller placing 2nd in the pole vault, his first medal. Getting 5th in the 3200m run was Sophomore Alex Kirchman, his first medal also. Junior Mason Melohn 7th in shot and senior Cole Younk finished 8th, both with career-bests.

 

The Kewaunee JV Storm Boys Track start the 2023 season with a great 2nd Place finish at the Wausau West 8 team Invite. The Storm fell to D1 Wausau West by the narrowest of margins 125.5 to Kewaunee's 125.

 

Luxemburg-Casco's George Herlache sprung past his competition in the teams' first indoor track meet of the new season. For the boys' squad, Herlache posted a height of 12-00 in the pole vault to win the meet. Logan Vandermause (60m and 200m), Jack Rollin (high jump), Trevor Beaupre (long juimp and triple jump), and the 4x200m relay team posted top-five performances. The girls had plenty to boast about as well. Their 4x200m team nearly won their event while Grace Seering (60m hurdles) and Linsey Pardowsky (shot put) posted top-five performances.

 

A familiar name topped the leaderboard for the Sevastopol track teams at Ripon College's Waters Meet on Thursday. Bea Dramm ran the 1600m in 5:45 to win the event as the Pioneers' top finisher. She also finished in the Top 10 for the 800m as did Kylie Duessler in the 60m and 200m events. Ezra Linnan (1600m) and the 4 x 200m relay were the top finishers for the boys with each taking 14th place.

 

Sturgeon Bay track's Espen Walker garnered his first win of the season as the team got the indoor season underway at the Ripon College Waters Meet on Thursday. 

His leap of 5'10 in the high jump helped capture the team's only event win and the highest placement of any Sturgeon Bay track athlete. Chase Hasenjager (high jump), Julia Kurek (1600m run), and Ella Tarkowski (60m dash) all took posted top-five performances.

 

Algoma Track and Field and Kewaunee Track and Field contributed to this report. Picture courtesy of Algoma Track and Field.

 

Gamblers look to flip script against Team USA

The Green Bay Gamblers will try to figure out how to get past Team USA this weekend as they try to break a five-game losing streak.

 

They have captured only one point during that time, coming from a shootout loss to Youngstown last weekend. Team USA captured a pair of victories earlier in the month against the Gamblers, winning the games 6-3 and 3-2. 

 

The puck drop for both games is at 7:05 p.m.

Door County YMCA Swim Team takes first place at Sectional Meet

The DCY Swim Team made a splash at the Northwest YMCA Sectional Meet in Wausau this past weekend, taking first place with an impressive 700+ point lead. 89 DCY Swimmers participated, proudly representing our Y and our community.

 

The girls placed second overall, while the boys took first place, showcasing their team's depth and talent. DCY SWIM's team goal was to finish the season strong at this meet, and they delivered a spectacular display of great time drops, adding more than 14 swimmers to their State team.

 

DCY Swim team dominated the competition with 59 Sectional Champions and 46 Sectional 2nd place finishes, including relays and individual events. The team also had more than 90 Personal Best Times in the meet, a testament to their dedication and hard work throughout the season.

 

"Our team is incredibly proud of our swimmers and their achievements at the Northwest YMCA Sectional Meet," said Coach Mike McHugh. "We are thrilled to have set a record of 64 swimmers qualifying for the State Meet and eclipsing 145 swimmers this year, another new record of our program. We look forward to traveling to the Walter Schroeder Aquatic Center in Brown Deer, WI. this next weekend for our State Championship Meet and finishing the season strong."

  

DCY Swim’s success at the Northwest YMCA Sectional Meet is a testament to their hard work, dedication, and commitment to excellence in the pool. Congratulations to the team on their outstanding performance, and best of luck at the State Championship Meet.

 

 

Green Bay opens WNIT against Niagara

The Green Bay Phoenix will look for their first win in the WNIT when they welcome Niagara to the Kress Events Center on Thursday.

 

It marks the third time the program has hosted a WNIT game and the third time will battle the Purple Eagles. The Phoenix hope to win their first WNIT game after qualifying for the consolation tournament in 2001, 2006, 2008, 2014, 2019, and 2022.

 

The Phoenix qualified as the Horizon League automatic bid after winning the regular season but suffered a cold shooting streak at the wrong time when they lost to Cleveland State 73-61. In their return to the top of the conference, Head coach Kevin Borseth was tabbed Coach of the Year for the ninth time, while Sydney Levy was named All-League First Team, and Bailey Butler was named All-League Second Team and All-Defense. 

 

The Purple Eagles finished third in the MAAC and lost in the semifinals of their conference tournament. They do pride themselves on defense, forcing a nation-high 28.4 turnovers per game. 

 

The two sides have not played each other since the Phoenix won the two games in consecutive years in the late 1980s. The winner of the game will either play Bowling Green or Liberty in the second round of the WNIT, which would take place between March 18th and 21st.

 

The game will tip off at 7 p.m. with the new men's coach, Sundance Wicks, making his first public appearance since being tapped as the program's leader earlier this week.

Track teams open indoor season

Even if it is a little hard to see the track outside, local teams will head indoors for their first competitive action of the season on Thursday.

 

At Ripon College, the boys' teams from Luxemburg-Casco and Sturgeon Bay are scheduled to compete against the likes of  Bay Port, Beaver Dam, Berlin, Hartford Union, Howards Grove, Marshall, Menasha, Neenah, New Holstein, North Fond du Lac, Oakfield MS/HS, Oshkosh North, Pardeeville, Rio Community, Waterloo, Waupun, Wautoma, and Winneconne. The first events are scheduled to begin at 4 p.m.

 

In Marinette, Sevastopol's boys' team is scheduled to compete against Bay Port, Beaver Dam. Berlin, Hartford Union, Marshall, Menasha, Neenah, New Holstein, North Fond du Lac, Oakfield, Oshkosh North, Pardeeville, Rio Community, Waterloo, Waupun, Wautoma, and Winneconne. The first events begin at 4 p.m.

 

Kewaunee is scheduled to travel to Wausau West to face the host school, Antigo, Cadott, Crandon, Gresham, Tigerton, and Wausau East with the first events beginning at 4 p.m. Both the boys and the girls' teams will compete at this meet. 

 

Hosted by the Lourdes Academy at UW-Oshkosh, Algoma and Southern Door will see Lake Country Lutheran, Suring, Catholic Memorial, Horicon, Seymour, Brillion, Campbellsport, Chilton, Clintonville, Dodgeland, Elkhart Lake-Glenbeulah, Fox Valley Lutheran, Freedom, Gillett, Hustisford, Kiel, Laconia, Little Chute, Manawa, Lomira, Omro, Pacelli, Peshtigo, Randolph, Rosholt, St. Mary Catholic, Sheboygan Falls, Shiocton, Two Rivers, Winnebago Lutheran Academy, New London, Iola-Scandinavia, and Denmark. The meet begins at 4:45 p.m.

 

 

 

Pioneers' Rikkola stellar play gets rewarded with All-State nomination

Sevastopol’s Bailey Rikkola has been named to WBCA’s Division 5 All-State Team, adding yet another honor for the guard's spectacular senior season. 

 

Bailey averaged 16.4 points, 4.7 rebounds, 3.3 assists, and 4.4 steals per game throughout the 27 games played by the Pioneers resulting in a 25-2 season ultimately coming to an end against Wabeno-Laona. According to wissports.net, Rikkola has led Sevastopol to a 43-10 record in her junior and senior year seasons. 

 

She will add this accomplishment to her Packerland Conference Player of the Year award she received early last year. Rikkola joins 10 other girls in the entire Division Five to make the team, being one of the five seniors to make the list. 

 

Sevastopol will move onto the softball season, where they look to take a trip once again to the Sectional Finals, and potentially further. 

Rodgers "intends" to play for Jets in 2023

Aaron Rodgers will be a New York Jet, now we just wait for the trade compensation to be announced. 

 

Rodgers went on the Pat McAfee Show today on Wednesday confirming the rumors that he was interested in the New York Jets, and said “he wants to play, and he wants to play for the New York Jets.” Aaron said he made the decision last Friday. 

 

Rodgers also said when he went into his darkness retreat he was at a 90-10 percentage split that he was going to retire. Between conversations with the Packers before and after the retreat and how he felt about the end of last season, Rodgers said he felt it was the right time to move on. 

 

Adam Schefter of ESPN reported early on Tuesday that WR Allen Lazard has signed a deal with the New York Jets, which was the first sign of life that a trade between the Packers and Jets could be brewing. In later reports it was mentioned that Lewis and Cobb were also on New York’s radar. 

 

This would leave Green Bay with only three targets on the offense who caught more than 40 passes last season, with one of them being running back Aaron Jones and the other two being Christian Watson and Romeo Doubs, both rookies. 

 

Starting in September it will be the Jordan Love era for the Green Bay Packers. 

Wicks named UWGB men's basketball coach

The search for the next head coach for the UW-Green Bay Phoenix men’s basketball coach is over.  Sundance Wicks was hired Tuesday by the school after three years as an assistant coach at Wyoming.

 

Wicks was chosen over other finalists for the position, former Phoenix player Ben Johsnson, Cincinnati coach John Brannen, Hillsdale coach John Tharp, and basketball announcer Doug Gottlieb. 

 

Wicks, will replace Will Ryan who was fired as the coach for UWGB in January after a 15-61 record in the past three seasons.

