Buckshot | January 2020

the magazine JANUARY 2020

USING YOUR
NOGGIN
HUSKY DEFENDER HAS COME LONG
WAY SINCE BRAIN SURGERY

This publication is brought to you in part by MORE INSIDE
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• Locals look for new homes
PRESENTING SPONSOR after football program cut
• Why press defense has

become so popular
in girls hoops
• Posterized: ECA’s
Lauren Carmody
• Five questions
with McDonell

grad Cory Hoglund

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4: A word from our editor on the 12: Posterized: ECA Stars girls
world-class athletes that come hockey’s Lauren Carmody
from our area 14: Frequency of press in local
6: North hockey’s Thorp has girls basketball leads back to
come long way since surgery Pitino camp

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LETTER FROM THE EDITOR

Each month, Buckshot: The Magazine highlights the best ath- and not just natives, four UW-Eau Claire students also make the
letes our area has to offer. But did you know there are some cut. Rebecca Rodgers, Anya Normandeau, Emma Rau and Noah
that are not only stellar against Chippewa Valley talent, but Witte all competed in the USA Curling Junior National Cham-
the best the United States and the rest of the world has to offer? pionships hosted right here in Eau Claire. Rebecca Rodgers even
won the title, her first after finishing in third the previous two
There’s been a stellar run as of late of local talent performing on years, with Team Strouse.
major stages. Eau Claire sent two of its own to the Youth Olym-
pic Games in Lausanne, Switzerland, this month, curler and Eau And that’s just recent results, ignoring athletes that have already
Claire Memorial student Charlie Thompson and skier and Eau proven themselves on the world stage like Kenny Bednarek, An-
Claire North student Landon Lee. Both got the opportunity to drew Urlaub and Ben Loomis.
don the red, white and blue and represent their country while
competing against the best athletes in the world at their age. Impressive, right? If someone was to stumble into a market of
our size, they’d never guess we’d produce this much world-class
Chippewa Falls’ Ty Wiberg is set to join them next month. He’ll talent. Maybe it’s the investment in prep sports this community
represent the U.S. at the Para Nordic Skiing World Cup in Fin- has made. Maybe there’s just something in the water. In any event,
sterau, Germany, after a strong showing at Nationals in Park City, let’s hope the success continues as we move into a new decade.
Utah, earlier this month.
Keep putting the Chippewa Valley on the map,
If you expand your scope to include Chippewa Valley residents

Jack Goods
Leader-Telegram sports editor

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6 GBARMAIENS Brought to you JANUARY 2020 | BUCKSHOT THE MAGAZINE
North’s Thorp has come long way in part by
since major brain surgeries
By Jack Goods
Ten-year-old Sam Thorp, recovering in his house, was just

relaxing in his bed and watching the 2013 Stanley Cup Final
when he heard a familiar name spoken by an NBC commen-
tator.

His name.
The young Eau Claire native received a shout out and a
get well soon not only on national television, but during the
intermission of the pinnacle of his favorite sport.
“My Mom and I were just like, ‘Wow, this just happened,’”
Thorp said.
Sam and his mother, Molly, could barely believe it. They
quickly told Sam’s father, Bob, who had been outside during
the broadcast.
“We’ve got some good friends involved throughout the
hockey community, and I’m not sure which one it is,” Bob, a
UW-Eau Claire hockey assistant, said at the time. “I’ve made
a few phone calls, but nobody’s calling me back at this
point. I’m not sure we will ever find out.”
That was the crown jewel of an outpouring of support
that came Thorp’s way seven years ago, when the now-Eau
Claire North hockey defender underwent two brain surger-
ies at a very young age.
“You just sit there and look back on it, from here to here,
it’s been a long way,” Sam said. “I think the key of it was I
never stopped to feel bad about it. I just kept going, moving
onto the next thing.”
It took a stroke of luck to even realize there was some-
thing wrong with Sam in the first place, a seizure when he
was in the second grade. He obviously was taken to the
doctor, where he underwent an MRI.
Turns out the seizure was unrelated, perhaps caused by
too much time in the sun, Sam said. But it allowed doctors
to discover a small tumor right next to his brain stem.

