Eau Claire Regis will have someone new roaming the sidelines this fall for the first time in almost two decades. Head football coach Chris O' Connell has stepped down after posting a 129-68 record over the last 18 seasons. O' Connell's teams won three WISAA football titles and one WIAA football title in 2003. This past season the Ramblers went 12-1 and made it to the state semi-finals.

 

Five area girls high school softball teams are headed to Madison this week after successfully winning their sectionals last week. In Division 1 Chippewa Falls plays Waukesha West Thursday morning after beating Hudson 2-0 in the sectional semi-final and Merrill 3-0 in 12 innings at the sectional final.

In Division 2 Rice Lake smoked Altoona 7-1 behind the arm of senior Ashley Stodola in the sectional semi-final and beat G-E-T 7-4 in the sectional final. Rice Lake plays Southern Door Friday evening.

In Division 3 Undefeated and # 1 ranked Grantsburg beat a pesky Prescott team 4-0 in the sectional semi-finals and then went on to beat Thorp 11-0 in the sectional final behind the arm and bat of senior Mollie Bjelland and yes, she is the cousin of Jon Bjelland who is pitching with the Arizona Diamondbacks organization. Grantsburg plays Sevastopol Friday afternoon.

Also in Division 3, Arcadia beat Stratford 10-0 in the sectional semi-finals and then nipped Lancaster 2-1 in 9 innings in the sectional final. Arcadia plays Racine St. Catherine's on Friday afternoon.

In Division 4 Hurley beat Elmwood 5-2 in the sectional semi-final and then ended the Lancers of Immanuel Lutheran's season 9-2 in the sectional final. Hurley plays Oshkosh Lourdes Friday morning. You can check out the times, updated pairings and eventual scores on our homepage.

 
The Eau Claire Memorial girls soccer team beat Wausau East 6-0 in the sectional final on Saturday to earn their 3rd straight trip to the state tournament in Milwaukee.
 

University of Wisconsin head men's basketball coach Bo Ryan recently announced in Eau Claire that the Blugolds will play the Badgers in an exhibition game this coming season at the Kohl Center.

 

Several area boys high school baseball teams are headed to the sectionals this Tuesday. Eau Claire North and Hudson in Division 1, Amery, Barron and Bloomer in Division 2, Eau Claire Regis, St. Croix Central, Ladysmith and Cameron in Division 3, and Northwood, Hurley, Bruce and Prairie Farm in Division 4. You can check out all the times, locations and eventual scores on our homepage.

 

Over 16,000 spectators crowded UW-La Crosse this past weekend for the WIAA state track & field meet. Here are some of the area athletes who performed well. You can check out the full results on our scoreboard page.

 Boys Division 1: Josh Prince of Chippewa Falls finished 8th in the 400 meter dash and in the 800 meter run. Tyler Heinz of Eau Claire Memorial finished 5th in 1600 meter run, Grant Luer of Menomonie placed 8th in the Discus throw, the Menomonie 4x800 relay team of Josh Wieland, Mike Merritt, Kelvin Johnson, and Phil Cowles finished 10th.

 

 Boys Division 2: In the 100 meter dash Zach Lee of Ladysmith placed 4th , Max Kessler of Mondovi placed 6th while Zach Lee's younger brother Scott Lee also from Ladysmith finished 8th. In the 200 meter dash Bryce Derrickson of Spooner took home the bronze medal with his 3rd place finish and Max Kessler of Mondovi finished 6th. In the 400 meter dash Bryce Derrickson took home the gold medal, Cole Lambert of Arcadia won the silver medal, Ian Yenter of Chetek finished 7th and Nic Andre of G-E-T finished 8th. Cole Lambert also finished 4th in the  800 meter run while Alan Solie of Stanley-Boyd finished 7th. In the  1600 meter run Kelsey Moreland of Northwestern finished 4th. In the 3200 meter run Sean Kutz of Grantsburg finished 5th while Matt Pierce of Hayward finished 6th. In the 110 meter hurdles Adam Hexum of Hayward took home the gold medal Aaron Karo of Amery took home the bronze medal with his 3rd place finish. Adam Hexum also took home the silver medal with his 2nd place finish in the 300 meter hurdles. The Boys 4x100 relay team from Spooner consisting of John Duch, Jim Menkol, Nathan Hendry, and Curtis Richardson took 2nd place in that event. Mike Zika of Durand won the gold medal in the Discus throw while Hayward's Bucky Dixon took 4th and G-E-T's Justin Waldvogel took 7th. Bucky Dixon also placed 9th in the shot put. Shane Manor of Altoona placed 7th in the triple jump while Jordan Rumpel of Arcadia took 8th. It was Shane Manor's first year going out for track & field. Isaac Vasquez of Arcadia took 5th, Nick Mossong of Prescott took 6th, Cole Lambert of Arcadia took 7th and Nathan Hendry of Spooner took 8th in the long jump competition.  Brent Lundgren of Osceola took 8th in the high jump. In the 4x800 Relay competition Osceola's team of Chris Greene, Brian Bartley, Alex Mahler and Dale Dydvig took home the bronze medals while Northwestern's team of Rett and Kelsey Moreland, Jarad Stodola and William Koepp took 4th. Arcadia's 4x400 Relay team of Isaac Vasquez, Jordan Rumpel, Alex Lettner and Cole Lambert took home the silver medals while Somerset's Jay Martell, Phil Vanasse, Garret Germain, and Evan Kowalski took 9th. Arcadia's Chad Repinski,  Rumpel, Vasquez, and Lettner took 6th in the 4x200 race while Spooner's team of Ben Walstrom, Max Anderson, Jim Menkol and Curtis Richardson took 8th.

