The North Dakota State Bison baseball team won three out of four games against the University of St. Louis Billikens to improve to 5-1 on the season. Peter Brookshaw, a 2018 Prescott alumnus, is hitting .357 and is tied for the team lead in hits. Brookshaw leads the Bison in runs batted and second on the team in stolen bases. NDSU travels to Greeley, Colorado later this week where they will take on the Bears of Northern Colorado in a four game series.

Congratulations to the St. Croix Central Panthers on qualifying for the state tournament for the first time in school history. The champions of the Middle Border Conference and #5 ranked team in Division 3 will play this Friday at the Menominee Nation Arena in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. Also, hats off to Zac Campbell and the River Falls Wildcats for advancing to the state tournament. Champions of the Big Rivers Conference, River Falls will begin their quest for a state title on Saturday at the LaCrosse Center. When Campbell was presented with the Sectional Championship plaque after their thrilling win over DePere, the River Falls skipper immediately handed the plaque over to team members, quickly stepped aside and allowed the players to hold the plaque aloft. Well done Coach Campbell, well done.

Prescott youth softball and baseball players took over the high school gymnasium last Sunday for annual player evaluations. What caught the attention of baseball evaluators was the number of 8th grade baseball players in attendance. The 20 plus strong eighth grade contingent includes a number of talented baseball players whose names will likely become familiar to Cardinal fans and boosters in a few years.

Haylee Yaegar and the UW-Stout Blue Devils women’s basketball team will open the Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Conference tournament this week against UW-Whitewater. Yeager, a 2019 Prescott graduate, is the second leading scorer and rebounder for the Blue Devils this season.

Parker Nielsen and the West Texas A& M Buffaloes will enter the Lone Star Conference tournament this week as the #2 seed. Nielsen, a 2020 Cardinal alumnus, has started seven games for the Buffaloes who have spent the entire season ranked in the top 10 in NCAA Division 2. Nielsen is shooting over 50% from the floor this year.

Here we go again. The WIAA State Basketball tournament begins this week in the cities of Oshkosh and LaCrosse with the private schools making up the majority of the tournament field. In Division 3 it is Lake Country Lutheran and Racine St. Catherine’s. In Division 5 it is Green Bay New Lutheran and Chippewa Falls McDonnell Catholic. And in Division 4 it’s Lourdes Academy, Onalaska Luther, and the Prairie School. There are 37 private schools in the state of Wisconsin and eight have qualified for the state tournament. Along with the seven mentioned, add Appleton Xavier in Division 2.

From the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources… The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) today announced that all wolf harvesting zones are now closed to hunting and trapping gray wolves. Zones 2,5,6 closed at 10 a.m., Wednesday, Feb. 24. Zones 1,3,4 closed at 3 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 24. Hunting and trapping during the closed season/zone carries a forfeiture amount of $303.30. State statute authorizes the DNR to close management zones to harvest following a 24-hour notice based on harvest information. The February harvest totals exceeded the DNR establishing quota with at least 216 wolves harvested during the six day season. Prior to the season, the Department believed there were approximately 1,200 wolves in the state.

Bravo to tireless KDWA Sports Announcer Nick Tuckner. Football, basketball, hockey, baseball, softball, boys sports, girls sports the popular Hastings native does it all. While listening to the play by play announcers of the sectional final basketball game on Saturday between St. Croix Central and Northwestern, I once again came to appreciate the “Radio Voice” of the Cardinals. Hats off to Nick Tuckner and all he does for Prescott athletics.

Headshaker of the week. For the high school athlete winning a state championship is a dream come true. And having the opportunity to hoist a championship trophy has to be among the most thrilling moments of any prep athlete. As predicted last week, that moment was stolen once again by a head coach. After Germantown defeated Hudson in the Division 1 Girls State Championship game last Saturday, the head coach grabbed the gold ball trophy, held it aloft, and gripped it like a growling puppy protecting its favorite chew toy. Eventually, the players were able to pry the trophy with a figurative crowbar from the white knuckle grasping coach. I just don’t get it. My guess the same will happen this weekend during the boys state tournament. It’s a headshaker.