STAFF PHOTO BY DAN REILAND

Eau Claire North hockey player Sam Thorp poses at Hobbs Ice Are-
na on Jan. 20. View more photos at LeaderTelegramPhotos.com.

BUCKSHOT THE MAGAZINE | JANUARY 2020 Brought to you 7
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“We kind of watched it for a couple caused by excess fluid. PHOTO BY BRANDEN NALL
years,” Sam said. “And then it got to the “At the time, I was too young to really
point where we could take it out.” Eau Claire North’s Sam Thorp skates in the Huskies’ offensive zone against Neenah/Horton-
understand what was going on,” Sam ville/Menasha on Saturday, Dec. 21, at Hobbs Ice Arena.
Doctors intended to remove the said. “Now that I think about it, like yeah,
tumor, or at least as much of it as they that was pretty serious.”
could, in the initial surgery at the start of
the summer. But there was a complica- Sam spent weeks in the hospital, two
tion — abnormal amounts of swelling, or of which are completely erased from his
accumulation of fluid, around the brain. memory after the first surgery.
In hindsight, the only thing doctors can
cite for the issue is Sam’s slow-draining “I didn’t want to be there, so I just did
veins. everything I could to get out as fast as I
could and get back to normal,” Sam said.
“They didn’t know why his brain was “There’s nothing worse for me than just
swelling,” Molly said of the initial reac- sitting there and doing nothing.”
tion. “They said it could be a brain bleed
or a stroke.” The recovery process largely focused
on getting back the muscle mass he lost
Doctors were only able to remove a due to lack of movement. At first, he had
small amount of the tumor — “If you to be in a wheelchair if the family went
picture Mickey Mouse, they removed like far from home, but he slowly worked his
an ear,” Molly said — but it was enough way back to normal activities.
to diagnose the tumor as pilocytic
astrocytoma grade 1, a benign tumor. He certainly knew there were people
Thankfully it was not cancerous. in his corner throughout the whole pro-
cess, even outside of his friends, doctors
The swelling remained an issue, caus- and teammates. Former NHLer and Eau
ing Sam to spend time in the intensive Claire native Jake Dowell, a family friend,
care unit. It got to the point after he visited Eau Claire to see Sam among
went home that he couldn’t carry the others. So did current Buffalo Sabre Jake
weight of his own head. There was no McCabe and fellow Eau Claire native
other choice but to readmit him to Jefferson Dahl, who went over to the
the hospital for a second surgery, this Thorps’ house with a few teammates
time to put in a medical device called a when the duo were playing for the Bad-
shunt that relieves pressure on the brain gers. They gave him a jersey.

Then there was the NBC shout out.

