River Falls beat Hudson 66-61 to win its regional championship on Feb. 20. The Wildcats boast a 19-2 record on the season after the win over the Big Rivers Conference second-placed team. River Falls split games with the Raiders (15-6) this season, with Hudson winning the January 11th matchup, 70-65, the Wildcats second and final loss of the season.

Zach Johnson led the Wildcats (19-2) with 24 points, and JT Dougherty added 14 points. Fellow senior Chris Chapin posted 13 points.

River Falls, the top seed in Sectional 1, is looking for their 13th consecutive win when they host No. 4 Eau Claire North (14-7) on Thursday at 7 p.m. in the first round. River Falls won both matchups in conference play this season by an average of 17 points. Eau Claire North finished fifth in the Big Rivers Conference.

The winner plays Appleton North or De Pere on Saturday.

River Falls heading to 20th-consecutive state meet after Sectional title

River Falls won its Division 2 WIAA sectional gymnastics meet on Feb. 18 with a score of 140.9 points to advance to the state meet for a 20th-straight year, aiming for a seventh state title and first in eight years.

The Wildcats beat Sparta’s second-place score of 136.225. River Falls scored meet highs on the balance beam at 34.9, the floor exercise at 36.775, and the uneven bars at 33.75. The Wildcats owned the second-best score in the vault at 35.475 a point behind Sparta’s 36.475.

Autumn Tiede shined for the Wildcats with the all-around individual title, scoring 36.45. She won the floor at 9.45, and she took third in the bars at 8.6, beam at 9.075, vault at 9.3.

Berg won bars at 9.0, and she took third in floor at 9.175 and sixth in the vault at 9.05. Eva Mikla placed second in floor at 9.2.

Rylee Sabelko helped the winning cause with seventh place on the floor at 8.95 and eighth on the beam at 8.75. Lexi Epstein took seventh in bars at 8.1, and Madyson Tape placed ninth in beam at 8.1.

River Falls will compete at the Elite Gymnastics Center in La Crosse on Saturday for state.

Moelter places sixth at state wrestling

Travis Moelter finished sixth for 106 pounds at the Division 1 WIAA state wrestling tournament on Feb. 13 in Kaukauna.

Moelter advanced to the semifinals off a pin but fell to West Bend West’s Ben Bast in the semifinals 13-0.

Fusion fall in Sectional final

St. Croix Valley Fusion, a girls hockey co-op with River Falls, fell a game shy of the state tournament on Feb. 13 in a 7-4 loss to the Chippewa Falls-Menomonie Sabers.

The Fusion pulled within two goals twice during the third period, but the Sabers scored twice and added an empty-netter to seal the game.

Jenna Bergmanis and Kendall Sundby scored two goals apiece for the Fusion. Jaden Woiwode added two assists, and Makenzie Weiss had an assist.

Fusion goalie Olivia Dumond stopped 11 shots with a .647 save percentage.

Wildcats girls hoops ends in heartbreaker

River Falls fell in Regional tournament play on Feb. 9 to Chippewa Falls, ending its season in a 45-43 loss.

Taylor Kasten scored 16 points, and Ella Peters earned a double double with 10 points and 15 rebounds. Rachel Randleman chipped in eight points, five rebounds and four assists in the loss.