Packers rebound, local athletes show out at state

Nietzer, Bohm earn conference awards
By: 
NEW Media Staff

Editor’s note: The following is a list of the top 10 sports stories for 2019, as voted on by the editorial staff of the Shawano Leader. A top sport stories list for the western portion of the Leader market will be published on Wednesday.

1. Packers win North under rookie coach

The Green Bay Packers ended their playoff drought by winning the NFC North title.

Green Bay clinched the division crown with a 23-10 victory over the Minnesota Vikings on Monday. The Pack accomplished the feat under rookie head coach Matt LaFleur, who was hired on Jan. 7.

While it hasn’t always been pretty, the Packers continue to rack up wins. Green Bay will try and lock up homefield advantage with a win over the Detroit Lions on Sunday.

In the Packers win over the Vikings, it was Za’Darius Smith that powered a strong defensive showing. Smith, who signed with the Packers on March 14, was one of several big free agent pickups by the team.

Green Bay will host at least one playoff game at Lambeau Field.

2. Wrestlers shine under state spotlight

Several area wrestlers turned in strong finishes at the 2019 WIAA Individual Wrestling Championship Tournament from Feb. 21-23.

Bonduel’s Jacob Giese capped an impressive high school career with a Division 3 title at the 195-pound weight class. He earned a 4-3 decision win — taking the lead for good with a takedown with 20 seconds left in the third period — in the title match.

“I never give up until that last whistle is blown,” Giese said. “I knew how much time was left and knew I needed to get a takedown. So I went out there and did my best, got it done and it felt awesome.”

Three other Bonduel wrestlers — Isaac Banker, Luis Lagunes and Max Sokolski — and Shawano’s Keith Tourtillott also competed at state.

Banker placed third in the 182-pound weight class.

3. Ski Sharks excel in water, receive big news

The Shawano Ski Sharks had a memorable year, both in the water and out.

Brad Keuschel, Faith Passehl and Kylie Wallace represented the team at the Division 2 Show Ski National Championships on Aug. 3-4. Keuschel and Wallace teamed up to take second in the strap doubles competition, while Passehl came in third in the swivel.

Members of the team also were part of a new Guinness record on Sept. 8. A total of 38 skiers participated in a basefoot ski line to break the previous record of 32 skiers.

The team got some great news on Nov. 8, learning that Smalley Park would be the host of the 2021 National Ski Tournament.

4. Deer harvest numbers tumble

While the deer hunting season isn’t quite wrapped up for some hunters, many only hunt during the nine-day gun season, which wrapped up with extremely low harvest numbers.

A total of 160,769 deer were harvested during the 2019 gun season, down from 213,972 in 2017 — a 24.9% decrease.

Shawano County saw a 19.9% drop in harvests, with 5,407 deer registered this year after 6,751 in 2018.

The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources highlighted several factors that could have played a role in the big dropoff, including the timing and weather of the season and standing crop fields.

5. Big season for Gresham volleyball team

The Gresham volleyball team had a season to remember this fall.

The Wildcats won the Central Wisconsin Conference-North Division title and had the conference’s Player of the Year (Karisa Nietzer) and Coach of the Year (Tim Wild).

After earning a No. 1 seed in Division 4, Gresham swept its first three postseason opponents to win a regional title. The Wildcats were eliminated in a sectional semifinal by Wabeno/Laona.

“It was definitely an exciting year,” said Wild after the team’s season ended. “We look back at how we started the season, we were 0-4 and we finished 19-3 the rest of the way. I told the girls if they look back at the whole season, we had an outstanding year. There’s not many teams that are still playing volleyball at this time of year, and they should be really proud of what they’ve done.”

6. Shawano football makes playoffs behind Dickelman

After a one-win season in 2018, the Shawano football team turned things around in a big way this fall.

The Hawks earned five wins during the regular season, including four in the Bay Conference to qualify for the playoffs.

Senior Brayden Dickelman led the team’s potent offense, rushing for a school record 1,326 yards during the regular season. He rushed for 18 touchdowns and averaged over seven yards a carry.

For his efforts behind strong blocking in front of him, Dickelman was named to the conference’s first team, along with being named the Offensive Back of the Year.

7. Wayka, Booth leads area’s state track qualifiers

Menominee Indian’s Darius Wayka and Clintonville’s Allysin Booth capped their athletic careers with third-place finishes at the 2019 WIAA State Track and Field Championships on May 31 and June 1.

Wayka placed third in the shot put, coming up with a 51-foot, 2.5-inch hurl on his last throw.

“It was my last throw of high school, so I just put everything together and just had to throw that (distance) because I wanted to take third,” Wayka said.

Booth came in third in the 100-meter hurdles with a time of 15.21 seconds.

“My race felt amazing; it was a great way to end my track career. I was really happy and excited,” said Booth.

Bonduel’s Canaan Szoszorek and Jessie LaBerge and Shawano’s Tori DePerry and Michael Klement also competed at state.

8. Local cross-country runners shine at conference meets, make it to state

Shawano’s Demetrius Kaquatosh and Clintonville’s Jesse Wilson each won cross-country conference titles before qualifying for the state meet.

Kaquatosh won the Bay Meet on Oct. 17, while Wilson took the top spot at the North Eastern Conference Championships on Oct. 19. Wilson came in 18th at state, and Kaquatosh took 26th.

The Bonduel girls and boys teams also qualified for state. The girls took 12th at state, while the boys team placed 15th.

Earlier in the season, the Bonduel girls made history by winning their first-ever Central Wisconsin Conference title.

9. Bonduel’s Bohm tabbed CWC-East Player of the Year

Bonduel Parker Bohm capped a standout career on the basketball court by being named the CWC-East Division Player of the Year.

Bohm averaged a conference-high 20.7 points and 6.6 rebounds per game.

“Being named player of the year in the CWC-East is an absolute dream come true,” Bohm said. “Looking back at the previous players to win this award really put things into perspective for me. It was a dream I had growing up and it is an unbelievable feeling to accomplish that.”

Earlier in the season, Bohm topped the 1,000-point plateau. He finished with 1,256 points for his career, third in Bonduel history.

10. Badgers’ football team reaches Rose Bowl behind Taylor

The Wisconsin football team bounced back from a rough 2018 season by winning 10 games, taking the Big Ten West Division and earning a spot in the Rose Bowl.

The Badgers jumped out to a 6-0 record before a shocking loss to Illinois and a road loss to Ohio State.

Wisconsin rebounded by winning four straight games to reach the Big Ten title game. The Badgers turned in a strong first half in a rematch with Ohio State, but fell apart in the second half.

Wisconsin is now gearing up to play Oregon in the Rose Bowl on Wednesday.

Running back Jonathan Taylor appears to be nearing the end of his college career, and has carried the team on offense. Taylor has 1,950 yards and 21 touchdowns on the ground and 209 yards and five more scores as a receiver this year.

Taylor was the recipient of the Doak Walker Award for a second straight year and now owns the all-time rushing yard record through his junior season.