Sports

Why is something free so much better than the same things for a small cost?

If you are having a yard sale, people might ignore your dime and quarter items, but they’ll flock to the free table or box. At my workplace, we have a large table near the employee entrance that is called the Free Table. Just drop anything there that you want to get rid of and by the end of the day, it’s gone.

A fishing license or state parks pass are only a few dollars each (an annual resident fishing license is $20 and a state parks pass is $28), but this weekend, you can fish and explore the parks for free.

Most states have a Free Fishing Weekend, but Wisconsin topped that with Free Fun Weekend on Saturday and Sunday. You can also hike and bike the state’s trails and ride the public ATV trails for free, too. It’s the ultimate low-budget weekend for those strapped for cash — or for those who appreciate that the best things in life are free.

The Bonduel High School baseball team saw its season come to an end in a 5-3 Division 3 regional title loss to Peshtigo on Wednesday afternoon. The Bulldogs used a three-run fifth inning to pull ahead before fending off the Bears seventh inning rally.

Peshtigo had its first four runners reach base in the fifth before a two-run single put the hosts ahead for good. The Bulldogs added another run in the sixth to go up 5-3.

Needing to score at least twice in the seventh to extend their season, the Bears put together a two-out rally. Junior Cole Letter walked and senior Parker Bohm singled up the middle to bring up Noah Beilfuss. The junior put a good swing on a two-strike pitch, but the ball bounced right to the third baseman, who stepped on third base to end the game.

It was a game of tough breaks for Bonduel, which barrelled up several balls but always seemed to hit them right at Peshtigo defenders.

Athletes work the entire spring to get to the state track and field championships in La Crosse. With that time having arrived, the six local qualifiers are ready to give it their all and enjoy the experience as best they can.

Just two of the local qualifiers — Shawano’s Tori DePerry and Clintonville’s Allysin Booth — have competed at state before. Shawano’s Michael Klement, Bonduel’s Canaan Szoszorek and Jessie LaBerge and Menominee Indian’s Darius Wayka will all be taking part in their first state meets.

DePerry, a senior, heads into the high jump competition with a seed mark of 5 feet, 1 inch. DePerry qualified in the same event as a sophomore, clearing 5-0 to tie for 16th.

DePerry, who will miss Shawano’s graduation ceremony to compete, has a goal to set a new personal record by clearing 5-2, and hopefully 5-4. But most of all, she hopes to enjoy her final opportunity to compete in the event.

Members of the Milwaukee Bucks not named Giannis Antetokounmpo hit a sparkling 80 percent from the free throw line in the Eastern Conference finals series with Toronto.

Antetokounmpo, who led the team to a league-best 60-win season, made just 35 of the 60 foul shots he took as the Bucks — who only once during the regular season lost two games in a row — ended their season by dropping four straight to the Raptors.

Missed free throws weren’t the sole cause of the dramatic momentum shift throughout the best-of-seven series won by the Raptors 4-2 — although Antetokounmpo would be the first to tell you that there was room for improvement over his 2-for-7, 6-for-10, 4-for-9 and 5-for-10 efforts from the line over the last four games.

That is, if he felt like sticking around and talking about it. Asked at the postgame press conference what sort of learning experience he and the Bucks could distill from the lost series, Antetokounmpo got up and walked out.

The Bonduel High School baseball team traveled to Coleman as the lower seed, hoping to score an upset win over the Cougars.

The Bears left with a convincing 13-1 victory in the Division 3 regional semifinal on Tuesday.

Third-seeded Bonduel grabbed the momentum early on with a three-run first inning before tacking on its final nine runs from the fourth through six innings. Junior Noah Beilfuss handled the rest on the mound, going the distance after a tough start.

“To tell you the truth, our guys just played really well today,” said Bonduel coach Donnie Gruenewald. “Noah threw strikes, he adjusted after the first inning. Our defense played well, I think we maybe had one error. We’ve been playing really good for about the last week-and-a-half, been scoring a lot of runs. I knew we had a chance to beat them, I just didn’t think it would be a 10-run rule game, but I’m kind of glad it was.”

