Posted: May 4, 2010 |(0) Comments

Nicolet girls track

Behind a one-two sweep of both the shot put and the discus by Rachel Morello and Brianna Achs, respectively, the Knights got a big mid-season boost by winning the eight-school Greendale Invitational on April 27.

"It was a really nice overall team effort," said Knights coach Brian Sommers, who took over from long-time Nicolet mentor Mike McKenna this season. "Rachel and Brianna had the good luck to get outside earlier than usual this spring because of the good weather and that has really helped them. Those two work so hard, I'm just proud to coach them."

Sommers spent 10 years at weight coach for the Knights and he said the transition from McKenna to himself has been smooth.

"I've really learned a lot over these past years, and Mike was a big help," said Sommers. "I made myself a student of the game (track). Things have gone smoothly and I was able to retain most of the assistants. Mark Eichler (in the sprints and hurdles) has been a big help."

It has paid off well for the Knights, who also took part in the North Shore Conference Relays on Wednesday (see GlendaleNOW.com for details).

Nicolet scored 146 points to outdistance Milwaukee King (135) and Pius XI (109) for the title at Greendale.

Morello threw 111 feet-9 inches to win the discus and 35-4 1/2 for the shot title. Achs was 107-3 and 33-7 1/2 , respectively, for her runner-up slots.

Another one-two came in the pole vault from Laura LeBrun (9-0) and Kati Fitch (9-0), respectively. Another field event first came from state honor roll staple Roni Thompson in the triple jump (36-4 1/2 ).

"Roni has been very active on our Leadership Council and the girls are really looking up to her now," Sommers said. "They really value her opinion."

The Knights also got two firsts out of their sprint relays as both the 400 team (51.56 seconds) and 800 crew (1:46.87) set season bests. Thompson, Ashley Jones, Ashley Green and Surya Chionesu were on both teams according to Sommers. Green is making her way back in track after earning All-Suburban Player of the Year honors in basketball.

Other top three efforts came from the following: 100: Chionesu, third (13.04); 200: Jones, second (27.4); 3,200: Christie Crossman, third (13:40.58); and high jump: Gaby Bronson, third (4-8).

Shorewood boys tennis

Behind two individual championships, the Greyhounds took second in the Delavan-Darien Doubles Invitational on Saturday.

"We finished extremely close to winning the invite," said Shorewood coach Justin Olson. "It was a very fun tournament, and I feel the singles players really enjoyed getting the opportunity to compete at doubles."

Shorewood finished only two points behind Kenosha Bradford (58-56) for the team title in the eight-school event.

Winning titles for the Greyhounds were the 1A team of Jake Miller and Sawyer Carlson-Price with wins over West Allis Hale, Delavan-Darien and Bradford opponents and the second team of Joe Richter and Jordan Wise, with triumphs over Racine St. Catherine's, Racine Case and Bradford duos.

The fourth team of Jimmy Lilly and Nick Aiello was second and the third team of Arthur Staub and Ben Brody was third.

Nicolet tennis

The Knights won three duals in the rain-delayed Verona Invite last weekend and now will prepare for its own powerhouse Nicolet Sweet 16 Invite this weekend.

Nicolet will host Division 1 and Division 2 defending state champions Marquette and University School, respectively, along with Homestead, Brookfield East and Central, Whitefish Bay, Middleton, Madison West, Neenah and others. Two duals will be played on Friday and two on Saturday on courts all over the area.

"As usual, I think this will be better than the state tournament," said Knights coach Tim Koppa. "I think if the weather holds, it should be a lot of fun."

In the Verona meet, the Knights beat Verona, 6-1, Madison East, 4-3, and Madison West, 5-2.

The doubles teams of Gard Pecor and Trevor Katzban, Ethan Taxman and Richard Kim and Jacob Levey and Quinn Ellsworth all went unbeaten on the weekend, with the duo of Taxman and Kim coming up with the critical three-set win over Madison East to secure that match.

"It (the whole match) was a great three, three-and-a-half hour thing," Koppa said. "All the individual matches were super. It's one we can really build on.

"We're feeling great about our doubles play and our singles players are right on the edge," Koppa said. "All they need is a couple of big wins to get over the hump."

Homestead boys tennis

The Highlanders cruised past Eau Claire Memorial (5-2), Neenah (7-0) and Kenosha Tremper (7-0) to win the Neenah Super Quad on Saturday.

Homestead is now in the midst of the most pivotal week of the regular season, as it took on Nicolet on Tuesday, will host Whitefish Bay on Thursday and then will take part in the Nicolet Sweet 16 Invitational on Friday and Saturday.

The only matches the Highlanders lost at Neenah were at third and fourth singles against Memorial. The doubles teams of Connor Peck and Bryce Toburen, David Stockbridge and Justin Kirtley and Ben Wilson and Peter Apfelbach all swept their matches on the day.