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The Thorps did eventually discover the He doesn’t shy away from his medical STAFF PHOTO BY STEVE KINDERMAN
origin — Sam’s godfather, current United past, but doesn’t exactly discuss it often.
States Hockey League coach Luke Strand, Many of his teammates are aware of what Minnesota Wild player Jake Dowell talks with Sam Thorp, son of UW-Eau Claire assistant hockey
was coaching one of the NBC broadcast- happened, considering they were youth coach Bob Thorp who coached Dowell when he played at Eau Claire Memorial, in 2013.
ers’ sons at the time. teammates with Thorp at the time of his
surgeries.
It was a lousy way to spend a summer,
but obviously an important few months On the ice, Sam has developed into a
for Sam’s long-term health. By October, steady presence on the blue line for the
he was finally able to get back on the ice. Huskies. In his third year on varsity, Sam
has developed a good reputation in the
“There were a lot of things that it North locker room.
affected,” Sam said. “But skating and that,
it was unchanged. When I first got out “Sam’s a hockey guy,” North coach Ryan
and skated, I was surprised. It took a little Parker said. “He shows up every day and
while to get back to where I was, but it gives us everything he has, works hard.”
wasn’t as bad as it could’ve been.”
Those leadership qualities led to Parker
Today, Sam says he suffers from few and the rest of the North staff opting to
side effects or issues. He has to go into give Thorp one of three captains C’s on
the doctors every six months to get his jersey this season.
an MRI and undergo some tests, just
making sure he’s still on the right track. “It just showed me that they recog-
The tumor has only grown slightly since nized what I’ve been doing the past
the initial surgery, not enough to warrant couple of years,” Sam said.
concern.
Last year, Sam got the opportunity
“I don’t notice it,” Sam said. “I’m pretty few Huskies have in the history of the
much back to normal.” program, earning a trip to Madison for
the state tournament. That led Molly to
Even doctors are amazed how well reflect on the journey they’d been on and
everything turned out. just how far Sam has come.

“Even now, we’ve been at Mayo and “In the moment we never really knew
Marshfield and they both are like in awe how sick he was,” Molly said. “(Doctors)
of him because he shouldn’t be doing still talk about Sam at their roundtables
this well,” Molly said. because of how well he’s doing.”

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FIVE-POINT BUCKSHOT

WITH UW-STOUT’S CORY HOGLUND

By Jack Goods STAFF PHOTO BY STEVE KINDERMAN
By the time he left McDonell, Cory Hoglund became very familiar with the drive
from Chippewa Falls to Madison. McDonell’s Cory Hoglund fights off a Regis defender during the Macks’ matchup with the Ram-
The former Mack star guard made four straight trips to the WIAA state basketball blers on Jan. 10, 2019.
tournament, serving as a key contributor for one of the steadiest programs in the area.
He earned his fourth appearance by putting up 17 points per game, 6.9 rebounds, 3.8
assists and two steals last season. That’s all before mentioning his defense.
Hoglund hasn’t gone far following his graduation from McDonell, continuing his
basketball and academic career at UW-Stout. He got in for three non-conference
games early in the season, but has spent more of his first year on the Menomonie
campus learning the ropes in practice and from the sideline.
Hoglund is our feature athlete in this month’s edition of Five-point Buckshot, a
monthly Q&A with an influential person in the Chippewa Valley prep sports scene.
As a freshman in college, what has been the biggest adjustment?
You’re more independent and have to take care of yourself more. That’s the main
thing, not having anyone to tell you what you should and shouldn’t be doing, such
as getting homework done. But now with break, I’m basically all basketball. In high
school, I’d get extra shots up at practice and think, ‘This is gonna be a late night.’
Now, I’m waking up at 8 in the morning, getting shots up and I have practice at 3. I
just get more time to work on my game.
It’s also a change in role for you, going from a star player with the Macks to
watching games from the sidelines and learning. Has that been difficult?
It’s definitely different, but I kind of had this role my freshman year of high
school, too. That was one of the most fun times I had in high school, especially with
the team we had, being able to cheer and encourage your team and stuff. I try to
take it as it’s another way to both help the team and have a little fun myself.
When you’re going up against other guys at practice, is there anything you
especially notice you need to work on?
For sure, especially to start the year. Just the speed of the game is totally differ-
ent. Definitely footwork and foot quickness is something I’m going to be working
on this offseason.
When you were looking for colleges, was the plan to stay close?
To be honest, I kind of wanted to get a little distance away, but (UW-Stout coach
Jim Lake), what he had going really appealed to me. Now, it’s actually worked out
in my favor. I’ve been able to come home over break quite a bit and see a couple
McDonell games. And when my brother was home I was able to see him. I got a
little extra family time than I would have if I went farther away.
You obviously were a part of a great culture at McDonell, and Coach Lake
is working to build a culture with the Blue Devils now. What sense do you get
of the culture change he’s trying to bring about and can your experience help
you contribute to that?
He’s looking for all the players to bring a mentally tough mindset and to make
50/50 balls, 30/70 balls, in our favor. It’s a growth mindset, to help us further our
game. At McDonell, not to the extent, but we kind of had that. There were great
players before me, all the way from Kyle Cody. That’s trickled down. Being able to
see that throughout my four years, that’s made it easy to really bring that to Stout.

