OUTDOORS: A mother and son use wilderness to build relationship

Daily News (West Bend, Wis.)
Published: April 27, 2016

A mother and son use wilderness to build relationship

Michelle Rennicke playing two roles in her child’s life

By NICHOLAS DETTMANN

Daily News

SLINGER — Michelle Rennicke needed her son and her son, Taylor, needed his mom.

Together, they got through the tough times with a common interest: the outdoors.

When Taylor, 17, was born, his father wasn’t around. The dad was mixed up with drugs and alcohol, and was later incarcerated, leaving Michelle, 43, to raise her son by herself.

Then, four years ago, Taylor’s father died. Taylor never knew his father, never met him.

“I always tried to find things to do with my son,” Michelle said. “Him being a boy, me being a girl, it was kind of hard to find things we could both do together.”

As a Christian, she believed it was necessary to enjoy and cherish “what God gave us.”

Michelle came up with hunting as a way to honor that and spend time with Taylor. She was familiar with that way of life.

“I always grew up around the hunting,” Michelle said.

She bought Taylor his first bow when he was 10 years old. At the same time, Michelle bought a bow for herself.

Together, they joined an archery league.

“Then I was like, ‘Well, maybe we should try hunting,’” she said. “‘Maybe we’d like it.’” The best part about it?

“It’s something me and my son could do together,” Michelle said.

And that was the most important part.

Taylor played little league baseball when he was 6 years old and Michelle was his coach. It was fun while it lasted, but she also knew Taylor would eventually outgrow things like baseball.

He did, leaving baseball, something he did for about half a year with spring and summer leagues, before he got to high school.

“I had to find something, raising a son by myself, that I could do with my son,” Michelle said.

Being in the outdoors was one option.

Michelle’s brother gun hunts with their dad in Wyoming every year and has for more than 20 years. She also had several male friends growing up who liked to hunt.

“The first night I sat in a tree stand I was hooked,” she said. “I think it’s a great way to take you away from our everyday busy life.”

Michelle is busy when not in the woods or with her teenaged son. She works for Aurora Health Care with its IT radiology division.

“I carry two cellphones, a pager and my laptop,” Michelle said. “When I’m in the tree stand, it’s like meditation. Hunting for me, it’s just relaxing. I love it.”

Upon learning this, she knew what she had to do next: get Taylor involved in the outdoors.

Taylor thought his mom was crazy, wondering why she would sit in a tree stand for eight hours.

“I was like, ‘I don’t want to sit in a stand,’” Taylor said. “‘It’s too long.’” But he was willing to give it a try.

To make sure he didn’t get bored, they hunted together in increments, a few hours at a time each outing and went longer the more they did it.

Each time out, they learned something new — how to hang a tree stand, where to hang it, what do deer tracks look like, what doe tracks look like.

“It teaches him about the outdoors, gives him another avenue, especially with our society going to full electronics, video games,” Michelle said. “I wanted him to have another outlet, something else he could like and take on when I’m not here anymore or when he has kids.”

It didn’t take him long to find the same comfort his mom had in a tree stand.

“I was like, ‘Oh, this is really calming,’” Taylor said. “Seeing deer and stuff, it’s pretty sweet.”

An old saying says the outdoors is a time for a father and his son to bond, time for a boy to become a man. Don’t tell Michelle and Taylor that.

“She is really both my mom and my dad,” Taylor said.

“I felt closer to my mom,” he added about the first time out in the woods together. “She’s always been there for me. I look up to her.”

In 2013, about a year after they started hunting together, Taylor, who is on Slinger’s trapshooting team, got his first kill during a Youth Hunt. It was a thrill for both of them. Taylor admitted he was shaking when it happened because of the shot of adrenaline.

Last year, Taylor shot an estimated 8-point buck with a crossbow, but unfortunately it got away. “But that’s all part of hunting,” Michelle said.

“For me, it was awesome,” Michelle said about the first time she hunted with Taylor. “For me, I fell in love with the passion for bow hunting and then to have my son get geared up with me ... it was cool.”

