Pair of Bowler senior athletes plan to play in college

Bowler High School has two seniors who plan to extend their athletic careers to the college level.

Basketball

After a productive high school basketball career, Kayla Pecore will take her talents to college. She is set to join the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay’s Marinette Campus team.

“It’s really exciting, and I’m so happy that my hard work and dedication has paid off,” said Pecore.

The Bowler athlete finished her final season as one of the top players in the Central Wisconsin Conference-North Division, making the first team all-conference.

She had set her sights on attending the main UW-Green Bay campus before Marinette coach Tyler Morris reached out after locating her on a recruiting website.

Morris watched a couple of Pecore’s games this winter before the Bowler player took a tour of the Marinette campus.

Pecore had a signing day scheduled for March 20, but that was canceled because of the coronavirus pandemic.

She is looking forward to the experience she will gain at the college level. Even though the college game will feature improved play from what she faced in high school, Pecore will head into the coming season’s confident.

“My dad (Clifton) was a big part of this, and he really helped me see that I could do it as long as I worked hard and put my mind to it,” said Pecore, who also thanked the rest of her family for their support over the years.

Marinette competes in the Wisconsin Collegiate Conference, which is rounded out by teams from Barron, Marshfield, Richland, Fox Cities, Washington and Wausau.

Baseball

Zach Fehrman has chosen baseball as the sport he’d like to pursue in college, but has not made a final decision on his campus choice yet.

As of FridayMay 29, UW-Stevens Point and UW-Eau Claire were the two schools on Fehrman’s radar.

Because his senior baseball season was wiped out by the pandemic, Fehrman had to send his stats and film out from his junior season for colleges to get a look at him.

Last spring, Fehrman made the CWC-North first team, when the Panthers placed second behind Manawa. Fehrman primarily played around the infield and pitched for the Bowler High School team in the spring and the Marion/Tigerton Legion team during the summer.

“It really means a lot for me,” said Fehrman, of getting the chance to try out in college. “Baseball has always been my favorite sport, and I feel like I’m talented enough to get a spot on a roster.”

Fehrman is most looking forward to meeting new people and getting another chance to play the game.

If Fehrman ends up playing for Stevens Point or Eau Claire, he will compete in the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. The baseball conference also has teams from La Crosse, Oshkosh, Platteville, Stout, Whitewater and Finlandia (Michigan).

Eau Claire is set to rejoin the WIAC for the spring 2021 season after not having a team since 1995, when the sport was discontinued.

sports@newmedia-wi.com