Sauk Prairie's 'Best of the Best'

It was another exciting year for Sauk Prairie’s boys’ sports teams during a stellar 2023-24 school year. Brason Ballweg (football, wrestling, baseball), Connor Breunig (football, basketball, golf), and Jackson Breunig (football, basketball, baseball) all finished their prep careers as 12-season athletes. Connor Breunig and Jackson Breunig were all named Badger Conference Scholar-Athletes, while senior Will Judge was the Eagles’ WIAA male Scholar-Athlete nominee. The boys swimming team also participated in the WIAA Division 2 state swimming and diving meet, while the soccer team won a conference championship. Once again, the Star News has selected the best of the best. Last week, we honored the girls, this week we will honor the boys.   Team of the Year Soccer The first goal that Sauk Prairie’s boys soccer team attained was sweet. The Eagles defeated Mount Horeb, 2-0, on Oct. 10 to claim their first conference title since 2019. Sauk Prairie’s win coupled with Madison Edgewood’s tie at Baraboo gave the Eagles the Badger Small Conference title. “This was a big accomplishment for this group as that in the preseason they set forth the goal of being conference champs,” said Eagles’ head coach Drew Kornish, who was named the Badger Small Conference Coach of the Year. Sauk Prairie (13-4-1) finished 6-1 in the conference, while second place Edgewood went 5-1-1. The Eagles got first-half goals from sophomore forward Cris Quezada Godoy and junior defender Nick Keyser against Mount Horeb to secure the win.  However, while Sauk Prairie was able to claim a regional title, the Eagles came up short on their bid to qualify for the WIAA Division 2 state tournament. It was a case of déjà vu when the Eagles suffered a heartbreaking end to their season at the hands of a conference rival. Senior striker captain Thomas Taylor scored off a corner kick in the 95th minute, and top-seeded host DeForest held on to defeat second-seeded Sauk Prairie 1-0 in a WIAA Division 2 boys’ soccer sectional semifinal. Two years earlier on the same field, the Eagles lost 1-0, when the Norskies scored in the 99th minute in a regional final match. “It’s a tough loss,” Sauk Prairie senior defender and co-captain William Judge said. “But we just battled and battled and battled. It kept us in the game, we did what we could do. We knew we weren’t going to be the top attacking team in this game. But we just kept going at it. We tried our hardest.” Sauk Prairie (13-4-1) was playing a man down the final 21-plus minutes and fighting to at least force a shoot-out. But just like during their previous postseason meeting with a state berth on the line, the Eagles couldn’t find the back of the net all evening. Meanwhile, Thiago Vieira – who was in goal as a sophomore when the Eagles lost to DeForest in the regional final – gave a stellar effort in his final game with 10 saves. “I can’t say enough about Thiago and what he does in goal. It’s unbelievable,” Kornish said. “He stands on his head time and time again.  “One of his most impressive saves that didn’t matter tonight was a breakaway when they called offsides. He was able to get down and keep that one out even though it didn’t matter. Words can’t put into emotion what he did for us tonight, for sure.” Kornish said he felt bad for his nine seniors, many of whom were on that team two years ago as sophomores. “It is incredibly difficult,” he said. “But all the work they put in the last four years is huge in where we are now. They won a conference championship.” Sauk Prairie landed four boys soccer players on the all-Badger Small Conference team. Sophomore midfielder Cris Quezada Godoy, senior midfielder Eliot Carlson and Judge were all named first-team all-conference. Kayser was named second-team all-conference. Kornish said the seniors leave a winning legacy, and cupboard that won’t be bare next season. “They came up just short of state, but the seniors paved the way for guys like Taylor (Isenring), like Lincoln (Ganser), those freshmen. Cris (Quezada Godoy) is a sophomore, Angel (Ibarra) is a sophomore, we have so much talent,” Kornish said. “The program’s in great shape. But thanks to Eliot (Carlson) and Will (Judge) and Thiago (Vieira) and Isaiah (Torres) and all those seniors who have passed through here. They were awesome.”  Honorable mention: Golf, swimming.   Coach of the Year Shane Frey, golf A year ago, Sauk Prairie’s boys golf team was one of the youngest and most inexperienced in the area. However, the Eagles’ growing pains from last spring did pay off with a memorable 2024. “I know that they are expecting big things this year,” head coach Shane Frey said during the preseason. “While having confidence and high expectations is great, they need to continue to put in the time and hold each other accountable and play a smart round every time we tee it up.” Mission accomplished.  The Eagles finished fourth in the now-defunct Badger West Conference and seventh in the star-studded Madison Memorial Regional last year.  