Sauk Prairie’s ‘Best of the best’

Sauk Prairie’s girls sports teams were competitive in Badger North Conference action and at the state level during the 2019-2020 past school year. Unfortunately due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Eagles were unable to compete in the spring sports of soccer, softball and track and field after their respective seasons were canceled by the Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association. But in an age when specializing in one sport has become the norm, seniors Ruth Baker, Claudia Miller and Lauren Wideen were recognized as 12-season athletes. Before we head into the 2020-21 school year, though, let’s review some of the Eagles’ stellar achievements from last year.   Team of the Year: Volleyball If you enjoyed year one of Sauk Prairie’s girls volleyball program under new coach Amy Schlimgen, year two promises to be even better. “Next year, we’ll have higher goals,” said Schlimgen, whose memorable run at Wisconsin  Heights included four state tournament berths and a state championship in 2008 before taking over as head coach at Sauk Prairie last fall. “A higher finish in the conference, a regional title and play well into sectional week and maybe even beyond. Why not?” The Eagles were coming off a 16-25 season, but made a quick impression in winning the season-opening Janesville Craig 16-team tournament. Sauk Prairie also won the Westfield Invitational and finished with an overall 31-14 record. Sauk Prairie then won a postseason match for the first time since 2014, reaching the WIAA Division 2 regional finals before suffering a heartbreaking loss to eventual state runner-up McFarland. Senior libero Ainsley Apel earned All-Badger North Conference second-team honors for the third straight season and was joined on the second team by junior setter/outside hitter Olivia Breunig and sophomore outside hitter Aida Shadewald. Sauk Prairie, seeded sixth in its sectional, began postseason play with a 25-18, 25-17, 25-12 win over 11th-seeded Portage.  The Eagles then traveled to No. 3 seed Madison Edgewood and played what Schlimgen called “our best volleyball of the year.” Sauk Prairie stunned the Crusaders, 25-21, 25-22, 25-18. “It was definitely the highlight of the year,” Schlimgen said. “We also played the best, least hesitant, best-flowing defense of the year. It couldn’t have all come together at a better time.” But Sauk Prairie’s magical run ended in the regional finals when second-seeded McFarland pulled out a hard-fought 28-30, 25-23, 25-18, 25-19 victory. “A lot of talent will be returning and the future looks very bright for Sauk Prairie volleyball,” Schlimgen said. “I feel that we improved as a team all season long and the girls got to watch the progression that led to a very successful season.” Runners-up: basketball, swimming and tennis.   Coach of the Year: Amber Fiene, basketball. The final victory of the season capped a rebound year for the Eagles’ program, which is headed in the right direction after constant coaching turnover marked the past decade. When sixth-seeded Sauk Prairie cruised to a 68-37 victory over 11th-seeded Portage in a WIAA Division 2 regional quarterfinal game, that marked the Eagles’ first postseason win since 2014. Sauk Prairie then advanced to the regional semifinals where it dropped a 63-33 decision to third-seeded and host Reedsburg to end a memorable season. Under Fiene, in her third season as head coach, a youthful Sauk Prairie squad posted the program’s first winning record since the 2009-10 season.  The Eagles finished with a 13-11 record, including 5-9 in the Badger North Conference, posting the most wins overall in a season for the Eagles since the 2009-10 team went 20-5 and won the Badger North title with a 10-2 mark. “I’m excited. This year was a step in the right direction,” said junior Naomi Breunig, who earned first-team all-conference honors. “Next year, I’m hopeful for even better.” It was also the first time the Eagles’ varsity program finished with at least a .500 record since the 2013-14 team was 12-12. The five conference victories also marked just the third time the program reached that number in the last decade – the 2010-11 team went 5-7 and the 2017-18 squad was 5-9. The Eagles’ two junior varsity teams finished with winning records, as well. Fiene said the switch to a run-and-jump scheme impacted the Eagles’ fortunes on offense and defense. “It has given us so many opportunities on both ends of the floor,” Fiene said. “Our offense has picked up. Our scores are so much higher because of it. It picks us up energy-wise because you’ve got to be active in it. Our defense is more active. Our offense is more active.” Runners-up: Melani Guentherman (swimming), Heather Slosarek (tennis) and Amy Schlimgen (volleyball).   Athlete of the Year: Jordan O’Connor, senior, tennis, boys hockey O’Connor competed at No. 3 singles in tennis and was the starting goaltender on the boys’ hockey team, which finished second in the Badger North Conference and advanced to the WIAA Division 1 sectional semifinals in her only season on the squad. In tennis, O’Connor competed at No. 3 singles, securing a 6-3, 6-4 win over Madison Edgewood’s Kyle Harkin in the third-place match at the Badger Conference tournament.  O’Connor opened the tournament with a 6-0, 6-1 win over Monona Grove’s Maelia Dziedzic. O’Connor advanced through day one with a 6-2, 6-1 victory over Reedsburg’s Gabby Weis and a 6-0, 6-1 win over DeForest’s Samantha Schaeffer. O’Connor’s record was 17-7.  “She was a great leader on the team and played an amazing season,” tennis coach Heather Slosarek said. Although O’Connor was a new addition to the Sauk Prairie boys’ co-op hockey team this year, she was actually a familiar face. O’Connor, who played for the Madison Capitols’ girls’ Triple A travel team her sophomore and junior seasons, provided a much-needed boost to the Eagles’ program her senior year. During the regular season, she tied for second in the state with 19 victories and also ranked sixth with a 1.48 goals-against-average. Overall, she finished with a 21-5-1 record, 1.61 goals-against-average and an .890 save percentage with five shutouts. “(Sauk Prairie) didn’t participate in a girls’ co-op, so she was eligible to play boys’ hockey,” Sauk Prairie coach David Lohrei said. “She was an experienced goaltender, who grew up playing with this group of seniors. “She was their goalie in Bantam and Peewee. She is a good kid and a star student and has committed to play hockey at UW-River Falls. She was a solid addition to our team.” Runners-up: juniors Naomi Breunig, jr., Olivia Breunig, jr., and Lauren Wideen, sr.   Outstanding Performance of the Year (team): Swimming: 200-yard freestyle relay Sauk Prairie’s 200 freestyle relay of sophomores Kassandra Miller and Ashley Pape, junior Cora Dunnum and senior Alexa Judd recorded the team’s best performance at the WIAA Division 2 state meet when they reached the podium with a third-place finish in a time of 1 minute, 40.22 seconds. The Eagles, who were seeded ninth and swam in the first heat, were going after their school record time of 1:40.07 but just came up short. “They put up a heck of a time,” Sauk Prairie coach Melani Guentherman said of the Eagles’ quartet. “So I’m sure they were slightly disappointed that they didn’t get the school record. But then you’re sitting and watching and thinking, let’s see what happens in the next heat. “Then to see that got them up to third, I know I was thrilled. The girls were ecstatic at that point.” It was also a shining moment for Judd. “I knew we had a good enough time to make the podium,” Judd said. “To get third was really exciting.” Sauk Prairie, which competed in three relays and one individual event, finished 16th at state with 67 points. Judd and Brickl also swam on the 200-yard medley relay, joining freshman Riley Talmage and Dunnum to place 14th in a time of 1:52.69, improving on their seed time of 1:53.23. Sauk Prairie wrapped up the day with an eighth-place finish in the 400 freestyle relay. Miller, Pape, Talmage and Judd finished in 3:41.19. The Eagles were seeded ninth in 3:42.62.   Outstanding Performance of the Year (individual): Quinlyn Mack, sophomore, tennis Quinlyn Mack made it two-for-two when she earned a return trip to the WIAA Division 1 individual state tennis tournament last fall. Mack (14-9) also notched her first-ever win at state when she cruised to a 6-1, 6-1 opening-round victory over Westosha Central sophomore Tristin Jantz (20-7). But Mack’s season ended when she lost 6-3, 6-2 to Eau Claire Memorial senior Haya Donin (29-5), the No. 13 overall seed, in the round of 32.  “In her opening match, Quinlyn demonstrated her incredible tennis talent,” Sauk Prairie coach Heather Slosarek said of Mack. “Her second match previewed some of her growth as a player that will springboard her into the future.” The Eagles’ No. 1 singles player the past two seasons, Mack also placed fourth at the highly competitive Badger Conference tournament for the second year in a row. Mack had advanced to state as a special qualifier after suffering a 6-4, 7-5 loss to Middleton freshman Sophia Agapov in a subsectional first-round match. “Having beaten some top-rated players in the state, Quinlyn was fortunate enough to receive a special qualifier position for state,” Slosarek said. Mack qualified for state at No. 1 singles as a freshman, along with the Eagles’ No. 1 doubles team of then-seniors Camryn Ballweg and Taylor Breininger. They were the first Sauk Prairie girls tennis players to qualify for since 2003. Slosarek said increased strength and quickness added another dimension to Mack’s game. “She loves playing the game of tennis, so sometimes she can just want to hit multiple shots in a point,” Slosarek said. “Now she’s just going for those winner shots, which is really exciting.”   Breakout Performer of the Year: Heidi Kuhnau, junior, gymnastics Kuhnau made her individual state tournament debut, recording a score of 8.483 points on the balance beam to finish 16th out of 28 competitors at the WIAA Division 2 individual state meet in Wisconsin Rapids. While Kuhnau didn’t make it on the podium — which required a top-six finish — she got a jump-start on what promises to be an even better senior season. “Heidi did so well and handled her nerves way better than I could have ever imagined,” Sauk Prairie coach Justine Anderson said. “She was so nervous but held it together for a beautiful performance, though, she did have one fall. “If she would have stayed on, she would have finished in sixth place and been on the podium. But I know there are other girls saying the same thing.” Kuhnau posted a score of 8.675 on the beam in earning a fifth-place finish at the Division 2 Mount Horeb Sectional. She also paced Sauk Prairie at sectionals in the floor exercise with an eighth-place finish (8.7), on the uneven bars with an eighth-place finish (8.1) and the vault with a ninth-place finish (8.475). She was also eighth in the all-around (33.95). But earning the opportunity to compete with the best in the state gave Kuhnau a taste of what it could be like next season, perhaps in other events as well. “She has come a long way in three years at overcoming nerves in competition as well, so this year was a good year to qualify,” Anderson said of Kuhnau, who was the program’s first state qualifier since 2017. “She 100 percent deserved it.”  Kuhnau’s finish was the program’s best since Stephanie Barnes won the Division 2 uneven parallel bars title in 1999. Barnes’ title is the only individual championship for Sauk Prairie, which has never qualified for state as a team.