Shawano Community High School’s Kaden Marcell and Andrew Puissant gave it their all but fell short of state while competing in the Division 1 Notre Dame Sectional at Thornberry Creek at Oneida on Tuesday.

Course conditions were less than ideal, with standing water on some holes to go along with lingering raindrops and gusts of wind.

Teams that placed first or second advanced to state. Individuals from the non-state teams and then the golfers who qualified for sectionals as individuals needed to place in the top three to earn a state spot.

Marcell, a freshman, shot a 46 on the back nine to finish with an 18-hole total of 94. Puissant, a sophomore, shot a 103 on the day.

Marcell tied for 42nd among all the golfers competing, while Puissant came in 47th.

Both enjoyed the experience of playing against some of the area’s top golfers.

The sixth-seeded Shawano Community High School girls soccer team hung tough with third-seeded Wausau East, but eventually had its season ended in a 5-2 Division 2 regional semifinal loss Tuesday.

Tanessa Krysheski netted Shawano’s first goal of the game in the ninth minute of action. Kyra Klement scored the Hawks second goal in the 28th minute.

Goalie Peyton Buerman made nine saves while defending the net for Shawano, which ends the season with a 4-17-1 record.

Wausau East will travel to take on second-seeded Marshfield in a regional final on Saturday.

Sixth-seeded Clintonville opens postseason play on Saturday, traveling to third-seeded New London for a Division 3 regional final on Thursday.

Former track champions Troy Springborn (Late Model) and Brad Nelson (Mighty Four) each notched their first feature wins of the Shawano Speedway 2019 season, but it was Sport Mod ace Jordan Bartz who stole the show with a last lap pass for her second win of the year on Saturday.

Bartz, racing without a left-side door panel after surviving a multi-car pileup on lap one, came from the back of the pack after repairs were made to the car by her pit crew.

IMCA Modified rookie Lucas Lamberies continued to amaze with his second win in a row in only his third night in the division. Dan Michonski also made it two wins in a row in the IMCA Stock Car class.

Jared Siefert and Springborn battled side-by-side on the opening lap of the Late Model feature, with Siefert leading the lap. Springborn made the pass on Siefert though on lap two. Springborn led the duration of the race for the win.

From senior Tori DePerry and junior Michael Klement each qualifying for the state meet to several other individuals and relay teams posting record-breaking times, the Shawano Community High School track and field team had a memorable night competing in the Division 1 D.C. Everest Sectional at D.C. Everest Junior High School on Thursday.

To solidify a spot at state, individuals and relay teams needed to place in the top three. Klement cleared 13 feet in the pole vault to take third, while DePerry cleared 5-1 in the high jump to come in second.

It felt like déjà vu for DePerry, who also qualified for state in the high jump as a sophomore after clearing 5-1 at the D.C. Everest Sectional. She narrowly missed out on qualifying last year, but that fueled her this season.

“Especially it being senior year, it feels really good,” DePerry said of qualifying for state. “It feels really cool because it’s my last year and I want to go all out.”

Bonduel High School seniors Jessie LaBerge and Canaan Szoszorek will each end their high school careers competing on the biggest stage for track and field athletes.

LaBerge and Szoszorek placed fourth in the 300-meter hurdles (47.40 seconds) and shot put (50 feet, 3 inches), respectively, at the Division 2 Freedom Sectional on Thursday to sneak into the state meet.

The top-four finishes in each Division 2 and 3 event earned state spots.

Clintonville’s Allysin Booth is also headed back to state. She placed first in the 100 hurdles (15.77) to qualify.

Marathon Sectional

Gresham/Bowler, Menominee Indian, Tigerton and Wolf River Lutheran all competed in the Division 3 Marathon Sectional on Thursday.

Menominee Indian sophomore Guadalupe Cruz nabbed a spot at state after taking third in the girls shot put (37-10.25). Senior Darius Wayka is also state bound after taking second in the boys shot put (49-8).