But that was then, and this is now. The Eagles contended for a conference title all season long, before they finished the regular season by earning a second-place finish in the final Badger Conference standings.  Sauk Prairie finished third at the conference meet, but combined with the regular season results, finished second overall. Stoughton won the conference tournament with a 328-team score on May 15. Baraboo was second with a 334, while Sauk Prairie (337), McFarland (339) and Madison Edgewood (353) rounded out the top five. “We entered the Badger Conference Small tournament in second place in the conference standings, still clinging to hopes of a conference championship,” Frey said. “Our conference mini meets were tight all year.   “Stoughton has had the most consistent scoring and came in the tournament with the lead, but we were confident that we could give them a run.” Unfortunately for the Eagles, that didn’t happen. Stoughton’s Sam Hjortland was the medalist with a 75, while the Vikings had three of the top-10 scores. That was good enough for the Vikings to win the conference title and the overall championship. “I am very proud of the guys,” Frey said. “This was a really, fun conference season, and we were right in the mix the whole year. Our final conference standings had us in second place, which is something they should be very proud of.” Senior Garret Mittelstaedt led the Eagles with an 82, while sophomore Graysen Dunn shot an 84. Junior Gavin Goetsch added an 85 and junior Gavin Falde shot an 86. Sauk Prairie then placed third at its own regional, which sent them to sectionals. And they also played well at the sectional tournament. But Sauk Prairie, which was gunning for its first trip to the WIAA state golf championship since 1996, fell short at the Madison Memorial Sectional held at Blackhawk Country Club on May 29. Middleton won the team title with a four-person score of 301, while Waunakee shot a 313 and claimed the second team berth. Madison Memorial (315), Holmen (326) and Sauk Prairie (338) rounded out the top five at the eight-team sectional. The top three individuals from non-qualifying teams also received berths to state, but the Eagles fell short in that quest, as well. “We knew that we would need to have our best day to be in the running to qualify for state,” Frey said. “I really thought a team score in the 320 range was very doable for us and would put us in the mix. While we fell short of that goal, we did have a pretty good day and gained some great experience.” Middleton was ranked No. 2 in the final Golf Coaches Association of Wisconsin poll, while Waunakee was No. 5. So, Frey and his Eagles knew that passing one of those two schools — as well as several others in this loaded sectional — was going to be a handful. “Making it to sectionals as a team was one of our top goals at the beginning of the season, and so accomplishing that was really exciting for everyone,” Frey said.  Mittelstaedt and Falde led the Eagles with 83s, while Dunn (84) also had a solid day. Goetsch and senior Colin Harrington both added 88s. While 338 was a solid score, Frey & Co. knew they’d have to be great on this day to advance. “They just couldn’t quite get over the hump and really get it going,” Frey said. Still, it was a tremendous season for Sauk Prairie golf. “In the end, I am super proud of our team,” Frey said. “We had a great year, made great strides from last year.” Mittelstaedt, a three-year varsity player, will be tough to replace. Harrington was a two-year varsity member who improved dramatically throughout. However, the trio of Dunn, Falde and Goetsch all had strong seasons and give Frey a terrific core to build around in 2025. “We will have a couple of spots in the lineup to fill, but we have plenty of young players that have shown great promise,” Frey said. “They too, need to play a lot in the summer and really push themselves to earn a spot in the lineup. It will be fun to see how things play out next year.” Honorable mention: Drew Kornish, soccer; Todd Wuerger, swimming.   Senior Athlete of the Year Connor Breunig (football, basketball, golf) When it came to finding a jack-of-all trades for the Sauk Prairie football team last fall, senior Connor Breunig answered the call. The Sauk Prairie punter was named to the first team on the Wisconsin Football Coaches Association and Associated Press All-State football teams. Breunig averaged a sterling 42.7 yards per punt, including a 73-yarder. He placed 20 punts inside the 20-yard line and had just one touchback. He was also 17 of 23 on extra point attempts. “We didn’t know what we had coming in for a punter because we had Nolan (Vils) last year,” Sauk Prairie coach Randy Wallace said. “Connor stepped into that role and took ownership of it. “Take away the DeForest game, because we asked him to angle his punts plus the weather, his average dropped a few yards. Out of 35 punts, only six were returned all year. That’s not too shabby.” Connor Breunig also earned honorable mention honors on offense. He started the season at running back after earning first-team all-conference honors at tight end and H-back as a junior when he also earned all-region honors. While Breunig finished with a team-best 372 yards and two touchdowns rushing, he moved back to tight end for the final three games of this season where he caught 19 passes for 275 yards and three touchdowns in that span. “He sacrificed for the team, too. He led by example, so it was hard not to get him some recognition,” Wallace said of Breunig, who finished second on the team with 26 catches for 373 and three scores. A two-year starting guard in basketball, Breunig averaged 7.8 points, 4.0 rebounds and 1.2 assists per game as a senior. He also led Sauk Prairie with 46 made 3-pointres.  “He is the definition of streaky,” Sauk Prairie head basketball coach Sean McGann said. “It’s not weird for Connor to air ball two shots and then make his next five. He has a short memory with shooting. He never gets discouraged.  “His first few years, he was just a shooter. If he wasn’t making shots, he wasn’t really helping us. But he was really, awesome in terms of rebounding and just being a better defender this year.” Breunig also competed on the Eagles’ golf team his senior year. Honorable mention: Brason Ballweg (football, basketball, baseball); Karsyn Banta (hockey, lacrosse); Jackson Breunig (football, basketball, baseball); Boden Frosch (football, baseball); Colin Harrington (hockey, golf); Will Judge (soccer, lacrosse); Nick Keyser (soccer, basketball).    Game/Event of the Year Eagles swimming takes 10th at state It was another stellar season in the pool for the Sauk Prairie/Wisconsin Heights co-op boys swimming team this winter. The Eagles finished in 10th place at the WIAA Division 2 state meet held at Waukesha South High School on Feb. 16. McFarland won the state title with 325 points, while Rhinelander (243), Whitefish Bay (222), Nicolet (158) and Madison Edgewood (154.5) rounded out the top five. The Eagles finished with 90 points. “I was pleased with how the boys competed,” Eagles coach Todd Wuerger said. “A top-10 team finish is never easy, but they swam inspired and earned it.” Sauk/Heights’ 200-yard medley relay team of sophomore Carston Lamont, senior Daniel Klein, junior Adam Kaukl and freshman Ethan Goodman finished seventh in 1 minute, 40.66 seconds. McFarland’s quartet was first in 1:33.60. The Eagles’ 200-yard freestyle relay team of Kaukl, Klein, Goodman and senior Anthony Rosario was eighth overall in 1:31.95. McFarland was also first in that relay, as the Spartans’ foursome finished in 1:25.18. And Sauk/Heights’ 400-yard freestyle relay team of Kaukl, Goodman, Rosario and Lamont was 10th in 3:22.09. Nicolet’s quartet was first in 3:13.52. Lamont added an eighth-place finish in the 100-yard backstroke, finishing in 54.54 seconds. Lamont was also ninth in the 100-yard butterfly, finishing in 52.58 seconds, while Kaukl was 13th in that same race (54.85). Goodman was 14th in the 50-yard freestyle, racing to the finish in 22.73 seconds. And Rosario was 15th in the 500-yard freestyle, finishing in 5:12.10. “Four of the six guys will be back next year, so that gives us a great nucleus to build from next season,” Wuerger said. “We will certainly miss Daniel Klein, Anthony Rosario and Finn Ruyle and their contributions to the program over the past four years.” Sauk Prairie recognized several athletes for their accomplishments during the season at the end of the year banquet. Levi Shadewald received the ‘Most Improved’ award. Daniel Klein and Carston Lamont shared the ‘Most Valuable Swimmer’ award, while Klein was also named the recipient of the ‘Eric Krueger’ award.   Performance of the Year Marty Hanna hurls no-hitter Marta Hanna has flashed immense potential the last two seasons for the Sauk Prairie Eagles’ baseball team. He emerged as the team’s starting shortstop as a freshman a year ago and recorded some impressive outings on the mound, as well. But nothing compared to Hanna’s starting assignment on the mound on May 4. Hanna threw a no-hitter to power the visiting Eagles to an 8-0 win over host River Valley in Spring Green. In seven innings of work, Hanna didn’t allow a hit, struck out six and walked three. A sophomore right-hander, Hanna faced just 22 batters in his dominant, complete-game win. “It was definitely Marty’s day,” Sauk Prairie manager Darin Pape said. “He had good velocity and control.  His greatest advantage was in getting ahead of the hitters.   “He was able to keep them off balance the whole game.  He was very focused and didn’t let the delay or anything else derail him.” That Hanna had to wait an extra week to accomplish the feat against River Valley makes for an interesting backstory to the game. “We had traveled to River Valley the week prior to play them on a Friday (April 26).  However, rain caused us to just get warm-ups in. Then the sky just opened, and we got rained out,” Pape said.  “Marty was set to pitch that game as well. However, we had to board the bus for home without playing the game.”   