Sauk Prairie’s ‘Best of the best’

Sauk Prairie’s boys sports teams were competitive in Badger North Conference action and at the state level, too, during the 2019-2020 school year. Unfortunately, due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the Eagles were unable to compete in the spring sports of baseball, golf, tennis and track and field after their respective seasons were cancelled by the Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association. That meant that returning WIAA Division 2 state doubles champions senior Noah Wankerl and junior Kelby Mack were unable to defend their title. Despite the cancellation of the spring sports season, Lance Blake, Parker Breunig, Camden Desroches, Aaron Frey, Ben German, Marcus Hankins, Garrett Hertzfeldt, Sam Juckett and Casey Vande Hey were all 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 the past year.   Turnaround of the Year (and decade): Football (coach Clay Iverson) It didn’t take Iverson, in his first season as head coach, much time to jump-start a program that had spent the previous decade taking its lumps, especially in Badger North conference play. But a new era in Sauk Prairie football dawned when the Eagles opened the season with a 21-20 victory over host Monroe in a Badger Conference crossover game. “Coach is showing us what a championship team looks like and should look like,” running back/linebacker Garrett Hertzfeldt said. “We have set out to not only meet those expectations, but exceed them.” Under Iverson’s direction, the Eagles showed they weren’t pushovers any more. In his 14th year as a head coach, Iverson had engineered successful rebuilding efforts at Pewaukee and Mukwonago.  But he faced quite a challenge in taking the reins at Sauk Prairie, which entered the season with 11 straight years of losing records, including eight years with either only one or two victories. That added up to a 23-76 record between 2008 and 2018. The Eagles had also amassed only five total victories spanning the previous three seasons for the current senior class. But Sauk Prairie used that season-opening victory as a springboard to a 6-4 overall record, including 4-3 in Badger North Conference play. The Eagles also snapped a 12-year playoff drought. Sauk Prairie’s most recent playoff appearance had been in 2007, when it posted a winning regular season, but finished 5-5 overall after losing in a WIAA Division 3 first-round game. The Eagles’ last previous winning season was in 2005 when it finished 9-2. But following last spring’s initial team meeting with Iverson, the players sensed this season would be different, and it was. “He came in and you could just tell by that things were going to change for the better around here very fast,” quarterback/defensive back Parker Breunig said. “They sure did.” Sauk Prairie lost to Stoughton, 26-13, in a WIAA Division 3 first-round playoff game to end the season. But it was a bounce-back year for the ages. “I can’t remember a time when I was more proud of a group for giving everything they have,” Iverson said. “There’s not a sideline in the world I’d rather be on than with these guys.”   Team of the Year: Swimming Two trips to the awards podium at the WIAA Division 2 state meet highlighted another successful season for the Sauk Prairie/Wisconsin Heights swimmers, who also won a fourth consecutive Badger North Conference title. At state, the Eagles’ 200-yard freestyle relay of freshman Sam King, juniors Jordan Chao and Adam Stecker and sophomore Matthew Loy along with King in the 100 breaststroke recorded top-six finishes to help power the Eagles to a ninth-place finish at the University of Wisconsin Natatorium. “I think 15 of the 19 swims, including all of the relay legs, were season-best times even though they were completely tapered down for sectionals just to get into the state meet,” Eagles’ coach Todd Wuerger said.  King recorded the team’s best individual performance when he placed fifth in the 100 breaststroke in 1 minute 17/100ths of a second. He also led off the Eagles’ fourth-place 200 freestyle relay that finished in 1:29.61.  The relay entered the meet seeded 10th but a switch in the sectional lineup gave Sauk Prairie/Wisconsin Heights the spark it needed to earn a place on the podium. Loy, who had four swims at state, also tied for eighth in the 200 freestyle, placed 11th in the 100 freestyle and anchored the 400 freestyle relay that placed 12th. Meanwhile, it was business as usual when Sauk Prairie/Wisconsin Heights won its fourth straight conference title. The Eagles scored 506 points to easily outdistance runner-up Waunakee (422 points).   Loy won the 50-yard freestyle (:22.94) and the 100 freestyle (:50.99) and also led off the winning 200 freestyle relay that included King, Stecker and junior Sam Beattie (1:33.72). The four straight titles matched the program record, which last occurred from 1976-79. “We could win 20 of these, and they would always feel like it was the first time,” Wuerger said.   Co-Athletes of the Year: Camden Desroches, cross country, hockey and Riley Jelinek, soccer, hockey It is fitting the duo share this award, especially in light of their combined impact in resurrecting the school’s co-op hockey program. Desroches and Jelinek helped turn a program that was winless in league play the season before their freshman year into a contender for the Badger North Conference title and a berth in the sectional semifinals in their final year. A Badger North Conference first-team selection in cross country for the league champion Eagles, Desroches finished 14th overall at the Division 1 sectional meet in a personal-best time of 16 minutes, 51 seconds to narrowly miss out on qualifying for the state meet. An all-conference second-team selection at forward in hockey, Desroches ranked 13th in the state in points scored (62), tied for ninth in goals (32) and tied for 15th in assists (30).  Desroches finished his prep career as a 12-time letterwinner – four in cross country, four in hockey, three in track and field and one in lacrosse. Jelinek saved his best for last, earning Wisconsin Hockey Coaches Association All-State first team recognition at forward after leading the state in scoring each of the past two seasons. A two-time unanimous All-Badger North Conference first-team selection, he finished the regular season with a state-best 85 points and was ranked second in assists (49) and fourth in goals (36).  