River Falls - Pierce County Journal

Lucas Luedtke had three homers in the weekend’s pair of playoff games, continuing a great hitting regular season into the postseason.

Fighting Fish hooked on winning as they chart course to back-to-back titles

RIVER FALLS — The Fighting Fish are facing a tall task to defend their State Championship from a year ago. Although teams are throwing their biggest haymakers, eyeing a knockout of the champs, … more

By Andrew Harrington | 8/13/25

Emily Banitt earned all-conference honors three times in college. The 2020 River Falls High School grad recently signed to play professional volleyball in Croatia this year.

The hierarchy of Wildcat volleyball: Wildcat alum signs to play professional VB

As far as summer high school volleyball pick-up games go, last Tuesday's game inside the River Falls Public Montessori's gym had a different feeling to it. While the knee pads are sliding up over the … more

By Greg Peters | 7/23/25

River Falls' Eli and Nolan Condon run "Bomb Squad," a professional pooper-scooper business in the area.

The Feculent Fighting Fish Bomb Squad

Fishmeal, by definition from Merriam-Webster, is partly made from fish waste and manure and used as fertilizer. River Falls Fighting Fish pitcher Eli Condon's stuff on the mound has been nothing … more

By Andrew Harrington | 7/16/25

Evan White of River Falls completed the American Ninja Warrior qualifier, advancing to the semi-finals.

RF graduate dedicates American Ninja Warrior run to preaching Jesus’ word

Evan White, a River Falls High School Class of 2025 graudate, has already gone on to reach great heights both literally and figuratively, scaling the Warped Wall to reach the finish during the … more

By Andrew Harrington | 7/16/25

Wildcat junior Elliott Bell (#22) hugs Olivia Doerre after Doerre's first half goal at the WIAA state semi-finals in Milwaukee on Friday.

Rollercoaster ride of emotions for Wildcats at State Soccer

The River Falls Wildcat girls soccer team was making their second trip in two years to the WIAA State Soccer Tournament this past weekend in Milwaukee. It was Head Coach Charles Conley's fourth trip … more

By Greg Peters | 6/25/25

River Falls senior Addison Reisdorfer runs onto the field after the 3-0 section final win over Onalaska to celebrate with her teammates on Saturday. The Wildcats are headed to the WIAA state soccer tournament for the fourth time in school history. They will play Pewaukee on Friday at 4:30 p.m. in Milwaukee.

Wildcat girls soccer headed to State!

For many high school kids, summer is a time for lazy days and kicking back. That is not the case for River Falls forward Olivia Doerre. Her schedule is as full as a Pierce County rain gauge this … more

By Sarah Nigbor | 6/18/25

Nathalie Rotsaert (pictured) takes a corner kick for the Wildcats. River Falls had just 11 shots on goal compared to Marshfield's three. The Wildcats advanced by a final of 2-0. Hannah Cook and Elliott Bell each scored a goal for River Falls. The Wildcats have won 11 straight Regional Championships with 13 of the 14 years during Head Coach Charles Conley's tenure. The Wildcats will host New Richmond in round three of the play-offs. The Tigers took down the Wildcats last time out, 2-0.

Around the County: Spring sports enter final chapter

Track and Field Prescott’s 4x100 relay team of Andrew Lesso, Andrew Russell, Wyatt Budworth and Ethan West broke the State record with a 42.00 time to win the event. West chased down a … more

By Andrew Harrington | 6/11/25

Chase Rudolph turns a double play in the top of the third inning against Wisconsin Rapids last Tuesday. The Wildcats advanced to the WIAA second round with a 2-1 win.

Jeffers throws a gem for RF baseball

It's easy to see the "Karate Kid" connection watching a River Falls High School baseball game this season. River Falls Sports Broadcasting play-by-play man Kevin Westhuis is all over it, similar to … more

By Greg Peters | 6/11/25

Ellsworth senior Maleah Petersen was the WIAA Division 2 State Champion in the girls' discus this past Friday in La Crosse.

Area tracksters shine at State Meet

The WIAA State Track and Field Championship is the oldest state high school track meet in the country. It was first held at UW-Madison's Camp Randall in 1895. It has been held at Veteran's Memorial … more

By Greg Peters | 6/11/25

Prescott won the golf Regional, marking the first in team history.

Around the County: Full buses headed to State track

Track and Field Maleah Petersen had a performance to remember for Ellsworth at Sectionals, qualifying for State in both the shot put and discus. Petersen broke the school record shot put by two … more

By Andrew Harrington | 6/4/25

The Wildcat boys 4x400-meter relay team dominated the section meet in Hudson on Thursday, finishing first with a time of 3:21.00. Pictured from River Falls are Quin Andrews (center top left), Ty Bauschelt (center top right), Jack Silloway (center lower left) and Charlie Burke (center lower right).