 

(photo courtesy of UWGB athletics)

Bucks eclipse the Suns on the road

The Milwaukee Bucks continued their winning ways with an impressive 116-104 victory over the Phoenix Suns at Footprint Center.  Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 36 points and nearly had a triple-double with 11 boards and eight assists to lead the Bucks, who finished their brief west coast trip 2-1 .  Brook Lopez added 21 more points and pulled down 10 rebounds as well.  Jae Crowder and Bobby Portis contributed 11 points each off the bench as the Bucks won their 21st game in the past 23 games.

 

Devin Booker paced the Suns with 30 points and Deandre Ayton added 16 points and eight rebounds in the loss.

 

Milwaukee (50-19) now has a three game lead over the Boston Celtics in the NBA Eastern Conference with 13 games remaining in the regular season. 

 

The Bucks return home to face the Indiana Pacers on Thursday night at Fiserv Forum with tipoff set for 7 p.m.   

Badgers advance in NIT with win over Bradley

Behind a career night by Steven Crowl, the Wisconsin Badgers cruised to an 81-62 win over the Bradley Braves in the first round of the NIT tournament in Madison.  Crowl scored a career-high 36 points and added nine rebounds to lead the Badgers.  He shot 12/16 from the field, including 5/7 from the three-point arc.  Max Klesmit poured in 16 and Conner Essegian tallied 14 more for Wisconsin. 

 

The Badgers took a 40-35 lead into halftime and never let the Braves get any closer as Wisconsin only turned the ball over three times the entire night.

 

Wisconsin (18-14) will play #2 Liberty on Sunday at time to be determined. 

Lazard signs with Jets

In a precursor to Aaron Rodgers possibly winding up in New York, the New York Jets announced Tuesday that they have reportedly signed wide receiver Allen Lazard to a contract.  Lazard, one of Rodgers' favorite targets the past five seasons, is signing a deal that is for four years and $44 million.  

 

Coming off his best season last year, Lazard caught 60 passes for 788 yards and six touchdowns.

 

According to other reports, Aaron Rodgers gave the Jets a list of players he would like to play with in New York, including Lazard's former teammates, Randall Cobb and Mercedes Lewis.

 

The 6'5" Lazard will offer the Jets a big target and reunite him with offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hacket who coached in Green Bay for three years. 

   

Sturgeon Bay's Blau returns to Glory

Sturgeon Bay native Kenzie Blau will be playing close to home again this summer.

 

The Green Bay Glory announced that Blau would rejoin the team for their 2023 campaign. She is coming off a 2022 season for Carroll University where she registered one assist and seven shots on goal across 20 starts as a senior defender.

 

Last season, Blau played 250 minutes for the Glory while committing just one foul across seven games.

 

Picture courtesy of Green Bay Glory

 

Packers re-sign Nixon

The player many fans and pundits credit with turning around the fortunes of the Green Bay Packers' special teams unit has reportedly signed a new deal.

 

Multiple sources say the Packers have re-signed kick and punt returner Keisan Nixon to a one-year, $6 million deal. It is a big raise for the primarily special teamer, who signed a one-year, $965,000 contract to play for the Green and Gold last year. 

 

It was a part of a busy day in the NFL as the legal tampering period started on Monday ahead of the official start of free agency on Wednesday. NFL Insider Trey Wingo had reported a long-awaited deal between the Packers and the New York Jets involving Aaron Rodgers and whipped Twitter into a frenzy because of it. Several sources refuted the report, saying that Rodgers has not made a final decision one way or the other.

Green Bay women to host Niagara in WNIT opener Thursday

The Green Bay Phoenix women's basketball team has a dance partner for the Women's NIT after tournament organizers announced the pairings on Monday.

 

The Phoenix will host the Niagara Purple Eagles on Thursday, March 16 at 7 p.m. CT. It marks the third time the program has hosted a WNIT game and the third time will battle the Purple Eagles. The two sides have not played each other since the Phoenix won the two games in consecutive years in the late 1980's. 

 

The winner of the game will either play Bowling Green or Liberty in the second round of the WNIT, which would take place between March 18th and 21st.

 

 

Badgers set for NIT opener against Bradley

Although it may not be under the brightest of lights, the Wisconsin Badgers will play in postseason play starting Tuesday night as they take on Bradley in the first game of the NIT at 8:30 P.M. 

 

After a disappointing one and done showing in the Big Ten Tournament on Wednesday after losing to Ohio State 65-57. The Badgers were stunned in the first half, going down as much as 27 at one point in the game. Many bracketologists immediately dropped the Badgers out of the field of 68 after that loss, and it was confirmed Sunday during the selection show with Wisconsin not hearing their name announced. 

 

The attention of Badgers fans was shifted to the NIT selection show at 9:00 P.M. where the Badgers were given a 2 seed and will take on the Bradley Braves. The Braves are 25-9 on the season, and were projected to be in the NCAA Tournament, but after falling to the Drake Bulldogs in their conference tournament, found themselves in the NIT. Bradley is led by Rienk Mast, a 6 foot 9 Forward from the Netherlands who is averaging 13.8 Points per game. 

 

Wisconsin Head Coach Greg Gard told the media that the Badgers will take this tournament as another opportunity to play basketball, and look to win it all, negating the thought Wisconsin may play depth pieces to look towards their future. 

 

Tip from the Kohl Center is set for 8:30 on ESPN. 

Monday marks opening day for softball

They likely will not be able to get outside for awhile, but the area's softball teams can officially begin practice on Monday.

 

Luxemburg-Casco and Sevastopol will try to duplicate their regional championship performances from last season and plenty of young talent will return to Packerland play this year. Below are the local All-Packerland Conference selections that could return to the respective teams in 2023.

 

INFIELDERS

Bailey Rikkola, Sevastopol (1st, SR)

Naomi Rikkola, Sevastopol (2nd, SO)

Chloe Lustila, Southern Door (2nd, SR)

Ryley Zimmerman, Algoma (2nd, JR)

Greta Gutschow, Southern Door (HM, JR)

 

OUTFIELDERS

Sophia Counard, Southern Door (1st, JR)

Jolene Luedtke, Sevastopol (1st, JR)

Kayla Ranly, Sevastopol (1st, SO)

Sierra Slaby, Algoma (2nd, SO)

Lexi Hanrahan, Kewaunee (HM, SO)

Teagan Luedke, Algoma (HM, SR)

Tori Marchant,  Southern Door (HM, JR)

 

PITCHERS

Jenna Rohr, Kewaunee (2nd, JR)

Libby Ash, Sevastopol (HM, JR)

Ashlyn Delfosse, (HM, SO)

 

CATCHERS

Colbi Jacquet, Southern Door (HM, SR)

 

Here are potentially the best players returning to Luxemburg-Casco in 2023 based on their All-North Eastern Conference selection.

 

INFIELDERS

Kylie Hanson (1st, SR)

 

OUTFIELDERS

Grace Kahr (1st, JR)

Anna Vandermause (2nd, JR)

 

DESIGNATED HITTER

Josie Dorner (1st, JR)

 

 

 

 

 

Gamblers winless in March

The Green Bay Gamblers hope the luck of the Irish can break their recent losing streak later this week.

 

The Gamblers were swept in three straight games last week against Youngstown, earning a single point in last Friday's shootout loss to the Phantoms. The losses made it five straight defeats in March, four of which were decided by a single tally. Eli Sebastian and Nicholas Vantassell each had two goals in the three-game series to lead the Gamblers. 

 

The Gamblers will be back in action on Friday and Saturday night at 7:05 p.m. when they host Team USA. 

Brewers top Cubs in Cactus League play

The Milwaukee Brewers played long ball and small ball to beat the Chicago Cubs in Mesa Sunday afternoon.

 

The Brewers opened up a 3-0 lead on the Cubs by taking Adrian Sampson twice in the second inning thanks to Luke Voit and Brice Turang and paired it with a base-running play after Christian Yelich was caught stealing. 

 

After Ian Happ went yard to make it 3-2 in the sixth inning, the Brewers scored twice in the eighth inning thanks to a passed ball and a sacrifice fly. The Cubs would score once more in the ninth, but they would come up short against the Brewers.

 

The Crew are back in action on Monday at 3:05 p.m. when they play the Cincinnati Reds. 

Wisconsin's Division 1 teams learn tournament fate

Three of the state's four Division 1 teams will be dancing later this weekend, albeit all on different dance floors.

 

Marquette is the only one of the three in the actual Big Dance as they open their NCAA Tournament run on Friday at 1:45 p.m. as the number 2 seed playing 15-seed Vermont. The Golden Eagles earned their spot as the Big East Tournament champion.

 

Wisconsin was left on the outside looking in at the NCAA Tournament, instead earning a three-seed and a home game in the NIT. They will host Bradley at the Kohl Center Tuesday at 8:30 p.m.

 

Milwaukee will open its CBI Tournament run at sixth-seeded Stetson as the 11 seed. The game will take place on Sunday at 4:30 p.m.

Commentary Conversations: Wrexham AFC's Mark Griffiths

A little self-confidence went a long way for Mark Griffiths as he went from a man in the stands to one of the most talked about soccer commentators in the world.

 

Griffiths was just a teenager when he attended a Wrexham AFC match and sat behind the team's radio broadcaster at the time. Unhappy with his performance, Griffiths showed some early guts and volunteered his services to follow the team as one of its commentators. Griffiths says he experienced some interesting circumstances early in his career as a broadcaster.

