Shawano Community High School girls basketball star Leah Nordin started 2025 out on a winning note, as the Hawks beat Green Bay East 61-22.
The 6-2 junior sank a short jumper from the left side of the lane with 9:16 left in the first half at Green Bay East to become Shawano’s all-time leading basketball scorer, boys or girls.
That followed up on her December 2024 triumph, when she broke the record for all-time scoring by a female.
Nordin ended the night with 1,343 career points. The old record was 1,329 points, set by John Cantwell, who played for Shawano from 1955-58.
Nordin verbally committed to playing basketball at UW-Madison, and she made it official in November by signing her National Letter of Intent to join the Badgers.
“Signing the paper was a big deal, like it’s actually here,” Nordin said. “I’m going to be off to college. It’s definitely a surreal moment. I knew I wanted to go there, but making it official was a highlight.”
State wrestling champions
Several teams and individual athletes competed at WIAA state tournament events in 2025, with a few bringing home state titles. They were among the top 10 area sports stories in 2025.
Six of the seven area girls who competed at the WIAA state wrestling meet Feb. 27 through March 1 placed in the top six, and two returned home as champions – again.
Lena junior Taylor Whiting is state champion again after pinning Neenah junior Kylee Kurszewski in 1:13 in the title match of the 114-pound weight class.
Wittenberg-Birnamwood sophomore Brooke Huffman pinned Kiley Georgel of Luxemburg-Casco in 33 seconds to win the 185-pound weight class crown.
At 152 pounds, Bonduel senior Madalyn Sokolski placed second. Pulaski’s Harlow Skenadore placed third in the 145-pound weight class.
Taking fifth place at 165 was Bonduel sophomore Alisha Berg. At 138, Pulaski junior Leah Kapla placed sixth.
Bonduel’s Madelyn Hert competed at 185 but did not place.
Jack Falk, a sophomore from Pulaski, placed second in the WIAA state wrestling meet’s Division 1 106-pound weight class.
Three Oconto Falls wrestlers finished either second or third.
Senior Nick Trepanier finished second in the D2 175-pound weight class. Sophomore Isaiah Holtz placed third in the 113 class in Division 2. Cole Bozile, a senior, placed third in the D2 138-pound class.
Ben Miller, a junior at Wittenberg-Birnamwood, placed fourth in the D2 144-pound class. Bonduel’s Colin Fischer, a senior, placed fifth in the 165 class in Division 3.
Also competing but not placing were Broc Ambrosius, D1, 138, Pulaski senior; Dane Hodkiewicz, D2, 120, Shawano junior; Max Peterson, D3, 150, Lena junior; Mason Taylor, D1, 157, Pulaski junior; Andy Servais, D1, 190, Pulaski senior; Dalton Fletcher, D2, 120, W-B sophomore; and Devin Wudtke, D2, 138, W-B junior.
Ice Bears win state title
In March, the Bay Area Ice Bears got revenge on the Central Wisconsin Storm, shutting them out 8-0 for the state championship after the Storm topped them 4-3 in 2024.
Pulaski’s Faye Brunke scored four goals, including the team’s two scores in the first period. First, she scored at 3:48 with assists from Mya Sheppard and Julianne Bradford. Then, she scored at 11:39 with help from Tiana Stindt and Emily Bill.
In the second period, Bill scored at 2:37 with Bradford and Brunke assisting. Bradford found the back of the net at 10:25 with Brunke and Bill assisting.
Central Wisconsin Storm had no answer for the Ice Bears.
Midway through the third period, at 8:36, Brunke registered a hat trick. Lily Lyons scored at 9:38 with help from Hannah Von Haden as Bay Area went up 6-0.
Rachael Beeck scored at 13:01 with an Addison Gady assist.
Finally, Brunke scored her fourth goal at 14:33, again with assists from Bill and Bradford.
It was the third state appearance in a row for the Ice Bears and fifth overall, albeit with a different host school.
In addition to the Bay Area Ice Bears’ state titles in 2014 and 2023, they finished as runner-up in 2017.
Another configuration of the co-op, without Pulaski, also placed runner-up in 2010.
