Sports

The Lena/STAA high school boys cross-country team finished eighth Saturday at the WIAA Division 3 sectional at Standing Rock Park in Stevens Point.

Bonduel won the sectional crown, followed by Laconia and Brillion .

Lena was led by Evan Beranek, who finished 31st.

Gillett finished ninth, led by Max Zeitler, who finished 14th.

The Gillett girls were led by Rebecca Wolfe, who finished 29th. Lena/STAA’s girls were led by Marisa Slempkes, who finished 70th.

Results

Boys

Team: 1. Bonduel (82), 2. Laconia (90), 3. Brillion (91), 4. Saint Mary Central (101), 5. Green Lake/Princeton (141), 6. Lourdes Academy (152), 7. Green Bay N.E.W. Lutheran (235), 8. Lena/STAA (266), 9. Gillett (267), 10. Hilbert (294), 11. Oconto (297), 12. Amherst (312), 13. Iola-Scandinavia (322), 14. Wolf River Lutheran (366), 15. Valley Christian (366), 16. Coleman (377), 17. Manawa (418)

For the third time in five years, the Oconto Falls High School boys cross-country team will race at the WIAA state meet.

The Panthers placed second at a Division 2 sectional in Waupaca on Saturday with strong performances from their top five runners.

“This is huge. We’ve worked hard,” Oconto Falls coach Lon Ludemann said. “There’s a lot of kids that have gone through (the program) and set up these other kids. They want to do the same thing somebody else did. … I’m happy for them.”

Sophomore Bailey Wolf will represent the OFHS girls at state for a second time. She finished fifth at the sectional.

The state meet will be held Saturday at Ridges Golf Course in Wisconsin Rapids.

Boys

The last time the Panthers’ boys team qualified for state was 2011. Four of this year’s top seven runners — seniors James Malcheski and Alex Young, and juniors Mike Friedman and Liam Spillane — were valuable parts of that team, which finished eighth.

The Oconto Falls High School volleyball team swept both Seymour and Wrightstown to win the WIAA Division 2 regional championship Saturday in Oconto Falls.

After receiving the No. 1 seed and a first-round bye, the Panthers took down eighth-seeded Seymour 25-17, 25-18, 25-15 on Thursday.

In Saturday’s regional final, Oconto Falls beat No. 4 Wrightstown 25-15, 25-23, 25-22.

“The match went awesome,” senior setter Elizabeth Watzka said. “We all played really well and we did what we had to do.”

Oconto Falls coach Dawn Larsen said the team is playing its best.

“Right now we’re really gelling,” Larsen said. “We’re really peaking.”

Senior outside hitter McKenna Larsen led both contests, getting 23 kills, 17 assists, 18 digs and two aces against Seymour and logging 24 kills, 15 assists and two digs against Wrightstown.

Fellow senior Carly Lemke had 17 kills against Seymour and 16 kills and four blocks against Wrightstown.

Panthers shut out in finale

The Oconto Falls High School football team lost to Seymour 46-0 in a Bay Conference game Friday in Oconto Falls.

The Panthers (0-8, 0-8 Bay) fell behind 39-0 in the first half, but held the Thunder (7-2, 6-2 Bay) to a touchdown in the second half.

Panthers quarterback Samuel Konitzer was four for nine for 55 yards and had two interceptions. Tyler Kowalczyk rushed 12 times for 20 yards.

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Eagles blanked in Peshtigo

The Suring High School football team lost to Peshtigo 21-0 in a Marinette & Oconto Conference game Friday in Peshtigo.

The Eagles (3-6, 2-5 M&O) fell behind 7-0 in the first half on a 51-yard touchdown from Peshtigo quarterback Dakota Keller to Jake Romenesko. Peshtigo scored two rushing touchdowns in the second quarter to go up 21-0.

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Titans fall to Wausaukee

The Lena/STAA high school football team lost its season finale 46-16 to Wausaukee on Friday in Wausaukee.

It’s been nearly 25 months since the Oconto Falls volleyball team has lost a Bay Conference match.

The Panthers entered Saturday’s tournament in Shawano winning their last 27 league games. This year’s seniors, who were sophomores the last time Oconto Falls fell to a Bay team, weren’t going to let the streak be snapped.