Griffiths has been the voice of Wrexham AFC for over two decades, but his work has only begun to be celebrated on an international basis. Wrexham AFC is of course the main subject of the FX docuseries "Welcome to Wrexham," the soccer team bought by Hollywood's Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney. The series focuses on the town of Wrexham and its connection to its team trying to get promoted to a higher league. The show's popularity has turned in more listeners for his broadcasts and the podcasts he produces for the team. He says he never imagined that his childhood team, a fifth-tier squad out of Wales, would ever garner this kind of attention.

Griffiths jokes that his connection to Wisconsin is partially through the television show Frasier since one of the characters, Roz Doyle, is from Bloomer, Wis. This interview took place as a part of the author's fundraising efforts for JDRF UK as he prepares for the London Marathon, where we will have reports during the race weekend next month. You can watch the full interview, which was recorded last month, below:

 

 

Marquette wins Big East Tournament

For the first time in program history, the Marquette Golden Eagles are Big East Regular Season and Tournament Champions after they beat Xavier in the championship game 65-51.

 

The Golden Eagles blitzed the Musketeers in the first half, outscoring them 39-24 in the first half. Tyler Kolek nearly had a double-double for the Golden Eagles with 20 points. David Joplin scored 12 points and Kameron Jones added 11 points in the victory. Adam Kunkel led the way for the Musketeers with 14 points in the loss.

 

The Golden Eagles will wait until 5 p.m. Sunday to learn their final placing in the NCAA Bracket.

Pioneers' Ash gives her best shot in WIAA 3-Point Challenge

Sevastopol's Libby Ash was all smiles after her WIAA 3-Point Challenge performance despite the final result.

 

Ash scored two points in her debut in the event held at the Resch Center, putting her on the outside looking in for the semifinals and finals. Emily Jaenke of Fox Valley Lutheran won the 3-Point Challenge for the second year in a row, posting scores of 20, 19, and 20 points. 

Vikings fall short against Cardinals in sectional final on 105.1 The GOAT

The speed and the length the Gibraltar Vikings used to their advantage up to this point in the WIAA Tournament was finally matched on Saturday afternoon in a 66-54 loss to Newman Catholic in Seymour.

 

The Vikings would take an early lead as Mateo Jauregui and Will Friedenfels picked up where they left off on Thursday in Suring. The Cardinals would flip the script for good just moments later as they went on an 11-0 run that would keep the Vikings chasing for the rest of the afternoon. Mason Prey and Eli Gustafson gave the Vikings fits in the paint all afternoon, combining to score 17 points in the opening frame as they would help the Cardinals stretch their advantage to 15 points. The Vikings would cut the lead 31-22 at halftime thanks to Jake Schar knocking down a pair of threes.

 

The lead was cut to four early in the second half with Braden Sitte and Carl Burgess breaking through offensively as the Vikings kept to single digits for much of the second half. Prey and Isaac Seidel would make sure the Vikings' repeat of a Cinderella moment would not come true as they combined to score 28 points in the second half to slam the door on the Vikings' hope and send the Cardinals to Madison.

 

Prey led the Cardinals with 24 points and Seidel added 21 points. Gustafson chipped in 11 points in the win. Sitte led the Vikings with 15 points while Burgess added 12. Three of Gibraltar's other seniors made sure they did not go down quietly with Friedenfels scoring 11 points and Schar and Jauregui each chipping in eight points. 

 

 

Gibraltar battles Newman Catholic with state berth stakes in Seymour on 105.1 The GOAT

The Gibraltar boys' basketball team is just one win away from a second straight trip to Madison for the state tournament, but they will have to crack Newman Catholic to do it Saturday afternoon.

 

The Vikings extended their season-long winning streak to six with a 60-44 victory over Three Lakes Thursday night in Suring. Jake Schar led all scorers with 18 points with a couple of three-pointers to his credit. Mateo Jauregui and Will Friedenfels did all of their work inside the paint as they contributed 16 and 12 points respectively. Carl Burgess and Braden Sitte also registered points for the Vikings in the win.

 

 

The Cardinals have had a similar path to the sectional final with four double-digit victories as a top seed, defeating Tri-County, Assumption, Columbus Catholic, and Pacelli along the way. In Thursday's 79-58 win over Pacelli, the Cardinals stormed out to 42-16 lead in the first half. The senior-laden line-up will be the Vikings' first challenge with height as the Cardinals boast four players 6'3" or taller. They are led by Mason Prey, who averages 23.5 points per game. Isaac Seidel averages nearly 19 points per game while Conner Krach averages a double-double with 10 points and rebounds per game.

 

Tim Kowols and Bryan Mazur will call the action on 105.1 The GOAT and NEWRadioSportsNetwork.com from Seymour beginning at 12:45 p.m. with the pregame show followed by the opening tip at 1 p.m.

Click here for our coaches interview with Travis Ward

Sevastopol's Ash ready for big stage Saturday

Even though she probably wishes her entire team could shootaround with her on Saturday, Sevastopol's Libby Ash is ready for the opportunity Saturday morning will bring to her at the Resch Center.

 

Ash earned her spot in the Division 5 3-Point Contest by holding the best shooting percentage from behind the arc at 45.4 percent. Her opponent, Jaden Zuber from Monticello, boasted a three-point shooting percentage of 44.6 percent.

 

A starter since her freshman year, head coach Ben Rikkola said after Ash was named to the WIAA 3-Point Contest that she has always been a great shooter, but took it up a notch this year.

 

 

After her team won their first regional championship since 1985 and their first in front of their home fans, Ash said it was a goal of her this year to make it to the shootout, but it would have been 10 times better to make it as a team (Start watching at 2:41)

 

 

Ash will take the Resch Center floor at 9:30 a.m. Stay tuned to the NEW Radio Sports Network for coverage of Ash's experience.

Brewers blow past Guardians

Brandon Woodruff gave up a lone unearned run across three innings and the Milwaukee Brewers put up crooked numbers in three different innings in their 12-4 victory over the Cleveland Guardians in spring training play Friday.

 

Mike Brosseau dealt the game's big blows in two separate innings with a home run with a solo homer in the second inning and a bases-clearing double in the third inning that made it 8-1. Andruw Monasterio drove in a pair on the day and five other Brewers drove in at least one run.

 

Brewers pitching only allowed two earned runs on the day while four pitchers posted scoreless frames.

 

The Brewers are back in action Saturday when they play the Kansas City Royals at 2:10 p.m.

Marquette advances to Big East title game

Wisconsin's last Division 1 men's team standing still has a championship to win after Marquette beat UConn Friday 70-68.

 

Tyler Kolek and David Joplin each scored 17 points to help clinch the first-ever Big East title game appearance for the Golden Eagles. The game was knotted up at 38-38 after the first half and remained a back-and-forth affair until the few minutes when the Golden Eagles could open up a four-point lead with just minutes remaining. The Huskies' Jordan Hawkins missed a last-second attempt to tie the game up to secure the victory for the Golden Eagles.

 

They will play for the Big East Championship on Saturday against either Creighton or Xavier. This story will be updated upon that game's conclusion.

Green Bay welcomes WIAA Girls State Tournament

For the 11th time, the Resch Center will host the best of the best in Wisconsin's girls basketball for the state championships.

 

The tournament officially opened to the public yesterday with Division 3 and Division 4 hosting their semifinal games. In Division 3, Milwaukee Academy of Science upset top-seeded Waupun 64-57 while Kewaskum earned their own upset win over West Salem 46-34. Division 4 action included top-seeded Aquinas cruising past Mishicot 79-55 and Laconia handing Colfax a 58-35 defeat. Both divisions will play their championship games on Saturday.

 

Below is the schedule for the rest of the weekend when action restarts at the Resch Center at 9:05 a.m. with Division 5 action. The second game of the day will feature Wabeno-Laona, which defeated Sevastopol in the sectional semifinal. 

 

Sevastopol's Libby Ash will make her own appearance at the State Tournament on Saturday at 9:30 a.m. when she shoots in the three point contest.

 

DIVISION 5
Semifinals - Friday, March 10
Game-1:  #1 McDonell Central Catholic (24-5) vs. #4 Albany (28-0) - 9:05 a.m.
Game-2:  #2 Blair-Taylor (27-1) vs. #3 Wabeno/Laona (21-7) - Approx. 20 mins. following Game-1

Championship Final - Saturday, March 11
Game-3:  Winner of Game-1 vs. Winner of Game-2  - 11:05 a.m.

 

DIVISION 2
Semifinals - Friday, March 10
Game-1:  #1 Pewaukee (27-1) vs. #4 Lakeland Union (22-6) - 1:35 p.m.
Game-2:  #2 Notre Dame de la Baie Academy (27-1) vs. #3 McFarland (26-2) - Approx. 20 mins. following Game-1

Championship Final - Saturday, March 11
Game-3:  Winner of Game-1 vs. Winner of Game-2  - 6:35 p.m.

