Congratulations to junior Violet Otto on scoring career point number 1,000 last Friday on the road against St. Croix Central. Otto joins Kollyn Eichman-Severson, Haylee Yaegar, Lila Posthuma, Kaycee Charette and Isabella Lenz in the 1,000-point club. And speaking of career points, Michigan Tech Guard Lenz has moved into 15th on the all-time scoring list for the Huskies. The 2021 Prescott grad has now scored 1,225 points in her stellar collegiate basketball career.

The WIAA State Wrestling Tournament begins this weekend. The Cardinal boys and girls teams will travel to Baldwin-Woodville, the Division 3 regional on Saturday. Action is expected to begin at approximately 10 a.m. at Baldwin-Woodville High School. 

Seedings for the WIAA Girls State Basketball Tournament will be released this Sunday. Undoubtedly scores of Prescott fans will be waiting with bated breath to see where the Cardinals will be slotted for the postseason. In the northern half of the Eau Claire North Sectional, a handful of teams most likely will garner the top four seeds. Heading into the week Middle Border Conference teams St. Croix Central (15-4) and Baldwin-Woodville (17-4) appear on the verge of a top seed, along with Heart of the North Conference Leader Northwestern (16-4). Prescott (9-9) travels to Amery (14-5) on Friday in a crucial game with significant seeding implications. Prescott defeated Amery last month by a score of 45-36 and controlled the game from the outset. In the southern part of the bracket #7 ranked Elk Mound (18-1), Wisconsin Dells (14-2), and Mauston (15-4) will vie for the top seed in the lower half of the Eau Claire North Sectional. 

Pitcher Cullen Huppert, a 2024 Cardinal alumnus, and the Southwest State University (Marshall, Minn.) Mustangs will open the 2025 season with a three-day series this weekend against UW-Kenosha Parkside in Kansas City, Mo. Hunter Daymond, a 2019 Prescott alumnus, will travel with the rest of his Siena University Saints teammates to Orlando, Fla. for three games this weekend against the University of Central Florida. 

From the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources. The 2025 Wisconsin State Sturgeon spearing season began last weekend and will last until Feb. 23 or until any of the sex-specific harvest caps for that fishery have been reached. One of the largest sturgeon populations in North America, Lake Winnebago and the upriver lakes named Poygan, Butte des Morts or Winneconne have been the location of a sturgeon spearing season since the 1930’s. 

The Wisconsin Baseball Coaches Association will hold its annual state clinic in Madison this weekend. That means the much-anticipated WBCA State Yearbook becomes available for coaches and fans. It will be interesting to read who the Middle Border Conference coaches will pick as their favorite this spring. Defending champion St. Croix Central returns the bulk of their pitching staff and Altoona welcomes back two of the top pitchers in the conference. Conference prognosticators have the Panthers, the Railroaders, and Prescott as the favorites heading into the season. 

Speaking of rankings, expect the defending WIAA Division III Prescott Cardinal Softball team to enter the 2025 season ranked in the top 10. Like last year, Head Coach Nick Johnson’s club will square off with some of the best teams in western Wisconsin during the regular season, readying the team for another postseason run. 

Headshaker of the week. This past weekend an article appeared in a nearby metro newspaper about the possibility of universities allowing students to major in athletics. What? I know, I know athletics is an important part of the high school experience and for the small minority of people who go on to compete in athletics at the college level. I know. I know. Athletics teaches kids and young adults how to embrace a healthy lifestyle, work toward a common goal with others, and deal with the challenges connected to losing. Yes, I get it. But creating an academic department where college students could major or minor athletics? Come on. If by some remote chance this were to happen, what kind of courses would be available? How about this prospective list. “Attacking the Zone Defense Since 1945,” “Bank Shots, and Bounce Passes: History of The Lost Arts of Basketball”  “We Never Wore Masks: The History of Old NHL Goalies.” “American Yard Games Since Reconstruction.” If this plan were to come to fruition imagine this scenario. Two people are talking at a college town bar and grill. One asks the other  “What’s your major?” They answer “Sports." That is the equivalent of a 7-year-old being asked "What’s your favorite class” and the youngster responds, “Recess.” Majoring in sports in college? It’s a headshaker.