Counting down the Top 10 sports stories of 2024

By Andrew Harrington
Posted 12/31/24

There were a lot of wild, emotional and memorable sports moments in Pierce County over the last year. It can be difficult to rank them as there are so many to choose from, but here in Pierce County …

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Counting down the Top 10 sports stories of 2024

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There were a lot of wild, emotional and memorable sports moments in Pierce County over the last year. It can be difficult to rank them as there are so many to choose from, but here in Pierce County we always pick a winner.

  1. Glaus becomes fourth from EPC to reach 1,000 points

EPC senior star basketball player Lucas Glaus is averaging over 25 points per game in his final season and became the fourth EPC player to reach 1,000 points Dec. 20 with 24 against Boyceville.

His sister, Maggie, is the lone girls’ basketball player to reach the milestone from the team, doing so back in 2022.

It was a big moment for him, and the Wolves are determined to stick to their hardworking mentality to reach their expectations.

 

  1. Rohl hits unreal buzzer beater to notch conference win

It was a late submission from the Ellsworth Panthers, but how could it not make the cut.

After Gavin Klos drained a three to give Ellsworth a one-point lead with 10 seconds to play in Altoona back in December, Altoona came right back with a three of their own at the buzzer.

Heartbreak hit the Panther fans as Altoona’s student section began to seep onto the court in search of a storm. Before things got too far out of hand, the officials added 0.8 seconds back on the clock.

Even with the added time, Ellsworth still had to go the length of the court in under a second to avoid a loss. The Panthers came out of a timeout and Nash Kuhl sent a screaming pass down court to George Rohl who heaved a turnaround 30-footer that rattled in for the win.

The moment was one every player will remember as long as they live.

  1. RF soccer has program-altering success

Similar to hockey, it was a massive year for River Falls soccer on both the girls’ and boys’ sides.

The girls made their first trip to State since 2018 and lost to Oregon 3-0 in the semifinal. It was not the way they hoped it would end, but they represented against the best the state has to offer. West-central Wisconsin is not known for its soccer abilities relative to some other parts of the state, and the team was glad to show what they can do when given the opportunity.

While the girls’ run was special, there were some strong expectations paired with it. The boys had a great season, and a bit of magic happened to factor in.

In the Regional Championship against No. 1 New Richmond, the Wildcats came in having been shut out twice already against the opponent. The Tigers shut River Falls out for a third time; however, the Wildcats did not let a goal slip through the cracks either.

River Falls ended up winning 4-3 in penalty kicks and moved on to Sectionals.

River Falls won 4-1 over Marshfield to get a game away from State, and would end there, losing 5-0 to DeForest.

  1. Janke shatters Ellsworth records

Molly Janke wrapped up her Ellsworth basketball career last spring in style, taking with her the school records for points, rebounds, assists and steals. Janke averaged 18 points, 10 rebounds and four assists in her final season.

Over four years, Janke accumulated 1,733 points, 976 rebounds and 403 assists. The point total lands her just outside of the top 100 scorers in WIAA girls basketball history, according to the Wisconsin Sports Network.

  1. Claybreakers finish top 10 at nationals

The Ellsworth Claybreakers had their best national finish ever, taking eighth place of 261 teams at nationals. They scored 481 of 500 in the finals and battled the scorching July heat in Michigan.

Kehan O’Neil and Braydon Anderson also qualified for the individual finals at the event, with Anderson placing 225th of 1,800 and O’Neil placing 273rd.

They felt the team benefited from the heat due to the number of competitors that would come to their practices already fatigued due to showing up after their manual labor jobs.

 

  1. Spring Valley football wins gut-wrencher over undefeated Boyceville

Spring Valley and Boyceville both entered one of their final games in search of snapping each others’ 7-0 starts to gain sole possession of the Dunn-St. Croix Conference. It got ugly early for the Cardinals, with the opening drive ending in an interception and the Bulldogs quickly scoring for a 6-0 lead.

With nine minutes to play, quarterback Cade Stasiek ran one in from three yards out for a 13-12 lead. This lead would not last long as Boyceville took it right back to 18-13 with under seven minutes to go.

On fourth and five, Caleb Bartko made a spectacular catch for a first down, and a 30-yard toss to Ian Hakes got Spring Valley inside the 10. With a minute to play, Stasiek ran another one in to seal a win.

Spring Valley finished the regular season as undefeated conference champs, but Boyceville got the best of them in the playoffs.

  1. Prescott girls’ golf takes runner-up at Division 1 State Championship

After four straight years as Division 2 State Champs, Prescott was moved into the state’s top division due to their success and an appeal did not go its way. The team did not let that get them down, taking second in the championship in October and broke the school’s best score in the championship by five strokes.

The Cardinals finished as the top public school in the state and they finished with their best team scoring average ever by about 10 strokes.

Macy Reiter led the way individually in the championship with a score of 161 for a 15th place finish. Lydia Feran made history with a hole-in-one to become the 11th to ever do it in the championship and joined Maddie Reiter (2022) as the lone Prescott golfers to accomplish the feat.

 

  1. Hockey year in River Falls

It was a big year for hockey in River Falls as both the Wildcat boys and St. Croix Valley Fusion girls made the trip to Madison for the State Tournament.

For the boys, it was the first time punching their ticket in 25 years, coming up just short in a 2-1 loss to Fond du Lac in the semifinal. The Fusion suffered the same fate in the semifinal, dropping a 5-4 battle to the Bay Area Ice Bears.

The UWRF women polished off a perfect 31-0 season with a Division III National Championship win 3-1 over Elmira. The 31-0 streak established a Division III record for consecutive wins, and it will certainly be a difficult one to break.

 

  1. Fighting Fish get it done again

The River Falls Fighting Fish compiled a whopping 32 wins on the season to eventually go on and win their fourth Wisconsin Baseball Association title. Their other wins came in 2022, 2020 and 2011.

The win was a convincing one, with the most runs they gave up during the run being two over a five-game playoff. It was not just the pitching, as the Fish piled on double-digit runs in three of the five games including a 13-2 championship game win over Tilden.

To cap all the championship glory off, River Falls did it all at their home stadium, as they played host to both the pool play and bracket rounds.

 

  1. Prescott softball wins Division 3 State Championship after rain delay

Prescott softball lost back-to-back games to Ellsworth to end up losing the Middle Border Conference late in the season. This only motivated the Cardinals more, as they climbed all the way to the State title game and brought home a win in June.

Ella Stewart was absolutely dominant in the circle, helping Prescott beat Brodhead 4-1 in the semifinal and Laconia 3-1 in the final. She allowed just three hits over seven innings against Laconia.

Top 10 sports stories, Pierce County Journal, 2024, Lucas Glaus, George Rohl, Wildcats soccer, Molly Janke, Prescott girls golf, Fighting Fish, Wildcat boys hockey, St. Croix Fusion hockey, Spring Valley football, Ellsworth Claybreakers