 

DIVISION 1
Semifinals - Friday, March 10
Game-1:  #1 Brookfield East (26-2) vs. #4 Germantown (23-5) - 6:35 p.m.
Game-2:  #2 Hortonville (25-3) vs. #3 Kettle Moraine (26-1) - Approx. 20 mins. following Game-1

Championship Final - Saturday, March 11
Game-3:  Winner of Game-1 vs. Winner of Game-2  - Approx. 15 mins. following Div. 2 championship

 

DIVISION 4

Championship Final - Saturday, March 11

Game-3:  Aquinas (28-1) vs. Laconia (26-4) - Approx. 15 mins. following Div. 5 championship

 

DIVISION 3

Championship Final - Saturday, March 11
Game-3:  Milwaukee Academy of Science (23-3) vs. Kewaskum (23-5)  - Approx. 15 mins. following Div. 4 championship

 

Waiting game nearing its end in Rodgers saga?

Expect to see more Aaron Rodgers on clearance racks in the coming days.

 

According to NFL Network's Tom Pelissero, the New York Jets and the Green Bay Packers have agreed to a compensation package that would send Aaron Rodgers to the Big Apple. No other details have been released, but a combination of picks and money may exchange hands to make the deal work. According to New York Jets aggregators, the only thing needed now is Rodgers' approval. Neither team has made an official statement about the matter. 

 

Earlier in the week, several media members reported that members of the New York Jets flew to California to recruit Rodgers after the Packers granted their quarterback permission to talk to the AFC organization. 

 

Rodgers has been coy about his future plans since he walked off the field in January after ending the season, and potentially his career with the Packers, with an interception. 

Green Bay officially invited to WNIT

The Green Bay Phoenix women's basketball team will be dancing this month, even if it was not the dance they wanted to go to.

 

The Women's National Invitational Tournament (WNIT) made things official on Thursday inviting several teams like the Phoenix who won their regular season titles but came up short in their respective tournaments, which gives the winner the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.

 

 

Despite Tuesday's disappointment against Cleveland State that saw them go several minutes without registering a basket, the Phoenix had one of their best seasons since their last appearance in the NCAA Tournament in 2018. The Phoenix hosted Minnesota in last year's WNIT, falling 73-65.

 

Vikings clinch sectional final berth vs. Bluejays on 105.1 The GOAT

The Gibraltar Vikings are on the doorstep of another trip to Madison after beating Three Lakes 60-44 in Suring Thursday night.

 

Unlike their previous two games, the Vikings got out to a fast start as their size gave the Blue Jays' offense fits and the Vikings used good passing to get open looks. An early dunk by Will Friedenfels electrified the student section, leading to a double-figure lead before the half-point of the first half. Jake Schar knocked down a pair of threes to lead the team with 10 points while Mateo Jauregui set the tone on both ends of the court as he joined Friedenfels with six points at the break. 

 

Jauregui would keep up the strong scoring output along with Schar to stretch the lead to 20 points halfway through the second half. The Blue Jays would begin to cause turnovers and two three-pointers by Jared Kaufman trimmed the lead to 12 for the Vikings thanks to an 8-0 run. The Vikings would answer the call and never drop below a double-digit lead in the second half. One more dunk by Friedenfels and free throws made by Carl Burgess and Braden Sitte salted the game away for the Vikings. Schar led all scorers with 18 points while Jauregui added 16 and Friedenfels chipped in 12 points. Kaufman led the Blue Jays with 14 points and Toby Volkmann contributed nine points. Two others added eight points in the loss for the Vikings.

The Vikings will head west on Saturday for a matchup against the Newman Catholic Cardinals. The game will be held at Seymour High School at a time to be determined. No matter when it is played, 105.1 The GOAT will follow the team there with Tim Kowols and Bryan Mazur kicking the broadcast off 15 minutes before tip-off.

 

Gibraltar, Three Lakes meet for sectional final rematch on 105.1 The GOAT

It is deja vu in Suring Thursday night as Gibraltar and Three Lakes meet again in the WIAA Division 5 sectional semifinal.

 

The Vikings cruised through their first week of the tournament, beating Wausaukee, Florence, and Oneida Nation by a combined 92 points and limiting them to less than 40 points in each contest. The winning streak combined strong team defense with standout individual performances by Carl Burgess (21 points vs. Florence) and Jake Schar (30 points vs. Oneida Nation). Saturday's win over the Thunderhawks marked the second straight regional title and the third since 2019 for the Vikings.

 

The Blue Jays also went 3-0 last week, securing a blowout victory over Gillett before earning two closer victories against Elcho (48-42) and Gillett (62-54). Jared Kaufman leads the Blue Jays with nearly a double-double a game at 16 points and 8.5 rebounds per game. Toby Volkmann (12.4 ppg) and Josh Cogar (10.4 ppg)  complement Kaufman offensively. Saturday's win was the Blue Jays' second regional title in as many years after going over a decade without making it to the second weekend of the playoffs.

 

The Vikings and the Blue Jays faced off against each other in Elcho last year with Gibraltar clinching the sectional final appearance with a 58-40 victory. Both teams graduated their top performers from that matchup as Gibraltar's Sam Lindenberg (27 points) and Three Lakes' Sam Eppler (17 points) led their respective squads in scoring. The first half was a back-and-forth affair with the Lindenberg and Eppler going nearly point for point. The Vikings were able to go on a small run to end the half to take a 22-20 lead into the break. The Vikings started strong in the second half scoring the first six points. A run midway through the second half would see the Vikings doubling their lead and never let it get below six points for the rest of the game. The defense would tighten up on Eppler who scored only three of his 15 points after the break.  Lindenberg would go on to score a game-high of 27 points. Braden Sitte added eight points and Trevor Ash chipped in five points with a dunk to cap off the scoring.  

 

Tim Kowols and Bryan Mazur will have the call from Suring on 105.1 The GOAT and NEWRadioSportsNetwork.com beginning at 6:45 p.m. with the pregame show followed by the tip-off at 7 p.m. The winner will head to Rhinelander for the sectional final against either Stevens Point Pacelli or Wausau Newman Catholic. The tip-off would be at 2 p.m. Saturday.

 

Click here for the full interview with head coach Travis Ward

Badgers to rely on selection committee after B1G Tournament exit

If the Wisconsin Badgers are going to make the NCAA Tournament, they will need a big assist from its selection committee after their 65-57 loss to Ohio State.

 

The Badgers simply dug themselves too deep of a hole in the first half of their opening-round game at the Big Ten Tournament at the United Center. They were down 36-18 at the break and saw the advantage grow to over 20 points in the second half before making a game of it late. The Badgers outscored the Buckeyes 39-29 in the second half.  

 

Tyler Wahl led the Badgers with 19 points while Connor Essegian chipped in 11 points. Sean McNeil led a trio of Buckeyes in double figures with 17 points. While the Buckeyes advance to Thursday's matinee against Iowa, the Badgers will have to play the waiting game. Head coach Greg Gard told reporters he thought they had the resume to possibly get into the Big Dance. The experts are missed with some saying they are among the first teams out of tournament while others believe they could battle a team in the play-in games held in Dayton.

 

For Wisconsin collegiate basketball fans, you can place your hope in Marquette, who open their Big East Tournament slate with an 11 a.m. matchup against St. John's as the top seed. 

Bucks face Nets looking for NBA leading 48th win

The Milwaukee Bucks have won in many different ways this season, and they may have to do it again against the Brooklyn Nets depending on the availability of a few key players. 

 

No Giannis Antetokoumpo and Jrue Holiday did not matter for Milwaukee, knocking off the Orlando Magic 134-123 at Amway Center. The bench for the Bucks proved to be too much, as deadline acquisition Jae Crowder and guard Jevon Carter were the difference for the Bucks scoring 24 and 15 points respectively. Khris Middleton started his first game since coming back from injury for the second time this season, as he had a season-high 24. 

 

Milwaukee has played well against the Nets so far this season, posting a 2-1 record, and 1-0 since the trade deadline that saw stars Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant being traded out of Brooklyn, bringing in an influx of young talent. In the two teams’ last matchup, Giannis Antetokoumpo and Khris Middleton did most of the scoring for Milwaukee, with Antetokoumpo leading the way with 33. 

 

Brooklyn is coming off of a three game winning streak and will look to stretch it to four when they take on the Bucks. Mikal Bridges has been the brightest spot during the stretch run for the Nets. In the win over the Rockets, Bridges led the Nets with 30 points, and even had 38 in a 22 point comeback against the Celtics. Brooklyn will not be an easy matchup for the Bucks, who will look to win their 19th game in the past 20. 

 

Tipoff from Fiserv Forum is scheduled for 7:00 P.M. 

Coalition formed to save Brewers from leaving

The Milwaukee Brewers are apparently threatening to leave the Cream City, and a new group has formed to potentially stop that from happening.

 

According to AP Reporter Scott Bauer, Assembly Speaker Robin Vos told the media on Wednesday that Governor Tony Evers' plan to funnel $290 million to the Brewers to make a portion of the $400 million in repairs it says it needs to fix the roof, replace the video boards, and other improvements at American Family Field, is dead on arrival. That plan would extend the Brewers' lease out another 13 years to 2043, an amount of time Vos says should be longer considering the taxpayer investment. 

 

Earlier in the day, a group of business leaders from throughout the state announced the formation of the Home Crew Coalition. The group wants to work with team and state officials to form a plan that could keep the Brewers in the state for future generations. American Family Field, then known as Miller Park, was funded primarily by a 0.1 sales tax in five southeastern Wisconsin counties located near the stadium. The tax took about 24 years to retire the public debt of $310 million. By comparison, Brown County was able to retire its 0.5 percent sales tax to fund the $309.5 million project to renovate Lambeau Field.  

