The Prescott girls golf team will add some hardware to the trophy case and another banner in the gymnasium for finishing as the Division I State Runner Up. A strong finish by the Cardinals enabled …
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The Prescott girls golf team will add some hardware to the trophy case and another banner in the gymnasium for finishing as the Division I State Runner Up. A strong finish by the Cardinals enabled Head Coach Chad Salay’s club to leapfrog Middleton High School and finish second. Although competing against teams with four or five times their enrollment, the Cardinals proved once again they were best among the state’s public schools. Brava to another sterling season.
Prescott defensive lineman and University of St. Thomas bound David Regnier seemed to be in the Ellsworth backfield as much as the Panther running backs last week. The talented nose guard also blocked an extra point and has dominated the line of scrimmage most of the season. The three-year letter winner is a shoe-in for all conference recognition and expected to receive other postseason accolades. Additionally, look for a number of Cardinals to be named Middle Border All Conference.
The Prescott Cardinals will host Seymour this Friday at Laney Field with kickoff scheduled for 7 p.m. The Thunder will enter the WIAA playoffs with an overall record of 7-2 and finished second in the Bay Conference with a record of 5-2. Seymour features a 1,000-yard rusher in Xavier Salzman. A junior, Salzman has had three 200-yard games this season. Junior quarterback Cayden Staffeldt leads an offense that averages just under 37 points a game. Incidentally, Wisconsin trivia buffs surely must know that Seymour, Wis. is the “home of the hamburger.” In 1885 Charlie Nagreen took a meatball, smashed it, and placed it between two pieces of bread so people could eat and walk and enjoy the agricultural exhibits at the fair in Seymour. Hats off to “Hamburger Charlie” as he is historically known in eastern Wisconsin.
Senior quarterback Teddy Bernick finished the season with 20 touchdown passes and only one interception. The three-varsity signal caller completed 64% of his passes and threw for over 1,600 yards this season. Will Packard and Kobe Russell have been Bernick’s favorite targets this season. Packard and Russell have combined for 67 receptions, 1,261 yards, and 15 touchdowns. Barrett Temmers has rushed for 826 yards and 12 touchdowns. Defensively, Senior Owen Bayer is the team’s leading tackler and senior noseguard Regnier leads the team in tackles for a loss.
There was a first at Laney Field on Friday. The officiating crew included an umpire by the name of Carolyn Derksen, believed to be the first time a woman had officiated a football game at Laney Field. Fans might also have noticed during the game Derksen was set up behind the linebackers on the defensive side of the ball. Why? The officiating crew of Referee Chris Haugen is from Minnesota and in the Land of 10,000 Lakes that is where the umpire is positioned. Reportedly, it is a change many Wisconsin officials have requested be made by the WIAA. “It is much easier to ‘umpire’ if you are positioned in the backfield alongside the referee,” says longtime official Dan Hoffman. “It is so much easier to watch the action because you are not concentrating so much on staying out of the way of the players.”
Prescott’s Kyra Dix wrapped up an impressive cross country regular season last Thursday as the talented sophomore finished fourth in the Middle Border Conference. Amber Van Loon crossed the line in 11th place as the Cardinals finished fifth in the team standings. The boys finished in fourth place with Nolan Leask leading the way for the Cardinals with a 13th-place finish. Osceola grabbed top honors for the boys and host school St. Croix Central finished atop the podium for the girls. The Prescott Cardinal harriers will travel to Black River Falls this Friday to compete in the Division 2 Sectional Meet. The Ridges Golf Course in Wisconsin Rapids will host the WIAA State Meet on Nov. 2.
NCAA basketball fans were shocked at the abrupt resignation of Clintonville, Wis. native Tony Bennett as Virginia head basketball coach. He is the son of former UW-Stevens Point, UW-Green Bay, UW-Madison, and Washington State Head Coach Dick Bennett. During an emotional press conference, Bennett identified a handful of reasons for stepping down. Some being NIL, the transfer portal, unending recruiting, and the toll of being constantly away from family. Additionally, Bennett lamented like other recently retired veteran coaches like Nick Saban, Jim Boeheim, and Mike Kryszefski on how the game has changed, and all said not for the better.
Congratulations to Assistant Baseball Coach Duane Miller on being named the Wisconsin Baseball Coaches Association Northwest District Assistant Coach of the Year. ]Miller will be entering his 21st season with the Cardinals and not only coaches, but has volunteered countless hours of time to Prescott baseball. Miller will now be considered for the WBCA State Assistant Coach of the Year.
Big news from the Sunflower State. Freshman Reese Ptacek of Kansas Volleyball was named the Big 12 Rookie of the Week after leading the Jayhawks to sweeps of West Virginia and Cincinnati last week on the road. Ptacek racked up 21 kills and 10 total blocks after earning back-to-back starts for the first time in her collegiate career while helping the Jayhawks collect road sweeps of West Virginia and Cincinnati. Against the Mountaineers, Ptacek had eight kills and five total blocks. Against the Bearcats, she hit .813 for 13 kills and no errors while also notching five total blocks. The 2024 Prescott alumnus hit .690, good for No. 3 nationally for the week. She also averaged 1.67 blocks per set to lead the league during week seven. The Jayhawks are in first place in the Big 12 Conference and are ranked #8 in the country.
Speaking of alumni, 2023 Prescott graduate Jordan Malmlov will wear #15 for the University of Nevada Wolfpack this season. Prescott basketball’s all-time leading scorer, Malmlov was able to earn a roster spot this summer. Bravo Mr. Malmlov. Incidentally, the head coach of the Wolfpack is former Indiana University guard Steve Alford.
Headshaker of the week: On the baseball field it's wearing eye black like former Hall of Fame defensive tackle John Randle. In basketball it’s wearing your jersey untucked during the game. Now, in football it's wearing pants above the knees. Why are more and more high school athletes doing this? Simple. It’s what they see on television. “As officials, we get tired of having to tell players or the coaches to tell their players to tuck in jerseys, pull their football pants down, or clean up the eye black,” said one area official. “The WIAA is very clear regarding uniforms and as varsity officials we are expected to enforce the rules. If it gets ignored the issue will become a bigger problem.” Perhaps this is another instance of the game passing us old codgers by. But come on players - wear the uniform properly. No need to draw more attention to yourself. It's a team game with team uniforms. Remember, “There is no I in team.” Dress like it. If you choose not to, it’s a headshaker.