New names ready to lead Witt-Birn boys basketball team to successful season

The Wittenberg-Birnamwood High School boys basketball team anticipates a strong season despite having a bunch of new faces on the court this winter.

The Chargers posted a 12-12 record last season, going 7-5 in the Central Wisconsin Conference-East Division under coach Garrett Rogowski. Witt-Birn graduated five seniors from that team and also lost the second-leading scorer from that team.

Juniors Ben Wesolowski (guard) and Jack Fraaza (forward) return with the most experience for the Chargers. Wesolowski started and finished third on the team in scoring (over 8 points a game), while Fraaza averaged over 6 points off the bench.

Despite having a new cast of players on the court, the team’s expectations haven’t changed.

“Our expectations are the same with our new team,” said Wesolowski. “We hope to win conference and make a deep playoff run.”

“As one of the returning players, I have to play an important role in helping us stay focused on every possession and making the most of winning every possession and making sure guys are in the right place every time,” he added.

Helping fill out the team’s rotation are juniors Simon Schairer (forward), Ben Flak (center), Kaden Schmidt (point guard) and Luke Musha (forward), sophomore Michael Miller (point guard) and senior Henry Seegmiller (center).

“The junior grade has been playing basketball together for a long time, and we’re hoping to use that and take it into our games,” said Fraaza.

Rogowski said the CWC-East will be tough again this season, with Iola-Scandinavia and Shiocton at the top, but the rest of the teams being able to win any night.

To get ready for the tough conference slate of games, Rogowski said the team has put together a competitive nonconference schedule. He also believes if his team comes together, they could be in contention for one of the conference’s top spots.

“I like the mix of talent we have returning this year,” said Rogowski. “I think there is a lot of potential to be very competitive every night we step on the floor. There will be some new faces to the varsity level that will have to step up and make huge contributions early, but I’m confident that they are capable.”

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