Prescott senior defensive back Kobe Russell was recognized last weekend at the Wisconsin State Football Coaches Association All State Banquet held at historic Lambeau Field in Green Bay. The North Dakota State recruit was the team’s offensive and defensive leader this season. Russell ran for 1,137 yards this fall for the Cardinals and threw nine touchdown passes leading Prescott to a WIAA playoff berth.  

The Stanley-Boyd Orioles are the top ranked team in the Division 3 Sectional 1 Tournament Bracket. The Orioles, members of the Cloverbelt West Conference, enter the week ranked #8 in the most recent coaches poll. The other team ranked in the bottom half of the bracket is Gale-Ettrick-Trempealeau who enter February with a record of 15-2. Other teams to watch in the bottom half include Mosinee (14-2) and Altoona. In the top upper half of the bracket, Middle Border teams Prescott, Osceola and St. Croix Central are getting the most attention with sleepers being Northwestern and Hayward. Most basketball prognosticators believe Sectional 1 of the Division 3 bracket is wide open. 

For the girls, the Sectional 1 Division 3 favorite remains #3 ranked and undefeated Wittenberg-Birnamwood. Also in the bottom half of the bracket is Heart of the North Conference leader Hayward, who enters the week with a record of 16-1. Sleepers include Mosinee, Bloomer and Menominee Nation. In the upper half St. Croix Central (15-3) on paper is the favorite, followed by a host of teams including Prescott, Altoona, Baldwin-Woodville, Arcadia (13-7) and Elk Mound. The top half of the bracket is also said to be wide open. 

The Prescott wrestling team has been busy preparing for the fast-approaching WIAA Tournament. Two weekends ago they competed in the Interstate Classic Tournament in St. Croix Falls. This tournament features some of the top teams from Minnesota and Wisconsin. The girls fared well with Addy Allsop placing second, Savannah Whiting second, Lily Kern fourth, Alina Bauman fourth and Emma Schmitz fifth. The girls team finished fourth out of 21 teams. The boys also fared well, with placeholders Bryce Feran in second, Gunnar Doyle in fifth, Trevor Lansing in fifth, Adyn Allsop in sixth and Cayden Riley in eighth. The team finished ninth out of 14 teams in team scoring.

Head Coach Nic Zajac and the Prescott Cardinal wrestling team finished with a conference dual record of 3-3 and an overall record of 7-5. This past weekend freshman Bryce Feran finished first in the Independence Invitational Tournament. Gunnar Doyle and Shia Parmeter each finished second and Adyn Allsop third as the Cardinals finished sixth in the 18-team tournament. The girls wrestled at Eau Claire North in a tournament featuring some of the top teams in Wisconsin and Minnesota. Addy Allsop and Alina Bauman finished third to help the Cardinals finish 17th out of 32 teams. The Cardinals will finish out the regular season this Friday with a tournament at Westonka High School in Minnesota. The WIAA State Tournament begins on Saturday, Feb. 14. 

Basketball fans are still buzzing about last week’s girls basketball game between Rice Lake and Prescott. The Warriors, ranked #2 in their division, are led by senior 6’3” guard Adeline Sheplee. A University of Wisconsin recruit, Sheplee is ranked the #1 player in the state of Wisconsin and among the best 50 players in the nation. Sheplee did not disappoint last Monday as she poured in a game high 43 points for the Warriors and is averaging 28.3 points a game, third best in state. Also, let’s not forget the career high performance of Prescott Cardinal Violet Otto in the same game. With Sheplee guarding her throughout most of the night, Otto poured in a career high 40 points in the very entertaining non-conference contest. This week Otto surpassed Kaycee Charette (Haglund) as the #2 scorer in Prescott girls basketball history and is the leading scorer in the Middle Border Conference averaging over 24 points a game. The St. Cloud State recruit is also ranked in the top five in rebounds, blocks, assists, and free throw percentage in conference play. Prescott’s all-time leading scorer is Isabella Lenz, the four-time all-conference selection and former Michigan Tech star, who scored 1,811 points. 

From the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources: The DNR encourages the public to report any black bear den locations they find in Wisconsin to help with an ongoing statewide study on black bear reproduction and population. The DNR's bear den team has begun surveying dens for the season but welcomes additional den reports. The Black Bear Litter and Diet Survey will generate new data within each bear management zone, which will improve the accuracy of population models. Black bear cubs are typically born in late January or early February, and dens are often found during this time because people can hear the cubs squeaking, grunting or humming. Helpful information to report to the bear research team includes GPS coordinates (drop a pin on your phone's map app), photo of the den, ideally showing it in relation to its surroundings, from a safe distance (approximately 30 yards), description of the site and the surrounding area, and any information on bear activity near the site, such as fresh prints.

Headshaker of the Week. Yes, I understand. We are becoming a cashless society. Today, fewer and fewer people pay cash to attend sporting events. Nationally, the penny has been discontinued and perhaps in the future other coins will be retired. The “your phone is your ticket” movement for sports and entertainment has spread like wildfire. But what about that generation of fans who prefer to pay with cash? Recently I was made aware of a long-time area collegiate athletic booster who was denied entry into a college sporting event because they did “not pay in advance” or “did not have a scanned ticket on their phone.” Although the patron had money in hand to attend the event, they were denied entry. However, they were told they could buy a bag of popcorn because “the concession stand takes cash.” Unbelievable. Today, when people pay with cash at the local coffee shop or convenience store, clerks receive the cash with furrowed brows and looks of astonishment. Who would have thought paying with cash would be viewed as being passe’, old school, or out of touch? Not admitting someone who wants to pay cash for a high school or college sporting event?  That’s a headshaker.