Sauk Prairie’s year in sports

It was a banner year for Sauk Prairie’s boys’ and girls’ sports teams, which created many highlights and lifetime memories in 2019. The Eagles were competitive in the Badger North Conference with the boys swimming, cross country and soccer teams all winning conference titles. Sauk Prairie also participated in five state tournaments – boys and girls swimming, boys’ and girls’ tennis and wrestling. Following is a look at the top-10 Sauk Prairie sports stories of the year.   1. Mack, Wankerl win state tennis title Juniors Kelby Mack and Noah Wankerl entered last spring as two-time WIAA Individual state tournament qualifiers, Wankerl at No. 1 singles and Mack at No. 1 doubles. While they made it three-for-three in state tournament berths, Mack and Wankerl capped a memorable season not only as doubles partners but atop the podium. Mack and Wankerl defeated Green Bay Notre Dame senior Josh Jansen and junior Christian Remington 6-1, 6-2 to win the WIAA Division 2 state doubles championship match, the first in school history. “We were just able to go out and play our game,” Kelby Mack said. “We didn’t get tense. We knew we had a chance of winning it.” The Eagles’ first-ever doubles state championship was the second title overall dating back to Todd Bishop’s Division 2 singles title in 1998. Wankerl began the season at No. 1 singles, while Mack — who placed third at the 2018 WIAA individual state tournament at No. 1 doubles with then-senior Parker Christian — was at No. 2 singles. But a preseason plan to pair the two for the postseason went into effect early after Wankerl suffered a quad injury at the Stoughton Invitational. Wankerl paired up with Mack for five matches preceding the Badger Conference tournament. They proceeded to win Badger North Conference and sectional titles before capping a 17-1 season with the state championship. They saved their best tennis for last, winning their final 32 sets in a row. The duo received the No. 3 seed in the Division 2 state doubles field to earn a first-round bye.  They easily overcame any early tournament jitters with an impressive 6-1, 6-0 victory over Manitowoc Roncalli senior Alec Schermetzler and sophomore Steffen Lipski (17-5) in a second-round match. Mack and Wankerl quickly advanced to the semifinals with a 6-2, 6-1 victory over University School of Milwaukee senior Matthew Cooper and junior Addison Elliot (12-7) in a quarterfinal match. That set the stage for a fantastic finish on championship Saturday. Mack and Wankerl used a dominant first set to earn a 6-0, 7-5 victory over Green Bay Notre Dame’s No. 1 doubles team of senior Williams Schneider and freshman Alan Schneider (22-4) in the semifinals. Mack and Wankerl then made quick work of Notre Dame’s No. 2 doubles team to clinch the state championship. “We really just tried to trust our game,” Wankerl said. “We kept our cool. We let our game do the talking for us.”   2. Schaaf second at state wrestling An all-conference selection in three sports as a senior, Bryant Schaaf was one of only two male students to earn recognition as a 12-season athlete for the Eagles. An 11-time letterwinner – three in football and four each in wrestling and baseball – the pinnacle of Schaaf’s prep sports career came on the wrestling mat. Schaaf won Badger North Conference, regional and sectional titles en route to a runner-up finish at 160 pounds at the WIAA Division 1 Individual State tournament at the Kohl Center. Also advancing to state were junior Dawson Enge (36-13) at 106 pounds, senior Jesse Huerth (36-15) at 138 pounds and junior Marcus Hankins (27-4) at 195. However, Schaaf (44-6) — who capped his prep wrestling career with a 131-45 record, which ranks 10th  in school history — was the only Eagle wrestler to advance to the medal round. Known for his penchant for taking his matches to the limit — he won both his conference and regional titles on the ultimate tiebreaker — Schaaf came up three points shy of his dream of a state championship. Schaaf, who lost to Whitefish Bay co-op senior Dajun Johnson 7-4 in the championship match, was attempting to secure the Eagles’ first individual state title since Matt Gaffney finished 45-1 in winning the Division 1 title at 130 pounds in 2008. “Being a state finalist for our program, the first one in five years, was important to me and to the program,” Schaaf said, noting that Austin Fjoser (35-6) lost his senior year in the 2014 138-pound final.  