Bonduel High School athletes, coaches and parents gathered Tuesday night at Bonduel High School to say goodbyes to senior athletes and celebrate the triumphs of the winter sports season.
There was plenty to celebrate at the annual awards banquet.
“I don’t know what to say tonight, geez!” said Missy Dowden, coach of the regional champion girls basketball team. “We had a great year.”
The Bears finished the season 20-5 and tied with Wittenberg-Birnamwood for the Central Wisconsin Conference-8 title at 12-2. The coach had a drawing of stairs on the team’s chalkboard. She called it the “stairway to state.”
“There were a couple of steps short, but they can see it,” Dowden said.
Jennifer Dowden, a junior forward and the coach’s daughter, was selected as the team’s Most Valuable Player. She eclipsed 1,000 career points this season and broke Katie Woldt’s career scoring record of 956 points. Dowden has 1,071 points with another year to play.
“With watching her the last two years, I knew she’d hit it by the time she was a senior,” Missy Dowden said.
The Most Improved Player award went to sophomore Taylor Weier. Junior Deanna Zernicke won the Strongest Defender. Zernicke also broke the team’s record for 3-point shots in a season. Karissa Pedersen had 45 in 2012; Zernicke finished with 49 this year.
Zernicke found out about the record Tuesday night.
“I don’t want to put the pressure on,” coach Dowden said. “The way she started off the year, I thought she’d smoke it.”
Seniors Morgan Sorenson and Courtney Schmidt each won a Coach’s Award.
After the ceremony all of the girls were given commemorative basketballs for their season. The balls had a team picture and roster on it and, after a quick signing session, all the girls’ autographs as well.
The girls junior varsity was also recognized for its 19-0 season. Dowden said having such a good junior varsity team pushed the varsity to be better and will help the program be better next year.
Wrestling
Coach Chris Rank saved an emotional goodbye to Jacob Wudtke for the end, saying that any of the younger athletes in attendance would do well to emulate the two-time state qualifying senior, who compiled a 41-7 record this year at 170 pounds.
Wudtke earned a captain award and shared Most Valuable Player honors with fellow state qualifiers sophomore Garrett Siolka (113, 42-8) and junior Dan Tauchen (152, 39-10). At state, Wudtke and Siolka each finished as runners-up and Tauchen made the podium with a sixth-place finish.
“That was an easy choice for those three individuals,” Rank said. “You certainly didn’t want to have just one or two of them there when all three are worthy of having the award of MVP.”
Sophomore Scott Gunderson (106, 25-13) and junior Sam Kroening (145, 26-8) were named the team’s Most Improved Players. Sophomore Bennett Gunderson (195 26-17) won the Coach’s Award.
The Bears (8-1) finished second behind Wittenberg-Birnamwood and had eight wrestlers compete in the conference meet finals, along with four champions in Wudtke, Siolka, Kroening and junior Travis Wollenberg (126, 33-9).
Boys basketball
Junior Connor Rosin was named the boys basketball team’s Most Valuable Player. Senior Zach Zernicke was named Mr. Rebounder. Junior Hunter VanderLinden was named Mr. Defense.
The boys team finished 11-13 overall and 5-9 in the CWC-8.
Hockey
Shawano Community High School hockey coach Tommie CarlinSchauer recognized two Bonduel athletes on the co-op junior varsity team: sophomore forward Blake Stoss and freshman forward/defenseman Nick Boardman.
CarlinSchauer said with the team’s low numbers this season, having the two was critical to the survival of the program.
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