B-W Baseball Team Loses 3-0 to Nekoosa

It was a great run while it lasted. The B-W baseball team was Middle Border Conference champion. The team captured the regional championship.

But the run was over last Wednesday at Barron when the Hawks were unable to generate enough offense to score any runs and lost to Nekoosa 3-0 in sectional semi-final action of the WIAA Division 2 playoffs.

"We ran into a very good team," said B-W Coach Grey Hush. He noted that Nekoosa has a strong baseball tradition. In the third inning Nekoosa scored two earned runs and one unearned run and that was all it took to win the game since B-W was unable to score a run.

Howard wins two matches at state

Tyler Howard, Baldwin-Woodville's best tennis player ever, won his first two matches at the WIAA Division 2 state tournament before falling to the defending state champion and then losing in a consolation match to the number three seed in the tournament.

"Tyler had a very good tournament," said B-W Coach Jim Rumpel. "He definitely had some tough draws along the way and still did everything we asked of him."

B-W's top doubles team of Nathan Zacharias and Ed Rumpel also "did very well against a very good team," said Coach Rumpel. Playing their first match against the team that went on to lose to the team that went on to finish third in the doubles tournament, they lost 6-2, 6-3.

Coach Rumpel said in his opinion, Howard played "one of the two toughest players he could have drawn" out of the 20 possibilities in first round competition, Matthew Bellio, a sophomore of Saint Mary's Springs with an 18-3 record, and won 6-3, 7-5. In the second round he beat the player who beat the Altoona foreign exchange student whom Howard had beaten twice during the year. By beating the Altoona player, Jimmy Leschke, a senior of Oshkosh Lourdes with a 14-7 record, "obviously was a good player," said Coach Rumpel, and Howard beat him 6-3, 6-0 and "played very solid tennis.

In the third round Howard faced the defending state champion Michael Koval of Notre Dame, with a 26-1 record, who until the final round didn't lose a game at the tournament. "Sometimes people who don't understand the game will look at a score of 6-0, 6-0 and think there's a huge difference, but it's not always a huge difference," said Coach Rumpel. "Sometimes a shot here or a shot there makes the difference."

In the consolation bracket for fifth place, "probably the biggest thing affecting Tyler was the number three seed upset" so Tyler had to play him in the first round of the consolation. "So by the luck of the draw, his consolation match was against the toughest kid he could have faced and in a tough match in which he kept fighting back, he lost 6-4, 7-6.

"Just to show how tough that player was, he went on to win fifth place match and had a much easier time than he did against Tyler," said Coach Rumpel.

Wagner second in 3200m race

Baldwin-Woodville's premier distance runner Kayla Wagner powered to a second place finish in near record-setting time in the 3200m run in Division 2 action at the WIAA state track meet Friday night in LaCrosse.

Wagner's time of 10:38.44, more than 20 seconds off her previous best, was less than two seconds shy of the previous Division 2 state record of 10:36.88 set in 1984 by Lori Wolter of Sauk Prairie. Winning the event this year, and no doubt pushed by Wagner, was Ashley Beutler of Belleville/New Glarus who set the new state record of 10:33.43.

The record-setting race was late Friday night after an one and one-half hour delay at the WIAA state track meet at LaCrosse due to a strong band of storms that caused evacuation of the stadium and grounds.

"Kayla felt a little disappointed in Saturday's finish," said B-W Coach Darren Peterson. "But she did extremely well and should be proud of running with and pushing one of the state's premier distance runners. Friday's 3200m run was extremely impressive and from where she was three or four weeks ago she has decreased her time exponentially."

Coach Peterson said Wagner has been taking 20 or so seconds off her time almost every week which is a phenomenal achievement. "The longer a race goes, the stronger she gets."

The results were not quite what Wagner wanted in the 1600m run on Saturday. She finished in seventh place, just one place from being on the podium, with a time of 5:14.25, which is not her best time of the year. "The thing that hurt Kayla, and a lot of other runners who did both the 3200m and 1600m back to back, was the short turn-around time," said Coach Peterson. The rain delay of Friday night that amounted to about two hours, pushed the 3200m run to nearly 10:00 and the 1600m run was early Saturday afternoon.