Brooks wins state high jump
Eva Brooks of Lena/St. Thomas Aquinas Academy is a state champion in the Division 3 high jump after competing in the WIAA State Track and Field Meet on June 6-7 at UW-La Crosse.
Brooks won the high jump at 5 feet, 7 inches. Bonduel’s Audrey Weier placed sixth at 5-2.
Bonduel teammate Josie Pawlak was fifth in the triple jump, with Suring Aliya Cox placing eighth.
In the long jump, Pawlak placed 13th with Cox in 14th.
Bonduel’s Mariah Wondra was seventh in the 3,200-meter run and 10th in the 1,600-meter run.
Peyton Westrich placed eighth in the 400-meter dash.
Placing ninth in the 4x800 were Wondra, Teagan Engel, Amelia Wilcox and Westrich.
Cox finished in ninth in the 100-meter hurdles and ninth in the 300-meter hurdles.
For the boys, Bonduel’s team of Malachi Gray, Sam Roberts, Griffin Uelmen and Mason Ballwahn finished in eighth place in the 4x200-meter relay.
Bonduel’s Ryan Westrich was 12th in the shot put.
Gillett’s Bradyn Wendorff placed 12th in the 800-meter run.
In Division 2, the Oconto Falls foursome of Emery Pagel, Abby Budz, Gracie Miller and Rylie Shallow finished second in the 4x100.
Shawano’s Adalyn Barkley placed fourth in the 400-meter dash and fifth in the triple jump. Maci Beyer was eighth in the high jump.
In the 4x400, Shawano’s team of Maci Beyer, Tela Hopfensperger, Mikelah Powers and Barkley placed seventh. Witt-Birn’s team of Kylee Beversdorf, Nora Bushman, Harper Rogowski and Faith Resch were 10th.
In the 4x800, it was Shawano’s Bailey Hendricks, Beyer, Powers and Barkley placing 11th, and Witt-Birn’s Bushman, Harper Krull, Rogowski and Beversdorf finishing 17th.
Resch placed 11th in the triple jump and 17th in the long jump.
In the boys high jump, Menominee Nation’s Mikey (Aiden) Chapman finished in seventh place, and Witt-Birn’s Landen Schmidt was seventh in the discus.
In the 4x200, Oconto Falls’ Brady Bursa, Isaac Bramer, Evan Yuma and Elijah White placed sixth. Bursa was also 13th in the long jump.
In Division, the Pulaski quartet of Addison Krueger, Lily Urben, Faye Brunke and Olivia Sprangers finished in third place in the 4x200, fewer than two seconds off the leader.
Emerson Fabry finished fifth in the 800-meter run.
In the 200-meter dash, Sprangers placed sixth. She was eighth in the 100-meter dash.
Olivia Stedl was 23rd in the 1,600-meter run.
For the boys, Keaton Dauk placed second in the 300-meter hurdles. Mitchell Pilon placed 18th in the 800-meter run, and Bennett Vanschyndel was 20th in the high jump.
State golf meet
Lena’s Mason Belongia, who qualified for the state golf meet as an individual, finished the two-day event in a three-way tie for 13th place among Division 3 golfers.
The WIAA boys championship was held June 9-10 at University Ridge Golf Course in Verona, near Madison.
On the par-72 course, Belongia finished the first day with an 82, 10 strokes over par and tied for 13th.
He carded an 81 on the second day for a total of 163, 19 strokes above par and still tied for 13th place.
Bonduel golfers had a tougher time on the course.
Colin Fischer finished in a two-way tie for 35th with a 181, 37 strokes above par. He was tied for 31st with an 89 after the first day, but a 92 on the second day dropped him back a few spots in the standings.
Jaxon Bogacz was tied with Fischer on the first day, but a 93 on the second day dropped him back to a two-way tie for 37th place with a 182 total.
Griffin Uelmen maintained his 48th position both days. He was in a tie on the first day with a 102, but his 98 on the second day gave him a 200 total and sole possession of 48th place.
Cole Westphal and Cory Wussow were tied at 105 for 50th place after the first day. Sam Roberts filled in for Westphal on the second day and carded a 104 for sole possession of 50th place at 209.