Schaaf, who placed sixth at 152 pounds as a junior, got his final state appearance off to a great start, earning a 7-5 decision over Elkhorn/Faith Christian’s Colman Karl (37-11) in the preliminary round. That set up a thrilling 3-2 decision over West Bend East’s Cooper Schlosser (46-7) in a quarterfinal match. So it was no surprise then that Schaaf’s semifinal match against Burlington’s Jake Skrundz (20-4) would be anything but a nailbiter. Schaaf trailed Skrundz 2-1 with 20 seconds remaining before recording a takedown and then riding out the final 15 seconds of the match to qualify for his first state finals’ berth. That set the stage for one of the moments he had been dreaming about for a long time – the March of Champions, which precedes the championship round. “It was a dream come true,” he said. “I didn’t achieve everything I wanted to. But I met a lot of goals this year. It’s awesome to represent the Sauk Prairie program. I’m proud of that, but I was so close to winning (the title).”      3. Swimmers notch a three-peat Senior co-captains Desmon Sachtjen and Karsten Flogel were determined that the Sauk Prairie co-op program would not relinquish its Badger North Conference swimming title on their watch. Mission accomplished. Sachtjen won two individual championships and anchored the winning 400-yard freestyle relay while Flogel posted top-five finishes in all four of his events to help the Eagles secure their third consecutive Badger North Conference meet title. The Sauk Prairie co-op, which included Wisconsin Heights and Lodi, won with 503 points, 100 more than runner-up Baraboo, which finished with 403 points.  “I knew we could pull out a win, but I didn’t think by that much,” said Sachtjen, a University of Minnesota recruit. “Everyone stepped up and swam awesome.” It was supposed to be a rebuilding season for the Eagles. But while Sauk Prairie only won two individual events and one relay, their superior depth led the way to the surprisingly easy victory at the conference meet.  “We were seeded to win, but only by 30 points over the second-place team,” Sauk Prairie coach Todd Wuerger said. “The fifth-place team on paper was only 70 points behind us. “So going into the meet, any team had a chance to win based on the seeds. All it takes is a relay disqualification or a few things to slide in a different direction.” The Eagles didn’t allow that to happen, though. “Our guys rose to the challenge,” Wuerger said. “They wanted to defend their crown.” The Eagles recorded 21 top-six finishes, including two each in 10 of the 11 events. Both the Sauk Prairie ‘A’ and ‘B’ relays made the podium in all three relays. “We talked about how much this meant to us, and how much it would mean to the program if we could get this win,” Sachtjen said. “The two years before, we were expected to win. This year we weren’t.” The Sauk Prairie co-op also won the conference dual meet title, finishing 4-0, to make it an Eagles’ sweep. Sachtjen won the 100-yard butterfly in a Badger North Conference-record time of 51.34 seconds. He also won the 100 breaststroke in 1:00.36 and anchored the winning 400 freestyle relay that included sophomores Aaron Stecker and Sam Beattie and freshman Matthew Loy and finished in 3:26.18.   4. Football team  reverses fortunes A new era in Sauk Prairie football dawned when the Eagles opened the season with a 21-20 victory over host Monroe in a Badger Conference crossover game. “Coach is showing us what a championship team looks like and should look like,” senior running back/linebacker Garrett Hertzfeldt said. “We have set out to not only meet those expectations but exceed them.” The Eagles did just that. Sauk Prairie entered the season with 11 straight years of losing records, including eight years with either only one or two victories. That added up to a 23-76 record between 2008 and 2018. The Eagles had also amassed only five total victories spanning the previous three seasons for the current senior class. But Sauk Prairie — under first-year coach Clay Iverson — used that season-opening victory as a springboard to a 6-4 overall record, including 4-3 in Badger North Conference play. In the process, the Eagles also snapped a 12-year playoff drought. “It means so much to make it to the playoffs, especially for the seniors,” senior quarterback/linebacker Parker Breunig said. “We expected this as a team. We were ready from day one to be in this moment.” Sauk Prairie’s most recent playoff appearance had been in 2007, when it posted a winning regular