But when the game was rescheduled for the following Saturday, it was nearly a case of déjà vu. “When we got to River Valley, the rain had caused the field to be very wet yet again,” Pape said.  “We had an hour plus delay in preparing the field for play.  We didn’t get to take a pregame infield like we usually would.  However, we waited it out, and the River Valley coaches did a great job in getting the field ready for play. “Once we got started, the game itself was never really in jeopardy. We began the game by scoring four runs in the top of the first inning.”   And the rest was history. Hanna also had a big day at the plate, going 2-for-4 with two doubles, two runs scored and an RBI. Senior first baseman Jackson Breunig also had a terrific day, going 3-for-4 with a run scored and an RBI, while senior right fielder Brason Ballweg contributed three hits, too. But it was Hanna’s day to shine on the mound. Hanna threw 96 pitches, 60 for strikes.  His three walks were all that prevented him from tossing a perfect game. He only faced 22 batters, one more than the minimum, and none of the baserunners made it past first base. “That was a great accomplishment for Marty,” Pape said. “He had great command.  He got ahead of hitters, and all his pitches were working.  He and (catcher) Bryan Breunig were in complete sync, and the game was almost a perfect game.” But Pape added that ‘It was a total team effort in the game’.   “We had great offensive support,” Pape said. “And our players contributed with solid defense and no errors on the day.   “This was an exciting game for our whole squad.  It was a great team effort.  Offensively, we also pounded out nine hits, and scored eight runs. Every one of our players that was in attendance that day, got into the game.” Pape said the Eagles’ defense was also flawless behind Hanna. “There were a couple of defensive gems preserving the no hitter,” he said. “Every defender did a great job, which is what you need for a no hitter. “We had some sparkling defensive plays during the game to help preserve the no-hitter. Cayden Hermsdorf made an awesome running catch going back in left field, and Brason Ballweg doubled off a baserunner on first with a running shallow catch in right field. Those two made tremendous catches in the outfield to take away potential hits.” Hanna finished the season as a member of the All-Badger Small Conference second team along with senior pitcher Austin Pagel. Bryan Breunig and junior outfielder Boden Frosch received all-league honorable mention recognition.   Breakout Athlete of the Year Jake Buckles, sophomore, football, basketball As the lone returning starter on the Sauk Prairie football team’s offensive line, sophomore Jake Buckles was expected to step into a leadership role last fall. The 6-foot-3, 220-pound Buckles did that and more in helping the Eagles come within a game of earning a playoff berth. But the best could still be coming for Buckles, who made an impact on both the Eagles’ varsity football and basketball teams this year. Buckles, who was the Eagles’ lone two-way starter on the football team last fall, was honored on both sides of the ball by conference coaches.  He earned All-Badger Small Conference second-team honors as a starting guard. He also received honorable mention honors on the defensive line. Buckles said he can’t wait for next season. “The most exciting part is both our lines are back,” Buckles said. “We will have a lot of experience, and guys will get stronger and get bigger. It could be scary for next year.”  Sauk Prairie head coach Randy Wallace agreed that the best is yet to come for Buckles, who emerged as one of the team leaders on and off the field last season. “Jake on the offensive line and defensive line as a sophomore, he really stepped it up,” Wallace said. “It was neat to see him take on a leadership role and be poised to be a major leader the next two years. We’re excited about that.”  Wallace said Buckles, who finished with 36 tackles and five sacks, was just outside the second team on defense. He also finished with 10.5 tackles for loss and two forced fumbles. “Jake is a hard worker, who is driven to be successful,” Wallace said. “He put in the time. He was one of those kids who would be at practice early to work on his footwork. He was always getting in extra reps without the team being there. He was definitely, the leader of the offensive line.” Buckles was also a reserve small forward on the varsity basketball team. He averaged 2.5 points and 1.6 rebounds per game, while shooting 87% at the free throw line and 46% from the floor.  “Jake is a coach’s dream,” Sauk Prairie head basketball coach Sean McGann said. “I never have to talk about effort with him. He will give everything he has in every single drill. “His leadership is something we are really going to lean on throughout the long winter season. I’m expecting big things from Jake.” Honorable mention: Trent Backeberg (football, basketball, track and field); Carston Lamont (swimming); Landon Schultz (football, track and field).