Whiting’s 4th title the top area sports story

Witt-Birn volleyball, Pulaski boys soccer state appearances take No. 2-3 spots
By: 
NEW Media Staff

The past year has produced plenty of memorable sports accomplishments.

There were impressive individual moments, like Oconto Falls’ Clayton Whiting winning his fourth state title, which was unanimously voted the top sports story of 2022. Wittenberg-Birnamwood’s Reese Rogowski and Pulaski’s Taya Schmidt, along with several area wrestlers, also had strong state showings to earn spots among the top-10 stories.

There were also plenty of area teams that shone, like the Witt-Birn volleyball and Pulaski boys soccer teams qualifying for state. Other teams, like Lena volleyball, Bonduel softball and girls basketball and Lena football, didn’t quite make it to state, but each had memorable seasons for other reasons to earn spots in the top 10 sports stories.

Here’s a closer look at the top area sports stories for 2022:

Whiting caps monster career with 4th title

The high school wrestling career for Oconto Falls’ Clayton Whiting was one most wrestlers only dream of.

Whiting finished 3-0 in his state matches at 182 pounds as a senior to win a fourth title on Feb. 26, becoming only one of 22 wrestlers ever to win four titles. All 15 of the points he gave up at state came on free escapes.

“It means a lot that my work is paying off,” said Whiting after winning his fourth title. “All those years of blood, sweat and tears finally came to reality, and I ended up getting my fourth one tonight.”

He capped his senior year with a 50-1 record. His high school record finished at 163-5, with only two losses after his freshman season. Whiting’s first three titles came at 152, 170 and 182 pounds.

Only four of the 22 four-time champs have a title over 152, and Whiting is the only one to have a title over 160 pounds.

Whiting graduated high school as one of four Panthers to ever win multiple state titles and was the only four-time champ.

“I think my legacy is going to stay in there forever, and I think it means a lot to all the wrestlers that are incoming to my high school,” said Whiting. “It’s going to motivate them that anything is possible, and they can become just like me someday.”

Whiting now wrestles for the University of Missouri.

Witt-Birn volleyball team makes state for 1st time

The Wittenberg-Birnamwood volleyball program has enjoyed plenty of success over the past few seasons, but the Chargers made history this fall when they qualified for state for the first time in school history.

Witt-Birn won the Central Wisconsin Conference-East Division title with a 7-0 record. The Chargers then knocked off Coleman and Bonduel to win a regional title. Witt-Birn swept Weyauwega-Fremont before rallying past Edgar in an epic, five-set sectional final.

“It’s crazy,” said Lilly Betry, one of six seniors on the roster, after qualifying for state. “It’s so nice that it’s our last year, too. This is the way we’re going to go out. It’s just amazing.”

“Literally everything, it’s crazy,” said Kiara Deruchowski, another senior. “Our team has worked so hard for this, and to be a senior and go to state is absolutely amazing.”

At state, Witt-Birn was topped 25-13, 25-18, 25-9 by Howards Grove, which went on to win the title for a fourth straight year. That didn’t diminish the season in the slightest for the Chargers.

“I’m so proud of all my girls,” said coach Becky Rew in a postgame press conference. “They fought the whole way through. They didn’t let the nerves of state get to them. They fought and they pushed every point … I just can’t say enough about these girls and how they never give up on each other.”

Pulaski boys soccer team returns to state

The same day Witt-Birn’s volleyball team punched its first ticket to state, the Pulaski boys soccer team also qualified for state.

The Red Raiders opened the postseason by outscoring its first two opponents 21-1 to win a regional title. Things got tougher in sectional play, but top-seeded Pulaski prevailed, topping West De Pere 4-3 in penalty kicks and then downing Tomah 1-0 in the sectional final to make it to state for the second time in school history.

“It’s very special; I honestly couldn’t ask for anything better,” said senior Ryan Drafz of making state. “We lost last year in the sectional finals, so it feels really nice to even the score and advance to state. We were able to win with confidence, passion and playing the full game. We never let up or gave up; we played our hearts out, and that’s why we were able to win and advance to state.”

At state, Pulaski put up a great fight against top-seeded Whitefish Bay, but lost 4-2. Corbin Tackmier and Chase Ambrosius scored for the Red Raiders at state.

Pulaski capped the season with an 18-5-2 record, and coach Jeff Schneider believed that season will be just the start of big things for the program.

“For these guys to finally punch through and get it, I think it’s going to only help our program, because we do talk about getting to state and it’s not a foreign concept,” said Schneider. “Now that we’ve actually been here, we’ve played a game down here, I think the program in general — it’s a bright future. I’m very proud of the team; this was a great opportunity and, I thought, a good showing.”