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PHOTO BY BRANDEN NALL



Elk Mound’s Hailey Blaskowski (right) and Olivia Schreiber (left) trap Bloomer’s Vanessa Jenneman in Bloomer on Monday, Jan. 20.

MEET THE PRESS Larson’ssystemusedacross
Northwest Wisconsin
By Aaron Rose down, we were going to go down playing hard,” he appeared to be a miserable failure. He won just two
In 1989, Ladysmith boys basketball coach Forrest said this month, reflecting on that year. games that year, but he was determined to keep
Larson had an idea that would forever change high trying, so in the fall of 1992 he took a trip to Lexing-
school basketball in Northwest Wisconsin. He picked up a VHS made by then-Kentucky ton, Ky. to attend a basketball clinic run by Pitino.
His Lumberjacks were coming off an impressive basketball coach Rick Pitino about the press
12-win season, but the second-year head coach defense, an exhausting style of basketball that “That’s when the light bulb went on,” Larson said.
looked at his roster, devoid of much of the prior requires players to defend the entire length of the In 1996, Larson led the Lumberjacks to their first
year’s talent, and he wanted to make a change. floor. ever Division 3 state final appearance. Now, almost
“I made the decision that if we were going to go three decades after Larson revolutionized Lady-
After little success in the first two games that smith basketball, the effect of his decision can still
season, Larson began implementing his new press be seen throughout Northwest Wisconsin.
system. Unfortunately for the Lumberjacks, his idea

BUCKSHOT THE MAGAZINE | JANUARY 2020 Brought to you 15
in part by

STAFF PHOTO BY STEVE KINDERMAN Take Elk Mound, for example. When Jordan Kong- “It usually takes the other team out of the rhythm
shaug took over the girls basketball program in 2010 he of their offense if you do it well,” former Durand girls
Former Ladysmith coach Forrest Larson watches his wanted to change things up. He wanted the Mounders basketball coach Lionel Jones said, “and it creates good
team battle Kenosha St. Joseph in a close Division 3 to have a “calling card,” as he put it, something they offense in transition.”
semifinal game at the Kohl Center in 2008. would be known for. He began researching different
strategies and eventually found a DVD that Larson made Jones, who now coaches women’s basketball at Vit-
on the press defense. erbo, studied the press defense under former UW-Stout
coach Ed Andrist, one of Larson’s peers who adopted
A decade later and Kongshaug’s record speaks for the press at Mount Senario College while Larson was
itself. He entered this season 143-72 and has run some finding success around the corner at Ladysmith High
variation of Larson’s run-and-jump press every single School.
year.
The problem with the press is it’s exhausting and
“I think it’s fun,” Kongshaug said. “It forces our kids to requires high levels of athleticism and conditioning
play hard, it forces teams to prepare for us and make to perfect. That means teams have to go deep into
quick decisions with the basketball.” their bench, regularly rotating out their best players to
properly deploy the strategy. To some coaches, this is an
It means his Mounders girls need to be in tip-top issue too big to overcome, but others see it as a benefit.
shape for every game. They spend time every practice
working on their press, sprinting up and down the “What do all parents want? What do all coaches want?
court as Kongshaug watches from the sideline calling in What do all schools want? They want to play more
different strategies on when to trap a player and when kids,” Andrist said. “If I’m a coach and I don’t press, I’m
to play back. probably going to play six kids, what the press does is it
develops your bench and you have happier kids, more
“It’s extremely exhausting,” Mounders’ senior Hailey kids go out.”
Blaskowski said. “After games and practices I’m usually
super tired, but in games we get a bunch of steals and Larson’s philosophy at Ladysmith was that every play-
stuff off of it, so I’m happy we still do it.” er on his team would play in the first quarter. He said he
didn’t think his team could lose in the first quarter and
The reason for the press’ success is its chaotic style. he wanted to make sure all his boys had opportunities
It speeds up the pace of the game and it’s extremely to develop their skills.
difficult to prepare for. Usually pressing teams will give
up easy layups early in the game, but eventually as the “I can remember games in the tournament where we
game wears on and fatigue sets in, opponents begin to had to go deep into our bench and because those kids
whither and those easy buckets become turnovers and had played all year, they played with a lot of confidence
scoring opportunities going the other way. during the tournament,” he said.

