By Daniel Schoettler
Correspondent
The community as well as the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater and its athletic programs showed support for UW-Whitewater baseball player Justin Wegner last Friday night against Coe College as part of the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference’s “Playing for a Cause,” initiative.
Wegner, 19, who was a freshman on the UW-Whitewater baseball team last season, was diagnosed in June with a rare form of cancer called soft tissue sarcoma. Fewer than 200 cases of that type of cancer have been reported.
The UW-Whitewater volleyball team hosts a game each year that supports a cause – this year the team decided to support Wegner.
“It is a really cool thing,” Wegner said. “There has been a lot of people who have been doing a lot of stuff for me and it is all overwhelming… it is incredible to see how much support I have.”
Purple wristbands were sold at the game with the hashtag #Jwegstrong for a minimum donation of $5. Proceeds are going to help Wegner and his family pay for his cancer treatment and other related costs.
Student-athletes from multiple sports came out to support Wegner that night including the football, women’s basketball, baseball, swim and dive, women’s soccer, both soccer teams, and several coaches.
In addition to the purple wristbands, people in attendance participated in a volleyball serving contest to try and win prizes for donating money to Wegner.
“I think it really shows that we really are a Warhawk family,” UW-Whitewater volleyball coach Stacy Boudreau said. “We say it, but you get to see it first hand at something like this… his situation is tough, but it had brought everybody together and it shows that everyone supports each other in the good and the bad.”
Numerous members of the UW-Whitewater volleyball team, particularly the sophomores know Wegner from living in the dorms with him. They also supported him in a benefit held over the summer.
“Since we were on the volleyball team and he was on the baseball team, we all really got to interact between athletes and stuff,” sophomore libero Brittany Robinson said. “We all got to be close to him and be really good friends with him.”
Robinson said when Wegner was diagnosed with cancer it hit the team hard.
“We’re just really supportive because it is hard for anyone to go through this, and for someone we’re close to go through this is even harder,” she said.
Wegner has also received support from outside of the UW-Whitewater. Chicago Cubs sluggers Kris Bryant and Anthony Rizzo, for example, showed their support this past summer by posting pictures on social media stating of them holding signs of support for Wegner.
“Obviously it is a horrible situation for Justin,” UW-Whitewater baseball coach John Vodenlich said. “You’d like to think that people out there are praying and working for him and this was a wonderful tribute to him.”
Wegner said he got some good news recently when his scans came back and showed the cancer is shrinking. He will go through a few more rounds of chemo before heading to Texas for surgery.
Vodenlich said his team is looking to do more to support Wegner in his battle, in line with the team’s effort to always find good causes to stand behind.
“For Justin, we are planning a tribute and support game where we will have a lot of things going on for him and his benefit,” Vodenlich said. “By that time, we will have a lot more information on his status, but one of our games in the spring will be dedicated completely to him.”