Oconto Falls went 4-0 on the day, sweeping each opponent in two games and captured its second straight conference title.

“It’s definitely what we wanted this year,” Panthers senior middle hitter Carly Lemke said. “I couldn’t be prouder of the team. It just feels wonderful.”

The back-to-back undefeated championships is quite a feat for Oconto Falls.

Monte Noffke scored four touchdowns and the Gillett Secondary School football team dominated Laona/Wabeno 37-18 in its season finale Friday in Wabeno.

“It was a great way for us to end the season, with a game to build on our confidence for next season,” Gillett coach Rick Kamps said. “Thought our kids did a nice job of taking control of the line of scrimmage and the game after allowing the Rebels to go on a long opening drive.”

The Tigers (4-5, 3-4 Marinette & Oconto) trailed 6-0 after a 10-yard Ryan Brauer run in the first quarter, but Noffke scored twice in the second quarter, on runs of 5 yards and 4 yards.

Leading 16-6, Gillett quarterback Alex Zeitler found Dylan Roberts for a 10-yard touchdown pass.

“Alex continues to get better each week and the sky is the limit with what he will bring to the table next season,” Kamps said.

In the fourth quarter, Noffke reeled off a 64-yard touchdown run to put the Tigers up 30-6.

Make it three.

The Oconto Falls High School boys cross-country team earned its third consecutive Bay Conference title at the conference meet Thursday in Shawano.

The boys, led by second-place finisher Mike Friedman, finished with 48 points — the lowest score of the season for the Panthers — to lead the eight-team field. Shawano (65) took second and Hortonville (93) took third.

Paced by Friedman clocking in at 16 minutes, 51 seconds, all of the Oconto Falls boys finished in the top 20. Liam Spillane was sixth (17:20) and James Malcheski ninth (17:24).

“The guys behind me have a real good pack and they’ve been improving every single race this year,” Friedman said. “They’ve been working really hard. They’re just a great group of guys and they’re fun to be around.”

Friedman battled Seymour’s Justin Skinkis for most of the race. After keeping even with him through the first mile, Friedman fell behind and finished 14 seconds after Skinkis.

Dawn Larsen was hoping her players’ focus was on volleyball Thursday night.

With it being homecoming week at Oconto Falls High School and all four of the seniors on the Panthers volleyball team in the homecoming court, the players’ minds might be elsewhere.

The Oconto Falls coach can breathe a little easier knowing her team took care of business, beating host Shawano Community High School, 25-16, 25-10, 25-21.

“Sometimes you just worry about matches like this because of the hype of homecoming,” Larsen said. “I just think they rose to the occasion.”

The Oconto Falls boys cross-country team won the 43rd annual Russ Fameree Cross Country Classic on Friday at Northbrook Country Club in Luxemburg.

The boys finished with a team score of 49, beating out Two Rivers (92) and Luxemburg-Casco (110).

The Panthers were led by Mike Friedman, who took second place and finished with a time of 16 minutes, 48 seconds. James Malcheski (17:40) and Liam Spillane (17:43) joined Friedman in the top-10, placing ninth and 10th respectively.

On the girls side, Bailey Wolf finished 10th overall, finishing in 16:17 to lead the 13th-place Oconto Falls girls team.

The Oconto Falls boys junior varsity team (20) was five points away from a perfect score to take first place.

Oconto Falls cross-country will compete for a Bay Conference title at the Bay Conference race Thursday in Shawano.

Results

Boys

The Oconto Falls High School football team allowed 47 points before getting on the scoreboard in the first half of Friday’s Bay Conference game against Luxemburg-Casco in Oconto Falls.

The Panthers could not overcome the slow start and fell 54-20 to the Spartans (4-4, 3-4 Bay).

Oconto Falls (0-7, 0-7 Bay) got on the scoreboard late in the second quarter when Sam Konitzer found Zachary Brye for a 15-yard touchdown.

“We were able to put together a drive just before the end of the second quarter, and that gave us some confidence heading into the second half,” Oconto Falls coach Jeff Trochil said.

The Panthers took the opening drive of the second half into Spartan territory, but a Konitzer pass was intercepted by Cole Kirchman, who returned for a touchdown that put Luxemburg-Casco up 54-7.