Sports

With an improved group of returning golfers, the Bonduel High School boys golf team is eager to get the spring season underway.

The Bears are coming off a fourth-place finish in the Central Wisconsin Conference, but the lone all-conference golfer has since graduated.

Still, with three of the five regional golfers back, coach Dave LaBerge believes the team can again finish in the top half of the conference.

Leading the charge for the Bears will be Carter Siolka, who missed out on qualifying for sectionals by just four shots.

The junior has some big individuals goals — which if achieved, could lead Bonduel to some of its team goals.

Siolka said he’d like to make the all-conference first team and also reach sectionals.

Five Shawano Hawks wrestlers — Keith Tourtillott, Wyatt Brandt, Crede Timm, Ben Carroll and Alex Sumnicht — posted perfect records in conference action and have landed on the first all-conference team.

Two other wrestlers — Gage Timm and Sam Tourtillott — made the second team after having just one conference loss.

While some wrestling conferences have tournaments to determine all-conference honors, the Bay Conference uses wrestlers records in conference duals to determine which athletes are honored.

Under the direction of coach Mike Homan, it was a memorable season for Shawano as a team. The Hawks went 6-0 in conference duals to claim its first-ever title.

Keith Tourtillott had a junior season to remember on the mat, eventually representing the Hawks at the 76th Annual WIAA Individual Wrestling Championship Tournament in Madison.

He finished the year with a 34-8 overall record and has big goals set for his senior season next winter.

Zook helps Bobcats on recent surge

The Bryant & Stratton college softball team has enjoyed a strong last week on the field, going 5-1 since March 29. Shawano Community High School graduate Brianna Zook has been a big part of that success.

In a 16-6 win over Gogebic Community College on March 29, Zook singled, doubled and walked, driving in three runs along the way. In the second game of the doubleheader, she doubled twice, walked once, scored three runs and drove in another.

Zook then helped the Bobcats to a sweep of Bay College on March 30. In a 17-9 game one victory, she scored three runs, doubled, walked and drove in two runs. In a tight 12-11 game two win, she doubled two more times, walked once and scored three more runs.

In a doubleheader split with Wisconsin Lutheran College, Zook had a hit in a 5-4 game one win. She doubled twice and drove in two runs in an 8-7 loss in game two.

Hoffman shines in doubleheader sweep

The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources wants your opinions to help them manage deer, bears, fish and other wildlife, but your chance to be heard will expire soon.

There are three opportunities to share your views. They include:

• The joint DNR and Wisconsin Conservation Congress spring hearings held Monday in all 72 counties will allow online balloting this year for the first time. As reported in last week’s column, the online survey, administered through SurveyMonkey, will go live at 7 p.m. Monday and remain open for exactly three days, closing at 7 p.m. Thursday.

Those voting on Conservation Congress local delegates must cast their ballots in person. Shawano County’s hearing will be held at 7 p.m. Monday at Shawano Community Middle School, 1050 S. Union St., Shawano.

As Richard “R.J.” Wayka embarks upon his senior season at Menominee Indian High School, he will do so knowing it won’t be the last time he will play the sport competitively after signing a letter of intent to play baseball at Bay College in Escanaba, Michigan.

Wayka signed in front of family, friends and coaches at Menominee Indian High School on Wednesday.

Wayka said he started his recruitment process late, diving into things at the start of this school year, which he then admitted was a mistake on his part.

The senior created a profile through Next College Student Athlete (NCSA) with the help of his baseball coach Karl Peters and friend Mequan Corn.

Wayka received a few emails back from schools, but after touring Bay College, he knew that’s where he wanted to be.

“I got a really good impression from coach (Mike) Pankow and the whole educational side of things too was kind of fitting for me. I felt more home there so that’s why I chose it.”

With every member of last year’s team back, the Wittenberg-Birnamwood High School golf team heads into the spring season with high aspirations.