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16 Brought to you JANUARY 2020 | BUCKSHOT THE MAGAZINE
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PHOTO BY BRANDEN NALL

Elk Mound’s Olivia Schreibler (left) and Tori
Blaskowski (right) trap Bloomer’s Rylie Jarr
on Monday, Jan. 20 in Bloomer.

In Menomonie, Storm Harmon said he has adopted ground, they better believe that your strategy is going was effecting the other team. Once you show them
a similar philosophy. When he started coaching girls to work. That’s how Larson found his success so many those visuals and they realize this is working, then you
basketball with the Mustangs in 2015, he brought years ago. have the buy-in.”
Larson’s press defense to the program.
“He instilled it into us at a young age,” said Matt When everything comes together, the press can be
At the time, he said it was not well received by his Siverling, a former Ladysmith basketball player and a thing of beauty. It’s like a chaotic dance that flows
girls. the current UW-Eau Claire men’s basketball coach. “He beautifully as players wiz around the court trapping
was working with us as young kids, so when it was our ball handlers and wreaking havoc for opposing offens-
“They kind of looked at me those first few weeks time to do it, it was built into our culture.” es. It’s a style that can take an athletic, sometimes less
because they were like, ‘What the heck are we doing?’” skilled group of players and allows them to compete
he said, “but there were glimpses in games where you For Jones, he said his Durand girls would spend the with teams far more skilled.
could tell we were close and it was going to start to first 40 to 50 minutes of every practice just condi-
turn on. Then, Christmas happened and we started to tioning to be ready for those late game situations. He “It levels the playing field,” Andrist said.
rattle off some wins, I think we won like seven of our recognized that wasn’t going to be fun for his girls, so And once in a while, when you can mix an ath-
next 10 or 11 and our rotations were there and the he made sure his players understood the importance letic group with high levels of basketball skill and a
girls really bought in.” of their work. commitment to the press, that’s when the magic really
happens. That’s what Larson showed in Ladysmith
A year later, the Mustangs went 18-8 under Harmon, “It’s about providing measurable feedback,” he said. almost 20 years ago and Northwestern Wisconsin
falling just a game short of the state tournament. “We knew we had to provide proof that it was work- schools are trying to replicate in gyms all across the
ing, so it was constant feed back, constant watching of greater Chippewa Valley.
That buy-in from the players is key to the press’s film and showing them what all their work was doing
success. If you’re going to run your players into the

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PICKING UP
THE PIECES
ChippewaValley alumni seek new homes after
St. Cloud State eliminates football program PHOTO COURTESY OF ST. CLOUD STATE ATHLETICS

By Spencer Flaten Chippewa Falls graduate Justin Czech scrambles during a St. Cloud State football game.
At first, nobody wanted to believe it.
As final exams crept closer and closer on the campus of St. Cloud
State University, the chilling winter wind carried murmurs of big
changes coming to the Huskies’ athletic programs. Murmurs that
were unwelcome in the ears of the school’s football team.
Could the rumors be true? Could the Huskies be cutting their
football program, a team which has certainly brought its fair share
of success to the school?
“We heard whispers that this could be a thing. But it couldn’t be,
because it’s football, right?” said Huskies soon-to-be senior quarter-
back Justin Czech, a graduate of Chippewa Falls.

