Sturgeon Bay and Sevastopol will get their track seasons off on the right foot on Thursday when they travel to Ripon.

The Clippers and Pioneers will open up against Howards Grove, Iola-Scandinavia, Marshall, North Fond du Lac-Oakfield, Randolph/Cambria-Friesland, Waterloo, Waupaca, Wautoma, and Wisconsin Dells at the Wilmore Center at Ripon College. The first events begin at 4 p.m.

Sturgeon Bay/Sevastopol wrestler Spencer Madsen led the Sturgeon Bay contingent in Packerland Conference selections that were honored over the weekend.

Madsen was named the Packerland Conference Wrestler of the Year, an honor he garnered at several tournaments this past season. He was also named to the All-Packerland Conference team at 165 pounds, one of three Sturgeon Bay/Sevastopol wrestlers to make the squad. Teammates Nate Hasenjager and Patrick Shefchik also made the squad.

In boys basketball, Jackson Starr paced the Clippers in scoring and was fifth in the conference to earn a first-team selection. Hayden Tracy also made the All-Packerland Conference team as an honorable mention selection.

For girls basketball, Dasha Yeltysheva was named to the second team after being one of the leading scorers in the Packerland Conference. Regan Kasten was named to the Honorable Mention team after leading the Packerland Conference in rebounding.

WBCA Academic All-State Selections

Benjamin Ash
Braden Evers
Ian Fruzyna
Samuel Fruzyna
Bryce Hansen
Andrew Nell

Jackson Starr
Hayden Tracy

Regan Kasten

Kadence Patza

Dasha Yeltysheva

The only thing better than having one of your athletes sign their National Letter of Intent is having six of them do it together, which is what Sturgeon Bay High School experienced on Tuesday.

Cady Carlson (Track and Field, Carroll University), Patrick Haese (Football, UW-Oshkosh), Dasha Yeltysheva (Basketball, Marian University), Bryce Plzak (Football, Carthage College),  Caleb Plzak (Baseball, Viterbo University), Ethan DeNamur (Soccer, UW-River Falls), and Zak Wrobel (Wrestling, UW-Stevens Point) all signed their NLI in a joint ceremony celebrating the athletes.

Carlson began her senior season of track this week after qualifying for sectionals last year in the 400M (1:01.61PR) and a member of the 4x100m and 4x400m relays. Haese was First Team All-Packerland Conference at running back and linebacker his senior year while Bryce Plzak was among the conference leaders in receiving as an All-Packerland performer at defensive back (1st Team) and Offensive End (2nd Team). Yeltysheva is also an All-Packerland Conference player as the third-leading scorer in the league. Wrobel wrapped up his wrestling career last month with his third trip to sectionals to go along with one trip to state. Caleb Plzak is a week away from starting his senior year of baseball after being named second-team All-Packerland Conference as a catcher last season. DeNamur was a part of four straight appearances in sectionals for the Clippers soccer team.

A third meeting between the Peshtigo Bulldogs and Sturgeon Bay Clippers saw the home team win once again, ending the Clippers' season 53-51.  

The Clippers opened the game well, jumping to a 3-0 lead just seconds into the game on a quick three by Ian Fruzyna. Once the Bulldogs' star player Dominik Baxter found his groove, Peshtigo would find their first lead of the game at a score of 14-12. Trading runs back and forth the remainder of the game, it was just a three-point lead for Peshtigo at halftime, 26-23.

The second half was just as hard fought as the first half with several lead changes and half a dozen ties throughout the second half.  Even though the Bulldogs got 33 from Dominik Baxter, the game would come down to the buzzer.  With under 30 seconds left in the game, the Bulldogs would turn the ball over, but a panicked shot turned it back over to the Bulldogs.  On the inbound, Jackson Star would pick up his 5th personal foul, sending Baxter back to the free-throw line.  He would miss the free throw giving the Clippers one last chance to tie it up as Hayden Tracey drove in for a running shot as time wound down.  The shot was missed, and a whistle sounded as the buzzer rang, ending the Clipper's season.

Scoring for the Clippers in the game were Jackson Starr - 17, Sam Fruzyna - 12, Ben Ash - 8, Hayden Tracy - 7, Braden Ever - 4, and Ian Fruzyna - 3.

The Sturgeon Bay Clippers boys begin their playoff run on the road Tuesday night against the Peshtigo Bulldogs, a conference opponent. Even though the Clippers finished better than the Bulldogs in the Packerland Conference, the Bulldogs earned the higher seed. The Clippers finished 10-14 overall and 8-8 in conference, while the Bulldogs, who also finished 10-14 overall, were just 6-10 in the Packerland.

The teams met twice this year, each winning on their home court.  Peshtigo won 48-60 in an early December matchup in which the Bulldogs' Dominik Baxter scored 27 points, and the Clippers' Jackson Starr scored 18 points. When the Clippers hosted, they outscored the Bulldogs 25-19 in the second half, forcing overtime.  In overtime, the Clippers outpaced the Bulldogs for a 59-56 victory.  Jackson Starr again led the way for the Clippers with 19.  Benjamin Ash added 15, and Sam Fruzyna chipped in 9.

Join Jacob Nate and Bryan Mazur on U102.1 and New Radio Sports Network, beginning with the pregame show at 6:45 pm. Tipoff is scheduled for 7:00 pm.

Sturgeon Bay/Sevastopol's Spencer Madsen ended his season on a high note, finishing in third place overall in the Division 2 State Wrestling Tournament.

Madsen rebounded from a close loss in the semifinals to beat Adam Haas (Shoreland Lutheran) 6-1 to capture the bronze medal. Madsen's season finishes with over 50 wins and just a pair of losses to his ledger with another season to go to find his way to the top of the podium.

Picture courtesy of SBS Wrestling

WIAA Individual State Results for Sturgeon Bay/Sevastopol

D2-157

Spencer Madsen (53-2) placed 3rd and scored 12.0 team points.

Quarterfinal - Spencer Madsen (Sturgeon Bay/Sevastopol) 53-2 won by major decision over Isaiah Nowak (Coleman) 35-13 (MD 16-5)

Semifinal - Gunnar Johnson (Gale-Ettrick-Tremp./Mel.-Min.) 50-8 won by decision over Spencer Madsen (Sturgeon Bay/Sevastopol) 53-2 (Dec 6-5)

3rd Place Match - Spencer Madsen (Sturgeon Bay/Sevastopol) 53-2 won by decision over Adam Haas (Shoreland Lutheran) 33-4 (Dec 6-1)