Sports - Pierce County Journal

Prescott won the Division Five Pom and Division Three Jazz categories with a second-place finish in Division Three Hip Hop to secure back-to-back years with double State titles.

Two titles, many accolades coming home from State Dance

LA CROSSE — Prescott repeated as double State Champions, Ellsworth placed in a pair of routines and Elmwood/Plum City placed sixth in their lone routine to highlight a beyond successful weekend in … more

By Andrew Harrington | 2/11/26

UWRF quarterback Kaleb Blaha wields the Division III National Championship trophy during the Jan. 28 parade down Main Street in River Falls.

GALLERY: To the victor go the spoils: UWRF Football parades the streets after National Championship

The River Falls Fire Department was joined by several neighboring fire departments to give a lift to the national champion University of Wisconsin-River Falls Falcons football team during the Jan. … more

2/4/26

Kobe Russell and Prescott Head Football Coach Jordan Hansen.

Shots from the Hip: Russell recognized at All-State banquet

Prescott senior defensive back Kobe Russell was recognized last weekend at the Wisconsin State Football Coaches Association All State Banquet held at historic Lambeau Field in Green Bay. The North … more

By Cripe Olson | 2/4/26

Sophomore Rylan Sticht battles through contact on the way to the hoop in a loss against Eau Claire Memorial on Jan. 27.

Wildcats split with conference foes ahead of season’s final month

RIVER FALLS — Wildcat girls basketball split a pair of conference games on the week, falling to Eau Claire Memorial 71-38 before rebounding to beat Chippewa Falls 51-31 Jan. 30. It was no … more

By Andrew Harrington | 2/4/26

Freshman Tate Huppert led Ellsworth in scoring with 18 in a 41-36 loss to Prescott on Jan. 29.

Low-scoring Highway 10 bout leans Prescott’s way

ELLSWORTH — Prescott rallied back from an eight-point halftime deficit in Ellsworth to bring a rivalry win back to the nest by a score of 41-36 in Ellsworth on Jan. 29. The opening minutes … more

By Andrew Harrington | 2/4/26

Ellsworth senior Omar Coulson cashes a late three to help secure a 60-57 win over Osceola on Jan. 27.

First half defense lifts Panthers over conference-contending Osceola

ELLSWORTH — The Panthers worked long and hard to prepare to face a then 12-1 Osceola team that was an untouched 5-0 in conference play. Ellsworth was not making life easy for Osceola in the first … more

By Andrew Harrington | 2/4/26

Senior Adda Ingli drives left in a 48-26 loss to Dunn-St. Croix Conference leading Colfax with a perfect 11-0 league record.

Around the County: Two Wildcats make history as school’s first girls wrestling conference champions

Wrestling In the inaugural Big Rivers Conference Championships, Olivia Luther and Providence Kretzmann became River Falls girls wrestling’s first conference champions. The boys also had a big … more

By Andrew Harrington | 2/4/26

Shots from the Hip: Four boys BB teams at top of Middle Border

Kobe Russell’s game winner at the buzzer on Saturday in Ellsworth moves the Cardinals to within one game of conference leaders St. Croix Central and Osceola. is also a game back in the … more

By Cripe Olson | 1/28/26

Spring Valley/Elmwood’s Sam Schmitt eclipsed 100 wins in Durand-Arkansaw during a pair of team conference dual meet wins.

Schmitt, Hutchins reach 100 wins in eventful stretch on the mat

Spring Valley junior Sam Schmitt and River Falls junior Jacob Hutchins each reached the lofty 100-win marker, a milestone for each in their pursuit of high State placements at the end of the season. … more

By Andrew Harrington | 1/28/26

Junior Kate Cipriano paired nine points with three steals in a dominant win over Cumberland at home Jan. 20.

SV GBB wins six of eight, shines at Target Center

SPRING VALLEY — The Spring Valley girls basketball team has found its footing, winning six of eight games including an absolute domination of Frederic 70-31 in the Target Center on Jan. 17. The … more

By Andrew Harrington | 1/28/26

After a mighty comeback, Prescott senior Kobe Russell hit a tough mid-range jumper at the buzzer to take down rival Ellsworth.

Russell’s buzzer beater caps gritty rivalry comeback

ELLSWORTH — Down 50-43 with two minutes to play on the defensive end of the court, Prescott boys basketball needed someone to step up big time in Ellsworth to come back against their rivals. … more

By Andrew Harrington | 1/28/26

Elmwood/Plum City took third of 12 teams at Regionals to qualify for State on Feb. 6.

State Bound! Big time performances land local squads at State

Dance Regionals were a major success, landing Elmwood/Plum City, Ellsworth and Prescott in the State competition, with Spring Valley showing out but narrowly missing the cut. For EPC, it was the … more

By Andrew Harrington | 1/28/26

Shots from the Hip: Conference BB games are consequential

The Prescott girls basketball team moved to within a game and a half of first place with both a methodical and convincing 46-33 victory over Baldwin-Woodville last Thursday. It was the first … more

By Cripe Olson | 1/21/26

The Wildcats warm up their floor routines ahead of a triangular at Hudson on Jan. 15.

Wildcats come up just short in Hudson triangular

HUDSON — River Falls took to Hudson on Jan. 15 for a gymnastics meet against Hudson and Superior. A 134.625 score was plenty enough to beat Superior, but the Wildcats fell just short of Hudson’s … more

By Andrew Harrington | 1/21/26

The St. Croix Valley Fusion after a 2-0 weekend with a 15-0 goal differential.

Hat tricks, 350-win milestone and some key wins in early January

The River Falls Wildcat boys hockey squad is on a roll, moving to 10-5 on the year after winning seven of eight games. River Falls scored six-plus goals in six of those eight games. The … more

By Andrew Harrington | 1/21/26

Ellsworth Senior George Rohl scored 29 points in a win over Baldwin-Woodville on Jan. 12 to surpass 1,000 career points.

Years of hard work puts Rohl over 1,000 career points

ELLSWORTH — The days of multi-sport athletes are starting to fade away with the advancement of year-round non-school club options in just about every sport, but George Rohl is showing it can still … more

By Andrew Harrington | 1/21/26

EPC junior Landen McDonough scored 17 points to go along with this slick one-handed pass in a 65-48 win over Spring Valley on Jan. 15.

Consistent offense lifts EPC over SV on the road

SPRING VALLEY — Elmwood/Plum City took to Spring Valley for a boys basketball game that featured two teams growing with a list of young contributors in a Dunn-St. Croix Conference rivalry matchup. … more

By Andrew Harrington | 1/21/26

Shots from the Hip: PHS to host wrestling triangular

The Prescott Cardinal wrestling team will be hosting a three-team triangular this Thursday at Prescott High School. Osceola and Amery come to town to take on Head Coach Nic Zajac’s charges with … more

By Cripe Olson | 1/14/26

Spring Valley freshman Amelia Brunner fires a three from the corner in a low-scoring 39-38 rivalry win over Elmwood/Plum City.

SV eeks out low scoring rivalry in final seconds

SPRING VALLEY — After 29 minutes of fast-paced defensive basketball, Spring Valley trailed Elmwood/Plum City 32-28 with seven minutes to play. Neither team was done hitting the floor for loose … more

By Andrew Harrington | 1/14/26

Sophomore Aubrey O’Malley drives left in a 66-38 loss against Hudson on Friday.

Wildcats split doubleheader in Hudson

HUDSON — Hitting the road for a doubleheader in their neighbor’s gym, the River Falls Wildcats split a boys and girls basketball bout in Hudson. The boys secured a 79-64 win while the girls were … more

By Andrew Harrington | 1/14/26