 

Boys Division 3:

Miles Helgeson of Independence/Gilmanton took 4th while Cody Rose of Elmwood took 5th in the 100 meter dash. Cody Rose also took home the silver in the 200 meter dash while Helgeson took 6th and Justin Ellingstad of Elk Mound took 8th. Helgeson took 4th in the 400 meter dash while Ryan Bloss of Eau Claire Regis took 6th. River Karl of Frederic took home the silver medal in the 800 meter run while Peter Rozumalski of Luck took 9th. Karl also took home the bronze medal in the 1600 meter run while Peter Walsh of Webster took 6th in that event. Walsh also won the gold medal in the 3200 meter run. David Paulson of Alma took 7th in the 300 meter hurdles while Nick Perkins from Glenwood City took 9th. Perkins also placed 9th in the high jump while Jake Koss of Melrose-Mindoro took 3rd, David Green of Elk Mound took 5th, and Brian Thill of Webster took 6th. Perkins also took home the silver medal in the triple jump.  Jeremiah Burish of Cadott took 4th, Peter Carlson of Frederic took 5th, and Vinnie Tuminello of Mcdonell Central took 7th in the Pole Vault competition. Miles Helgeson of Independence/Gilmanton took home the silver, Joel Kulesa of Gilman took 5th and Andy Curtis of Independence/Gilmanton took 8th in the Long jump. Ricky Hagen of Cadott placed 4th in the shot put competition. Gilman's 4 x100 relay team of Chris Schuelke, Trevor Rosemeyer, Joel Kulesa and Jacob Doro took home the silver medals in that competition,  the bronze medals in the 4 x 200 competition and placed 4th in the 4 x 400 competition. In the 4 x 800 relay Melrose-Mindoro's team of Gabe Schmidt, Ben Rodenberg, Matt Gunderson and Anthony Stelter took home the silver medals while Colfax's M.J. Osterberg, Wyatt Karl, Logan Seipel, and Travis Blomberg took 4th, Webster's Bryan Krause, Asa Olson, Brian Gibbs and Peter Walsh took 7th and Cadott's Kyle Rothbauer, Jay Geissler, Derek Foiles, and Josiah Yeager took 8th.

 

Girls Division 1: Eau Claire Memorial's Chim Okoroji took home the bronze medal in the 100 meter dash. Lexi Williams of Rice Lake took 6th in the 400 meter dash. Katie Cumming of Hudson took 4th in the 1600 meter run and took home the gold medal in the 3200 meter run. Sharyn Dahl of Hudson took 5th place in the 100 meter hurdles and took home the gold medal in the 300 meter hurdles. Ellen Buchanan of Chippewa Falls took 7th in the high jump competition. Alex Johnson took home the gold medal and Hilary Feyeresin took home the silver in the pole vault and they are both from Hudson. Eau Claire Memorials' 4 x 100 relay team of Lizzy Taylor, Courtney Clemons, Lisa Anderson and Chim Okoroji took 7th place in that event. Hudson's Ashley Iverson, Nicole Bruegger, Kristin Pelzel and Katie Cumming took home the bronze medals in the 4 x 800 relay event.

