MONROE — In the first “normal year” since the COVID-19 pandemic, local sports teams jumped right back into action.
Several players reached career milestones and garnered conference and state recognition. A select few even signed to continue their athletic careers at the next level.
While current coaches recorded career wins, one called it quits, and past coaches were inducted into respective Hall of Fames.
Although many teams made historic postseason runs and fell short, others went all the way to state — with one team crowned champions. In the quest for conference, regional, sectional or state titles, teams and individuals broke personal and school records.
Local alumni continue to make their communities proud, succeeding at the collegiate and professional level.
MONROE FOOTBALL UNDEFEATED DIVISION 3 CHAMPIONS
After a heart-breaking loss to Pewaukee in Level 4 of the 2021 playoffs, the Cheesemakers sought revenge on the Pirates from day one of the 2022 season. In Level 2 of the playoffs, Monroe defeated Pewaukee 22-21 with a 2-point conversion in the final seconds from senior QB George Brukwicki. From then on, the team coasted through the playoffs to the state game, where Monroe defeated West Salem 35-14.
Alex Hernandez and Keatin Sweeney broke the 1,000-yd rushing mark to lead the offense on the season. The Cheesemakers were the top team in state in six statistical categories: total offense (6,121 yards) total rushing (5, 524 yards), average rushing (394.6 ypg), total offensive TDs (89), rushing TDs (84) and first downs (305).
ISAAC BUNKER COMMITS TO NAVY
As one of the leaders on the Monroe football team, Isaac Bunker played his senior season without the stress of recruitment. Bunker announced his commitment to play for the Naval Academy on June 29 after a visit to the campus in Annapolis, Maryland.
The accolades don’t end there, though, as Bunker was named the Rock Valley Defensive Player and Lineman of the Year. He was also named to the WFCA All-Region and All-
State teams. His final, and arguably most prestigious honor, was the Joe Thomas Top Senior Offensive Lineman award.
At the end of his junior wrestling season, Bunker (285) was one of two Cheesemakers to qualify for state. He entered the tournament ranked sixth but did not make the podium. Bunker has started his senior wrestling season with a 13-0 mark.
STATE RUNS ABOUND FOR MONROE, MONTICELLO, DARLINGTON, BLACK HAWK
Football wasn’t the only team for Monroe to go to state. Dance, wrestling, boys tennis doubles, boys and girls track, boys and girls cross country and swimming all made their way to the big stage.
Monroe’s jazz and hip hop teams qualified for state after placing third in Division 2 and earning the wild card, respectively.
The boys tennis No. 1 doubles duo of Aaron Roidt and Chris Giasson reached the Sweet 16 in the WIAA Division 2 State tournament, going 1-1. It was Roidt’s second state appearance and Giasson’s first.
Monroe boys track, after winning its seventh straight regional title, sent one individual and three relays to the state meet in La Crosse. The girls team had one individual and two relays qualify for a total of seven events for the Cheesemakers. Jason Carpenter qualified for the finals in 110-meter hurdles, where he finished 10th. On the first day, the boys 400-meter relay broke a school record set in 2018. In the finals, the team took fourth. The 1,600-meter relay finished seventh while the 800-meter relay team, composed of Carpenter, Lucas Flom, JT Seagreaves and Charlie Wiegel, won the Division 2 state title by 0.35 seconds. On the girls’ end, Lauren Coopes finished fifth in the triple jump. The 1600- and 800-meter relays both finished 14th.
In the fall, both Monroe boys and girls cross country won the Badger Conference and qualified for State. The Monroe-New Glarus swimming co-op sent four to state — Anna Zentner, Megan Chapman, Delaney Lynch and Riley Hoesly. In back-to-back meets they broke the school’s 200-yard freestyle relay record, which was set 19 years ago.
Brady Schuh (145) was the second Cheesemaker wrestler that qualified for state. He went 2-3 for sixth place. Schuh also recorded his 100th career win in the process.
Darlington-Black Hawk sent five wrestlers to the state tournament in Madison’s Kohl Center, with three of them making the podium. Owen Seffrood (132) entered the tournament ranked fourth and finished second. Owen Huschitt (182), also ranked fourth, placed third. He defeated third-ranked Cole Hanson of Delevan Darien, who had defeated Huschitt 8-3 in the sectional final, for third place. Ethan Aird (106) was the third Warbird on the podium, taking fourth. He fell to No. 1-ranked Wyatt Magloski of New London in the third-place match.
For the second straight year, Monticello volleyball made it to the state tournament held at the Resch Center in Green Bay. This year, though, the Ponies brought home hardware after defeating Athens in the semifinals. Monticello then fell to defending state champion McDonnell in four sets, earning the silver ball. Ellie Gustafson, the Six Rivers East Conference Player of the Year, set two state tournament records in most digs in two matches (59) and most digs in a five-set match (34) and earned All-State honors.
