SportScene 13 Spotlight: Winter Sports Review
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We start on the mats and state wrestling. In division two , Stanley-Boyd/Owen Withee's Blaine Brenner completed a 45-0 season winning a state title at 120-pounds.
In Division three, Cadott had a pair of state champions, as freshman Brayden Sonnentag took the 106-pounds title while senior Brady Spaeth ended his great career with a win at 170-pounds to finish the season 46-0.
Cameron's Tanner Gerber took the title at 113 pounds while Trett Joles of Boyceville stood atop the podium at 182-pounds.
Switching to the ice, where a pair of Big Rivers teams headed to Madison for state boys hockey.
In division one, Chippewa Falls made it to state for the first time since 1999, defeating Hudson 2-1 in the sectional final, and losing a thrilling overtime contest with Verona in the state semifinals.
While in the inaugural division two tournament, Rice Lake made a Cinderella run to their first trip to Madison in 11-years, losing to St. Marys springs in the state semifinal.
On the college ice, it was a year to remember for UW-Eau Claire. First for the men, the won the WIAC tournament and earned their first berth to the NCAA tournament since the won the championship in 2013.
While for the Eau Claire women, they won their first WIAC regular season title and also earned a berth in the NCAA tournament for the third straight season.
On the hardwood the UW-Eau Claire men's basketball team finished the season 20-10 and earned their first NCAA tournament bid since 2001. The Blugolds won their first game over Whitman before bowing out to St.Johns in the 2nd round.
Back to prep basketball, where in girls basketball Arcadia earned their first trip to state since 1998 and they finished the season 23-3 after bowing out in the state semifinals.
In Division four, Melrose-Mindoro was making their 4th straight strip to state and earned a trip to face Aquinas in the finals.
While in Division five, Clear Lake made it to state for the first time since 1997, though they didn't get to play, they finished the season an outstanding 26-0
On the boys side, in division one the Big Rivers had great success as Chippewa Falls earned their outright conference title in 40 years and made a run to the sectional semifinals before losing a close game to Neenah.
While Eau Claire North, led by senior Dalton Banks, also earned a trip to the sectional semifinals, eventually losing to top seed Kimberly.
In Division three...Altoona won the Cloverbelt Championship for the first time outright since 2006, their season ending in the sectional semifinals at the hands of Wisconsin Dells.
And also in the Cloverbelt the McDonell Macks topped Thorp in the sectional semifinal and would have been looking for their 5th straight trip to state. While Blair-Taylor made the sectional finals as they were looking for their first trip to Madison in five year.
And thought the season was cut short, a huge congratulations to all the athletes on their effort they put forth this winter.