season, but finished 5-5 overall after losing to Kewaskum 34-7 in a WIAA Division 3 first-round game. The Eagles’ last previous winning season was in 2005 when it finished 9-2. But after last spring’s first team meeting with Iverson, the players sensed this season could be different, and it was. “He came in and you could just tell that things were going to change for the better around here very fast,” Parker Breunig said. “They sure did.” The 43-year-old Iverson, in his 14th year as a head coach, had engineered successful rebuilding efforts at Pewaukee — where he coached former University of Wisconsin and current NFL players (and brothers) J.J., Derek and T.J. Watt — and at Mukwonago. Sauk Prairie lost to Stoughton 26-13 in a WIAA Division 3 first-round playoff game to end the season. “I couldn’t be prouder of a group,” Iverson said. “I can’t remember a time when I was more proud of a group for giving everything they have. There’s not a sideline in the world I’d rather be than with these guys.”   5. Boys XC team  defends league title With temperatures in the mid 50’s and under partly sunny skies, the Sauk Prairie boys’ cross country team couldn’t have chosen a better day to defend its Badger North Conference title. Seniors Camden Desroches (17 minutes, 6 seconds) and Hudson Haas (17:10) finished third and fourth, respectively, as the Eagles cruised to their second consecutive championship, recording 36 points to outdistance runner-up Waunakee, which finished second with 64 points. “I couldn’t have imagined that,” Haas said of winning back-to-back conference titles when he joined the program as a freshman. “I’m really happy that me and my boys were able to do that. That’s really cool.” Seven of the eight Sauk Prairie runners earned all-conference honors with only the Eagles’ eighth runner senior Casey Vande Hey missing out by 14 seconds with his 19th-place finish. “It was a perfect day, absolutely,” said an elated Sauk Prairie coach Andy Sherman. “They ran so well. I’m happy for them.” The top eight runners earned all-conference first-team honors, while the ninth through 16th-place finishers were accorded second-team honors. “We all knew we wanted to go out and run our race,” Desroches said. Freshman Jack Boerger finished eighth in a personal-best time of 17:33 to join Desroches and Haas on the all-conference first team. Sophomore Dalton Zirbel, who was the Eagles’ eighth runner at conference in 2018, finished as the team’s fourth runner and ninth overall in 17:40 to lead four Sauk Prairie runners, who earned all-conference second-team honors. With seven runners finishing in the top 15 and all eight in the top 19, it was clearly the Eagles’ day to soar above the competition. Joining Zirbel on the all-conference second team was senior Noah Wankerl, who was 12th in 17:46 to round out the Eagles’ scoring. Also earning second-team honors were junior Sam Beattie, who placed 13th in 17:47 and sophomore Carson Enge, who was 15th in a personal-best time of 17:50 in just his second varsity race. Sherman said he was especially proud of his seniors, who finished their conference career with back-to-back runner-up finishes their first two seasons and back-to-back conference championships as juniors and seniors. “Those guys have been such a program-changing group,” Sherman said of the senior class, which also included Hunter Kent and Owen Kolnik, who helped lead the Eagles’ JV team to a runner-up conference finish. “They’ve set the tone for the last four years.”   6. Girls swimmers excel at state Senior co-captains Alexa Judd and Giulia Brickl capped a memorable season the best way possible, swimming the final races of their prep careers at the WIAA Division 2 state meet at the University of Wisconsin Natatorium. Sauk Prairie’s 200 freestyle relay of sophomores Kassandra Miller and Ashley Pape, junior Cora Dunnum and Judd recorded the team’s best performance of the competition when they reached the podium with a third-place finish in a time of 1 minute, 40.22 seconds. The Eagles, who were seeded ninth and swam in the first heat, were going after their school record time of 1:40.07, but just came up short. “They put up a heck of a time,” Sauk Prairie coach Melani Guentherman said of the Eagles’ quartet. “So I’m sure they were slightly disappointed that they didn’t get the school record. But then you’re sitting and watching and thinking, let’s see what happens in the next heat. “Then to see that got them up to third, I know I was thrilled. The girls were ecstatic at that point.” It was also a shining moment for Judd. “I knew we had a good enough time to make the podium,” Judd said. “To get third was really exciting.” Madison Edgewood won its fifth consecutive team state championship, running away with the meet with 290 points. Sauk Prairie, which competed in three relays and one individual event, finished 16th with 67 points. Judd and Brickl went out in style in the 200-yard medley relay, joining freshman Riley Talmage and Dunnum to place 14th in a time of 1:52.69, improving on their seed time of 1:53.23. Brickl finished off her prep career as a four-time state qualifier in the 200 medley relay.  “That was one of my goals as a freshman, to make it every year to state in something,” Brickl said. “It was a pretty cool experience to go for a final time.” Sauk Prairie wrapped up its day at state with an eighth-place finish in the 400 freestyle relay. Miller, Pape, Talmage and Judd finished in 3:41.19. The Eagles were seeded ninth in 3:42.62. “Alexa was a true leader in all three relays, and she was ready to go,” Guentherman said of Judd. “She was going to enjoy her last state meet and boy did she ever.”   7. Quinlyn Mack  returns to state Quinlyn Mack made it two-for-two when she earned a return trip to the WIAA Division 1 individual state tennis tournament this fall. Mack (14-9) also notched her first-ever win at state when the Sauk Prairie sophomore cruised to a 6-1, 6-1 opening-round victory over Westosha Central sophomore Tristin Jantz (20-7) at the Nielsen Tennis Stadium in Madison. Mack advanced to face Eau Claire Memorial senior Haya Donin (29-5), the No. 13 overall seed, in the round of 32.  But Donin ended Mack’s season with a 6-2, 6-3 win.  “In her opening match, Quinlyn demonstrated her incredible tennis talent,” Sauk Prairie coach Heather Slosarek said of Mack. “Her second match previewed some of her growth as a player that will springboard her into the future.” The Eagles’ No. 1 singles player the past two seasons, Mack placed fourth at the highly competitive Badger Conference tournament for the second year in a row. Mack had advanced to state as a special qualifier after suffering a 6-4, 7-5 loss to Middleton freshman Sophia Agapov in a subsectional first-round match. “Having beaten some top-rated players in the state, Quinlyn was fortunate enough to receive a special qualifier position for state,” Slosarek said. Mack qualified for state at No. 1 singles as a freshman, along with the Eagles’ No. 1 doubles team of then-seniors Camryn Ballweg and Taylor Breininger. They were the first Sauk Prairie girls tennis players to qualify for since 2003. Mack lost to Wausau West’s Natasha Bailey 6-1, 6-4. “Quinlyn lives and breathes tennis and put in so much work in the off-season as she has in her entire tennis career,” Slosarek said.  Slosarek said increased strength and quickness added another dimension to Mack’s game. “She loves playing the game of tennis so sometimes she can just want to hit multiple shots in a point,” Slosarek said. “Now she’s just going for those winner shots, which is really exciting.”   8. Girls soccer team falls just short of state It was a painful end of the season for the Sauk Prairie girls soccer team, losing in the WIAA Division 2 sectional finals. But after the Eagles finished second in the competitive Badger North Conference and won their first regional championship since 2011, Sauk Prairie coach Mike Rauls couldn’t have been any prouder. “What a tremendous, tremendous bunch of girls,” Rauls said of his team, which finished the season 20-2-2. “They’ve achieved a lot.  “We had 20 wins and two losses to Waunakee and Oregon, who both went to state. That’s pretty solid. We just had a tremendous year.” Although Sauk Prairie refused to back down with its second WIAA state appearance and first since 1999 within reach, Oregon was able to hold on for a 1-0 victory in the sectional finals. The Panthers went on to win the state title in a shootout. Sauk Prairie not only won five more games than it did a year ago, but it gave rivals Waunakee and Mount Horeb all they could handle in finishing runner-up in the Badger North Conference with a 5-1-1 record in league play. The Eagles also doubled their scoring output of 53 goals the previous season with 107, while allowing just 13 goals, five fewer than a year ago. When juniors Ella Schad and Kelsey Selden were elected as co-captains before the season, the Sauk Prairie duo set out to make a difference. The duo did that and more, making adjustments in their play and taking on different roles to make it one of the most successful seasons in program history. They were also recognized along with freshman scoring sensation Katelyn Fishnick on the All-Badger North Conference girls’ soccer first team. The best could be yet to come, though, for the Eagles, who don’t plan on taking a step back next season. The program returns 14 of its 21 varsity players, including five all-conference selections, in 2020.   