SHOTS from the Hip

Wisconsin Sports Network released the first set of basketball rankings for the 2021-22 season. In Division III private schools, Lake Country Lutheran and Catholic Memorial hold the top two spots with three teams in the Arcadia Sectional that is listed among the state’s best. West Salem, now coached by former Gale- Ettrick- Trempealeau skipper Mark Wagner, is ranked #3. Hearth of the North Conference member Northwestern is ranked #4, and Wisconsin Dells is ranked #7. Prescott will play in the Arcadia Sectional in the tournament series. The Prescott girls will play in the Baldwin-Woodville sectional and currently there are no girls teams assigned to the Baldwin-Woodville Sectional ranked in the Top 10. The #1 ranked Division III team in the state is Waupun.

Sophomore Nolan Thomley and Junior Shane Butler both finished fourth in the Ellsworth Invitational Wrestling tournament this past weekend. The Cadott Hornets won the tournament with Mora, Minn. finishing as the runner up. This coming weekend, the Cardinals will be participating in an invitational tournament hosted by Eau Claire North High School featuring more than two dozen teams from around the state.

From the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources: Preliminary figures show that hunters registered 175,667 deer during the 2021 nine-day gun deer hunt, including 84,952 antlered and 90,715 antlerless deer. Since archery seasons opened Sept. 18, hunters have registered 270,046 deer statewide, showing the growing influence of earlier seasons on cumulative harvest. Compared to 2020, the total firearm deer harvest was down 7.9% statewide, with buck harvest down 1.3% and antlerless harvest down 13.2%.

Prescott Cardinal alumni update: Bella Lenz and the #23 ranked Michigan Tech Huskies opened conference play with an 80-73 victory over Northwood University. The Huskies improved to 6-1 overall on the season. Haylee Yaegar and the UWStout Women’s basketball team split their games this past weekend. The Blue Devils defeated UW-River Falls by a score of 77-70 but fell to nationally ranked Whitewater by a score of 58-53. Yaegar scored nine points in the loss to the Warhawks. Stout is now 3-4 overall on the season. Parker Nielsen and the West Texas A& M Buffaloes head into the week with an overall record of 10-1 and are ranked #5 in Division 2.

Speaking of college basketball, there are three Wisconsin teams ranked in the Top 10 in Division III. Platteville is ranked #4, La Crosse #8, and Oshkosh is ranked #10. For the women, UW-Eau Claire is the top ranked team from Wisconsin at #11 with UW-Whitewater following at #12.

The Prescott Fishing Club is poised to begin its season this year early next month. Club advisors Kyle Schmidt, Joe Linder, and Jason Brazzale expect 15-20 high school students to participate in the club’s first event on Saturday, Jan. 8. Prairie Farm High School will be hosting the opener which will take place on the Chetek Chain of Lakes. The Wisconsin Interscholastic Fishing Association is made up of over 120 teams and sponsors fishing tournaments throughout the state. Last year’s state champion was Osceola. Incidentally, Brazzale is a member of the WIFA Board of Directors.

Most people associated with Wisconsin high school basketball believe the shot clock is coming to the state. Last week, Minnesota approved the addition of a 35second shot clock for the 2023-24 season. Currently, there are 13 states that use a shot clock including, Iowa, North Dakota, South Dakota, California, District of Columbia, Georgia, Maryland, Massachusetts, New York, Rhode Island and Washington.

Looking for last second, affordable, athletic or outdoor gifts for Christmas? Suggestions to follow in next week’s column.

Headshaker of the week. I am sure many reading this column have seen the video of the Iowa boys basketball player punching an opponent during the post-game handshake and perhaps others have seen a girls basketball player do the same during a game in Oklahoma. The acts themselves are bad enough but some social media posts have applauded and defended the reprehensible behavior of the two teenagers. Another example of how social media is becoming or already is the bane of society. The actions of the players and the social media ovations connected to each pathetic act? Both headshakers.

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