 

While the discussion unfold in Wisconsin, the Brewers beat Great Britain 8-2 in a World Baseball Classic tune-up. Prospects Jackson Chourio and Scott Turang had great days at the plate, combining to hit four hits, score three runs, and drive in a pair. Adrian Houser picked up the win, allowing a single tally and four hits across three innings of work. 

Badgers set for matchup against Buckeyes in Big Ten Tournament

The Wisconsin Badgers men's basketball team will have work to do if they want to hear their names called on Sunday afternoon with a ticket punched to the “big dance”. That will start Wednesday afternoon with a matchup against the 13 seeded Ohio State Buckeyes. 

 

The Badgers are coming off of a win against their border rivals Minnesota by a score of 71-67. Chucky Hepburn would be the hero in the second half, scoring all 12 of his points in that half, joined by Tyler Wahl with 21 points and Steven Crowl with 20. That broke a two game heartbreaking losing streak for the Badgers who lost against Michigan after a long heave from three from Hunter Dickinson would send the two teams into overtime, where the Badgers would fall. In the second loss of the streak, the Badgers would be in a tight game against Purdue down the stretch, and have a half court heave fall short for a two point loss.

 

In the last matchup between these two teams, Wisconsin snuck out a 65-60 win in Columbus. The Badgers had a 62-47 lead against the Buckeyes with 7:18 remaining in the second half, and then would go cold. Wisconsin would not hit another shot for the rest of the game, and would get three free throws from Chucky Hepburn to seal the win. The Badgers will look to avoid that scare in Indianapolis this weekend. 

 

Wisconsin finds themselves as a true bubble team, with many different sites putting them in the field of play as the last teams in, with others having them as the first team out. The Badgers could control their own destiny and win the Big Ten Tournament and not worry about the bubble, but the team has not won back to back games since January 3rd against Minnesota after a win over Western Michigan. 

 

Tip from Indianapolis is set for 5:30 P.M. 

Short-handed Bucks beat Orlando

The Milwaukee Bucks stayed hot on Tuesday night, knocking off the Orlando Magic 134-123 at Amway Center.

 

Despite playing without Giannis Antetokounmpo and Jrue Holiday, the Bucks rolled behind Brook Lopez, Javon Carter, and Kris Middleton.  

 

Lopez scored 26 points, while Carter and Middleton tallied 24 each.

 

Bobby Porter had a double-double with 16 points and 11 boards, while Jae Crowder and Joe Ingles scored 15 and 12 points, respectively, off the bench.  

 

The Bucks ( 47-18) took a 36-26 lead after one quarter, and the Magic were able to tie the game at 51-51 to stay close before the half, but it was not enough as Milwaukee won for the 18th time in the last 19 games.

 

Milwaukee will now return home to play the Brooklyn Nets on Thursday at Fiserv Forum at 7pm.  

 

Lady Phoenix struggle against Vikings in finals; fall short of NCAA Tournament

The Lady Phoenix of Green Bay had their hopes of an NCAA Tournament bid fall just short on Tuesday after falling to Cleveland State 73-59 in the Horizon League Tournament Finals. 

 

The first quarter of the game was back and forth, with neither team having a league more than 4, with that being Cleveland State after a Gabriella Smith layup to make it 8-4. Green Bay would take the lead at the end of the first, 16-15. 

 

That lead would last halfway through the second quarter, as Cleveland State would find their momentum from outside to stretch out the lead of their own. The Vikings would shoot 48.1% from beyond the 3-point line, where the Phoenix struggled, shooting a rough 19.4% on 6-31 shooting. 

 

Cleveland State would then show off their defensive ability against the Phoenix in the third, only allowing Green Bay to score 11 points. Green Bay would try to rally in the fourth, but it was too little to late and fell to the Vikings. 

 

Cleveland State will now go to the NCAA Women's Tournament and find out their seed on Sunday. 

Ash solidifies spot in 3-Point Challenge at State

Although her team may not be making the trip to the Resch Center this weekend, Sevastopol’s Libby Ash will be taking her outside shooting talents to the WIAA 3-Point Challenge on Saturday morning. 

 

Ash will be competing against Jaden Zuber from Monticello in the Division Five shootout. Ash is considered the top shooter between herself and Zuber, as she shot 45.4% from the three point line this season compared to Zuber’s 44.6%. 

 

Libby was a vital part of the Pioneers 25-2 historical record and winning their first regional title since 1985. Ash averaged 7.4 points per game and attempted 118 three pointers throughout the season. She went 4 for 10 in their two wins in the playoffs against Suring and Lena. 

 

The 3-Point Challenge will be held on Saturday, March 11th at 9:30 am at the Resch Center in Green Bay. Fans can attend the event with tickets from the morning/afternoon session.

Legacy continues to build for Spartans wrestling

For the Luxemburg-Casco wrestling program, this past weekend was more about the present and the future than the past.

 

The varsity squad captured their 13th team state title in school history on Saturday at the UW Field House, beating Evansville 63-9 in the semifinal and topping Prairie du Chien 37-20 in the final. Much like they did in 2018 when they returned to the mountaintop for the first time since 2013, it meant picking themselves off the mat after being dealt with disappointment the year before. Last year, the Spartans fell to Amery 36-30 as they split the seven matches. Knowing the wrestlers that would be back for an encore, head coach Chas Treml said he knew they would be back and they would not let that happen again.

Treml said the support from the Luxemburg-Casco wrestling family and the entire community has been important to their run. From filling up nearly half the bleachers for the team sectional in Freedom to the large crowds at the spur-of-the-moment championship parade through Luxemburg, Treml says it shows how special this community is when it comes to wrestling.

Despite losing a number of important wrestlers due to graduation, the pipeline is still full of talent. This past weekend, Luxemburg-Casco's middle school wrestlers won their fourth straight state title while the elementary school team finished the year as the state runner-up. 

 

 

 

You can click this link to listen to our full interview with Chas Treml.

Phoenix look to clinch NCAA Tournament berth vs. Cleveland State

The Green Bay Phoenix women's basketball just needs to beat Cleveland State Tuesday morning to punch their ticket to the Big Dance for the first time since 2018. 

 

It did not look good early as the Mastodons jumped out to a 17-7 lead. The Phoenix began their comeback in the second quarter as they returned the favor with their own 10 points advantage in the frame, tying the game on a put-back attempt by Natalie McNeal.

 

Luxemburg-Casco alumna Cassie Schiltz made sure she made her impact known as three of her team-high 17 points came on a near homecourt shot to end the third quarter with the Phoenix leading by five. 

 

 

The Phoenix was able to hold on at the end thanks to some clutch free-throw shooting. Sydney Levy added 14 points while McNeal and  Bailey Butler each contributed 10 points.

 

They will face Cleveland State at 11 a.m. at the Indiana Farmers Colliseum in Indianapolis. The Vikings secured r a 62-52 Quarterfinal win over Milwaukee and a thrilling 63-60 overtime win over Northern Kentucky in the semifinals to earn a rematch against the Phoenix. The two games this season went in favor of the Phoenix as they won their games beat the Vikings on Jan. 14 at Cleveland State 82-65 and then again on Feb. 23, 64-49.

Area track teams get underway

The offseason may be in its infancy for several wrestlers and basketball players, but their next sport may have already gotten underway on Monday.

 

Monday marked the first-day track teams could practice ahead of the upcoming spring season. With the outdoor tracks covered with several inches of snow, Algoma High School marked the occasion by hosting a sports psychologist to speak about the mental aspect of sports. 

 

The area's track teams will take part in meets mostly at college campuses until things warm up enough to host the meets outside. Here are the dates for the first track meets for each respective school according to their respective conference websites.

 

Algoma: Boys at UW-Oshkosh 3/16, Girls at Oconto Falls 3/21

Kewaunee: Boys at Manitowoc Lincoln 3/23, Girls at Manitowoc Lincoln 3/24

Luxemburg-Casco: Boys at Ripon 3/16, Girls at Seymour 3/23

Sturgeon Bay: Boys at Ripon 3/16, Girls at Kewaunee 4/4

Southern Door: Boys at UW-Oshkosh 3/16, Girls at Seymour 3/23

Gibraltar: Boys and Girls at Oconto Falls 3/21

Sevastopol: Boys at Ripon 3/16, Girls at UW-Stevens Point 3/4

Southern Door's Daoust, Sevastopol's Rikkola tops All-Packerland basketball teams

Door County is the home of the Packerland Conference best player in boys and girls' basketball.

 

In boys' basketball, Southern Door's Drew Daoust was named the player of the year after leading the conference with 32.1 points per game. He was joined by Oconto's Kadin Baxter, Kewaunee's Thomas Stangel, and NEW Lutheran's Tristian Lynch as unanimous first-team members. Conference champion Southern Door had the most All-Conference honorees with three while several others had two across the first team, second team, and honorable mention squads.