“I think that we will have a chance to compete for conference,” Witt-Birn coach Chris Bartletti said. “We have players with varsity experience who have really worked to get better, and we have a couple of players who can score low enough to carry some of the others if they are struggling.”

Last season, the Chargers placed fifth in the Central Wisconsin Conference. Justin Keeney, now a junior, landed on the all-conference second team and finished just five shots back of qualifying for state.

Keeney hopes to lead the Chargers to bigger and better things this spring.

“Our team goals this year are to win conference and make it to sectionals,” Keeney said. “It will be tough, but it’s doable with a lot of practice and each member of the team improving.”

Keeney has some lofty individual expectations, as well.

The Gresham/Bowler boys and girls co-ops each turned in strong performances at the Wild Rose Early Meet on Tuesday. The girls team scored 66 points to come in fourth, while the boys scored 41.5 points to tie for fourth with Almond-Bancroft.

The girls were led by the first-place finishes of Valarie Cerveny and Makayla Belongia. Cerveny won the shot put with a throw of 29 feet, 4 inches, while Belongia was the top performer in the long jump with a leap of 14 feet, 7 inches.

Belongia also came in second in the 100-meter dash with a time of 14.3 seconds. Hannah Cerveny took third in the 300 hurdles (58.9) while the 4x100 relay team of Belongia, Hannah Cerveny, Jayden Jensen and Karisa Nietzer also placed third with a time of 59.1 seconds.

Noah Bestul and Will Jensen each took third as individuals to lead the boys. Bestul posted a time of 13:16.85 in the 3,200, while Jensen cleared 5 feet, 2 inches in the high jump.

SOFTBALL

Bowler 11

Wild Rose 5

The Panthers pounded out 15 hits to earn a Central Wisconsin Conference crossover road win over the Wildcats on Tuesday.

Tynea Johnson, Jodi Wolf, Brooke Thiex and Lilly Wisnefske each drove in two runs for Bowler, while Kayla Pecore, Alyssa Strassburg and Wolf all scored twice. The Panthers’ first three batters, Johnson, Pecore and Wolf, each had three hits.

Jada Waters earned the win on the rubber. She worked around 12 walks and six hits by striking out five batters.

Denmark 19

Clintonville 0 (5 inn.)

The Truckers could not slow the Vikings in a North Eastern Conference clash Tuesday.

Hannah Baird was dealt the loss in the circle.

BASEBALL

Wild Rose 10

Bowler 0 (5 inn.)

The Panthers were shut out in a CWC crossover road game against the Wildcats on Tuesday.

A five-run third inning proved too much to overcome for the Shawano Community High School softball team in a season-opening 8-3 loss to Marinette on Tuesday at Memorial Park’s B Diamond.

Shawano took a 1-0 lead into the third inning after junior Macie Herm delivered a one-out RBI double to score courtesy runner Elizabeth Esch, a senior, in the bottom of the second. Esch was running for pitcher Taylor Johnson, who singled to open the frame.

In the third, Johnson, a sophomore, got the first two Marines to ground out before things went south for the hosts.

Back-to-back walks set up a two-RBI double that put Marinette ahead. The next better delivered a RBI triple before a single made it 4-1 and forced Shawano (0-1) to switch pitchers.

The next three Marines (1-0) walked to force in another run before Johnson came back in to get the final out of the frame.

After losing two players to graduation and another to a transfer, the Shawano Community High School boys golf team enters the spring season with little experience on its side.

The Hawks return four of their five golfers that participated at regionals a season ago.

“We don’t really have a lot of knowledge as to what we will be like (which athletes will fill out of five-golfer team). We are pretty young,” Shawano coach Dean Kugler said. “We really only have two returning guys that played varsity all last year.”

Of the golfers back this year, Lucas te Plate, now a sophomore, posted the best regional score.

Juniors Karsten Anderson and Nick Sherman and sophomore Andrew Puissant all finished within three shots of each other at the regional, and like te Plate, are looking to make improvements on the course.