This story is sponsored by: American Family Insurance-Randy LeMoine Agency
By Paul Lecker
MarshfieldAreaSports.com
Marshfield Columbus Catholic is coming off a Division 5 state title, Marshfield is loaded to make a run at a fourth-straight Wisconsin Valley Conference championship, and the usual suspects in the Marawood Conference South include Auburndale and Stratford again as the 2024-25 high school boys basketball team promises to be a good one for area squads.
Spencer and Loyal bring back a healthy number of key contributors as they both look to challenge Columbus Catholic, which lost its top five scorers, in the Cloverbelt East.
Here’s a look at the five area teams as they stand in the early portion of the new season:
AUBURNDALE EAGLES
Coach (years at school, overall record): Chad Weinfurter (16th year, 308-93).
Last season: 22-5, 13-3 second place in Marawood Conference South Division; lost to Marathon 57-54 in WIAA Division 4 sectional semifinal.
Returning players: Blake Raab, sr., 5-9 G, 7.7 points, 2.3 rebounds, 2.3 assists per game, 31 made 3-pointers, Marawood South honorable mention and all-defensive team selections in 2023-24; Thomas Aue, sr., 6-8 F, 5.7 ppg, 5.3 rpg; Peyton Weinfurter, jr., 5-9 G, 1.5 ppg.
Newcomers: Josh Lundgren, jr., 5-9 G; Keegan Empey, sr., 5-10 G; Jaxon Grube, so., 6-2 F; Ray Teska, so., 5-7 G; Ayden Raab, sr., 5-10 G; James Norby, sr., 6-5 F; Will Akins, so., 6-4 G/F.
Outlook: The Marawood South is wide open this season as a number of top players from the top teams a year ago – Marathon, Auburndale and Stratford – have graduated. Senior guard Blake Raab looks to take over the main scoring role for the Eagles after averaging nearly eight points per game last season. He poured in 33 in Auburndale’s season-opener.
From Coach Weinfurter: “We need everybody to fill a new role than the one they had last year. We lost our three leading scorers, so we will need to fill that void. Then others need to learn, accept and execute their roles. Quickness is a team strength. Blake is a great leader and has three years of varsity experience. Thomas and Peyton improved immensely as the season went on. Our guys are very coachable and I think our team will gel quickly.”
COLUMBUS CATHOLIC DONS
Coach (years at school, overall record): Joe Konieczny (20th year, 377-115).
Last season: 29-2, 14-0 first place in Cloverbelt Conference East Division; won WIAA Division 5 state championship 81-75 over Madison Abundant Life Christian.
Returning players: Mac Konieczny, jr., 5-11 G, 5.3 points, 2 rebounds per game, 28 made 3-pointers, honorable mention all-Cloverbelt Conference East Division in 2023-24; Sam Dums, sr., 6-2 F, 0.7 ppg, 1.9 rpg.
Newcomers: Ezra Duda, sr., 6-1 F; Kaleb Hilgemann, jr., 6-4 F; Mason Edwards, jr., 6-2 F; Jack Kohlbeck, jr., 6-6 F; Devlin Timmler, jr., 6-0 G; Cade Jansen, jr., 5-8 G; Carter Sommer, so., 6-3 F; Ben Weiland, so., 5-11 G; Cole Wallace, so., 5-10 G; Ray Becker, so., 6-1 G; Elijah Wolf, so., 6-0 G.
Outlook: The Dons won their first WIAA state championship a year ago with a group of seniors that included a number of three- and four-year varsity players. The team’s top five scorers (58 points per game average) graduated, leaving Columbus Catholic in reload mode. Sophomore forward Carter Sommer, along with returning guard Mac Konieczny, have helped navigate the Dons to a 4-2 start.
From Coach Konieczny: “We expect to compete to be towards the top of our conference and to be a difficult match-up come playoff time. We are inexperienced but have the potential to be very competitive. We will need to be willing to embrace and trust in the process.”
MARSHFIELD TIGERS
Coach (years at school, overall record): Chris Fischer (fifth year, 64-33).
Last season: 25-3, 12-0 first place in Wisconsin Valley Conference; lost WIAA Division 1 sectional final to Neenah 52-49.
Returning players: Brooks Hinson, sr., 6-2 G, 16.8 points, 4.4 rebounds per game, Wisconsin Valley Conference Player of the Year, first-team all-WVC, WBCA Division 1 all-state selection in 2023-24; Landon Lee, sr., 5-11 G, 11.9 ppg, 2.8 rpg; Ethan Knecht, sr., 6-5 F, 5.5 ppg, 3.9 rpg; Chris Pohl, jr., 6-7 F, 14.6 ppg, 6.5 rpg, first-team all-WVC, WBCA Academic All-State; Joey Ketterer, sr., 6-2 F, 2.2 ppg, 1.4 rpg, WBCA Academic All-State; Valin Ramberg, jr., 6-6 F, 5.6 ppg, 2.5 rpg; Magnus Machtan, sr., 6-6 F; Afton Hamill, sr., 5-6 G; Jack Sternitzky, sr., 6-2 F; J.J. Steinbach, sr., 6-2 F.
