Boys basketball climbs in standings
By Michael S. Hoey
Correspondent
The Southern Lakes Conference wrestling championship belongs to Lake Geneva Badger once again. Badger last won the title in 2013.
Badger scored 231 team points to win the championship at Waterford on Saturday. Elkhorn finished second with 210.5, Waterford took third with 167.5, and Burlington finished fourth with 148.
The Badgers were led by Reggie Kelly, who won the only individual championship for the Badgers at 195 pounds. After receiving a bye in Round 1, Kelly won a 9-4 decision over Union Grove’s Evan Storm-Voltz in the semi-final. He then won a 5-4 decision over Waterford’s Jack Trautman in the first-place match to earn 22 team points for Badger.
Despite winning only one individual conference title, Badger earned the SLC title on the strength of eight second-place finishes. Robby Mutimer earned 20 points at 132 pounds with a pin of Waterford’s Ashton Cadman and a pin of Wilmot’s Ellie Keen before losing by 8-5 decision to Burlington’s Jared Bird. Cole Mikrut also earned 20 points at 285 pounds by pinning Matthew Phillips of Wilmot and losing by 5-3 decision to Richard Heidemann of Elkhorn.
Nate Otero earned 18 points at 138 pounds with a 7-3 decision over Wilmot’s Jeremy Toro and a loss by 4-3 decision to Waterford’s Anthony Christenson. Chase Craig earned 18 points at 152 pounds with a pin of Union Grove’s Joe Schuette, an 8-7 decision over Jordan Danowski of Waterford, and a loss to Bryce Jacobson of Elkhorn by 15-5 major decision. George Somerville earned 18 points at 170 pounds with a pin of Burlington’s Louie Hardesty, a 4-0 decision over Riley Remington of Elkhorn, and a loss to Jared Krattiger of Waterford by 19-7 major decision. Nick Halpin earned 18 points at 182 pounds with a 5-0 decision over Elkhorn’s Myles Schumaker and a loss by 7-2 decision to Burlington’s Nathan Crayton.
Saul Gomez earned 18 points at 220 pounds with a 5-3 decision over Waterford’s Boyd Biggs and a loss to Hegeman Tiedt of Burlington by pin. Stevie Kraus also took second and earned 16 points at 126 pounds with a 4-2 decision over Kyler Moudy of Wilmot, a 7-5 win over Brett Kieslich of Union Grove, and a loss to Justin Ratkovec of Waterford by 12-4 major decision.
Michael Sanders (17 points, 120 pounds), Beau LaDu (16 points, 106 pounds), and Douglas Reuss (13 points, 145 pounds) all took third place for the Badgers.
Badger will compete at the Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association regional at Elkhorn on Saturday.
Boys continue to climb
The Badger boys basketball team continued its climb up the standings with two wins last week. Badger began the season 2-6 but has won seven of its past eight games. The one loss was to first-place Westosha Central on Jan. 19.
Badger beat Waterford 70-69 on a last-second shot by Jake Berhorst on Feb. 2. Badger dominated the first half, outscoring the Wolverines 35-21. Waterford came back in the second half to force overtime. Badger won the extra period 9-8. Berhorst made that possible with his last-second shot.
Berhorst led all scorers with 29 points. Mason DuMez added 15 and Austin Jackson had 12. Chris Saltzmann led Waterford (7-9, 5-5 Southern Lakes Conference) with 25.
Badger (9-7 (8-3 SLC) defeated Elkhorn 50-41 on Feb. 5. Elkhorn led 23-20 at the half but Badger dominated the second half 30-18.
Chase Kruger led the Badgers with 13 points. Berhorst had 12. Alex Easterday led the Elks (6-12, 2-9) with 19.
Badger travels to Burlington on Friday, hosts Whitewater on Saturday and visits Kenosha Indian Trail on Tuesday.
Badger girls win two
The Badger girls were like Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde on Feb. 2 in a 46-36 non-conference win over Edgerton at home. Edgerton won the first half 30-24 but managed to score just six points in the second half.
“We were more consistent in the second half defensively,” Coach David Jooss said. “We also rotated more players than they did, which helped us to be able to finish the game better than them.”
Jooss said he played 11 players and Edgerton played just six, which helped the Badgers wear Edgerton down. Badger also benefitted from a series of Edgerton turnovers in the second half, and the Badgers shot well from the free throw line.
“I didn’t really like how we played in the first half, but I did like how we finished the game,” Jooss said.
Sam Tisa led the Badgers with 13 points. Jenn Freeman added 11. Kellan Schmidt led Edgerton (10-7) with 12.
The Badgers dismantled Elkhorn (0-18, 0-11) 56-20 on Feb. 5. Badger dominated the first half 23-9 and won the second 33-11.
Badger (9-10, 6-5) was led by Freeman’s 15 points. Chloe Kleeman, Courtney Oomens and Alexis Todd all added eight points each. No one from Elkhorn had more than four points.
The Badgers hosted Delavan-Darien on Tuesday. The Comets upset Wilmot 71-69 last week. Wilmot had been undefeated in the SLC. The Badgers travel to Burlington on Friday and Westosha Central on Tuesday in their final two conference games before regional play begins.
