State tennis field set

Sheboygan North and Kohler will be well-represented at this week’s WIAA State Tennis Tournament in Madison.
The Golden Raiders will have their top singles player and top two doubles teams in the Division 1 field, while the Blue Bombers will have their top two singles and doubles entries in the Division 2 meet.
The only other area entrant is Sheboygan South’s No. 1 singles player, who will compete in D1 as well.
The state tournament takes place Thursday through Saturday at Nielsen Tennis Stadium on the University of Wisconsin campus.
The following are first-round pairings of the area’s State entrants:

WIAA State Tennis Tournament
First-round pairings
Division 1
Singles
Derek Kieckhafer, soph., Sheboygan South (15-12) vs. Tim Noack, fr., Milwaukee Marquette (24-4)
Brandon Bayliss, sr., Sheboygan North (19-3) receives a first-round bye

Doubles
Andrew Bayliss, soph.-Matt Gassner, sr., Sheboygan North (19-2) receives a first-round bye
Kyle Hertel, sr.-Jake Snyder, Sheboygan North (24-8) vs. Dmitry Ragozin, sr.-Tony Lococo, jr., Homestead (11-2)

Division 2
Singles
Charlie Reinertsen, soph., Kohler (24-6) vs. Sanjay Hariharan, jr., University School (27-5)
Colin Johnson, soph., Kohler (28-3) vs. Eric Garske, sr., McFarland (16-4)

Doubles
Andy Cope, sr.-Tim Fehling, sr., Kohler (16-1) vs. Matt Klepp, sr.-Mike Loehe, soph., East Troy (7-4)
Kyle Wuthrich, sr.-Michael Knabel, soph., Kohler (28-2) receives a first-round bye

--Adam Thompson

It's a good time to be a prep baseball fan

If you like high school baseball, then now is a good time to hit the diamonds around the area.

The WIAA spring postseason is under way - Chilton won its regional opener on Friday.
The Division 1 postseason starts Tuesday, with Sheboygan North at Oshkosh West at 4:30 p.m. The winner plays at second-seeded Manitowoc on Friday.

Sheboygan South earned a No. 1 seed and a first-round bye, and host the Fond du Lac/Oshkosh North winner on Friday. The two sectional rounds are June 5 at Watertown.

In addition, the summer season is just getting underway. Plymouth and Howards Grove each hosted tournaments heavy on the local, with league games played during the week.

--Adam Thompson

Some overdue credit

I should have posted this a few weeks back, but it slipped my mind. But it's never to late to give a deserving athlete some credit for a team-type gesture.

A few weeks back when considering a prep profile, Howards Grove softball coach Danielle Wilson and I were discussing a Tiger for the honor. After much discussion we decided on sophomore Dayton Moenning, a standout pitcher. Wilson had many players who were worthy of the award.

But when Moenning was informed of the honor, she deferred and asked that senior Brynn Schueler be honored. Schueler was the true leader of the Tigers, who won the CLC.

This is the second time in less than a year I've had a Howards Grove athlete defer to a teammate for this award. The first time happened last summer, when Justin Poirier deferred to Eric Valenstein.

Props to these Howards Grove kids for getting involved in sports for all the right reasons - for fun and competition, and not the glory and attention. You guys also deserve some recognition for unselfish acts.

- Dave Lubach

12-year track & field honor roll

We'll unveil it in the paper and online sometime before next week's state meet.

I'll give you all an appetizer. Three males and three females have cracked the top three efforts since 1996 THIS season.

The boys are:

* Sheboygan North's Mike Granke, who ran a blistering 1:56.9 earlier this season. That tied Lutheran's Adam Lang's WIAA Division 3 state gold-medal winning effort at La Crosse last June.

* North teammate Cesar Raygoza pole vaulted 13-10, second-best to Plymouth's Jake Kruger's 14-7 in 2003.

* Random Lake's Kyle Roy threw the shot put 54-9.5, second to Plymouth's Chris Diedrich's 54-10 (1997).

The girls:

* Stacey Thiel clocked a fast 11:16.44 in the 3,200, second-best to Laurel Kleiber of Plymouth (11:09, at State, in 2005).

* Random Lake's Jessica Ramel's 39-8.5 in the shot is second-best since 1996 to Oostburg's Caryn Daane (44-5, in 2005).

* Cedar Grove-Belgium's Ali Paul, who was at No. 3 already in the 800, stayed at that position but improved her time to 2:21.97. That trails 12-year No. 2 Jess Scott of Kiel (2:18.3, in 2005).


--Pete Barth

Pictures of sports heartbreak

Now that the spring postseason is upon us, the wins and losses obviously mean so much more.

The thrill of victory is accentuated, and the agony of defeat is heightened.