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PHOTO COURTESY OF ST. CLOUD STATE ATHLETICS

Regis graduate Cade Osborn (31) pursues the ballcarrier during a St. Cloud State football game in 2019.

As Czech and the Huskies learned soon after the And now they’re left to pick up the pieces after a like Justin Czech, were perhaps more in-tune than
whispers began, not even football is invincible. blindsiding turn of events they never thought they’d most.
face.
St. Cloud State announced on December 10 that it The rumor first came on his radar on Saturday, three
would no longer sponsor a football team, in addition to FROM RUMBLINGS TO REALITY days before the university made it official. He didn’t like
dropping men’s and women’s golf while adding men’s Depending on who you ask, hints of the elimination what he heard, and he took action about it.
soccer. of St. Cloud State’s football program began making
their way around social circles anywhere from three On Tuesday, he and a teammate met with Huskies
The university gave budget and Title IX issues as days before the news broke to the day before. head coach Scott Underwood.
reasons for the changes. But that offered no solace Take freshman defensive back Cade Osborn, for
for the athletes who no longer had a team to play for, instance. The Regis graduate went into work the “I was like, ‘Hey Coach, you’re going to start losing
including several from the Chippewa Valley. day before the program was cut and heard from his guys to transfers, losing recruits because of these ru-
co-workers that changes were afoot. mors if we don’t have a team meeting,’” Czech said.
“I was told I was going to be there for four years,” said “I didn’t really think anything of it, because I’d never
redshirt freshman tight end JD Czech, also a Chippe- heard of anybody cutting a Division II football pro- They all agreed it was a good idea, and a meeting
wa Falls alumnus and the younger brother of Justin. “I gram,” Osborn said. was scheduled for 4 p.m. that day.
had my college career planned out. We though it was Others who had been around St. Cloud longer,
stable, otherwise none of us would have went there. So But the plan never made it that far into the after-
having it be cut out from under us as soon as we get noon.
started leaves a lasting impression.”
Shortly after Czech and his teammate met with
Underwood, players were informed they were having a
meeting with the university president at 3 p.m.

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Some received the news in less fortunate ways than PHOTO COURTESY ST. CLOUD STATE ATHLETICS
a summons to a meeting. The story was beginning to
break outside of campus circles as well. Chippewa Falls graduate Justin Czech throws a pass for the St. Cloud State football team in 2017.

