Congratulations to Layla Salay on being one of 18 Division 1 golfers to qualify for the WIAA State Tournament in Madison. This is the third consecutive year Salay competed in some form at the State Tournament held at University Ridge Golf Course in Madison. The talented junior placed third in the Division 1 Sectional at Stevens Point last week, finishing with a round of 85, and qualified to compete as an individual in the state tournament.  

The Prescott football team will host Baldwin-Woodville, the #3 ranked team in Division 4, this Friday at Laney Field in the season finale. The WIAA playoff field will be set after the weekend with the top 32 teams in each division qualifying for the playoffs.  

Seeding meetings will be held this week as the WIAA Volleyball Tournament begins next week. As was the case a year ago, Head Coach Geoffrey Snyder and the Prescott Cardinals will compete in Division 3. Undefeated Northwestern remains the top ranked team in Division 5 along with the Grantsburg Pirates, who at 8-0 are one of four teams in Division 5 without a loss. 

Kansas volleyball player Reese Ptacek had 17 kills and five blocks as the #15 ranked Kansas Jayhawks won their third straight match on Friday evening, defeating Iowa State 3-1. The win improves Kansas to 13-7 on the year while the Jayhawks also move to 4-2 in Big 12 play. The Jayhawks travel to the University of Houston this Thursday to take on the Cougars. 

UW-River Falls senior linebacker and Prescott alumnus Jack Olson recorded one of three quarterback sacks as the #14 Falcons defeated the #6 UW-Platteville Pioneers by a score of 31-21 Saturday, Oct. 11. River Falls improved to 4-1 overall and 1-1 in conference play. Another Prescott grad, Brady Block also saw action in the Falcons’ Homecoming victory on Saturday. 

From the WIAA: The WIAA considered appeals from schools requesting to move to a division with lower or higher enrollments for all sports. The Classification Committee reviewed 13 such requests for spring sports. All the requests were to move down for the 2025-26 Tournament Series, including six in softball (Fall River, Frederic, Gibraltar, Riverdale, Sheboygan Lutheran, Sheboygan South), four in baseball (Iowa-Grant, Luck, Riverdale, Sheboygan South), and one each in boys golf (Spring Valley), girls soccer (Sheboygan South) and boys tennis (Sheboygan South). The committee approved Fall River, Gibraltar, Sheboygan Lutheran and Sheboygan South to move down to a lower-enrollment division in softball; Luck and Sheboygan South to move down in baseball; and Sheboygan South in girls soccer and boys tennis; and Spring Valley in boys golf.

From the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources: The DNR reminds the public that candlelight hikes, fall festivals and other seasonal events will be held throughout October and November at Wisconsin State Park System properties. Candlelight hikes are held on trails illuminated by candles, torches or other similar light sources. Hikes may be self-guided or large group walks led by DNR staff or volunteers. Trail length and surface types can vary; however, visitors of all experience levels are encouraged to attend. Some events include additional activities such as wagon rides, campfires and other family-friendly entertainment. Upcoming events include Willow River State Park Spooky Flashlight Scavenger Hunt on Saturday, Oct. 25. Search for items, uncover nocturnal animals, solve riddles and claim a participation prize before the creatures of the night claim you. Be sure to bring a flashlight if you have one and wear your Halloween costume. The event costs $5/family and vehicle admission into the park is required. Meet outside the Willow River State Park Nature Center. The last group will head out at 8 p.m.

Headshaker of the week. All of us have done foolish things growing up and research shows our brains are not fully developed until the age of 25. The term “youthful indiscretions” applies to the sophomoric behaviors many of us as youngsters engaged in while cheering and rooting on our high school friends and classmates. Unquestionably, raucous and spirited support from the stands is always appreciated by competing athletes. However, when the cheers turn to jeers, taunts, and insults it’s time to stop. For quite some time the WIAA has attempted to tone down the abusive rhetoric being lobbed by rooters from the bleachers. Some youngsters who get caught up in the competitive atmosphere of athletics have begun to view their attendance as permission to lambast, heckle, or mock members of the opposing team instead of rooting on their peers. Defenders of such tom foolery may say “Kids will be kids.” True. Still, others may give the eye rolling, ridiculous comment, “the kids can’t even cheer anymore.” Laughable. The hope is as these youngsters age, they will learn such boorish bleacher behavior is immature, tiresome, and just plain wrong. However, today at some high school sporting events when a need for adult admonishment is in order, the opposite occurs. Some adults actually encourage and incite teens into participating in the aforementioned behavior. Adults encouraging and defending foolish teenager spectator behavior? Now that’s a headshaker.