It's all part of the natural order of high school sports. For every winner, there's a loser.

Over the years, Sheboygan Press photographers have captured some incredible shots of complete and utter jubilation as teams have won big playoff games and maybe even made it to State. Smiles, hugs, players jumping all around. Great stuff.

On the flip side, those same photographers have told the equally compelling story of defeat. On the front of the Wednesday Press, for example, there's a photo of two Plymouth softball players consoling each other after an unexpectedly early playoff exit.

Over the years, this type of shot has angered some readers. Some folks think we should avoid running these types of photos, that they somehow make the young athletes "look bad" in their time of sadness. But I strongly disagree. There is absolutely no shame in human emotion, no shame whatsoever in young athletes showing how much they care.

In fact, that level of caring is one of the things that make high school sports so appealing.

--Pete Barth

Elkhart's Myles Galloway

What a race!

Six runners entered the boys' 1,600 meter run at Monday's WIAA Division 3 regional at Cedar Grove with seed times faster than 4:41 (that's an unbelievably loaded field for a regional).
Sheboygan Lutheran's Peter Bolgert came in as the second-fastest seed, but he broke top-seeded Matthew DeVillers on the second lap and pulled away to win in 4:27.52 (a track record and area season best).

Four runners broke 4:40, including Elkhart Lake's freshman flash, Myles Galloway.
Galloway is a fantastic athlete with a hockey background who seems to have a great amount of heart and tenacity.

He charged down the final straightaway to finish third in 4:36.08, more than four seconds better than his previous best. He advanced to Thursday's sectional, and if he runs a similar time, he's got a great shot at getting to State.

--Pete Barth

Lutheran athlete pulls a Bo Jackson

Well, sort of.

For those too young, Bo Jackson was a pro superstar in football and baseball, and at times at the same time when both of those seasons were going on simultaneously.

Brian Begalke had a similar stretch. The junior won conference championships in two different sports last week.

He was part of the Crusaders’ 3,200 relay team that won at the Central Lakeshore Conference meet (he also took second in the 3,200), then was as a member of the golf team that won a team title, earning all-conference honors in the process.

Brian knows sports.

--Adam Thompson

The postseason really gets rolling

Every sport but baseball gets the postseason ball really going this week, starting Monday afternoon with track and field regionals and going through Saturday with soccer regional finals.

In case you're wondering what's going on this week (playoff-wise), here it is below:


Monday
TRACK AND FIELD REGIONALS
Division 1 - Plymouth, Sheboy¬gan North, Sheboygan South at Beaver Dam
Division 2 - Chilton, Howards Grove, Kiel, New Holstein at Valders; Oostburg, Random Lake, Sheboygan Falls at Lomira
Division 3 - Elkhart Lake, Kohler, Ozaukee, Sheboygan Lutheran at Cedar Grove

Tuesday
TENNIS SUBSECTIONALS
Division 1 - Plymouth, Sheboy¬gan North, Sheboygan South at Oshkosh West
Division 2 - Chilton, Howards Grove, Kohler, Sheboygan Lutheran, Sheboygan Christian at Sheboygan Falls (Sports Core)
SOFTBALL REGIONAL SEMIFINALS (seeding in parenthesis)
Division 1 - (5) Sheboygan South at (4) Fond du Lac; (6) West Bend West at (3) Sheboygan North
Division 2 - (3) Winnebago Lutheran at (2) Plymouth; (4) Kiel at (1) Campbellsport
Division 3 - (3) Oostburg at (2) Howards Grove
Division 4 - (3) Elkhart Lake at (2) NEW Lutheran
GOLF REGIONALS
Division 2 - Chilton, New Hol¬stein at Badger Creek; Kiel, Random Lake, Sheboygan Falls at Hawthorne Hills
Division 3 - Cedar Grove, Kohler, Oostburg, Ozaukee at Blackwolf Run; Elkhart Lake, Howards Grove, She¬boygan Lutheran, Sheboygan Chris¬tian at Eagle Bluff
Wednesday
GOLF REGIONALS
Division 1 - Plymouth, Sheboy¬gan North, Sheboygan South at Quit Qui Oc

