This story is sponsored by: All Insurance of Marshfield
By Paul Lecker
MarshfieldAreaSports.com
Auburndale senior Caleb Weinfurter was a unanimous first-team selection to the 2016-17 All-Marawood Conference South Division Boys Basketball Team, as voted on by the seven conference coaches.
Weinfurter, a second-team selection last year as a junior, finished seventh in the Marawood South in scoring at 13.6 points per game and topped all players in free throw percentage at 85.7 percent, making 42 of 49 shots. He also was third in the conference in 3-pointers made with 31.
“Caleb dedicated a lot of his time in the offseason to becoming more of an all-around player,” Auburndale coach Chad Weinfurter said. “He spent a lot of time in the weight room and the gym, and it really paid off.”
Wisconsin Rapids Assumption junior Joe Grundhoffer was also a unanimous first-team pick and was named Player of the Year. He led the conference in rebounding at 10.8 per game and was second in scoring at 17.5 points per contest.
Pittsville senior Matthew Carlson was another unanimous first-team selection. Trevor Newton, a senior for Wisconsin Rapids Assumption, and junior Donavon Free of Marathon, the two co-champions of the conference, round out the first-team picks.
Auburndale sophomore Colton Wright and senior Luke Olsen, and Stratford freshman Vaughn Breit and senior Cole Hoffmann were among the honorable mention selections.
Wright finished 12th in the conference in scoring (10.6 points per game) and fourth in 3-pointers made with 27. Olsen averaged 10 points per game for the Apaches, who finished third in the conference standings.
“Luke was also in the weight room and gym a lot,” Chad Weinfurter said. “He was really good at taking the ball to the basket and turned into an excellent free throw shooter.
“Colton just missed second team (selection) by a couple of votes. He started off the year a little show, but then found his groove and became an excellent shooter and defender.”
Breit was fifth in rebounding (6.3) and 11th in scoring (11.2), for Stratford, which was 6-6 in the conference and ended its season in the WIAA Division 4 sectional finals.
“Cole was our best defensive player and was a great leader on this team,” Stratford coach Curt Schmidt said. “He and his fellow seniors led the young players on this team to believe in themselves.
“Vaughn had a great freshman season. He was a very capable kid who has great instincts for the game of basketball. We are fortunate to have him for three more years.”
2016-17 All-Marawood Conference South Division Boys Basketball Team
First team: *Joe Grundhoffer, jr., Wisconsin Rapids Assumption; Trevor Newton, sr., Wisconsin Rapids Assumption; *Caleb Weinfurter, sr., Auburndale; Donavon Free, jr., Marathon; *Matthew Carlson, sr., Pittsville. (* denotes unanimous selection)
Second team: Jake Sullivan, jr., Wisconsin Rapids Assumption; Nathan Stoffel, jr., Marathon; Carter Hanke, so., Marathon; Braxton Resch, sr., Wausau Newman Catholic; Aiden Masanz, sr., Pittsville.
Honorable mention: Brandon Birkhauser, sr., Wisconsin Rapids Assumption; Tyler Schmidt, jr., Wisconsin Rapids Assumption; Colton Wright, so., Auburndale; Luke Olsen, sr., Auburndale; Bryce Seubert, sr., Marathon; Cameron Schilling, so., Marathon; Alex Bollman, sr., Wausau Newman Catholic; Hadyn McKeough, sr., Wausau Newman Catholic; Jacob Price, sr., Northland Lutheran; David Burgess, jr., Northland Lutheran; Luke Denniston, jr., Pittsville; Donovan Grossman, sr., Pittsville; Vaughn Breit, fr., Stratford; Cole Hoffmann, sr., Stratford.
Coach of the Year: Gary Weisenbeck, Wisconsin Rapids Assumption.
Player of the Year: Joe Grundhoffer, Wisconsin Rapids Assumption.