With her career high 39-point performance against Somerset last week, Violet Otto surpassed 900 career points. Against the Spartans, Otto drained nine three pointers including several from beyond 24 feet. Additionally, Otto, the leading scorer in the Middle Border Conference, is shooting over 80% from the freethrow line. Incidentally, the single game scoring record for a Prescott girls basketball player is held by Isabella Lenz, who scored 51 points back in a February 2020 conference victory over…Somerset. Otto, a junior, has already received athletic scholarship offers from area schools. Expect more to come to the talented 11th grader. 

Head Coach Nick Johnson recognized members of the 2014-2015 WIAA State Tournament basketball team last Friday. The first basketball team in school history to qualify for the state tourney, the Cardinals finished the season with a record of 25-2. Prescott advanced to the Kohl Center with a 59-38 win over West Salem in the sectional final played at Zorn Arena at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire. Charlie Tayson, Clay Seifert, and Owen Hamilton all scored in double figures in the sectional final as the Cardinals moved on to Madison. 

Change could be coming to the high school football playoffs, as the proposed Wisconsin Football Playoff Matrix, with 87.5% coach support, has been moving through the WIAA's committee process, with a potential vote for implementation looming next week. The plan would utilize a points-based system to change how playoff qualification is determined, how teams are grouped within their divisions, and how teams are seeded within their groupings. Developed by Edgewood head coach Jesse Norris and assistant Andy LaVoy, the proposal is similar to the playoff system used in the state of Ohio. 

Congratulations to Prescott High School alumnus Cole Penk on garnering his first Wisconsin Bobcat. The 32-pound wildcat was downed by Penk in Central Wisconsin and according to local taxidermist Lee Schommer. The Department of Natural Resources estimates there are approximately 5,000 bobcats in the state, up significantly from just a few hundred a half century ago. Although common throughout the state, “the Spitfire of the Animal Kingdom” are elusive, stealthy, and rarely seen in the wild. Approximately 30,000 hunters apply for Bobcat tags each year.  

Minnesota State - Mankato runner Madison Matzek ran a season best, finishing first in the 3,000-meter final last weekend at the Mark Schuck Invitational Indoor Track Meet at Mankato State. Matzek, a junior runner for the Mavericks, finished with a time of 10:21.78 and bested teammate Amanda Overgaauw by under a second. Matzek is a 2022 graduate of Prescott High School. The Mavericks finished first in the 25-team invitational. 

Committee Chairman Jeremy Kerg reminds everyone that nominations for the Prescott Hall of Fame are being accepted. Nomination information including all necessary forms are located on the Prescott School District website. The 2025 Hall of Fame Banquet will be held in late September or early October in the Prescott High School Commons. 

Add the University of Northern Illinois (DeKalb) to the list of schools offering an athletic scholarship to Prescott junior Kobe Russell. The Huskies gave Notre Dame their only loss of the season last year before the Irish fell to Ohio State in the national championship game last month. 

The 42nd Annual Northwest Wisconsin Baseball Clinic will be held this Saturday in Cumberland. Hosted by Wisconsin State and National Coaches Association Hall of Fame member Mark Fuller, the clinic will feature presentations from some retired Wisconsin Hall of Fame coaches and University of Wisconsin-River Falls Head Coach Steve Bartlein. Fuller, who won 482 games at Cumberland, is currently an assistant coach for the UW-Whitewater Warhawks - the #1 ranked team in NCAA Division 3. 

Headshaker of the Week. Today’s teenagers have almost instantaneous access to information. When it comes to professional sports, youngsters do not have to rely on looking at the back of a baseball card, reading The Sporting News, or watching local sports on television, to learn about the exploits of their sports heroes. However, today’s knowledge of the game and its history has waned considerably, sort of like the general knowledge of our country’s history. Last week I overheard a conversation between a gentleman in his late 50s or early 60s, and a twenty-something young man regarding the fast-approaching CAB Company/Prescott Fastpitch Association Banquet on March 27. The annual event includes raffle prizes, a featured speaker, and a number of silent auction items. During the conversation the more senior person said, “I heard one of the silent auction items is a signed baseball by Hall of Famer Rod Carew.” The Generation Z individual responded by saying “Who’s Rod Carew?” Now that’s a headshaker.