Boys Basketball

Ellsworth went 1-2 over a busy week of games, beating Elmwood/Plum City 53-45 to open the week, followed by a 68-56 loss to Osceola and a 65-56 loss to Spooner. The Panthers have one game remaining this year, facing off against rival Prescott on Thursday.

Ellsworth got a first-round bye in the playoffs and takes on the winner of No. 5 Amery versus No. 12 Spooner.

Prescott lost 50-36 against Baldwin-Woodville, a second loss taken against the team on the year. The Cardinals followed that game with a 56-44 win over Chippewa Falls. Prescott takes on the winner of No. 8 St. Croix Central and No. 9 Baldwin-Woodville as the No. 1 seed after earning a bye. If Prescott and Ellsworth both win their opening matchups, they would face off against each other.

River Falls lost 57-56 in a thriller against La Crosse Central to kick off the week and bounced back with an overtime win 59-57 over Rice Lake. The Wildcats picked up a No. 3 seed, facing the winner of No. 6 New Richmond and No. 11 Ashland in the playoffs.

Spring Valley had a game canceled to open the week and returned to beat rival EPC 59-33. The Cardinals are a No. 2 seed in the playoffs and take on No. 15 South Shore to open. EPC got a No. 12 seed and faces No. 5 Blair-Taylor in the first round.

Girls Basketball

Prescott won the rivalry game against Ellsworth to open the week 68-53 and lost 48-32 against Baldwin-Woodville. They play the winner of No. 5 Northwestern and No. 12 Spooner at home Friday.

Ellsworth picked up its first conference win, beating Osceola 41-26 to close the regular season. The Panthers drew an 11-seed and a matchup with No. 6 Somerset on Feb. 25 to open the playoffs.

EPC narrowly came up short in the regular season finale, losing 38-37 against Glenwood City. The Wolves got a No. 14 seed in the playoffs and take on No. 3 Kickapoo on Feb. 25.

River Falls’ final regular season game was a 65-49 loss to Rice Lake. They got a No. 7 seed in the playoff bracket, hosting No. 10 Ashland on Feb. 25. Spring Valley earned a No. 7 seed in the playoffs and will play at home against No. 10 Prairie Farm on Feb. 25.

Wrestling

Ellsworth is sending four wrestlers to D2 State, with Austin Peterson (second at 106), Noah Walker (third at 120), Henry Penn (third at 138) and Blake Nelson (third at 175) making it. Sawyer Van Horn also put up a good fight, taking fourth at 190.

River Falls’ Olivia Luther made it through to State with a second-place finish at 100. On the boys’ side, Waylon Deaton took first at 113, Oliver Larson took second at 120, Jonas Longsdorf took first at 138, Vinny Costabilo took second at 144 and Jacob Hutchins took second at 190 to all make it through to State.

Spring Valley/Elmwood saw Sam Schmitt take third at 138 and Jack Steinmeyer take third at 215 at the D3 Sectional in Ladysmith to qualify for State. Doost Kaker narrowly missed out, taking fourth at 157.

Prescott had a pair narrowly miss out on State with Charlette Kellogg finishing fourth at 107 and Savannah Whiting finding the fourth-place spot at 235.

Hockey

The River Falls boys beat Viroqua 1-0 at home Thursday to open the playoffs. As the No. 2 seed in their section, the Wildcats host No. 3 Regis/Altoona/McDonell on Feb. 25 for a trip to the section finals.

Lars Briese scored a power play goal for River Falls and Daniel Linn made 14 saves to preserve the shutout.

The St. Croix Valley Fusion earned a No. 1 seed and will host Black River Falls on Feb. 25.

Swimming and Diving

River Falls was well represented at State, with Daniel Carns taking second in the 50- and 100-yard freestyles. He broke his own school record in the 100 freestyle for the third event in a row, finishing in 46.77 seconds.

Divers Tristan Patz and Gus Schmitt-Mischke finished 14th and 16th place in diving. The 200-freestyle relay team of Ty Wise, Jake Weiss, Joe Hoffman and Carns finished 12th.

Gymnastics

River Falls took third at the Big Rivers Conference meet to finish the regular season third in the standings. Ruby Amundson took third all-around and won on beam. The team scored 138.800 as a whole.