SHOTS from the Hip

By Cripe Olson

The 2021 Prescott girls’ golf team season is in full swing and is off to a blazing start._Head Coach Chad Salay and the top-ranked Cardinals competed in the Reedsburg Golf Invitational Scramble last Friday in Reedsburg, Wis. Ava Salay and Liz Rohl took home top honors with a score of 67 on Friday, winning by three strokes. The duo of Rhianna Stutz and Maddie Rundquist finished seventh with a score of 75, and Finley Magee and Maddie Reiter turned in a score of 76 and finished ninth. Prescott and Tomah were the only teams that finished with two duos in the top 10. Competing teams included Baraboo, _ Beaver Dam, DeForest,_Fort Atkinson, Lancaster, Mount Horeb, Onalaska, Portage, Prairie du Chien, vs. Stevens Point, Tomah, Wisconsin Dells,_Wisconsin Rapids Lincoln, and host school Reedsburg. The defending Division 2 State Champions also participated in the Tomah Invitational Tournament on Monday, and will host a conference invitational this Thursday at Clifton Hollow Golf Club.__ According to the highly regarded website “Wisconsin Golf,” Ava Salay is the topranked golfer in the class of 2023._ Junior teammate Rhianna Stutz is ranked #13 and 11th grader Maddie Reiter is ranked #21. Senior Jessica Heinsch is also ranked among the top golfers in the class of 2022._ The Prescott volleyball team opened their season this week and will scrimmage Hudson this Friday._The Cardinals will then open competitive play on Aug. 24 as they travel to Menomonie to participate in a four-team tournament including Menomonie, Glenwood City and Barron._ The Prescott cross country team with impressive numbers will begin their workouts this week and are readying for their competitive opener this Saturday in Boyceville._ Cardinal harriers will compete against Augusta, Baldwin-Woodville, Bruce, Cadott, Cameron, Clear Lake,_Colfax,_Cornell, Durand, Eau Claire Regis, Elk Mound, Ellsworth, Elmwood, Fall Creek, Glenwood City Lake Holcombe, McDonell Central Catholic, New Auburn, Owen-Withee, Somerset and Spring Valley._ The Prescott Cardinal football team scrimmaged last Friday in Osceola and emerged injury-free; they will open the 2021 football season this Friday as they host Heart of the North Conference representative Spooner._ Second-year Head Coach Jordan Hansen was pleased_overall with his club’s performance and lauded the offensive play of senior running back Aiden Russell and senior quarterback Grant Stanton. On the defensive side of the ball senior Ben Rohl raised quite a few eyebrows.__ Spooner, this Friday’s opponent, _is coming off a seesaw 2020 season where they rattled off four straight wins, but ended the season with four straight losses, finishing with an overall record of 4-4._ Competing in a conference long dominated by the likes of Northwestern and Bloomer, Spooner last won a conference football title in 1996, the same year the Railroaders advanced to the Division 3 State Championship game where they fell to New Berlin Eisenhower in the title game.__ Peter Brookshaw wrapped up his Northwoods League season with the Minnesota Mudpuppies this past weekend and finished the year with a batting average of .324.__ Longtime Prescott Cable play-by play announcer Dallas Eggers is stepping down after two decades of broadcasting Prescott athletics on local cable television._Those interested in becoming involved in broadcasting Prescott sports should contact the Prescott Cable Commission. Countless Prescott athletic boosters in town and around the country have enjoyed watching games via local cable or the National Federation of High School Streaming Network.__ From the WIAA: Softball language that previously prohibited hard items to control the hair, including beads, has been removed from the rules book. The softball rules committee did not believe that the use of hard items, such as beads, presented an injury risk to other players. In contrast, the prohibition of such items has been interpreted as adversely affecting one’s cultural background. In addition, head coverings worn for religious reasons in high school softball no longer require prior approval from the respective state high school association.

Firehall Field played host to 12 games this past weekend featuring teams from the Twin Cities area and clubs from Ames, Iowa and Fargo-Moorhead. On Saturday, Amery Warrior Kale Hopke pitched for the Minnesota Blizzard._A state champion wrestler, Hopke has committed to North Dakota State to play baseball for the Bison. A First Team All-Conference and second team all-district pitcher, Hopke’s fastball on Saturday was consistently “clocked” at 87-88 miles per hour._Hopke will play quarterback for Amery this fall and also received Division I baseball offers from Belmont University and Indiana.__ From the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources: The DNR announced Monday that bonus antlerless harvest authorizations will be available for purchase starting at 10 a.m. on Monday, Aug. 16 online through the Go Wild license portal and at license sales locations. Deer population levels vary throughout the state, and antler-less harvest opportunities vary by management zone. This allows for greater harvest where deer are abundant and a more conservative harvest where deer are fewer in number. Bonus antlerless harvest authorizations, formerly known as tags, are available for purchase in all deer management units (DMUs) for the 2021 season. Bonus authorizations are sold at a rate of one per person per day until sold out or until the 2021 deer hunting season ends. Bonus authorizations are $12 each for Wisconsin residents, $20 each for non-residents and $5 each for youth ages 11 and under.

Headshaker of the week:_As mentioned earlier, Firehall Field was host to 12 games this past weekend. Throughout the three days of action volunteers operated the concession stand providing pop, water, coffee, bakery goods, chips, candy and hot dogs._ However, a handful of fans brought their own water, pop, and snackfilled coolers instead of patronizing the concession stand._Unbelievable._It is similar to winners of softball tournaments who win first place, take the prize money and leave without spending some of their winnings on concessions._Both equally ridiculous and both a headshaker._