Coach Peterson noted that the Division 2 times in both the 3200m and 1600m runs were faster than the Division 1 times.

In addition to a short recovery time, Wagner was boxed in by the pack almost immediately in the 1600m run. "The start hurt," said Coach Peterson. "When you have a poor start in a shorter race you have less time to make up for it."

Coach Peterson said that Wagner and Beutler running together helped them both. He added that six of last year's place winners in the 1600m run were returning to the race this year. "Kayla learned how to compete and run in a very competitive race. She competed against elite runners and she held her own very well. It definitely puts her in the top echelon again for next
year."

Coach Peterson's notion that Wagner and Beutler helped each other in the 3200m run is borne out by each of the runners. Beutler is quoted in the Wisconsin State Journal as saying "I was just trying to beat the girl behind me, not set the record. That girl was amazing."

Wagner said she felt good during the 3200m run "except at the end when I felt like my body was breaking because I was trying to go too fast." After the race had ended "Ashley told me I better break the record next year," said Wagner. "She was really nice. It was great to run with her."
She agreed that she pushed Beutler and Beutler pulled her.

At the awards ceremony it was former New Richmond stand-out distance runner Ayla Mitchell who congratulated Wagner and put the medal around her neck. "Ayla talked to me afterwards too. It was exciting and she was so nice," said Wagner.

For the 1600m run, "I was exhausted," said Wagner. "My legs obviously didn't feel as good as they should. During the race my arms and my legs hurt. The beginning was difficult because I got boxed in. I tried to get around people but the anxiety caused me not to run as well as I could. I was a little disappointed but I was happy to be there and happy to run a good race the night before."

Tennis team sends two entries to state Howard is seeded; Zacharias and Rumpel make first trip

Tyler Howard, Baldwin-Woodville's best ever tennis player and four time Middle Border Conference champion, is making his fourth trip to the WIAA Division 2 state tennis tournament.

Howard's record moved to 16-0 as he cruised through sub-sectional and sectional competitors on Monday-Tuesday and Thursday of last week. The sectional win for Howard was his second consecutive year of capturing the championship.

Nathan Zacharias and Ed Rumpel, B-W's number one doubles team, needed just one victory at sectional competition to advance to state, and they did better than that by winning two of their three matches.

B-W Coach Jim Rumpel said a lot of the credit for doubles play goes to Adam Bassak. "I try not to get too involved in doubles matches so Adam handles the coaching and does an excellent job," he said.

According to Coach Rumpel, in every round Howard "faced good, tough competition. And in every round he faced moments when he had to step up his game and he did. He has facets of his game he doesn't always have to tap into but when he had to Thursday he more than did."

Derrek Pedersen qualifies for state

St. Croix Central junior Derrek Pedersen qualified for the WIAA state track meet with a fourth place finish in the 800 meter run at the Division 2 sectional last Thursday at Medford.

Pedersen had finished in third place at the Amery Regional on Monday with a time of 2:05.14. On Thursday he lowered his personal best time to 2:03.15 for the fourth place finish.

Pedersen will run in Division 2 800 on Friday afternoon at the Veterans Memorial Sports Complex at UW-LaCrosse.

Wagner qualifies for state in 1600m and 3200m

Baldwin-Woodville's record setting track star Kayla Wagner continued her string of school records while finishing first in both the 3200m and 1600m runs at the sectional meet last Thursday at Medford.

Wagner will compete at the WIAA state track meet at LaCrosse in both events, on Friday in the 3200m run and on Saturday in the 1600m run.

Unfortunately, none of the other B-W sectional competitors finished in fourth place or better to advance to the state event.

Wagner has the top time going into the state event in the 3200m run and stands in second position in the 1600m run. In both races her chief competitor is Ashley Beutler of Belleville/New Glarus, with the second fastest time in the 1600m run and the top time in the 3200m run. Beutler won the division 2 cross country race last fall in Black River Falls in which Wagner finished in seventh place.

"They were impressive races by Kayla at sectional," said B-W Coach Darren Peterson. "She's sitting pretty good. I think she can do really well at state."

Wagner's time in the 3200m run was her first time under 11 minutes at 10:59.65 and 10 seconds faster than her regional time of 11:09.74. Needless to say, both times were school and individual records for Wagner. Beutler comes into the state meet with a time of 11:00.92.

