The Prescott Cardinal wrestling teams competed in the always tough Ellsworth Invitational last weekend. Prescott freshman Bryce Feran finished fourth at 106 pounds and fellow ninth grader Gunnar Doyle finished sixth at 132. The tournament featured some of the best teams and wrestlers in western Wisconsin. Head Coach Nic Zajac has praised the competitiveness of his grapplers thus far this season. Led by Feran, who is ranked #6 in Division 2 at 106 pounds, the team is loaded with underclassmen. Zajac and his charges head to Somerset on Friday, Dec. 19 to compete in an invitational tournament with more than a dozen teams from both Minnesota and Wisconsin. Action is slated to begin at 4 p.m. 

The 18-point win over #10 ranked Elk Mound by the Prescott boys basketball team means the Cardinals could crack the top ten this week. Prescott opens Middle Border Conference play this week as they take on St. Croix Central and Amery. Incidentally, the victory over the Mounders was win #280 for Head Coach Nick Johnson. In his 15th year, Johnson has an incredible winning percentage of 80%. 

Prescott junior Gavin Peters’ three-pointer from the top of the key with 20 seconds left against Colfax last week left gave the Prescott Cardinals their first 100-point game since they scored an incredible 120 points in a victory over conference rival Ellsworth in 2018. In that game, senior guard Peter Brookshaw scored 53 points during a season that would culminate with a WIAA Division 3 State Championship. 

Sophomore Reese Ptacek and the No. 16 Kansas Jayhawk volleyball team defeated the Miami Hurricanes 3-1 in the second round of the NCAA Volleyball Tournament Friday to advance to the NCAA Sweet 16. Kansas (24-10, 13-5, Big 12) advances to the NCAA Sweet 16 for the fourth time in program history and the first time since 2021.The Jayhawks will travel to Lincoln, Neb. to take on the #1 ranked Cornhuskers this Friday. 

And speaking of Reese Ptacek, the Kansas sophomore was named 1st Team All Big 12, one of two Jayhawks named to the first team. A season ago the 2024 Prescott alumnus was named Big 12 Freshman of the Year and it’s the second consecutive year Ptacek has been named All Conference. 

UW-River Falls linebacker and Prescott graduate Jack Olson recorded three quarterback sacks on Saturday as the Falcons defeated St. Johns by a score of 42-14 and advanced to the NCAA Division 3 quarterfinals for the first time in school history. River Falls will host Wheaton College (Illinois) next Saturday with kickoff scheduled for 2 p.m.

The University of Wisconsin-La Crosse men's basketball team is ranked #3 in the most recent NCAA Division 3 National Rankings. UW-Oshkosh is ranked #17. For the women, the Titans of UW-Oshkosh are ranked #3 and UW-Whitewater is listed at #11. 

The Wisconsin Baseball Coaches Association has announced the 2026 Hall of Fame Class. This coming February Kimberly Head Coach Ryan McGinnins, Madison College Head Coach Mike Davenport, and former Milwaukee Pius Head Coach Kevin Kehoss will be inducted into the exclusive club. Two former Head Coaches Ron Orlandi of Superior and Ron Greene of Edgerton will be inducted posthumously. 

Speaking of baseball, there are approximately 100 schools that have not submitted their team information for the WBCA Yearbook, identified as the premier pre-season baseball publication in the United States. The associations send notices beginning in October to the more than 400 schools requesting head coaches fill out information for the February publication. Ellsworth and St. Croix Central are two of the schools who failed to respond to the survey, which incidentally had a Thanksgiving submission deadline. 

Believe me, I am no fan of shock jock journalism or bombastic game day pre and post game analysis. However, I am impressed by the large number of NCAA Division I coaches who are saying publicly what so many fans have begun to reluctantly acknowledge. There no longer is college athletics. The game, especially football and basketball is being destroyed via the transfer portal and NIL. Bravo coaches. College sports is becoming a sad state of affairs. 

Headshaker of the week. Some of us may remember the film “Cocoon,” a 1985 award-winning fantasy where residents of a Florida rest home get a new lease of life when they stumble across an alien "fountain of youth" in a vacant holiday home. It reminds many of us, including yours truly, of the oft referenced or phrase “youth is wasted on the young.” True. However, when it comes to high school sports, it’s most apt to act like the adult in the room. Last week at an area basketball game opposing rooters put in quite a display from the stands, reacting to the orchestrated cheers and chanting of students from the home crowd. A gruff-faced, bearded adult, along with a partner side-kick, responded to the cheering from the Prescott student faithful, by mocking in Ric Flair-like fashion the Cardinals teenage cheering section. The duo coupled their verbal immaturity by physically mimicking the enthusiastic student fan entourage. Perhaps there were some in attendance who thought the gentlemen’s performance was entertaining or funny. Nah. It was embarrassing and sad. It was a headshaker.