Congratulations to Cardinal wrestler Sam Murphy who won the 152 pound weight division of the WIAA Division II Regional Wrestling Tournament on Saturday in Arcadia. Murphy, who has been mentioned in state rankings all season, improved to 12-0 on the year and advanced to the Sectional Tournament next week in Neillsville. Murphy will wrestle Bowen Rothbauer of Bloomer in his first sectional match. Nolan Thomley also qualified for the Sectional Meet. Prescott wrestlers Alex Iberg and Lono Thomason each finished in 3rd place on Saturday.

Gale- Ettrick- Trempeleau/ Melrose-Mindoro finished first in the Arcadia Regional and Ellsworth Panthers finished second. Prescott finished in fourth place. Amery won the Baldwin-Woodville regional by two points over the host school Baldwin.

The Prescott girls basketball received the #2 seed this past weekend and will host on February 12th, the winner of the February 9th tournament game between #6 Gale-Ettrick- Trempealeau and #3 Durand. The Cardinals most likely will play the Durand Panthers, a team they defeated earlier in the season by a score of 52-35. In the other half of the regional bracket, The #1 seed Lacrosse Aquinas Blugold will host the winner of the game between #4 Arcadia and #5 Mondovi. The regional championship will be played on Saturday February 13th with the top seeded team serving as the host.

After scoring a school record 103 points in their victory over St. Croix Central last Thursday, the Prescott girls basketball team holds a two game lead in the Middle Border Conference standings and are on the cusp of capturing their second consecutive conference championship.

After scoring 40 and 31 points in her last two games, Bella Lenz has now scored 1,722 career points heading into the final week of the regular season. Last week Lenz was named as a finalist for The Wisconsin Sports Network Point Guard of the Year Award.

From the WIAA…The Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association has named the La Crosse Center as one of the two host venues for the 2021 Girls and Boys State Basketball Tournaments scheduled for Feb. 25-27 and March 4-6, respectively. “We are very excited about the opportunity to partner with the La Crosse Center to be a host site for the Girls and Boys Basketball Tournament,” WIAA Assistant Director Kate Peterson Abiad said. “Art Fahey, on behalf of the La Crosse Center, has worked hard to provide us with a plan that will offer a tremendous experience for State-bound athletes, in a safety conscious environment. As always, the city of La Crosse has extended a warm welcome to the WIAA and our State Tournament endeavors.” Three of the five divisions, to be determined at a later date, will be held at the facility for both the boys and girls with two semifinals and a championship game for each division scheduled on one of the three days.

North Dakota State infielder Peter Brookshaw and the rest of his Bison teammates began practice last week. The 2018 Prescott alumnus says “my swing feels really good and I have been getting some live at bats. We are all just ready to get the season started.” A sophomore eligibility wise, Brookshaw hopes to build on the solid start he had a year ago that was cut short by the coronavirus. A starting infielder for the Bison, Brookshaw expects to start at second base and hit near the top of the NDSU lineup.

Where are they now? This week’s Cardinal alumni is 2008 graduate Ben Krings. A three sport athlete at Prescott, Krings lettered in football, basketball, and baseball.

Named All Conference in football and baseball, Krings was selected to play in the Wisconsin Baseball Coaches Association All Star Game after an outstanding senior year. Upon graduation Krings attended the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire where he earned a degree in Kinesiology. Krings then went on to attend University of Wisconsin- Lacrosse acquiring a Masters Degree in Human Performance. The former Prescott Pirate then went on to earn a PhD in Exercise Physiology at Mississippi State University. Since the Spring of 2018, Krings has been an assistant professor at UW-Platteville teaching in the Health and Human Performance Department. Along with being a professor at Platteville, Krings is a testing consultant for the Gatorade Sports Science Institute, giving the Cardinal alumnus the opportunity to work with professional athletes in the NFL, NBA, and amateur athletes in college football. Krings currently resides in Cuba City, Wisconsin.

From the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources… More turkeys were harvested in 2020 than the previous year, according to new data released by the Wisconsin department. Hunters registered 4,600 birds during the fall 2020 wild turkey season, a 21% increase compared to the 3,792 turkeys registered during the 2019 fall season. Additionally, five Wisconsin elk hunters filled their tags during Wisconsin’s third managed elk season. The 2020 season marked 25 years since the reintroduction and management of elk began in the state. The DNR estimates the current population in the state is approximately 300 animals.

Headshaker of the week. A recent discussion with a local high school athlete. “Ever heard of Stan Musial?” Youngster answered “Nope.” “How about Johnny Unitas?” “Nope.” “How about Wilt Chamberlain?” “I think I heard of him. Did he play baseball?” What about Gordie Howe?” “Nope.” So much for an appreciation for the history of the game. It’s a headshaker.