Thursday
TRACK AND FIELD SECTIONALS
Division 1 - Plymouth, Sheboy¬gan North, Sheboygan South at Hart¬ford
Division 2 - Chilton, Howards Grove, Kiel, New Holstein at Luxem¬burg-Casco; Oostburg, Random Lake, Sheboygan Falls at Kewaskum
Division 3 - Elkhart Lake, Kohler, Ozaukee, Sheboygan Luther¬an, Cedar Grove at Princeton
TENNIS SECTIONALS
Division 1 - Plymouth, Sheboy¬gan North, Sheboygan South at Oshkosh North
Division 2 - Chilton, Howards Grove, Sheboygan Lutheran, Sheboy¬gan Christian, Sheboygan Falls at Kohler (Sports Core)
SOFTBALL REGIONAL FINALS(seeding in parenthesis)
Division 1 - South/Fond du Lac winner at (1) Oshkosh West; North/West winner vs. Oshkosh North/West Bend East winner
Division 2 - Winnebago Luther¬an/Plymouth winner vs. Kiel/Camp¬bellsport winner
Division 3 - Oostburg/Howards winner vs. Oakfield/Lomira winner
Division 4 - Elkhart Lake/NEW Lutheran winner vs. Oshkosh Lour¬des/Gibraltar winner
SOCCER REGIONAL SEMIFINALS(seeding in parenthesis)
Division 1 - (5) Sheboygan South at (4) Plymouth, 4:30 p.m.; (7) Kaukauna at (2) Sheboygan North, 7 p.m.
Division 2 - (6) Waupun at (3) New Holstein, 7 p.m.; (7) Two Rivers at (2) Kiel, 4:30 p.m.
Division 3 - (8) Sheboygan Lutheran at (1) Ozaukee, 5 p.m.; (4) Howards Grove at (5) Sheboygan Christian, 4:30 p.m.; (6) Manitowoc Roncalli at (3) Oostburg, 7 p.m.; (7) Cedar Grove at (2) Random Lake, 4:30 p.m.

Saturday
SOCCER REGIONAL FINALS
Division 1 - South/Plymouth winner vs. Green Bay Preble/Mani¬towoc winner; Kaukauna/North win¬ner vs. Kimberly/Green Bay East win¬ner
Division 2 - (5) Kewaskum/(4) Campbellsport at (1) Sheboygan Falls; New Holstein/Waupun winner vs. Two Rivers/Kiel winner

Bares nearing history

Ozaukee senior soccer star Ashley Bares is a hat trick away from reaching 200 goals for her career, a number unmatched in state history.

Barea's total of 197 has already been established as a state record, one that probably won't be broken for a long time. Her 69 goals during her sophomore season is another state mark that's likely to stick.

The historic 200th goal will likely take place in the next few days. Ozaukee plays at Plymouth on Saturday at 3 p.m., then play at Oostburg at 7 p.m. on Monday.

Our 12-year track honor roll

One of the things I enjoy doing is comparing area track and field times and distances with the great local performances of the past.

Of all the sports, track and field truly is the one you can best compare standouts from all eras.

My first high school track season in Sheboygan was 1996; that year, I began what would become an annual staple of our spring preps coverage: The season honor roll.

Last year, I took a look back at all of the season honor rolls we had compiled, and created an "11-year honor roll."

We'll now update that master file, and with another year behind us, unveil it sometime soon as our 12-year honor roll.

Hey, before you know it, we'll have 20 years in the books of tracking the Sheboygan area's best all-time track and field performances.

If you're a track and field lover, and you notice a mistake or omission from the 12-year honor roll, please email me at pbarth@sheboygan-press.com and let me know!

--Pete Barth

Another sign that spring sports are "different"

The most recent sign that the spring sports season doesn't come with the same level of weight as fall or winter:

Random Lake's girls soccer team went 1-1-1 at the Menasha St. Mary Central Invite on Saturday. In the final game of the day, the Rams' lone loss, the team had just nine players on the field.

Why? Because it's prom night, and four of the girls - only 13 made the trip because of the dance - drove back to Random Lake before the final game get a head start on getting ready.

Sheboygan Christian went 1-2 at the same tournament. The Eagles were also shorthanded on the day, especially the final game, as players left for a wedding, a play dress rehearsal and a couple of other mostly school-related events.

That's not to single out Random Lake or Sheboygan Christian. That example isn't as much an exception as it is a rule, how sports drops way down on the priority list in the lives of student-athletes, behind field trips, college entrance exams, dances and everything else that goes along with the spring season.

Spring Break decimates sports teams' rosters for a week, and weekend events are often times hampered by the tests and field trips.

Once the postseason gets going, so do the high school teams. The intensity picks up. But before that, it isn't surprising to find teams short-handed for reasons other than injury.

--Adam Thompson

South baseball No. 5 in state

Sheboygan South was ranked No. 5 in Division 1 in the most recent Wisconsin Baseball Coaches Association state rankings. And it's no fluke.

The Redwings have three great pitchers and a solid batting order that has the potential to can produce a string of runs in any inning.

It really is a team built for a postseason run, when sectional doubleheaders require three solid throwers. Most high school teams don't have three solid guys they can put out there.

Before the playoffs, the Redwings have a different goal. At 7-0 in the Fox River Valley Conference, a league championship is within reach.

--Adam Thompson