Shorewood track

Peter Drews turned in a personal best top-three effort on the state honor roll when he took second in the 3,200 at the Marquette Invitational on Saturday.

"You look forward to races like this," said Drews. "There are only a few chances in the season to run a fast time against a good field. You've got to take advantage of those opportunities when they're presented to you."

Drews was clocked in 9:25.13 for his place on the warm and windy day, as the Hilltoppers' Jake Erschen set a state-best time with a winning effort of 9:19.87.

"The wind was so hard to deal with, but everyone had to do it," Drews said, "but Jake (Erschen) ran a great race. He was largely on his own."

Drews also contributed a scorching 1:59 800 split as the Greyhounds' 3,200 relay team turned in a season best honor roll time of 8:13.35, good for third. Joey Knutson, Aidan Mazur and Ben Tyler also contributed to the effort. All the splits were personal records said coach Dominic Newman.

At the rain-shortened Benson Invite in Wauwatosa on Friday, the 3,200 relay team of Keith Dodd, Oliver Heywood, Gavin Schroeder and Jacob Schermer (8:57.34) was second.

For the girls at the Benson, Emily Bachhuber won the 1,600 (5:20.77) and was second in the 800 (2:26.51). The 800 relay team of Sydney Cross, Emily and Cara Jacobson and Caroline DeVitt, was third (season best 1:50.94).

The Greyhounds will be at the Arrowhead Invitational on Friday.

Whitefish Bay track

Davontae Johnson won the 400 to lead the Blue Dukes at the Dan Benson Invitational in Wauwatosa on Friday.

"There were encouraging things, yes and no," said Bay coach Joe Saggio. "We're still having problems with hand-offs (on the relays). We could solve that if we could get the kids to show up regularly to practice."

A bigger issue is the torn ligament in the thumb to top short sprinter Jevontae Merriwether. Saggio is uncertain how that will affect his starts and his relay passes.

The Blue Dukes took part in the North Shore Conference Relays on Wednesday (see WhitefishBayNOW.com for details).

Johnson was clocked in 50.5 seconds to win the 400 while James Stecker was second in the 100 in 11.79. Bay had chances to win both the 400 and 800 relays, but hand-off issues prevented them from doing so.

The 800 team of Robert Courtney, Stecker, Chris Gray and Brandon Threats took second in a season best of 1:32.71 and the 400 team of Merriwether, Threats, Paul Davis and Alex Jamerson was second in 44.29.

Phil Kistler was third in the triple jump (38-3 1/2 ).

For the girls, Camille Schwartz (10-0) and Nawoo Kim (9-6) took first and second, respectively, in the pole vault in a solid effort for the Blue Dukes.

The 400 relay team of Kim, Jayda Watkins, Maddie Cohen and Monica Mitchell was second (52.29) as was Frankie Carroll in the high jump (5-0). Arden Stewart was third in the 800 (2:29.22).

Whitefish Bay tennis

The Blue Dukes lost only to defending state champion Marquette in taking third in their own Lemel Invitational on Saturday.

Bay defeated DePere, 5-2, lost to the Hilltoppers, 7-0, and then beat Madison Memorial, 4-3.

Returning state place-winner Jack Larsen had to default his match against Marquette because of cramps and needed an IV to overcome a case of dehydration.

"He was playing a nice match," said Blue Dukes coach Phil Kelbe. "It was just unfortunate, he was not able to finish it."

The third doubles team of Brad Bertha and Freddy Stalle played a good three-setter against their Hilltoppers opponents before falling.

In the win over Memorial, which Bay played without Larsen, Matt Kavanaugh, at two singles, and Henry Bachman, at four, won singles matches while the doubles duos of John Krugler and Patrick Harrington and Charlie Bostwick and Riley Mehls also pulled out victories.

Kelbe said the Blue Dukes are getting people back from injury so that should help as they take part in powerhouse events like the Nicolet Sweet 16 this weekend.

Brown Deer tennis

The Falcons dodged raindrops as they hosted their own Falcon Invite last weekend, going 1-2 in dual competition with one yet to finish against South Milwaukee.

"We've always liked the two-day tournament format playing against a multitude of teams," said Brown Deer coach Jim Matousek. "A lot of different teams are always good to see."

The Falcons will finish that match against South Milwaukee Thursday and then will be at the Greendale Martin Luther Invite on Saturday.

Matousek said that the doubles teams of Nick Korth and Torian Ricks and Aaron Blumberg and Jordan Smith are playing well. He also noted that Trevor Martin is learning fast at first singles.

Nicolet softball

Amy Popp threw what is believed to be the first North Shore Conference no-hitter in Knights history when the Knights bombed Milwaukee Lutheran 18-1, in a five-inning effort April 29.

"I've been around seven years and have not seen one in conference before," said Knights coach Brad Kuehl. "We had one by Jessica Richards a few years ago, but that was against Milwaukee Bay View."