 

 

1ST TEAM

NAME                                    SCHOOL                                YEAR

Kadin Baxter                             Oconto                                     Senior                           Unanimous

Drew Daoust                             Southern Door                          Sophomore                   Unanimous

Kaine Fort                                 Peshtigo                                   Senior

Tristian Lynch                            NEW Lutheran-Providence         Senior                           Unanimous

Elijah Meerstein                         NEW Lutheran-Providence         Senior

Thomas Stangel                        Kewaunee                                 Junior                           Unanimous

2ND TEAM

NAME                                    SCHOOL                                YEAR             

Isaak Aune                                Sturgeon Bay                            Senior

Mason Doberstein                     Peshtigo                                   Senior

Jared Hawkey                           Southern Door                          Senior

Cal Ihlenfeldt                             Kewaunee                                 Senior

Carter Koch                               Oconto                                     Sophomore

Jake Schar                                Gibraltar                                    Senior

Kaden Vardon                           Algoma                                     Senior

HONORABLE MENTION

NAME                                    SCHOOL                                YEAR 

Will Friedenfels                         Gibraltar                                    Senior

Payton Kohnle                          Kewaunee                                 Senior

Will McMahon                           Peshtigo                                   Junior

Nick Peterson                           Sevastopol                               Senior

Calvin Richard                           Sturgeon Bay                            Junior

Taylor Schaefer                         Southern Door                          Senior

PLAYER OF THE YEAR

NAME                                     SCHOOL                                YEAR

Drew Daoust                             Southern Door                          Sophomore

 

 

For the girls' Sevastopol's Bailey Rikkola highlights the All-Packerland Team as its player of the year. She led the Pioneers to their first regional championship since 1985 while averaging 16.4 points and 3.3 assists per game. Rikkola and Oconto's Addisyn Viestenz were unanimous selections to the All-Packerland first team. Peshtigo led the way with four selections. 

 

1ST TEAM

NAME                                    SCHOOL                                YEAR

Allianna Dufek                           Southern Door                          Senior

Bailey Rikkola                           Sevastopol                               Senior                           Unanimous

Naomi Rikkola                           Sevastopol                               Sophomore

Akira Smalls                              Peshtigo                                   Senior

Addisyn Viestenz                      Oconto                                     Sophomore                   Unanimous

Ryley Zimmerman                      Algoma                                     Junior

2ND TEAM

NAME                                    SCHOOL                                YEAR 

Ingrid Beaumont                        NEW Lutheran-Providence         Sophomore

Ashlyn Delfosse                                    Southern Door                          Sophomore

Emily Kirchman                         Algoma                                     Senior

Jadelynn Kroll                           Kewaunee                                 Freshman

Allison Peters                            Peshtigo                                   Senior

Andie Schar                              Gibraltar                                    Sophomore

HONORABLE MENTION

NAME                                    SCHOOL                                YEAR 

Libby Ash                                 Sevastopol                               Junior

Brianna Demin                           Kewaunee                                 Sophomore

Payton Gilbertson                     Southern Door                          Junior

Lexi Hanrahan                           Kewaunee                                 Sophomore

Alexandria Meerstein                 NEW Lutheran-Providence         Sophomore

Brooklyn Phillips                       Peshtigo                                   Senior

Autumn Rass                            Sturgeon Bay                            Senior

Amelia Robinson                       Algoma                                     Senior

Natalie Schlueter                       Oconto                                     Freshman

Rylie Shallow                            Oconto                                     Freshman

Sierra Slaby                              Algoma                                     Sophomore

Hannah Thomson                      Oconto                                     Sophomore

Jaci Tonn                                  Peshtigo                                   Senior

 

PLAYER OF THE YEAR

NAME                                     SCHOOL                                YEAR

Bailey Rikkola                           Sevastopol                               Senior

Kewaunee's Thompson, two girls highlight Packerland All-Conference wrestling team

The Packerland All-Conference Wrestling team included some firsts and the area's only state champion.

 

Kewaunee's Mitchell Thompson was named the Packerland's wrestler of the year after an undefeated conference record at 195 pounds and his first individual state championship. He finished 40-1 on the year with his only loss coming at the On The Water Wrestling Tournament hosted by Lourdes Academy at UW-Oshkosh.

 

The Packerland All-Conference team also included a first with two girls making the roster. Southern Door's Nora LeFevre and Peshtigo's Addisen Olson topped their weight classes at 106 and 113 pounds respectively.

 

Southern Door led the way with five wrestlers on the team, followed by conference champion Peshtigo with four.

 

CLASS           NAME                         SCHOOL                                YEAR

106                   Nora Lefevre                 Southern Door                          Freshman          Unanimous

113                   Addisen Olson              Peshtigo                                   Freshman          Unanimous       

120                   Mason Motquin             Southern Door                          Junior               Unanimous

126                   Spencer Madsen           Sturgeon Bay-Sevastopol          Freshman          Unanimous

132                   Wyatt Wilke                   Southern Door                          Sophomore       Unanimous

138                   Reese Yunke                 Peshtigo                                   Junior               Unanimous

145                   Ethan Brissette              Peshtigo                                   Junior               Unanimous

152                   Cole Berth                     Peshtigo                                   Freshman          Unanimous

160                   Hayden Jeanquart         Southern Door                          Junior               Unanimous

170                   Zak Wrobel                   Sturgeon Bay-Sevastopol          Sophomore       Unanimous

182                   Jonas Jandrin               Southern Door                          Senior

195                   Mitch Thompson           Kewaunee                                 Senior               Unanimous

220                   Ezra Ducat                    Kewaunee                                 Senior               Unanimous

295                   Mitchell Boeder             Kewaunee                                 Freshman          Unanimous

 

WRESTLER OF THE YEAR

WEIGHT

CLASS           NAME                         SCHOOL                                YEAR             

195                   Mitch Thompson           Kewaunee                                 Senior               Unanimous

 

Gamblers roughed up by Team USA

The Green Bay Gamblers could not find a way past Team USA in their weekend slate of games.

 

On Friday, Team USA doubled up the Gamblers in the final period of the game with three goals in a 6-3 decision. Barrett Hall scored one and Raimonds Vitolins registered two goals in the loss for the Gamblers. 

 

Saturday's game was tighter, but still ended in a 3-2 loss for the Gamblers in front of over 5700 fans. After the Gamblers' Bodie Nobes opened the scoring in the second period, Team USA closed out the period with three unanswered goals to send the game into the third period with a 3-1 advantage. Eli Sebastian scored in the third, but the Gamblers would get no closer as they were swept by Team USA. 

Bucks outlast Wizards

The Milwaukee Bucks overcame a rough 3rd quarter to hold on against the Washington Wizards in the Nation's capital on Sunday night.

 

The Bucks saw their lead cut in half in the third quarter after taking a 11 point lead into the break. Key to that effort was Giannis Antetokounmpo, who registered a triple-double with 23 points, 10 rebounds, and 13 assists. That was despite reinjuring his ailing hand that took him out of some games last month. Five other Bucks contributed with double-figure scoring performances, including Jevon Carter (20 points) and Joe Ingles (14 points) doing so from bench roles. Bradley Beal led all scorers with 33 points while Kristaps Porzingis narrowly missed his own triple-double for the Wizards with 24 points, 13 rebounds, and five assists.

 

The Bucks returned to their winning ways after seeing their sixteen-game winning streak snapped over the weekend. 

WBCA All-Academic Lists include Sevastopol, Gibraltar girls

The WBCA came out with their Girls Basketball Academic All-State list earlier in the week, and the Gibraltar Vikings and Sevastopol Pioneers had multiple players make their way onto the list. 

 

Chloe Alexander, Colleen Carlisle, Krista Church, Betsy Lecy, Quincy Chomeau, Pam Prescott and Andie Schar were all honored on the All-State list for the Vikings. Where as Bailey Rikkola and Reese Schauske were named the two Pioneers players on the list. 

 

Both teams had great seasons this year, and these specific girls show what it means to be student-athletes. Seniors on this list have opportunities to be named to the All-Academic Elite List later in the season. 

Lucky 13! Luxemburg-Casco reclaims state wrestling title

The Luxemburg-Casco wrestling team returned to the top of the podium on Saturday in Madison as it beat Evansville and Prairie du Chien en route to its 13th state wrestling title.

 

In their 63-9 win over Evansville, the Spartans won their final 11 matches of the dual, eight of which were via fall.

 

Their second dual against Prairie du Chien was closer, but the Spartans' strength in the lighter weights shined brightly as they won five straight matches starting at 106 pounds before winning five of their final six matches. 

 

Jake Jandrin, Michael Bostwick, Isaac Jerabek, Blakelee Bastien, Easton Worachek, Caleb Delebreau, Max Ronsman, Ryan Routhieaux, and Trace Schoenebeck won both of their matches on the day. Saturday's title win was Luxemburg-Casco's first since 2018.