“I was getting text messages from other coaches finals because we were going to have to figure out national semifinals this season.
saying they were sorry for what happened to our foot- where we were going within a couple weeks.” And that’s where Czech will go for his senior year. He
ball program,” Osborn said. “I was confused, because I
hadn’t heard the news yet.” And those who were part of the program for a num- had other programs reach out to him on their own, but
ber of years were left feeling like they deserved better. ultimately Mary Hardin-Baylor was the place he wanted
The players and coaches met with university Pres- to be.
ident Robbyn Wacker and other athletic department “You work for 22 years of your life to get to this point
staff that afternoon, where they learned they would no where you can be a senior, be a captain on your team, Others, such as Elk Mound graduate Noah Zurbu-
longer play football in a St. Cloud State uniform. and be on a really good team,” Justin Czech said. “Just chen and Rice Lake grads Parker Buckley and Peyton
for all that work to be for nothing.” Buckley, were forced to enter the transfer portal if they
“It was heart-wrenching,” Osborn said. “I went up (to wanted to continue playing football as well.
St. Cloud) to hopefully spend my four years there play- MOVING FORWARD
ing football, meeting new friends and starting a new Whether they like it or not, St. Cloud State’s former Younger players might have been in a slightly more
life. But then it just got taken away. It was definitely a football players will need to find a new home if they comfortable situation than the upperclassmen, having
tough moment for everybody.” want to keep playing the sport. been recruited as recently as a year or two ago. Osborn
Out of nowhere, those who thought they had a will transfer to UW-La Crosse to play football, and JD
Tough for everybody, including the coaches. home felt like high school seniors being recruited all Czech is headed to Ellsworth Community College.
“(It’s) a hard day,” Underwood told the St. Cloud over again.
Times. “You don’t think of (the end) as how it went Justin Czech was in the unique situation of being a “The (St. Cloud State) coaches were a big help to us,”
down today. It’s not how you figure it’s the last time you quarterback with some experience. He played in six Osborn said. “They did whatever they could to help find
get to see the kids that you coach.” games for the Huskies as a junior, and had two starts as us a different school. That’s how a lot of us were able to
Why? a sophomore. find a new home.”
Several factors played a role in the decision to elim- He figured a former Division II senior quarterback
inate football and golf from St. Cloud State’s athletic would be coveted on the transfer market, but finding a And as all the now-former Huskies find their way to
offerings, according to the school. new home was tougher than he thought. new pastures, they leave behind memories of a pro-
The changes to the programs bring the university’s “I sat down and looked every high-level Division gram that they gave their all to.
offerings to six male sports and 11 female sports, to III and NAIA program, went through their roster, and
ensure Title IX compliance. every single one that had a senior quarterback starting “I think the decision by the school will ruin the
Finances also played a role. A university press release this past year, I called their coach and emailed them legacy of not just football, but a lot of different sports,”
stated it had an athletics budget deficit of more than some film,” he said. Justin Czech said, “because they just took away all of
$1.6 million over the past four years. And for all that, he got only one response: Mary Har- the school pride that was left. ... It’s just kind of sad. It’s
“We made this extremely difficult decision because din-Baylor. The Crusaders are one of Division III’s elite tough to speak to what kind of a legacy St. Cloud State
St. Cloud State faces a convergence of circumstances programs, with a national title in 2018 and a run to the football will leave, because I don’t think there have
that required us to change our athletics offerings,” been many programs that are 100 years old and as
Wacker said in the press release. “This will have a pro- recently as five, six years ago have been ranked in the
found impact on our committed student-athletes, our top five that have cut their programs. I just can’t speak
dedicated coaches, and the passionate alumni and sup- to how that’ll be perceived in five, 10 years.”
porters who have followed our programs throughout
their proud histories. Our student-athletes and coaches
approach every day with incredible devotion and
desire to be their best and represent St. Cloud State in
the classroom, on the field, and in our community. We
are grateful for their commitment and will assist them
as they move forward.”

OUT OF THE LOOP
Frustration was commonplace among the players in
the aftermath of the decision, especially those from the
Chippewa Valley.
They felt there was a lack of communication between
the school and the players the decision would be
affecting. And it wasn’t a good feeling.
“It’s tough knowing that we’re the ones that are
going to be affected by it most, and we don’t even get
to hear it firsthand. I think there’s definitely a better
way that they could have gone about the process of
informing us, but it just came right out of the blue,”
Osborn said.
“And this all took place at the worst possible time,” JD
Czech said, “as we were all already stressed about finals,
which were the next week. So then this was dumped
on us and it made us all almost unable to study for

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JARED PAREWPASPRODRTSS
ABBREDERIS 2020

Wed. May 20, 2020

The Pablo Center at the Confluence • 6pm

Mark your calendar for seeing the Chippewa Valley’s top high-school athletes take
center stage in being honored & celebrated for their accomplishments!
Keynote speaker, and former Wautoma High-School athletic standout Jared Abbrederis
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Questions? Interested in sponsoring an athlete’s award?

Contact Brian Maki at (715) 828-4667 or at [email protected]

A Leader-Telegram Event with gracious support from Mayo Clinic Health System & Scheels.

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