Kyra Dix turned in an outstanding performance at Saturday’s WIAA Division 2 Sectional Meet in Rice Lake, winning the individual title and qualifying for next weekend’s state meet in Wisconsin Rapids. The Prescott High School record holder posted a time of 18:02.7, finishing 25 seconds ahead of Amery’s Macie Boe. It was an impressive margin of victory and another highlight in a career that has placed Dix among the best runners ever to represent Prescott. The Cardinals finished fifth as a team, competing against a strong field that included Middle Border Conference rivals St. Croix Central and Osceola, which placed first and second, respectively.

For Dix, the sectional championship means a return trip to the WIAA State Meet for the third time in her high school career. She finished seventh last season and will now have another opportunity to test herself against Wisconsin’s top runners. A high-honors student, Dix is arguably the most talented girls cross country runner in Prescott High School history. Good luck this weekend in Wisconsin Rapids.

For the Cardinal boys, senior Quinn Justen was the top finisher crossing the tape with a time of 17.24.6 as Prescott finished 11th in the overall standings. Sophomore Dawson Langer was the next Cardinal harrier across the line finishing with a time of 17.30.6. The Northwestern Tigers grabbed the team title followed by St. Croix Central.

Conference football champion Osceola remains the only Middle Border Conference team that survived the first round of the playoffs. The reward after beating visiting Ashland by a score of 41-6 will be the undefeated Northwestern Tigers who clobbered Somerset by a score of 53-14. When it comes to the WIAA volleyball playoffs, all Middle Border Conference teams have been eliminated. 

The WIAA winter sports season will begin in less than a month. Head Coach Owen Hamilton and the Prescott girls basketball team begin their season on Nov. 9 and Head Wrestling Coach Nic Zajac and his grapplers begin their season on Nov. 16, as does Head Basketball Coach Nick Johnson and his club. Speaking of basketball, Bound Wisconsin lists Graysen Becker of Altoona and Keaton Wollan of Amery as the top players in the Middle Border Conference this season. Becker, Altoona’s all-time leading scorer, is headed to NCAA Division 2 Angelo State (Texas) and Wollan has received a football scholarship to the University of Wisconsin.  

From the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources: The DNR reminds Wisconsin residents to submit ideas as proposed resolutions through Monday, Feb. 8, 2027 at midnight. The Wisconsin Conservation Congress is an independent organization of citizens that advises the Wisconsin Natural Resources Board and the DNR on how to responsibly manage Wisconsin’s natural resources. An individual may submit no more than two resolutions per year, and resolutions must meet the following criteria. The concern must be of statewide impact, be practical, achievable, reasonable, and must be within the mission and vision of the Wisconsin Conservation Congress. Those interested in submitting a resolution are encouraged to visit the DNR and WCC’s Spring Hearing webpage.

The 2026 World Series between the Brewers and the Rays - refreshing. Absent are the endless discussions about launch angles and baseball exit velocity. Gone too are the mathematical dissertations explaining why a manager should, or shouldn't, make a particular move. Today algorithms, charts, calculators, and advanced metrics have turned a simple game into a graduate-level statistics course. Mercifully, all this has taken a back seat this October. Instead, we're watching pitching, defense, bunting, and baserunning. Imagine that. Teams win by doing the little things right. Teams putting the ball in play, moving runners, making plays in the field, and understanding that baseball involves considerably more than swinging for the fences. For high school coaches and players, this World Series ought to be required viewing. It is a reminder that you don't need a lineup of superstars to succeed. You need players who know their jobs, coaches who understand the game, and a team willing to execute the fundamentals.

And then there's Pat Murphy and his dugout stoicism. He doesn't need to act like the ringmaster of a traveling circus to get his point across. No P.T. Barnum routine, no PJ Fleck-style theatrics, no body surfing to convince everyone how excited he is. Just a baseball manager managing a baseball team. Huh. And thank goodness we do not have to endure any of the idiotic Banana Ball gimmicks on the sidelines for a while. If baseball needs dancing, stunts, and a steady stream of manufactured antics to hold our attention, perhaps we have forgotten what makes the actual game so compelling. Granted, the Brewers have attracted their share of bandwagon fans because that is what winning does. But if those newcomers are tuning in to watch a World Series built around the fundamentals, good. Maybe those johnny-come-latelys will learn to appreciate a well-placed bunt or a smart baserunning decision as much as a 450-foot home run. This is the beauty of baseball: the subtle decisions, the strategic battles, the importance of every pitch, and the satisfaction of watching a team execute. No circus acts. No obsession with numbers. No need to turn every at-bat into a data-analysis exercise. Just good baseball. The kind coaches should teach and the kind players should learn. The kind of baseball fans can enjoy without a phone in their hand or a laptop. How grand is that?

Headshaker of the Week. Baseball cheerleaders. You have got to be kidding me. Major League Baseball now has cheerleaders. Unbelievable. They are on dugout roofs, in concourses, marching down aisles, and waving pom-poms, apparently performing the vital public service of informing grown adults when it’s time to get excited. Because nothing says “America’s pastime” quite like a choreographed cheer squad trying to convince people that a baseball game is worth watching. For the novice baseball fan let’s review the cheering basics. Your team hits a home run? Cheer. Your pitcher records a strikeout? Cheer. Your center fielder makes a sensational catch? Cheer. It really isn’t complicated. Baseball fans have managed to master these concepts for well over a century without someone waving a pair of pom-poms in their faces. But apparently, that’s no longer good enough. We need crowd motivators, scoreboards flashing the word for excitement, and now some professionally trained cheerleaders to make sure nobody misses the appropriate moment to clap. It reminds me of a television sitcom with a laugh track. You know, the kind that tells the audience at home when to laugh. Sadly, maybe Major League Baseball figures its fans need the same assistance. Here's a suggestion to those fans. If you absolutely must have cheerleaders to enjoy a sporting event, there’s always a Dallas Cowboys home game. Knock yourself out. As for baseball? I’ll take strategy, the pitching, the defense, the tension, and the spontaneous eruption of a crowd that knows exactly why it’s cheering. No pom-poms required. Cheerleaders in baseball? Now that's a headshaker.