Witt-Birn’s Rogowski a star at state track

Before helping the volleyball team to state, Witt-Birn’s Reese Rogowski capped her junior year with a huge track and field season.

The season culminated at state, where she placed second in the 200- and 400-meter dashes, seventh in the 100 dash and 10th in the long jump.

“It means a lot because I knew I wanted to place higher this year in at least a few of my events, and that’s what I did,” said Rogowski of her performances at state.

Earlier in the season, Rogowski won CWC-Large titles in the 100, 200, 400 and long jump, doing so in dominant fashion.

Rogowski’s big season continued at regionals, where she placed first in the 200 and 400 and was second in the long jump and 100. The junior then placed first in the 200, second in the 400 and third in the 100 and long jump to qualify for state in all four events.

Lena volleyball team goes on magical postseason ride

The Lena volleyball team also made some history during the fall, winning its first regional title in 32 years.

The regional title wasn’t expected, with the Wildcats coming in as a No. 4 seed and needing a furious rally and a couple upsets to advance.

Lena dropped the first two sets against No. 5 Gillett in a regional quarterfinal, but rallied to win 16-25, 17-25, 25-16, 25-16, 15-5 in five sets.

Against top-seeded Suring, Lena pulled off a 25-20, 16-25, 25-12, 23-25, 15-11 road win. The Wildcats won the regional title over No. 2 Gresham by rallying a couple times, 16-25, 25-16, 19-25, 25-20, 15-10.

Lena’s magical postseason run came to a close after a loss to Wabeno/Laona in a sectional semifinal.

“We feel very proud that we came this far,” said Lena’s Makynna Herald. “It is sad that is has to end this way, but we came this far and it was super fun.”

Pulaski’s Schmidt caps career on state podium

Pulaski’s Taya Schmidt was no stranger to the state scene, making the meet as a diver on three occasions. She saved her best for last.

Schmidt qualified for state as a senior after winning the sectional by more than 35 points. She placed fifth at state with a score of 428.45.

“This year, I thought I did pretty good at state,” said Schmidt. “Although a few dives did not go the way I was hoping, I did my best I could’ve in the moment, and I’m happy with the way I placed.”

Earlier in the season, Schmidt was first in the Fox River Classic Conference to earn the Diver of the Year honor. She also broke the 6-dive school record score, with her mark of 269.15 topping the old mark of 251.6.

Bonduel softball team dominant in spring

The Bonduel softball team arguably had the best regular season showing from any area team in 2022.

The Bears were undefeated during the regular season and went on to win a regional title before eventually falling in the sectional semifinal game.

Bonduel flexed its muscles during CWC-East play, outscoring opponents 99-14 to win the title by three games.

Even more impressive was the fact that the Bears’ roster wasn’t all that experienced, with just two seniors on the roster.

Heartbreak finish caps otherwise positive year for Bonduel girls basketball squad

The Bonduel softball team continued where the Bonduel girls basketball team left off in the winter. The Bears tied Amherst for the CWC-East title and finished the season with a 23-5 record.

Bonduel got past playoff nemesis Crandon to open the postseason and then routed Shiocton to win a regional title.

The Bears then defeated St. Mary Catholic in a sectional semifinal matchup, a round that had dispatched the program from the playoffs several times over the past few years.

Bonduel then played in an instant classic against Westfield in the sectional final. The Bears fell behind early and trailed by 11 points with about 14 minutes to play.

Bonduel slowly clawed back into the contest and eventually tied it with 25 seconds to play. Just when it looked like the game would head to overtime, Westfield hit a one-handed desperation shot at the buzzer to stun Bonduel.

Lena/STAA football enjoys another big season

The Lena/St. Thomas Aquinas Academy football team turned in its second straight big season this past fall.

The co-op went 6-1 in Peninsula Conference play to take second, with a loss to Gibraltar. Lena/STAA avenged that loss by upsetting Gibraltar in the first round of the playoffs. The co-op was eliminated by Wabeno/Laona in a second round game.

Lena/STAA earned 12 all-conference honors and had Sam Marquardt (offense) and Josh Kristof (defense) take home the Players of the Year awards.

Wrestlers rack up top finishes at state

While Whiting was winning his fourth state title, other area wrestlers were also performing well at the state tournament. Sixteen other wrestlers qualified for state last winter.

Pulaski’s Trenton Gibbons placed second, while Mason Wells was third and Ethan Eggert fifth. Witt-Birn’s David Gauderman also placed third. Lena’s Dylan Comins, Oconto Falls’ Cole Bozile and Bonduel’s Tyson Bogacz all came in sixth place.

Bonduel’s Hailey Berg and Maddy Sokolski and Shawano’s Piper Novitski all participated in the first-ever girls tournament. Berg and Sokolski each came in second, while Novitski was fifth.