By Paul Lecker
MarshfieldAreaSports.com
Mosinee senior Keagen Jirschele and Stevens Point Pacelli senior Hannah Trzinski were named the Zaleski Sports & MarshfieldAreaSports.com Male and Female High School Athletes of the Year for the 2023-24 sports season.
Jirschele and Trzinski were chosen by staff from MarshfieldAreaSports.com and Zaleski Sports.
The Athlete of the Year announcement is the culmination of the 2023-24 Athlete of the Month program, in which 11 student-athletes won voting polls each month.
Varsity athletes from the following high schools are eligible to be nominated for the award: Abbotsford, Amherst, Athens, Assumption, Auburndale, Colby, Columbus Catholic, D.C. Everest, Edgar, Granton, Greenwood, Iola-Scandinavia, Loyal, Marathon, Marshfield, Mosinee, Neillsville, Pacelli, Pittsville, Port Edwards, Rosholt, Spencer, Stratford, Stevens Point, Waupaca, Newman Catholic, Wild Rose, Wisconsin Rapids Lincoln and Wittenberg-Birnamwood.
Winners of the High School Athlete of the Month awards during the 2023-24 school sports year were: Marshfield volleyball player Abby Ongna (August), Stevens Point football player Jackson Spees (September), Edgar football player Karter Butt (October), Amherst girls basketball player Scout Spadoni (November), Stevens Point Pacelli boys basketball player Camden Schurk (December), Wild Rose girls basketball player Cali Havlovitz (January), Marshfield wrestler Ava Gardner (February), Stratford track athlete Payton Glenn (March), Marshfield track athlete Ethan Knecht (April), Iola-Scandinavia boys track athlete Jensen Rice (May) and the Iola-Scandinavia boys track & field team (June).
All 11 monthly winners and the two Athlete of the Year recipients received awards from Awards ‘N’ More of Wisconsin Rapids.
Jirschele recently graduated after completing an outstanding athletic career at Mosinee, leading the Indians to a Division 2 runner-up finish at the 2024 WIAA State Baseball Tournament.
Jirschele was named both the Offensive and Defensive Player of the Year on the 2023 All-Great Northern Conference Football Team, earning first-team honors at wide receiver for the third year in a row and first-team defensive back accolades for the second-straight season.
Jirschele hauled in 44 passes for 818 yards and nine touchdowns, rushed for another 371 yards and 10 scores, picked off an incredible 14 passes and took two back for touchdowns, and had four special teams TDs (three punt returns, one kickoff return) as well for the Indians.
Jirschele followed that up with a unanimous first-team selection to the All-GNC Boys Basketball Team after leading Mosinee to a 21-5 record and a regional final appearance. He averaged 19.9 points, 3.9 rebounds, 3.2 steals and 6.0 assists per game, finishing his career with 1,223 points and a 15.7 points per game average over three seasons.
On the baseball diamond, where Jirschele will continue his athletic and academic career at South Dakota State University, he hit .402 (41-for-102) with five home runs, 28 RBI, 10 doubles and 37 stolen bases as Mosinee reached the state championship game in Division 2. He was named Great Northern Conference Player of the Year and was a first-team all-conference pick for the third-straight year.
Jirschele was also one of the Indians’ top pitchers this past spring, going 9-2 with one save, a 1.45 earned run average and 77 strikeouts, with only 36 hits allowed, in 53 innings pitched. He finished his baseball career at Mosinee with a .404 batting average, 12 home runs, 115 career hits, and a 24-5 pitching record with 211 strikeouts and a 1.18 ERA.
Trzinski, a pitcher and first baseman, helped Pacelli to its second-straight WIAA Division 5 state softball championship as she hit an astounding .676 (73-for-108) this past season with 41 runs scored and 46 RBI. As a part-time pitcher, Trzinski went 3-1 in 11 games with a 1.30 ERA and 45 strikeouts in 37 2/3 innings.
Trzinski, who was also a three-year starter on the Pacelli girls basketball team prior to sitting out the 2023-24 season, finished her softball career with a .555 batting average, 127 hits and 111 RBI. As a pitcher, she went 16-5 during the past four seasons with a 1.96 ERA in 29 appearances.
Trzinski went 3-for-8 in two games at the state tournament, scoring two runs, as Pacelli downed Oakfield 4-3 in the D-5 championship game last month in Madison.
Previous Athlete of the Year award winners were: Owen-Withee football and basketball player, and track athlete Albert Goerlitz (2014); Athens football, basketball and baseball player Seth Coker (2015); Marathon football, basketball and baseball player Ryan Gassner (2016); Marshfield Columbus Catholic soccer, basketball and baseball player Tyler Fuerlinger (2017); Spencer football player, wrestler and baseball player Hunter Luepke (2018); Spencer football player, wrestler and track athlete Logan Zschernitz (2019); Stratford football and basketball player Ben Barten (2020); Edgar football, baseball and basketball player, and track athlete Austin Dahlke (boys) and Wisconsin Rapids Assumption cross country runner, girls basketball player and track athlete Ainara Sainz de Rozas (girls) (2021); Iola-Scandinavia football and basketball player, and track athlete Parker Prahl (boys) and Neillsville basketball and softball player Emma Moseley (girls) (2022), and Wausau Newman Catholic football and basketball player and golfer Conner Krach (boys) and Iola-Scandinavia volleyball, basketball and softball player Jaelyn Sivertson (girls) (2023).