Girls Division 2:

Hannah Mueller of Colby finished 7th and Megan Belger of Bloomer finished 8th in the 100 meter dash. Maya Vasquez of Arcadia took home the silver medal while Prescott's Emily Krenz took 9th in the 200 meter dash. Chelsea Hanson of Ellsworth took 7th in the 400 meter dash. Elizabeth Simek of Hayward took 5th and Prescott's Maria Peloquin took 6th in the 800 meter run. Simek also took 5th in the 1600 meter run while Morgan Place of Ellsworth took 7th. Place also took 4th in the 3200 meter run. Bridget Sarafin of Stanley-Boyd took home the silver medal in the 300 meter hurdles while Sheila Oppelt of Neillsville took 4th. Megan Plourde of Somerset took home the silver medal in the high jump while Robbi Welty of Norhwesern tied for 9th place. Nikki Martell of Osceola took 8th in the pole vault competition. In the girls long jump competition Maya Vasquez of Arcadia took the gold medal, Sheila Opelt of Neillsville took home the silver, Gina Hanzlik of Somerset took 7th while Hannah Mueller of Colby took 9th. Vasquez also took home the silver in the triple jump, while Mueller took 4th place, Erika Suchla of Arcadia took 7th, Holly Mertens of Stanley-Boyd took 8th and Chrissy Erickson of Osceola took 9th in that competition. Lina Hutter of Durand won the silver medal in the shot put competition while Joanna Kusilek of Baldwin-Woodville took 7th. Nicole Heitman of Hayward took 4th place in the discus throw. Amery's 4 x 100 relay team of Alex Friberg, Amanda Harris, Jessica Foster and Samantha Brockman took 7th in that competition. Northwestern's relay team of Nicole Hughes, Kristina Anderson, Alex Baillie, and Laura Johnson took 6th in the 4 x 200 race and 3rd in the 4 x 400 race. Ellsworth's Carlie Melstrom, Macy Olson, Rachel Langer, and Chelsea Hanson took 4th in the 4 x 400 and Arcadia's Sarah Kulig, Erika Suchla, Latonia Reuter, and Cheyanne Reglin took 7th. Osceola's 4 x 800 relay team of Kenzie Scholz, Olivia Memmer, Heather Byl and Brea Tinney took 6th while Ellsworth's Morgan Place, Macy Olson, Amanda Samuel and Chelsea Hanson took 8th.

Girls Division 3:

Chelsea Simon of Whitehall won the gold medal, Hannah Gronning of Shell Lake won the bronze medal and Rachel Spears of Shell Lake took 7th in the 100 meter dash.

Simon also won the silver medal in the 200 meter dash, Spears took 8th and Rachel Wolfe of Pepin took 7th in that event. Callie Halama of Independence/Gilmanton finished 8th in the 400 meter dash.

Julia Schiefelbein of Fall Creek took 5th place in the 1600 meter run.

Clare Bohrer of EC Regis finished 5th in the 100 meter hurdles, while Jodi Bender from Whitehall finished 7th. Stephanie Steinberger of Boyceville finished 4th in the 300 meter hurdles. Tessa Warner of EC Regis took home the bronze medal in the high jump competition, Kayla Simon also from Regis placed 7th. Tiffany Melby of Whitehall won the silver medal in the pole vault, while Kayla Hillman of Shell Lake took 5th. Brianna Kuhlman of Thorp won the silver medal in the long jump competition while Steinberger of Boyceville took 7th. Kuhlman also won the silver in the triple jump while Jodi Bender of Whitehall took 4th and Kayla Simon of Regis took 8th. Hannah Gronnig of Shell Lake won the gold medal in the shot put competition, Mary Theisen of Fall Creek won the silver, and Kristen King of Elk Mound took 8th. Gronning also won the gold medal in the discus throw, Theisen took home the bronze and Jaimie Flater of Fall Creek finished 8th.

Shell Lake's 4 x 100 relay team of Hannah Gronning, Kayla Hillman, Paula Burton and Rachel Spears took 1st place in that event. Chippewa Falls Mcdonell's relay team of Sam Schemenauer, Anne Longbella, Caitlin Abramczak, and Justine Schafer finished 6th in the 4 x 200 relay, 4th in the 4 x 400 relay and 5th in the 4 x 800 relay events. Whitehall's team of Jodi Bender, Ashley Misch, Randy Smith and Chelsea Simon won the bronze medals in the 4 x 200 event.

 

The Hudson girls won the overall track & field competition in Division 1.

Arcadia girls took 5th in Division 2.

The Shell Lake girls won the team competition in Division 3, Whitehall was 2nd.

The Arcadia boys finished 2nd in the team competition for Division 2 while Hayward and Spooner tied for 6th.

The Gilman boys tied for 5th in Division 3 while Independence/Gilmanton tied for 9th.