MONROE - There have been many memorable local sports moments in 2012. There are so many stories that touched every sports fans' hearts that it's almost hard to come up with a list of just 10. From the track to the sidelines to the Olympics, 2012 was an unforgettable season. This is the first part of a two-part series on the top local sports stories of the year, in no particular rank or order.
McPhail shoots for gold at Olympics
Army Staff Sgt. Michael McPhail, a Darlington native, narrowly missed an opportunity to compete for Olympic gold at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London.
McPhail, who was a first-time Olympian, shot a 595 in the qualification round of the men's 50-meter rifle prone, good for fourth place. However, so did eight other competitors.
Only the top eight may advance on to the finals. So, with three spots in the finals already locked up, McPhail and the other shooters conducted a shootoff tiebreaker for the final five. McPhail emerged from the tiebreaker with the sixth-highest score (51.3), missing the last spot in the finals by three-tenths of a point.
McPhail, a 2000 Darlington alumnus, was ranked third in the world in the rifle prone going into the Olympic Games. His best score is 704.6, which is just 0.3 points away from setting a world record.
McPhail started shooting at the Darlington Rifle Club when he was 14. He purchased a rifle in 2000 and was hooked on the sport. He went to the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh and competed on the state's only collegiate shooting team. After the 2004 Olympic trials, McPhail joined the Army and the Fort Benning Marksmanship Unit (Ga.). He has honed his shooting ability and serves as a shooting instructor for the Army - he focuses on training and enhancing each solider for combat readiness.
Monroe football returns to playoffs
The Monroe football team won its final three straight regular season games to qualify for the WIAA Division 3 playoffs for the first time since 2003.
Monroe (4-5) lost to Mount Horeb-Barneveld 41-6 in the first round of the playoffs. Mount Horeb-Barneveld running back Daylon Bowar rushed for 139 yards and four touchdowns to power Mount Horeb-Barneveld past Monroe 41-6 in a WIAA Division 3 first round playoff game.
Monroe senior Trent Wyssbrod rushed for 97 yards on 17 carries and scored Monroe's lone touchdown. The Cheesemakers were recognized for their breakout season.
Ten Monroe football players received Badger South All-Conference honors. Monroe junior Ryan Hughes was named first team all-conference at linebacker, and junior Charlie Kind was a unanimous first team all-conference selection at punter.
Root wins two medals at state
Monroe senior Rachel Root closed out a stellar career by winning two medals at the WIAA Division 2 state swimming meet.
Root finished third place in the 100-yard backstroke with a time of 58.38 seconds at the University of Wisconsin's Natatorium. Root also took sixth place in the 200 individual medley with a school record time of 2:12.23. The time she swam in the 200 IM broke Abby Mayer's 12-year-old record (2:13.33).
She now has the school records in the backstroke and 200 IM.
Monroe drops puck on first WIAA team
The Monroe school Board approved a WIAA boys hockey co-op intergovernmental agreement in October.
Hockey became the third self-funded program in the district, which requires the program to raise the money necessary to maintain the sport, with no financial assistance from the district.
There are 42 hockey co-ops across the state, but Monroe's hockey co-op may be one of the most unique, as it includes eight schools, including two from Illinois - Freeport and Lena-Winslow. The other co-op schools include Albany, Beloit Turner, Darlington, Parkview and Pecatonica schools.
The Monroe School District hired coaches, set the schedule and lined up officials. The Monroe Avalanche lost the first WIAA sanctioned hockey game at SLICE 13-3 to Oregon Dec. 11. Senior T.J. Parrent of Freeport, scored two goals.
Redbird football team makes run
A young Darlington football team made a surprise run to the Level 3 playoffs this year. After Darlington senior Storm Wiegel suffered a torn ACL, Tanner Wiegel and Jason Singer stepped in at running back and came through in the postseason.
Darlington upset Deerfield 21-20 in the first round of the playoffs and then knocked off Necedah 17-7 in the Level 2 playoffs. The Redbirds' postseason run came to an end with a 32-15 loss to Iowa-Grant in a Level 3 playoff game. Darlington (6-5) committed four turnovers and Iowa-Grant scored 18 points of those miscues.