Popp had two strikeouts and gave up a solo run in the fourth. Emily Gadzichowski had four hits including two triples and two RBI. Carli deFelice and Lanoira Duhart (three RBI) had three hits apiece while Popp helped herself with two hits.

The Knights also lost to North Shore co-leader Germantown, 7-1, on April 27.

"The key is that the real Emily Gadzichowski is starting to show up and is starting to hit the ball really hard and with six games this week, I expect her average to skyrocket," said Kuehl.

Nicolet will be at the Sheboygan Red Wing Invitational on Saturday.

Nicolet boys golf

The Knights won their second North Shore Conference event in as many weeks with a victory in the nine-hole mini-meet at Tripoli on Monday.

Nicolet turned in a four-man total of 159 to outpace Cedarburg (164). Ben Schlossmann tied for medalist honors with a 38.

The Knights will be at the Port Washington Invite at Hawthorne Hills on Friday.

Homestead girls soccer

The Highlanders (8-0-1) remained red-hot by burying three opponents last week including nonconference whippings of Waukesha South (2-0) and Sheboygan North (7-0).

They will need to remain so, as they enter the toughest portion of their season. They will host powerhouse Brookfield East at 7 p.m. Thursday and then will do the same for defending state champion DSHA at 11 a.m. Saturday.

Then on Tuesday, they will host Whitefish Bay at 7 p.m. in what will likely be the North Shore Conference championship game.

"We already know a lot about ourselves," said Homestead coach Rich Dorn, "and we already feel we can compete with anyone, but now we'll find the answer to that question with a fair degree of certainty soon.

"Everything with us will be performance-based."

Dorn continues to praise the goal-making efforts of forwards Zoe Ziegler and Olivia Tehan and noted that Kate Wirthlin has been a terrific playmaker.

"We've got to compete with these teams," said Dorn. "We'll show up and do just that."

Homestead boys golf

The road trip to La Crosse on Friday was beneficial to the Highlanders, as they took fourth in the 20-school Onalaska Invitational, but they could not follow it up on Monday, when they took only fifth in the North Shore mini-meet at Tripoli.

"It had been a good week for us," said Highlanders coach Steve O'Brien, "… but we clearly have to solidify a few things out there."

The Highlanders will be off until the next North Shore mini-meet on Monday at Ozaukee.

At the Onalaska meet, which was part of a road trip with the Menomonee Falls and Brookfield Central squads, the Highlanders had an 18-hole total of 322 as Middleton won with 301. Jordan Niebrugge led the way with a 76 while Dylan Drozdowicz came in with a 79, Joe Tautges 83, Kyle Waugaman 84 and Bryan Silver 85.

"The course allowed the kids to really get into a nice rhythm," said O'Brien.

But it didn't work out as well on Monday at Tripoli, as the Highlanders turned in a nine-hole score of 170 despite a co-medalist score of 38 from Niebrugge.

Nicolet won with a 159 while Cedarburg (164) and Germantown (169) wedged themselves in ahead of Homestead.

Whitefish Bay soccer

It was a lesson in humility for the Blue Dukes, who entered play at a Tournament of Champions event in Iowa last weekend with an unbeaten record and came away with a tie and two losses for their efforts.

"This shows that we have a lot to work on," said Bay coach Robert Williams. "They played physical with us, and I think we lost a little composure at times. These were all pretty good teams but we could have played better."

Especially in light of the difficult schedule the Blue Dukes (9-2-1) have in front of them including a road tilt at Quad Park against defending state champion DSHA at 7 p.m. Following a 2 p.m. nonconference tilt at Greendale on Saturday, the Blue Dukes will have their most important game of the year when they visit Homestead at 7 p.m. May 11 in what is likely the North Shore Conference championship game.

"They'll be pumped, we'll be pumped," said Williams.

Bay tied Fort Zumwalt (Missouri), 2-2, winning in a shootout, and then lost to Glenbrook South (Ill.), 3-1, and to St. James Academy (Kansas), 6-5.

"We've been at this tournament for three years now," Williams said. "It's good exposure for the kids, as there are a lot of scouts who come to it."

Williams praised the effort of Lydia Kaminsky, who despite a sore shin, had four goals in the last game.

Nicolet girls soccer

It was a hard weekend for the Knights, at the Catholic Memorial Invitational, as the nicked-up team lost to Madison West (1-0), Catholic Memorial (2-0) and Grafton (5-2).

"By the time of that last game our fitness was really being tested," said Nicolet coach Tony Quintero. "We had a hard time maintaining the quality of our play. Still, it was good for the girls to see this level of competition."

The Knights will be at Mukwonago at 7 p.m. Friday.

Nicolet boys track

Mark Taibleson was fourth in the discus with a toss of 150-11 while the 400 relay team of Lamar Johnson-Harris, Christian Smith, Brandon Kappel and Jeff McClain, was third (44.12) to lead the Knights in the Marquette Invitational on Saturday.

McClain was also sixth in the 800 (2:03.83).

 

- Steven L. Tietz