When it comes to tournament basketball, fans were treated to one of the most intense and aggressive games played in recent memory. In a game where every single possession was crucial, Amery and Prescott battled down to the wire in a game that those in attendance will talk about for quite some time. Aggressive drives to the basket, fierce rebounding battles, and players diving everywhere for loose balls dominated the play in both halves. Add raucous spectators, impassioned coaching from the benches, and a jam-packed gymnasium Saturday night reinforced what I said recently. There is nothing like high school tournament basketball. 

This Thursday Amery will play Northwestern, who upset Osceola last Thursday by a score of 65-51. In the other semi-final Berlin will play Elk Mound in La Crosse. Incidentally, Berlin and Amery both finished fourth in their respective conference standings. Amery senior Carter Wollan enters Thursday’s sectional semi-final with 2,401 career points, good for 10th place all time in the state of Wisconsin. Younger brother Keaton, a sophomore, has scored 982 career points. 

The Prescott High School boys and girls track and field teams began practice this week. Coaches Emily and Carl Calabrese will skipper teams that will involve approximately 80 participants this spring. Head Softball Coach Nick Johnson and his charges begin practice next week as they seek to defend their WIAA Division 3 State Championship. 

Two girls basketball teams from the Dunn-St. Croix Conference have qualified for this week’s WIAA State Tournament in Green Bay this week. The Elk Mound Mounders (26-1) and the Durand-Arkansaw Panthers (23-5) both will play at the Resch Center. Prescott played both teams during the regular season. Prescott fell to Elk Mound by a score of 57-45 in the season opener but beat Durand-Arkansaw by a score of 41-32 midway through the season. 

From the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources…The DNR announced that the spring issue of Wisconsin Natural Resources magazine is now available in print and online. The latest issue celebrates “marsh madness,” focusing on the marvels of marshlands in Wisconsin. Also in the spring issue, you’ll find stories regarding the history of the Wisconsin State Park System, which is marking its 125th anniversary this year. State wildlife areas are highlighted, too, as is the Northern Highland-American Legion State Forest, which also has an anniversary in 2025. Be sure to check out this tremendous publication on the DNR website. 

Longtime WIAA official and avid outdoorsman, Dan Hoffman harvested an impressive river otter recently. The Durand native spends countless hours hunting, fishing, foraging, and trapping throughout western Wisconsin. Name an outdoor activity involving woods or water, chances are Hoffman has done it. According to the retired River Falls High School Biology teacher, the adult otter measured 46 inches long - the largest otter he had ever harvested in his traplines. 

The Prescott CAB Company and Prescott Fast Pitch Association will hold their annual spring ball banquet on Thursday, March 27 at the Old Ptacek’s Event Center. Silent auction, raffle prizes, music, and games will be a part of the event that kicks off the 2025 baseball and softball seasons. This year’s featured speaker will be River Falls Comedian Todd Andrews. Doors will open at 5:30 pm. Tickets are $30 and can be purchased from Prescott High School softball and baseball coaches.  

Headshaker of the week. As the class of 2025 is nearing graduation, parents are busy planning the grad party menu, ordering invitations, constructing nostalgic picture poster boards, and displaying certificates, trophies, plaques of academic as well as athletic accomplishments. And don’t forget the ribbons. We all remember those pictures of our kids holding with pride their first blue ribbon. Photos of children smiling ear to ear holding red or white ribbons also find their way onto the exhibit. However, ribbons with the word “Participant” inscribed along the bottom remain in the junk drawer or stuffed at the bottom of a shoe box in the extra bedroom closet. Henceforth you can imagine my surprise when an area reader shared with me a ribbon from a recent youth basketball tournament. I don’t know if a parent would want this youth ribbon affixed to the tack board alongside their child’s student of the month certificate. “7th Grade Boys. 28th Place.” I was unable to find the matching color while perusing the 28 packs of Crayola crayons. I might have to resort to the 64 pack with the sharpening tool in the back to find the complementary color. Regardless...a 28th place ribbon? It’s a headshaker.