Newcomers: Ben Jordan, jr., 6-5 F; Vedder MacTaggart, jr., 6-6 F; Camden Kolstad, so., 6-2 F; Nick Hansen, jr., 5-11 G; Jackson Wernberg, jr., 5-11 G.
Outlook: The Tigers stand as the favorite to win their fourth-straight Wisconsin Valley Conference title as they return four starters, including conference Player of the Year and top scorer Brooks Hinson from a team that won a school-record 25 games and reached the Division 1 sectional finals. Marshfield was ranked third in the first Division 1 state poll by the Wisconsin Basketball Coaches Association, but lost its season-opener on a late 3-pointer by Appleton East before recovering with a blowout win at La Crosse Central.
From Coach Fischer: “The key to our success this season will be our ability to maintain our focus and be consistent in our daily habits. Our schedule is loaded with quality opponents. From top to bottom, I believe the Wisconsin Valley Conference will be as deep and as talented as it has been in several years. As always, we’ve tried to fill our non-conference schedule with the best programs in our sectional and state. Our upcoming holiday trip to Florida will allow us to step outside our comfort zone and compete on a national level. We are excited about the multiple athletes we have returning with high-level, high-intensity varsity experience. We need to lean on those experienced athletes to help develop our depth, as well as improve the strength of our program’s culture.”
SPENCER ROCKETS
Coach (years at school, overall record): Charles Jennings (second year, 7-18).
Last season: 7-18, 4-10 sixth place in Cloverbelt Conference East Division; lost WIAA Division 5 regional quarterfinal to Phillips 65-60.
Returning players: Sam Bezlyk, jr., 6-3 G/F, 18.2 points, 12.3 rebounds, 3.4 assists, 2.4 blocks, 1.9 steals per game, second-team all-Cloverbelt East in 2023-24; Wes Nieman, so., 5-9 G, 6.7 ppg; Breckin Miller, jr., 6-2 G/F, 6.5 ppg; Mathers McHone, jr., 6-5 F/C, 5.4 ppg, 3.6 rpg; Noah Anderosn, jr., 5-11 G/F, 4.3 ppg; Madden Prybylski, sr., 5-9 G, 3.2 ppg, 2 rpg; Drake Johnson, sr., 5-9 G, 2.7 ppg; Tyler Peterson, sr., 6-0 G/F, 2 ppg.
Newcomers: Ben Felgner, 6-4 F/C; Oscar Chan, 5-10 G; Oliver Young, 5-9 G; Clay Nieman, 6-1 F.
Outlook: Eight players return for the Rockets, including leading scorer and rebounder Sam Bezlyk, as the team looks poised to move up in a wide-open Cloverbelt East this season. A lack of experience last season turns into an experienced group this year, and the Rockets look to take advantage.
From Coach Jennings: “Our guys understand it takes communication, execution, defense and team play to be successful. It will come down to which team has the most discipline and executes at a higher level. Keys to our success will be playing at the pace we want to play at, defense and staying away from our own S.I.N.s (self-inflicted negatives). Our team strengths will be heart, determination, height, length, physicality, scoring, defense, rebounding and our ability to make adjustments throughout the game.”
STRATFORD TIGERS
Coach (years at school, overall record): Curt Schmidt (21st year, 412-172).
Last season: 20-6, 12-4 third place in Marawood Conference South Division; lost to Marathon 68-41 in WIAA Division 4 regional final.
Returning players: Drew Bruesewitz, sr., 5-9 G, 10.8 points, 3.5 rebounds, 3.7 assists per game, 31 made 3-pointers, second-team all-Marawood South pick in 2023-24; Reid Miller, sr., 5-9 G, 4.6 ppg; Caleb Wrensch, sr., 5-7 G, 3.1 ppg, 3.4 rpg; Kaden Foster, sr., 6-0 F, 4.3 ppg; Jett Schoenherr, sr., 5-10 G, 2.8 ppg; Alec Chapel, sr., 6-0 F, 3.9 ppg, 3.7 rpg.
Newcomers: Brady Berg, jr., 6-0 F; Brooks Vanderhoof, jr., 5-7 G; Riley Spindler, jr., 5-9 G.
Outlook: Three-year starter Drew Bruesewitz is the top returning scorer for the Tigers, who put together another 20-win season under coach Curt Schmidt. The top two scorers from last year graduated, leaving a bigger role for the six returning seniors and three junior newcomers as Stratford looks to be in the mix for a Marawood South title.
From Coach Schmidt: “We should be much more experienced than we were last year. Our JV lost two games last year. We will be competitive defensively. I feel our guard play should be strong. We need to stay healthy and shoot the ball from outside well and consistently.”