NOTABLE POSTSEASON RUNS
Although these teams didn’t make it to state, their playoff run is worthy of notice.
New Glarus girls basketball won its first Capitol South Conference title since 2007-08 with a 50-34 win over Cambridge. They secured their first regional title since 2004 with wins over co-conference champion Cambridge (56-43) and rival Brodhead (61-47). With a 52-33 win over Pardeeville in the sectional semifinal, the Knights advanced to play Mineral Point in the sectional final, where New Glarus fell 63-43. As a sophomore, Lindsey Schadewalt was named the Capitol Conference Player of the Year, leading the league with 19.8 points per game. She was also selected to the WBCA All-State First Team.
Argyle girls basketball also made school history, winning their first ever regional title, knocking off No. 3-seeded Fall River and Burlington Catholic Central by scores of 60-48 and 61-30, respectively. The Orioles saw their season come to an end with a sectional semifinal loss to Albany.
After winning their first conference title in 20 years, the Comets made their way to sectionals with wins over Pecatonica (52-35) and Rio (53-37). With a 64-31 win over Six Rivers East rival Argyle, Albany reached its second-straight sectional final. Randolph halted the Comet’s run a game short of state, winning 43-21. During the season, senior Brianna Dahl broke Albany’s all-time scoring record previously set by Amy Golz.
In the spring, Pecatonica softball and baseball reached the sectionals, falling just short of state. After finishing fourth in conference, Vikings softball defeated top seeds Seneca (2-1) and Highland (3-1) in regionals, followed by a 3-2 win over Belmont in the sectional semifinal. Despite a 4-0 loss to Barneveld in the sectional final, Pecatonica went the furthest since their 1993 championship season. Vikings baseball reached sectionals for the 12th time since 1972 but fell to Bangor 9-3. Their first trip to state remains ever elusive.
Amid the chatter of Monroe’s state football run and Monticello’s state volleyball run, Brodhead and Darlington put together prolific fall seasons, too.
Coming into the volleyball tournament ranked fifth, the Cardinals defeated New Glarus to claim another regional title. In another three-set match, Brodhead defeated Mineral Point to advance to the sectional final against No. 3 Randolph. The Cardinals battled, but fell in five sets. The senior class — Alexis Kammerer, Kirsten Fish, Mckenna Young, Abbie Dix and Kaidynce Bevars — wrapped up a prolific career, which included four regional titles and state runner-up in the 2020 alt-fall season.
In Level 4 of the football playoffs, Darlington ran into rival Mondovi for the third time in four years. With the series tied at one game each, the matchup proved to be dramatic. The Redbirds had a 7-6 lead for all but the last five minutes of the game, where Mondovi scored on a quarterback keeper. Darlington was unable to score with two late chances. The Redbirds won the SWAL for the third consecutive year, and defeated respectable teams in Belleville and then undefeated Kenosha St. Joseph.
SIX PLAYERS JOIN 1,000 POINT CLUB
2022 was a career year for players Owen Liefker (Brodhead), Dix (Brodhead), Carson Leuzinger (Monroe), Seagreaves (Monroe), Schadewalt (New Glarus) and Grace Ganshert (Argyle), as all of them scored their 1,000th career point — two of them as juniors.
Liefker reached the milestone during New Glarus’s winter tournament, sparking an 18-6 run for the Cardinals that pushed them over Deerfield 68-55 in the third-place game. Fellow Cardinal Dix — a junior at the time — scored her 1,000th point in a 50-29 regular season finale against Edgerton. Leuzinger was the first of two Monroe boys basketball players to reach 1,000 points, doing so during a Cheesemaker eight-game win streak with Seagreaves matching him in the same week. Most recently, Schadewalt, a junior, reached the milestone in front of her home crowd in a 63-47 win over Lakeside Lutheran.
GANSHERT TWO-TIME PLAYER OF THE YEAR
In the final game of her basketball career, Grace Ganshert reached the 1,000-point milestone. She led Argyle with 14 points in its sectional semifinal loss to Albany. Averaging a double-double all season (19.5 points and 10.6 rebounds), Ganshert was named Six Rivers East Co-Conference Player of the Year with Dahl, who averaged 16.2 ppg with a conference-leading 5.2 steals per game.
In the spring sports season, Ganshert propelled Argyle at the plate and from the mound. She pitched a perfect game against MNG, striking out 11 of the 15 batters she faced. In the same game, she doubled and tripled, scoring two runs. As such, she was named the Six Rivers East Conference Player of the Year, her second in as many seasons.