 

 

Pictures courtesy of Dan Rueckl

 

Match #1 Semifinal

Luxemburg-Casco defeated Evansville 63-9

195 - Brad Bartz (Evansville) over Ezra Waege (Luxemburg-Casco) Dec 5-4

220 - Caleb Salentine (Luxemburg-Casco) over Tucker Peterson (Evansville) Dec 10-4

285 - Tim Lund (Evansville) over Aden Weber (Luxemburg-Casco) Fall 4:00

106 - Jake Jandrin (Luxemburg-Casco) over Blake Frey (Evansville) Maj 13-5

113 - Michael Bostwick (Luxemburg-Casco) over Race Howlett (Evansville) Fall 2:15

120 - Isaac Jerabek (Luxemburg-Casco) over Logan Olson (Evansville) TF 15-0

126 - Blakelee Bastien (Luxemburg-Casco) over Lincoln Keller (Evansville) Fall 3:19

132 - Easton Worachek (Luxemburg-Casco) over Danny Heiser (Evansville) Dec 7-4

138 - Caleb Delebreau (Luxemburg-Casco) over Wyatt Nelson (Evansville) Fall 3:37

145 - Max Ronsman (Luxemburg-Casco) over Max Kaether (Evansville) Fall 0:44

152 - George Herlache (Luxemburg-Casco) over Lee Jorgensen (Evansville) Fall 3:47

160 - Ryan Routhieaux (Luxemburg-Casco) over Adryan Wessels (Evansville) Fall 1:04

170 - Sam Schutz (Luxemburg-Casco) over Charlie Braunschweig (Evansville) Fall 2:29

182 - Trace Schoenebeck (Luxemburg-Casco) over Brayden Engelkens (Evansville) Fall 0:53

 

Match #2 Division 2 Championship

Luxemburg-Casco defeated Prairie du Chien 37-20

220 - Blake Thiry (Prairie du Chien) over Caleb Salentine (Luxemburg-Casco) TF 15-0

285 - Jack Simmons (Prairie du Chien) over Javier Contreras (Luxemburg-Casco) Fall 3:38

106 - Jake Jandrin (Luxemburg-Casco) over Porter Kossman (Prairie du Chien) Fall 0:54

113 - Michael Bostwick (Luxemburg-Casco) over Irelynd Cejka (Prairie du Chien) Fall 0:33

120 - Isaac Jerabek (Luxemburg-Casco) over Mason Hird (Prairie du Chien) Dec 5-4

126 - Blakelee Bastien (Luxemburg-Casco) over Drake Ingham (Prairie du Chien) Dec 7-2

132 - Easton Worachek (Luxemburg-Casco) over Ryder Koenig (Prairie du Chien) Maj 11-0

138 - Rhett Koenig (Prairie du Chien) over Lawdon Tanck (Luxemburg-Casco) Fall 3:13

145 - Caleb Delebreau (Luxemburg-Casco) over Drew Hird (Prairie du Chien) Dec 3-0

152 - Max Ronsman (Luxemburg-Casco) over Luke Kramer (Prairie du Chien) Dec 5-2

160 - Ryan Routhieaux (Luxemburg-Casco) over Jeremiah Avery (Prairie du Chien) Dec 3-2

170 - Maddox Cejka (Prairie du Chien) over Sam Schutz (Luxemburg-Casco) Dec 13-9

182 - Trace Schoenebeck (Luxemburg-Casco) over Bryce Lenzendorf (Prairie du Chien) Dec 7-0

195 - Ezra Waege (Luxemburg-Casco) over Brogan Brewer (Prairie du Chien) Dec 6-4

Vikings blitz Thunderhawks for second straight regional title on 105.1 The GOAT

The Gibraltar Vikings overcame another slow start, but they got over it faster and catapulted themselves past the Oneida Nation Thunderhawks en route to a 68-35 victory for the team's second straight regional title.

 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

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Ethan Danforth drove the offense early for the Thunderhawks as he frustrated the Vikings' defense and scored the game's first five points. The Vikings flipped the switch quicker than they did on Friday night against Florence, scoring 18 of the next 21 points to give themselves a lead they would never relinquish. Jake Schar did a little bit of everything as he scored 17 of his game-high 30 points in the opening frame with Braden Sitte also breaking double figures with 10 points. Danforth would score 12 points, but he was the only Thunderhawks player to score in the first half as the Vikings went into the locker room with 33-12 advantage.

 

The Vikings' onslaught would continue as Schar had another fast start to second half and Will Friedenfels started to get involved. A showtime, put-back dunk from Friedenfels ignited the Vikings' faithful halfway through the second half as the team continue to stretch its lead to nearly 40. The Thunderhawks started to half their own success at that time as Donovan Danforth complemented the efforts of Ethan Danforth. The reserves for both teams entered the game late as the final result became more certain.

 

In addition to Schar's 30 points, Sitte finished the game with 12 points and Friedenfels added nine points. Mateo Jauregui complemented his defense with six points as five other Vikings registered at least one point. For the Thunderhawks, Ethan Danforth finished the night with 18 points while Donovan Danforth chipped in nine points. Four others finished with at least a point.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

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The Vikings' season will continue next Thursday at Suring when they face the second-seeded Three Lakes. Tim Kowols and Bryan Mazur will have the call on 105.1 The GOAT and NEWRadioSportsNetwork.com beginning at 6:45 p.m. with the tip off at 7 p.m. The Thunderhawks finish the season 16-10 , their best record since the 2019-2020 season and their first regional final appearance since 2020-2021.

 

 

In other local boys' basketball action, Kewaunee saw their season end against Crivitz on the road 69-62.

Southern Door's season ends in hands of Campbellsport on U-102.1

The Southern Door Eagles 19 game winning streak and their season came to a screeching end Saturday night as they fell 43-36 on U-102.1

 

Campbellsport began the night red hot on both ends, jumping out to a 5-0 lead, but holding Southern Door to no points in the first six minutes of the game. Drew Daoust would end that drought with a pair of free throws, and would actually give the Eagles the lead eventually at 8-5. 

 

The Eagles and Cougars would go back and forth throughout the entire first half, with neither team leading by more than two points at a time. Daoust would lead the offense for Southern Door, and Mitchell McCarty led the way for Campbellsport. 

 

After a last second shot from Campbellsport, Drew Daoust hit a long stepback three to give the Eagles a two point lead going into halftime at 21-19. Daoust would have 15 at the half. 

 

Campbellsport would switch things up in the second half and go to an extended 1-3-1 zone defense which would end up messing with the flow of the Eagle offense. Another extended scoring drought for Southern Door in the second half would fuel the momentum for Campbellsport. 

 

Clutch free throws at the end of the game for Campbellsport iced away the game for the Cougars, giving them their first regional title since 2005. Campbellsport will take on Brillion next Thursday in the Sectional Semifinals.

Luxemburg-Casco looks to reclaim team state in Madison

The Luxemburg-Casco wrestling team wants to add more gold to the trophy case on Saturday when they compete in the WIAA Team State Tournament on Saturday at the UW Fieldhouse in Madison.

 

he Spartans drew the top seed and will face #4 Evansville in the opening round. Luxemburg-Casco had seven wrestlers place at last weekend's individual state tournament. Easton Worachek (132), Max Ronsman (145), and Trace Schoenebeck (182) each lost their championship matches to come in second place overall in their respective weight classes. Jake Jandrin (106, 5th) and Blakelee Bastien (126, 3rd) won their final matches of the weekend while Caleb Delebreau (138, 6th) and Michael Bostwick (113, 6th) also placed. The Spartans were top scoring team at the tournament among Division 2 teams with 83.5 points.

 

Evansville had four wrestlers make it to Madison with 132-pounder Danny Heiser winning the title over Worachek. 

 

The winner will take on the victor of the #2 Prairie du Chien vs. #3 Baldwin-Woodville matchup. Prairie du Chien lost to eventual champion Amery in last year's Team State Tournament and sent seven wrestlers to Madison this past weekend, five of which placed and one, Rhett Koenig, placed 1st at 138 pounds.  Baldwin-Woodville sent four to the individual tournament, placing two of them.

 

The Spartans' first match will take place at 10 a.m. with the potential championship bout taking place at 3 p.m. This is the 19th trip to team state for the Spartans and their second straight. They have come home with hardware in 17 of those 19 trips, including their fifth second-place finish last year. The Spartans hope to add a golden wrestler to its trophy case for the first time since 2018. 

Vikings declaw Bobcats, face Thunderhawks for regional title on 105.1 The GOAT

The Gibraltar Vikings boys' basketball team overcame a slow start and erupted offensively in the second half to secure the 59-39 victory over the top-seeded Florence Bobcats.

 

The combination of a raucous atmosphere, an extra day off, and the lack of a long bus ride unlike their opponents helped the Bobcats jump out to an 11-2 start against the Vikings. The Bobcats could not build past a nine-point lead before a pair of dunks by Will Friedenfels helped inspire the team and riled up the strong number of Gibraltar supporters to close the gap. What was an 18-11 score with approximately seven minutes left in the first half turned into a 25-24 lead heading into the break. 

 

The Vikings would not wait long to jump on the Bobcats, opening the second half on an 8-0 run before sprinkling in similar runs throughout the half. The defense for the Vikings would not allow one of the top three-point shooting teams in Division 5 to find their groove as the Bobcats struggled to get shots off from deep and could not convert up close as they only managed two made field goals in the second half. The two teams would trade free throw attempts in the final four minutes, but it was the Vikings making 11 shots from the line to give them the convincing victory.

Carl Burgess led the way for the Vikings with 21 points while Braden Sitte added 14 and Jake Schar chipped in 11. The Bobcats failed to have a single player reach double figures despite having four players average at least 10 points per game during the season. Evan Johnson and Logan Schuls each scored nine points and Dominic DiMuri chipped in 8 in the Bobcats' second loss of the season.

The  Vikings will travel to the Oneida Nation Reservation on Saturday to face the Thunderhawks, which as the #4 seed handily beat Goodman-Pembine 64-50 at home. In their previous matchup, the Thunderhawks nearly erased a three-point halftime deficit behind 24 points from Ethan Danforth. However, the Vikings had Jake Schar match him and then some with 31 points as they beat the Thunderhawks at the Turtle School 60-59. Tim Kowols and Bryan Mazur will have the call on 105.1 The GOAT beginning at 6:45 p.m. with the pregame show followed by the opening tip  at 7 p.m.