McPhail shoots for gold at Olympics
Army Staff Sgt. Michael McPhail, a Darlington native, narrowly missed an opportunity to compete for Olympic gold at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London.
McPhail, who was a first-time Olympian, shot a 595 in the qualification round of the men's 50-meter rifle prone, good for fourth place. However, so did eight other competitors.
Only the top eight may advance on to the finals. So, with three spots in the finals already locked up, McPhail and the other shooters conducted a shootoff tiebreaker for the final five. McPhail emerged from the tiebreaker with the sixth-highest score (51.3), missing the last spot in the finals by three-tenths of a point.
McPhail, a 2000 Darlington alumnus, was ranked third in the world in the rifle prone going into the Olympic Games. His best score is 704.6, which is just 0.3 points away from setting a world record.
McPhail started shooting at the Darlington Rifle Club when he was 14. He purchased a rifle in 2000 and was hooked on the sport. He went to the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh and competed on the state's only collegiate shooting team. After the 2004 Olympic trials, McPhail joined the Army and the Fort Benning Marksmanship Unit (Ga.). He has honed his shooting ability and serves as a shooting instructor for the Army - he focuses on training and enhancing each solider for combat readiness.
Monroe football returns to playoffs
The Monroe football team won its final three straight regular season games to qualify for the WIAA Division 3 playoffs for the first time since 2003.
Monroe (4-5) lost to Mount Horeb-Barneveld 41-6 in the first round of the playoffs. Mount Horeb-Barneveld running back Daylon Bowar rushed for 139 yards and four touchdowns to power Mount Horeb-Barneveld past Monroe 41-6 in a WIAA Division 3 first round playoff game.
Monroe senior Trent Wyssbrod rushed for 97 yards on 17 carries and scored Monroe's lone touchdown. The Cheesemakers were recognized for their breakout season.
Ten Monroe football players received Badger South All-Conference honors. Monroe junior Ryan Hughes was named first team all-conference at linebacker, and junior Charlie Kind was a unanimous first team all-conference selection at punter.
Root wins two medals at state
Monroe senior Rachel Root closed out a stellar career by winning two medals at the WIAA Division 2 state swimming meet.
Root finished third place in the 100-yard backstroke with a time of 58.38 seconds at the University of Wisconsin's Natatorium. Root also took sixth place in the 200 individual medley with a school record time of 2:12.23. The time she swam in the 200 IM broke Abby Mayer's 12-year-old record (2:13.33).
She now has the school records in the backstroke and 200 IM.
Monroe drops puck on first WIAA team
The Monroe school Board approved a WIAA boys hockey co-op intergovernmental agreement in October.
Hockey became the third self-funded program in the district, which requires the program to raise the money necessary to maintain the sport, with no financial assistance from the district.
There are 42 hockey co-ops across the state, but Monroe's hockey co-op may be one of the most unique, as it includes eight schools, including two from Illinois - Freeport and Lena-Winslow. The other co-op schools include Albany, Beloit Turner, Darlington, Parkview and Pecatonica schools.
The Monroe School District hired coaches, set the schedule and lined up officials. The Monroe Avalanche lost the first WIAA sanctioned hockey game at SLICE 13-3 to Oregon Dec. 11. Senior T.J. Parrent of Freeport, scored two goals.
Redbird football team makes run
A young Darlington football team made a surprise run to the Level 3 playoffs this year. After Darlington senior Storm Wiegel suffered a torn ACL, Tanner Wiegel and Jason Singer stepped in at running back and came through in the postseason.
Darlington upset Deerfield 21-20 in the first round of the playoffs and then knocked off Necedah 17-7 in the Level 2 playoffs. The Redbirds' postseason run came to an end with a 32-15 loss to Iowa-Grant in a Level 3 playoff game. Darlington (6-5) committed four turnovers and Iowa-Grant scored 18 points of those miscues.