Wussow carded a 106 on the second day for total of 211, which placed him in 51st.
As a team, Bonduel placed eighth out of eight teams.
Pulaski’s Brady Hayward moved up four spots from June 9 to June 10 to finish in a tie for 17th place in the Division 1 competition.
On June 9, Hayward was tied for 21st with a 75, three strokes over par. On June 10, he scored a 76 for a total of 151, seven strokes over par but then in a three-way tie for 17th.
State cross country meet
Four Pulaski cross country runners wrapped up their season Nov. 1 at state.
Maggie Gerth and Emerson Fabry competed for the Red Raiders in the girls Division 1 race, while the boys race included Parker Marshall and Arden Gillen.
Gerth led Pulaski by placing 20th in 18:52.8, while Fabry crossed the finish line in 19:27.2, good for 54th place. Marshall placed 82nd in 16:59.3 in the boys race, while Gillen was 87th in 17:01.
Bonduel’s Mariah Wondra earned a podium finish after placing sixth in the girls Division 3 race.
Meanwhile, her teammate, Lillian Burrack, placed 63rd in 21:09.7.
Another four-time state qualifier, Gillett’s Braydyn Wendorff, turned in a time of 17:24.4 to place 35th in the boys Division 3 race.
Rory Salvesen led the Wittenberg-Birnamwood girls team to a 14th-place finish in Division 2.
The Shawano boys and girls each placed 15th.
Menominee Nation’s Bryant Waupoose III, a sophomore, improved on last year’s time at state by placing 46th.
State swim meet
The Wittenberg-Birnamwood girls swim team placed sixth out of 31 teams at the WIAA state meet Nov. 14 at Waukesha South High School.
Reese Dickman had the best individual finish, placing second in the 100-yard breaststroke. She was also third in the 50-yard freestyle.
The team of Brooklyn Beran, Dickman, Kelsie Davis and Eleanor Tassler finished third in the 200-yard medley relay. The four girls also placed fifth in the 200-yard freestyle relay.
Davis collected a third-place finish in the 200-yard individual medley, and Beran placed 16th.
Davis was also sixth in the 100-yard butterfly, and Beran was 15th in the 100-yard backstroke.
First trip to state tourney
For the first time in school history, the Bonduel Bears boys basketball team participated in the WIAA state tournament.
Bonduel defeated Auburndale 56-44 to win their Division 4 sectional and advance to the state tournament.
At 27-1, they were the No. 1 seed going into the tournament, which was played at the Kohl Center in Madison.
However, the first state championship in program history was not in the cards.
Aquinas handed the Bears a 74-45 loss March 22 in the WIAA Division 4 title game.
Bonduel had advanced to its first championship game in its first-ever trip to state March 20 with a 59-41 win over The Prairie School in the semifinal round.
First-ever conference crown
Shawano’s soccer team clinched its first-ever Bay Conference championship with a 6-1 win over New London on Oct. 7.
Brayden Meade scored three goals, with Anderson Schmidt and Dylan Gartner each scoring one. Grayson Swedberg scored on a penalty kick.
The Hawks improved to 7-1 in the conference and 13-2-1 overall.
Later, on Oct. 25, Shawano’s soccer team defeated New London 3-0 to win the regional title at home.
The defense of the No. 2 seeded Hawks — Kody Popelka, Cooper Boucher, Wyatt Schroeder and goalie Dane Hodkiewicz — showed their skill at keeping the No. 3 seeded Bulldogs from scoring all night.
At halftime the score was still 0-0.
Finally, 42 minutes into the game, Brayden Meade scored the first goal, followed by Grayson Swedberg scoring at 56 minutes and Anderson Schmidt making the last score at 64 minutes.
National Silver Gloves Championship
Brycen Reiter, 11, won the Silver Gloves regional boxing title in Minneapolis in January and then went on to win the National Silver Gloves Championship title in the 106-pound class in Independence, Missouri, from Jan. 28 to Feb. 1.
He is the son of Jay Reiter Sr. Brycen is in sixth grade and an honor roll student in the Gresham School District.