In the 1600m run at sectional, Wagner's time of 5:08.69 bested her regional time of 5:14.84. Beutler's time at sectional was 5:06.27.

Fitting tribute at final farwell

Bantam and varisty players of the Blackhawk Hockey Association paid a fitting tribute to Rose Schultz last Saturday at the conclusion of her funeral at Immaculate Conception Church in Hammond. The team members formed a canopy with their sticks during the recessional from the church and saluted with three raps on the ground. Rose, along with her husband Russ, has been a supporter of amateur hockey in the area since the inception of Blackhawk Hockey.

Zac Weyer qualifies for State

Zac Weyer used an arm bar to gain back points on Jeremy Stenulson of Neillsville in the opening round of the Somerset Sectional. Weyer won an 8-4 decision and finished in third place at 130 pounds.

Freshman Zac Weyer was the only wrestler from Baldwin-Woodville to qualify for the WIAA state individual tournament this year. Weyer finished in third place at 130 pounds last Saturday in the Somerset Sectional.

"Zac wrestled very well at times," Coach Jason Cimino commented. "I think he could have had a better showing in his two losses. He did beat two seniors."

Weyer opened the day with an 8-4 decision over Jeremy Stenulson of Neillsville, but was pinned by Derek Marten of Mondovi in the semifinal. In the consolation bracket Weyer pinned Bob Tahtinen of Northwestern and decisioned Mathew Hartmann of Durand 6-5 in the third place match.

Weyer had a chance to improve his finish to second when Marten won the 130 pound championship, but lost by pin to Zach Zehner of Tomahawk.

Spencer Corey, a junior, also won his first match with a pin over Jared Vroman of Barron at 189 pounds. But he lost an 8-2 decision to John Schoen (Neillsville) and a 4-1 decision to Frank Dobbs (Melrose-Mindoro/G.E.T.) to finish fourth. The top three finishers at sectional advance to the state tournament.

Junior Tyler Klund lost to Kaleb Stephens of Barron 3-0 and Chace Kinneman of Ellsworth 9-0 to be eliminated at 119 pounds.

Junior Hunter Campbell (160) and sophomore T.J. Lund (215) both lost in the opening round and did not get a chance for a wrestle back.

"If Hunter was healthy, I think he would have had a good shot at making it through," Cimino commented. "He beat one of the kids (that advanced) during the regular season before his injury.

"I look for all our sectional qualifiers to only get better. Spencer wrestled two of his best matches in his two losses."

Among the most improved wrestlers this season, Cimino named Lund, Dan Peterson and Matt Bonte.

Jason LaFavor, who had qualified for the sectional at 130 pounds, was unable to compete because of a virus.

"It was unfortunate, especially with Jason being a senior, but the rules are strict," Cimino said.

Weyer will face Ryan Baugnet, a senior from Denmark with a record of 37-8 in the preliminaries on Thursday night at the Kohl Center in Madison. Weyer brings a record of 33-7 to the state tournament.

"I don't know about the kid, but looking at his record, I would think Zac can compete with him," Cimino concluded. "The important thing is to get by that first match."

Kayla Wagner Named All-State

Kayla Wagner, Baldwin-Woodville junior, was named to the Wisconsin cross-country All-State First Team by the Wisconsin Cross Country Coaches Association.

Baldwin-Woodville standout cross country runner Kayla Wagner has been named to the first team All-State of the Wisconsin Cross Country Coaches Association (WCCCA).

The honor was awarded to Wagner based on her time at the Wisconsin State Cross Country meet held in Wisconsin Rapids October 27.

Heading the list of girls WCCCA all state selections was Ashley Buetler of New Glarus/Monticello. Also named to the first All-State team was Breanna Tinney of Osceola.

Named to the second team from this area were Katie Cumming of Hudson, Morgan Place of Ellsworth and Ashley Brown of River Falls. Hannah Utzman of New Richmond was named to the Honorable Mention State team.

For the boys, Adam Zais of Hudson was named to the All-State second team and Kendrick Johnson of Menomonie and John Roberts of Hudson were named to the Honorable MentionState team.