JT SEAGREAVES LEAVES MARK ON PROGRAM
In the same game that Leuzinger scored his 1,000th career point, Seagreaves became the school’s all-time leading rebounder, surpassing Brad Stiner’s mark of 554 boards in 38 games. One game later, Seagreaves became the 11th player in the program to reach 1,000 points in Monroe’s 52-50 win over Edgewood.
In football, Seagreaves signed his letter of intent to play for the Badgers in 2021. As a freshman this season for the Badgers, he made his debut in the Guaranteed Rate bowl game with one reception.
EXPERIENCED COACHES
Monroe boys basketball coach Brian Bassett, who took over for Pat Murphy in the 2016-17 season, reached his 100th win in the Cheesemaker’s 51-46 victory over Sauk Prairie. The win also clinched at least a share of the Badger West for Monroe, who claimed it outright after 54-45 win over Portage on Feb. 25. Dale Buvid also eclipsed 1,000 career wins as a coach for both JV boys basketball and varsity softball.
Darlington coach Arnie Miehe announced his retirement in November after 41 years at the helm of the cross country team. In his career, Miehe coached nine state championship teams with another 39 reaching the state level. He had the pleasure to coach all four of his children, including Kent, who will be taking over the program.
SCHLIEM, MITCHELL INTO THE HALL OF FAME
South Wayne-native Jerry Schliem was inducted into the National High School Athletic Coaches Association Hall of Fame after coaching at Oconto and Milton for more than 50 years.
Tom Mitchell, a Monroe graduate, was inducted into the WBCA Hall of Fame for his state-championship performance in 1965. Mitchell ended his high school career as one of the top players in scoring and shooting percentage. He went on to play at Wisconsin.
ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGES
After multiple meetings in late 2021 and early 2022, the WIAA board approved a conference realignment plan, impacting Badger, Big 8, Southern Lakes and Rock Valley conferences. Monroe, a member of the Badger, will move to the Rock Valley Conference in the 2023-24 school year. At the time of the approval, football was the only team in the Rock Valley.
In September, New Glarus and Monticello administrations announced their decision to dissolve the NGM football co-op after more than 40 years of existence. The decision will go into effect for the 2024 season. New Glarus Athletic Director Mitchell Cernek cited declining numbers in the program, specifically from Monticello as a reason to dissolve the co-op.
ALTERING HISTORY — RECORDS BROKEN
In addition to the 400-meter relay record, Seagreaves and Carpenter broke or tied records during the Glendenning Invite earlier in the season. Carpenter set the new 110-meter and 300-meter hurdles records set by Jon Beckman of Sugar River in 2012. Seagreaves tied the 100-meter dash record of 11.45 seconds.
Freshman Loretta Tisch, a fall dual-sport athlete, broke Pecatonica’s 5,000-meter record during the SWAL Conference meet. The previous record was set by Josie Penniston.
Junior Max Marty broke his quarterback coach, Darris Schuett’s, all-time passing record in NGM’s last game of the season against Southwestern. With one more year to go, Marty has an opportunity to add to the record in 2023.
CHEESEMAKER, WARRIORS TURNED PHoeNIX, BADGERS
Natalie Leuzinger, also a Black Hawk graduate, had been playing for the Wisconsin Badgers women’s basketball team for two years after earning a walk-on spot her freshman year. This summer, entering her junior year, Leuzinger earned a full-ride scholarship, announced over a team Zoom call. She has played in eight games this season, averaging two points.
Bailey Butler, who played for Black Hawk and was named Wisconsin Miss Basketball, had a standout freshman season for Green Bay. She was named the Horizon League Freshman of the Year, Sixth Player of the Year and made the All-Freshman team. During the season, Bulter was named Freshman of the Week four times. As a sophomore, Butler has started in all 11 games for the Phoenix, averaging 6.3 points.
Cade Meyer, a 2021 Monroe graduate, was also named to the All-Freshman team for UWGB men’s basketball team. He averaged 10.8 points and 5.2 rebounds per game. In his sophomore season, Meyer has started all 13 games, averaging 11.6 points. Most recently, he scored a career-high 25 points against Kansas City.
TESSA JANECKE EXCELS
In June, Orangeville’s Tessa Janecke led Team USA to a silver medal in the U18 Women’s World Championship. She played in five games, scoring three goals and recording three assists for six points. Janecke then made the Women’s National Team in December, playing in the 2022-23 Rivalry Series against Canada.
In her freshman year at Penn State, Janecke has scored a team-leading 12 points with 15 assists. She’s been named Rookie of the Week twice and Rookie of the Month once.