In soccer, Jelinek earned All-Badger North Conference second-team honors as a goalkeeper for the conference champion Eagles. He posted an 18-3-1 record, including 13 shutouts, with 95 saves and a 0.68 goals-against-average after allowing just 15 goals. Sauk Prairie co-op hockey coach David Lohrei, who had the pleasure of coaching the dynamic duo on the ice the past four years, said Desroches and Jelinek were nearly inseparable. “Cam and Riley were like Frick and Frack for four years,” Lohrei said. “Unless one of them was in the penalty box, they played every shift together for four years.”    Coach of the Year: Drew Kornish, soccer Sauk Prairie finished a sensational season with an 18-3-1 record that included a 6-0-1 mark and first-place finish in Badger North Conference play along with a regional championship. It was the Eagles’ first league title since 2016, and they finished the season with 13 shutouts and outscored their opponents, 80-16. Kornish, in his first season as the Eagles’ head coach, said he couldn’t have been any happier or prouder with the way the team performed all season long. “I feel incredibly fortunate to work with the group we worked with this season,” he said. “Having the kind of leadership we had on the team with 11 seniors is a pretty unique opportunity for a coach especially in his first year.” Elkhorn blanked Sauk Prairie, 2-0, in a WIAA Division 2 sectional semifinal to end the Eagles’ memorable season. That snapped Sauk Prairie’s 12-match winning streak, which included nine shutouts. Co-captain and four-year starter Evan Carlson finished with a team-best 31 goals and 71 points along with nine assists, and senior Simon Enerson led the team with 11 assists. The Eagles’ shutdown defense was led by a strong senior group, including co-captain Blake Gibbs, Aaron Frey, Trevor Spray, Austin Werderits and goalkeeper Riley Jelinek. “We came together really well,” Kornish said. “The guys and I worked hand in hand and it was a full team effort to be able to put together the kind of season that we did.” Runners-up: Andy Sherman (cross country), Clay Iverson (football), David Lohrei (hockey) and Todd Wuerger (swimming).   Outstanding Performance of the Year (team): Cross country Seniors Camden Desroches (17:06) and Hudson Haas (17:10) finished third and fourth, respectively, as the Eagles defended their conference title, recording 36 points to outdistance runner-up Waunakee, which was second with 64 points. It was an impressive performance as seven of the eight Sauk Prairie runners earned all-conference honors with only its’ eighth runner, senior Casey Vande Hey, missing out by 14 seconds with his 19th-place finish. “It was a perfect day, absolutely,” Sauk Prairie coach Andy Sherman said. “They ran so well, I was happy for them.” The top eight runners earned all-conference first-team honors, while the ninth through 16th-place finishers were accorded second-team honors. Freshman Jack Boerger finished eighth in a personal-best time of 17:33 to join Desroches and Haas on the all-conference first team. Sophomore Dalton Zirbel, who was the Eagles’ eighth runner at conference in 2018, finished as the team’s fourth runner and ninth overall in 17:40 to lead four Sauk Prairie runners, who earned all-conference second-team honors. Joining Zirbel on the second team was senior Noah Wankerl, who was 12th in 17:46 to round out the Eagles’ scoring. Also earning second-team honors were junior Sam Beattie, who placed 13th in 17:47 and sophomore Carson Enge, who was 15th in a personal-best time of 17:50 in just his second varsity race.   Outstanding Performance of the Year (individual): Marcus Hankins, wrestling After earning All-Badger North Conference second-team honors on offense and defense in football last fall, Hankins rose to the occasion when it came time to end his career on the wrestling mat. Hankins finished fifth at 182 pounds at the WIAA Division 1 individual state wrestling tournament at the Kohl Center. “It was amazing,” said Hankins, who finished 45-8. “My last high school tournament was the state tournament in Madison. It was a great environment, a great experience. I’m grateful for it.”  Hankins met Fort Atkinson junior Thomas Witkins for the second time in three days in the fifth-place match and pulled out a 3-2 victory to go out a winner. “This is what I was training for all season, to be on that podium at the Kohl Center with hundreds of fans watching me,” said Hankins, who plans to attend UW-Eau Claire to study Kinesiology and compete in wrestling next year. The fifth-ranked Hankins earned a 10-9 decision over Cedarburg senior Jacob Steidinger in the preliminary round before recording a 5-3 decision over Witkins in the quarterfinals. Hankins then lost to eventual state champion and second-ranked Mason Diel (38-2) of Hartland Arrowhead 6-1 in the semifinals. That send Hankins to the consolation round where he lost a major decision 12-3 to Burlington senior Qwade Gehring. But Hankins bounced back with his win over Wilkins in their fifth-place match. Hankins pulled out his fourth victory over Witkins during the season and sixth in six matches during their prep careers. “To go out with a win was awesome for Marcus,” Sauk Prairie coach Matt Gaffney said. “To come home with some hardware, it was a tremendous season.”   Breakout Athlete of the Year: Trevor Spray, soccer, basketball Spray opened the year earning all-Badger North Conference honorable mention honors in soccer as a defender in his first varsity season. He was an integral part of a defense that recorded 13 shutouts and won the Badger North. Conference title. “At 6-foot-7, Trevor’s long and pretty tough to play the ball over the top of,” coach Drew Kornish said. “He really shut down a lot of opponents and made people play wide. He was a big reason behind the success we had this season as well.” In basketball, Spray emerged as an all-conference second-team selection. Spray led the Eagles in virtually every category including scoring (14.2 points per game), rebounding (9.6), assists (2.6), blocks (2.2) and steals (1.8).  Spray recorded 10 double-doubles (in points and rebounds). He scored a career-best 27 points against Mount Horeb and grabbed a career-best 17 rebounds and scored 12 points in a 49-46 double overtime victory over Reedsburg. “Teams respected him most because he usually guarded the other team’s best player,” Sauk Prairie basketball coach Sean McGann said. “That was a credit to his length and his ability.”