Wagner Finished Seventh at State

Kayla Wagner of B-W rounded a corner in the WIAA Division 2 cross country meet at Ridges Golf Club at Wisconsin Rapids on Saturday. Wagner finished in seventh place with a time of 15:15.8 over the difficult 4,000 meter course.

B-W's premier cross country runner Kayla Wagner finished in seventh place of the 151 runners in Division 2 in the WIAA State Cross Country meet at Ridges Golf Course at Wisconsin Rapids on Saturday.

Wagner was in fifth place until the very end of the 4,000 meter course when she was overtaken by two runners who she was unaware were so close to her and unable to hear the shouts of spectators because of the tremendous roar of the crowd.

Wagner finished in 15:14.8 for her seventh place finish. Both the fifth place finisher, Emily Bachhuber of Shorewood, and Kelsey Bernet of New Glarus/Monticello, had their times listed at 15:14.7.

"Kayla had a superb race," said her coach, Jennifer Cimino. "The course is really tough-probably the toughest she races on because of the hills and long stretches of sand. It's really tough to run through sand like that."

Although Kayla finished in seventh, "it was an extremely close race," said Coach Cimino. "From the human eye it was a tie and the only way to tell the difference was with the chip."

Coach Cimino said that throughout most of the race Kayla battled back and forth with her chief competitor over the regular season, Breanna Tinney of Osceola. They changed fourth and fifth places several times in the race.

Although Kayla's best time of the season was a 14:59, the course Saturday was more difficult and she beat her time in the last couple of races.

The seventh place finish is a great achievement, said Coach Cimino. "Considering the number of spectators, for a first time athlete to have that big of an event and not have your emotions overwhelmed is a big accomplishment. I'm really proud of her. I think she did awesome."

Winning the Division 2 race was Ashley Buetler of New Glarus/Monticello with a time of 14:11.3. Tinney finished in fourth with a time of 15:09.5.

Wagner Wins MBC Cross-Country Race

Kayla Wagner achieved another of her season goals at the Middle Border Conference cross country meet last Thursday at New Richmond. Wagner won the event in 15:22, or nine seconds ahead of second place finisher Morgan Place of Ellsworth.

"One of Kayla's goals was to take first place at the conference meet," said B-W Coach Jen Cimino. "It's so exciting that she was able to meet that goal. The other incredible thing about her race was that she wasn't feeling well. So to be able to put it all on the line like that shows that she is mentally tough."

For the boys team Sam Mattison led the way with a 19:26 which is his best time of the season and only his second time under 20 minutes. He was in 31st place.

Hawks Downed Prescott 26-10; are in Playoffs

The Baldwin-Woodville football team took awhile to get warmed up last Thursday at Prescott, but when the evening was over they came away with a convincing 26-10 win.

The win moves their Middle Border Conference record to 4-2 with one game remaining, assuring them of a winning record and a place in the WIAA football playoffs. The Hawks' overall record is 6-2.

Although the Hawks will advance to post-season play, their first focus must be against MBC leading Somerset at King Field Thursday night. The Spartans are undefeated in play this season, including a 26-14 win against Amery last Thursday night.

Baldwin-Woodville Qualifies for State in Golf and Tennis

Members of the B-W golf team left Sunday for the state match and played Monday and Tuesday at University Ridge. Pictured from left are Erica Timmers, Dannel Kielmeyer, Michelle Hinz, Alexa Harmon and Karlyn Sturtevant.

Baldwin-Woodville's number one doubles team Kirsten Hoffman, left, and Sara Donahoe.

Baldwin-Woodville athletes qualified for the WIAA state tournament in two different sports in the past week. The girls golf team qualified at last week's sectional at Bristol Ridge. It is the first time B-W has qualified for state from girls golf, individual or team.

In addition to the golf team, the Baldwin-Woodville number one doubles tennis team of Kirsten Hoffman and Sara Donahoe advanced to the state tennis tournament as "special qualifiers." Donahoe and Hoffman will play this Thursday night against a team from Green Bay Notre Dame.

On Monday of this week the golf team shot a team total of 391, two strokes behind Oconto Falls. Madison Edgewood leads the team competition with a 311. Erica Timmers led the Hawks with an 18-hole total 89.