Eagles take down Two Rivers; host Campbellsport Saturday on U-102.1

The Southern Door Eagles proved basketball is truly a game of runs tonight against Two Rivers, winning 71-58 on U-102.1 and NEW Radio Sports Network. 

 

The beginning of the game began as a back and forth affair, with Drew Daoust and Carson Kadow trading blows, ultimately having Two Rivers jump out to an early 7-6 lead. Daoust would connect with multiple three point shots early on, and gave Southern Door a comfortable early lead after a fight with the Raiders early. 

 

Jack Peterson would be a key factor in this one for the Eagles, hitting two early threes to extend the Southern Door lead to 21-11 with just under six minutes left in the first half. Two Rivers would not go down without a fight however, as Brady Richards would fight through foul trouble in the first half, but still lead the way in first half scoring for the Raiders. 

 

A buzzer beating three before the break from Eli Gallagher would make the halftime score 35-24 in favor of the Eagles. 

 

The second half would be a test for Southern Door, as Two Rivers got the lead down to as low as three, but Jared Hawkey would begin to take over. Going seven for seven overall from the free throw line and key baskets underneath would seal the win for the Eagles. 

 

Southern Door will be back in action tomorrow night as they take on the Campbellsport Cougars on U-102.1 and NEWRadioSportsNetwork.com. Gary Barta and Lucas Stephenson will be on the call from Brussels with pregame beginning at 6:45 and tip at 7. 

Boys' basketball preview: Southern Door, Gibraltar featured on NEW Radio Sports Network

The NEW Radio Sports Network will feature a pair of games Friday night as the WIAA Boys' Basketball Tournament hits the regional semifinals.

 

On 105.1 The GOAT, Gibraltar looks for its second win of the tournament when they travel to face top-seeded Florence. Tim Kowols and Bryan Mazur will have the call beginning at 6:45 p.m. with the pregame show followed by the opening tip at 7 p.m.

 

On U 102.1, Southern Door will open its tournament play with a home matchup against Two Rivers. Jacob Nate and Gary Barta will carry the action beginning at 6:45 p.m. with the pregame show followed by the opening tip at 7 p.m.

 

Kewaunee will also start its tournament campaign Friday with a home contest against Bonduel. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m.

 

Winners will play on Saturday in the regional final. While Southern Door and Kewaunee will host with a victory, Gibraltar could either hit the road and travel to Oneida Nation or stay at home to host Goodman-Pembine if they win.

Pioneers' offense runs cold in second half, lose to Rebels on U 1021

The Sevastopol Girl's Basketball team saw their magical season come to a close Thursday night in Crivitz as they fell to the Wabeno/Laona  44-29 in the WIAA Division 5 sectional final. 

 

 

The two team's defense dictated the game's pace early as neither team could find their groove offensively. Neither team held the lead by more than four points in the first half. Bailey Rikkola helped keep the Pioneers afloat scoring 10 of her 12 team-high points in the first half.

 

 

The second half started much like how the first half played out with both teams' defenses suffocating each other's offenses. The Rebels were able to take any momentum the gain carried when a delayed charging call against Naomi Rikkola took points off the board and started a 7-0 run. The Pioneers could only muster two made field goals in the second half while the Rebels' Malerie Krawze took over the game with 10 of her team-high 12 points coming after halftime. Four other Rebels players contributed seven points in their second straight Sectional Semi-Final win. For the Pioneers, Naomi Rikkola added seven points while Kayla Ranly and Libby Ash each chipped in three points.

 

The Sevastopol Pioneers finish their season 25-2 overall after winning their first regional title since 1985. 

 

Phoenix women slay Vikings to advance to Indianapolis

The Green Bay Phoenix women's basketball team will book another trip to Indianapolis for the back end of the Horizon League after dominating Wright State Thursday night 85-57.

 

The Phoenix could cruise the rest of the game after taking a 30-9 lead into the second quarter and expanded that advantage in the second and third quarters. A big reason is how well the Phoenix shot from the field, knocking down nearly half their shots and over 42 percent from the three-point area.  Jasmine Kondrakiewicz led all scorers with 18 points while Luxemburg-Casco alumna Cassie Schiltz added 14 more in the victory. 

 

The Phoenix will head to Indianapolis for the semifinals and potentially the finals at the Indiana Farmers Coliseum for the remainder of the Horizon League Tournament. They will face IPFW on Monday at 11 a.m. after the Mastodons upset their state rival IUPUI 73-69. The Phoenix closed the regular season with a hard-fought 70-64 win against the Mastodons last Sunday.

 

 

Gamblers battle Team USA

The Green Bay Gamblers will stick around the Resch Center this weekend for its matchups against Team USA.

 

The Gamblers spilt their last five games, which includes a 2-0 win over the first-place Chicago Steel in front of over 5,700 fans on Teddy Bear Toss night. The Steel are seven points ahead of the Gamblers in the standings, but the Gamblers have three games in hand. 

 

Their success comes despite not having a single player in the top 20 in scoring in the USHL. With 14 goals and 27 assists, Eli Sebastian leads the team in scoring. Matthew DiMarsico has the most goals with 19 and while Sebastian has the team leader in assists. Kristoffer Eberly is the seventh-best goalie in the USHL with a Goals Against Average of 2.83.

 

Both games begin at 7:05 p.m.

Six local players named WFCA All-Star Teams

Gibraltar's Mike Peck and Tom Sawyer will plenty of familiar faces on their Wisconsin Football Coaches Association (WFCA) All-Star Team this summer.

 

Jack Duffy, Giuseppe Mercier, Hayden Reetz, and Emmett Moroney were all named to the WFCA 8-Man South Team on Tuesday, giving them one extra game wearing the blue and gold of Gibraltar. The WFCA All-Star Game for Eight-Man Football takes place on Friday, July 14th at 6 p.m. 

 

Southern Door's Taylor Schaefer and Kewaunee's Mitchell Thompson will suit up for the North 11-man Small School Team. Their game will take place the following day at noon.

 

Both games will take place on the campus of UW-Oshkosh

 

In order to play in the game, players have to be nominated and raise money for a statewide charity. 

Phoenix women open tournament at home vs. Wright State

The Green Bay Phoenix women's basketball team would like to add a tournament championship to their title haul this season, a journey that begins on Thursday at the Kress Events Center against Wright State.

 

The Phoenix enter the matchup on a 10 game winning streak as they try to reverse their fortunes in the Horizon League Tournament, which they have not won since the 2017-2018 season. The Phoenix are 4-4 in the tournament since, which includes a loss to Wright State in the championship game in 2019. The Raiders lost both games to the Phoenix this year by scores of 72-51 in Dayton (January 5, 2023) and 75-55 in Green Bay (February 12, 2023).

 

The Phoenix are led by Sydney Levy, who was named to the All-Horizon League First Team earlier this week. Teammate Bailey Butler was named to the Second Team and All-Defensive Team while head coach Kevin Borseth garnered coach of the year honors.

 

Tip off is set for 7 p.m.

Bucks perform shooting tricks against Magic for 16th straight

The three-point shooting for the Milwaukee Bucks was no illusion as they drilled 26 shots from deep en route to a 139-117 victory over the Orlando Magic Wednesday night.

 

Nine different players hit at least one three-pointer including the entire starting five. As a result, six different players reached double figures, led by Giannis Antetokounmpo's 31 points. It was just three made shots off from the previous record of 29. 

 

Cole Anthony did what he could to keep things close as he scored a game-high 28 points for the Magic. Three other registered double figures for the Magic in the loss.

 

The win puts the Bucks at 16 straight, four away from their team record of 20. Their next crack at adding onto the streak is Saturday at Fiserv Forum against the Philadelphia 76ers.

Sevastpol girls meets Wabeno-Laona for sectional semifinal on U 102.1

The Road to Green Bay for the WIAA Girls Basketball State Championships takes a detour to Crivitz on Thursday when Sevastopol faces off against top-seeded Wabeno-Laona.

 

Both teams won their respective conferences with the Pioneers taking the Packerland with an undefeated mark while the Rebels earned a tie with Crandon for the Northern Lakes crown.

 

The Pioneers earned their spot with wins over Suring and Lena on consecutive nights. The team rode their defense to their first regional championship since 1985 when they beat Lena 56-19 in front of a partisan crowd in Institute last Saturday night. Naomi Rikkola scored six of her 12 points and Libby Ash connected on one of her two three-pointers to stake the Pioneers to an 18-5 lead at the break. Bailey Rikkola came alive in the second half, scoring 13 of her game-high 16 points in the second half, while Kayla Ranly combined her hard-nosed defense with six second-half points. 

 

The Rebels won a blowout against Wausaukee and close game against Niagara to take their spot opposite the Pioneers in the sectional semifinal. In their 49-45 victory over Niagara in the regional final, Malerie Krawze scored 11 points and Allison Albrecht added 10 points in the win. This is the second straight year the Rebels have appeared in the sectional round, losing last year in the final to eventual state runner-up Assumption.

 

Tim Kowols and Reece Robillard will have the call from Crivitz Thursday night on U 102.1 and NEWRadioSportsNetwork.com beginning at 6:45 p.m. with the pregame show followed by the opening tip at 7 p.m.

 

Click here to listen to our interview with head girls' basketball coach Ben Rikkola

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