Wildcats roaring into State track meet

River Falls Track and Field Head Coach Kady Bauschelt had high expectations for her team heading into the WIAA section meet at Hudson on Thursday. "We always have high expectations," said … more

By Greg Peters | 6/4/25

River Falls' senior pitcher Auden Pankonin (pictured) gave up one run through six innings on Thursday hosting BRC-foe Eau Claire North. Pankonin also collected two of just three total Wildcat hits in game two of the double header, as the Wildcats dropped game 2, 4-0. The Wildcats lost a nail-biter, 3-2 in eight innings, in game one. Chase Rudolph pounded out three hits in game one. River Falls (12-8 overall) won 8-5 over St. Croix Central on Saturday. Cal Usgaard and Kingston Quinn led the Wildcats with two hits apiece. Quinn, a sophomore, is second on the team hitting at .318.

Around the County: Prescott baseball, golf each win MBC

Softball Elmwood/Plum City kicked off a postseason run with a dominant 17-2 win over Owen-Withee on May 22. Next up is a matchup at 11-4 Rib Lake on May 27. Spring Valley also earned a … more

By Andrew Harrington | 5/28/25

Prescott senior Ethan West starts a sprint during an early season meet.

Three squads take second at conference track meets

Dunn-St. Croix Elmwood/Plum City and Spring Valley were in Mondovi for the Dunn-St. Croix Conference Championship on May 22, with the EPC girls leading the way with a second-place finish. The … more

By Andrew Harrington | 5/28/25

Aurora Sampair broke the EPC school record in discus throwing with a toss of 110 feet, 11 inches.

Around the County: Sampair sets EPC school record discus throw

Baseball Prescott has won eight of nine games after sweeping Baldwin-Woodville 8-4, 7-4 and Platteville 13-6, 10-0. Their winning ways have given them a 9-3 conference record, good for a … more

By Andrew Harrington | 5/21/25

The Wildcats' Olivia Doerre had a second-half penalty kick blocked by Hudson’s Hannah Kendhammer.

Wildcat soccer stonewalled by Kendhammer

Wildcat girls’ soccer and the weather took a turn for the worse last Thursday in River Falls. Thursday morning, outside temperatures were in the low 80's and calm. The Wildcats had racked up … more

By Greg Peters | 5/21/25

Wildcat baseball coaches Ryan Bishop and Mark Vrieze are pulling out their inner 1984 "Mr. Miyagi" for the Wildcats this season.

From Horseplay to Heroes: Mr. Miyagi and Wildcat baseball

I had just turned 12 years old in June 1984 when the Celtics and Larry Bird captured the NBA title over the Los Angeles Lakers. I was either mowing neighborhood yards for $5 or playing Whiffle Ball … more

By Greg Peters | 5/21/25

Prescott freshmen Amelia Haeg ran the third leg of the girls' 4x200-meter race. Prescott set five school records on Friday at the Stan Barr Relays in New Richmond.

Track & Field heating up with the weather

The Ellsworth, Prescott, and River Falls high school track teams competed in the 58th Stan Barr Relays in New Richmond on Friday. With conference meets a week away, the Stan Barr Relays are a time … more

By Greg Peters | 5/14/25

Aidan Dorau (pictured) was solid at second base but led the Cardinals at the plate going 3 for 4 with an RBI and a run scored. Dain Pechacek and Barrett Temmers each had two RBI, as the Cardinals pounded out 11 hits in the 8-7 win over Elk Mound in game one of the Saturday double header at Fire Hall Field. Jackson Matzek picked up the win on the mound.

Around the County: Prescott and Ellsworth softball cross paths for important set of games

Softball Ellsworth went on a tear, beating Osceola 14-7 and 10-0 and Altoona 13-11 and 9-7 in eight innings. The Panthers got a walk-off three-run blast from Aliza Acker and a sixth inning grand … more

By Andrew Harrington | 5/14/25

Around the County: Prescott sweeps track and field meet

Softball Spring Valley got its first two wins of the season, beating Elmwood/Plum City 14-11 and Unity 9-5. The Cardinals found an offensive force at the right time with the postseason weeks … more

By Andrew Harrington | 5/7/25

Wildcats swarm Dylan Paulson after scoring a perfectly placed deep shot into the back of the net.

RF blanks Wausau West to continue winning ways

RIVER FALLS — River Falls girls soccer was looking to make a statement coming out of the 2024 season with a State Tournament appearance. Thus far the Wildcats are well on their way to reaching … more

By Andrew Harrington | 4/30/25