9. Boys soccer wins conference title Sauk Prairie’s boys soccer finished a sensational season with an 18-3-1 record that included a 6-0-1 mark and first-place finish in Badger North Conference play along with a regional championship. It was the Eagles’ first league title since 2016, and they finished the season with 13 shutouts and outscored their opponents 80-16. However, Elkhorn blanked Sauk Prairie 2-0 in a WIAA Division 2 sectional semifinal to end the Eagles’ memorable season. That snapped Sauk Prairie’s 12-match winning streak, which included nine shutouts and a 54-3 goal differential during that span. Drew Kornish, in his first season as the Eagles’ head coach, said he couldn’t have been any happier or prouder with the way the team performed all season long. “I feel incredibly fortunate to work with the group we worked with this season,” he said. “Having the kind of leadership we had on the team with 11 seniors is a pretty unique opportunity for a coach especially in his first year.” Co-captain and four-year starter Evan Carlson finished with a team-best 31 goals and 71 points along with nine assists, and Simon Enerson led the team with 11 assists and was second in points (33) and third in goals (11). In addition, Caden Pugh (three goals, eight assists, 14 points), Jakob Wilson (six goals, one assist, 13 points), Trent Schneeberger (four goals, one assist, nine points) and Abrahan Castro (4 assists) will be missed. The heart of the Eagles’ stellar defense, which included co-captain Blake Gibbs, Aaron Frey, Trevor Spray, Austin Werderits and goalkeeper Riley Jelinek, will also needed to be replaced. But junior Joe Baumgardt, sophomores Quinn Baier, Sam Drescher and Eddie Breunig and Philip Enerson and sophomore defender Austin Keyser will return to help the Eagles reload next season.  “We came together really well,” Kornish said. “The guys and I worked hand in hand and it was a full team effort to be able to put together the kind of season that we did. The guys reached a majority of their goals, which is fantastic. I thought they improved quite a bit as a team overall.”   10. Volleyball team makes major strides If you enjoyed year one of the Sauk Prairie girls’ volleyball program under new coach Amy Schlimgen, year two promises to be even better. “Next year, we’ll have higher goals,” said Schlimgen, who had a memorable run at Wisconsin  Heights that included four state tournament berths and a state championship in 2008 before coming to Sauk Prairie. “A higher finish in the conference, a regional title and play well into sectional week and maybe even beyond. Why not?” Why not indeed. The Eagles finished with a 31-14 record and won postseason matches for the first time since 2014. They reached the WIAA Division 2 regional finals before suffering a heartbreaking loss to eventual state runner-up McFarland. Senior libero Ainsley Apel earned All-Badger North Conference second-team honors for the third straight season and was joined on the second team by junior setter/outside hitter Olivia Breunig and sophomore outside hitter Aida Shadewald. Sauk Prairie, seeded sixth in its sectional, began postseason play with a 25-18, 25-17, 25-12 win over 11th-seeded Portage.  The Eagles then traveled to No. 3 seed Madison Edgewood and played what Schlimgen called “our best volleyball of the year.” Sauk Prairie stunned the Crusaders, 25-21, 25-22, 25-18. “It was definitely the highlight of the year,” Schlimgen said. “We also played the best, least hesitant, best-flowing defense of the year. It couldn’t have all come together at a better time.” But Sauk Prairie’s magical run ended in the regional finals when second-seeded McFarland pulled out a hard-fought 28-30, 25-23, 25-18, 25-19 victory. “A lot of talent will be returning,” Schlimgen said, “and the future looks very bright for Sauk Prairie volleyball.  “I feel that we improved as a team all season long and the girls got to watch the progression that led to a very successful season.”