The hunting, Michelle said, also helped Taylor build self-confidence.

“It is hard, for a boy, to grow up without their father,” Michelle said. “They struggle with certain things because their dad wasn’t there.

“I had to be both. It’s not easy sometimes.”

As Taylor continues to grow up, Michelle is OK with her only child beginning to explore new things, such as driving and dating. But no matter what, they both know they have hunting as the one thing they can always circle back to when they need it, when they need each other.

“We’re in this together and it’d always keep us connected,” Michelle said.

“When he moves out, we could still go on hunting trips together,” he added. “That’ll be our tradition.”

And that’s the plan.

This summer, when Taylor turns 18 on Oct. 25, Michelle has the perfect present.

Guess what they’re going to do — hunting in Wyoming. It’ll be Taylor’s first out-of-state hunt.

“I think hunting has bonded us even more,” Michelle said.

There is a greater appreciation, respect and admiration for each other than they ever thought possible.

It’s still cool to hang out with mom and he’s turning the table on her because he likes to fish and she’s learning how to.

“I think it’s brought a lot of enjoyment to both of us,” Michelle said. “It has brought us closer. To me, that means gold to me.” Reach sports editor Nicholas Dettmann at ndettmann@conleynet.com.

Running with pain

Daily News (West Bend, Wis.)
Published: April 26, 2016

Running with pain

1999 Slinger graduate wins full marathon

By NICHOLAS DETTMANN

Daily News

David Krall, who grew up in Slinger but lives in Madison, was confident with his chances to win the seventh Adrenaline Race Series full marathon Sunday.

He wasn’t as confident as to whether some nagging injuries would force him to drop out of the race.

“I’ve got Morton’s neuroma in my foot,” Krall said.

According to www.mayoclinic.org, it’s a “painful condition that affects the ball of your foot, most commonly the area between your third and fourth toe.”

It’s like having a pebble in your foot.

“I ran once in the last week, which is really strange for me because I’m used to running every day,” Krall said.

If there was any pain, Krall didn’t show it.

The 35-year-old finished the 26.2-mile race along the Eisenbahn trail in nearly record time — 2:46:42.9.

“It’s a good time,” he said.

The record, according to Richard Dodd, one of the race’s organizers, was set in 2013 by Michael Borst, Jr. (2:43:40.3).

Last year’s winning time was by Dan Bessette with a 2:59:21.6.

Krall’s best time in a marathon is 2:39:31.

Sunday’s victory was Krall’s sixth in a marathon, but first outside of the Madison area. He’s won the marathon in Middleton five times.

“I just went out and went by feel,” Krall said. “See how fast I could go, I guess. I didn’t really have any sort of a goal.”

The women’s overall winner was Mychelle Ehli of Waukesha. Ehli is the assistant track coach at Catholic Memorial High School in Waukesha. Her time was 3:20:47.2 and was 10th overall — men and women.

Ehli is a former cross-country competitor at Catholic Memorial, graduating in 2004.

“I actually didn’t train for this one,” she said. “But definitely a better start to the year than last year.”

The other winners were: Thomas Breitbach

(men, half marathon), Mina Dermarco (women, half marathon), Jim Thierfelder (men, quarter marathon), Nikki Cahen (women, quarter marathon), Robb Johnson (men, 5K) and Lisa Johnson (women, 5K).

Cahen was the women’s full marathon winner last year.

“A big success,” Dodd said. “Total number of runners up by 10 percent, with great funds and awareness raised for our cause.”

The race started outside the Rivershores YMCA on the Eisenbahn trail. The full marathon run to the southern edge of Campbellsport and turned around.

It shouldn’t be a surprise Krall is good at running. His dad is longtime Slinger cross-country and track and field distance coach Terry Krall.

David was constantly reminded of it, too.

“Coaching legend Terry Krall’s son,” David said as to how he’s often described at races.

Terry also taught David and his other two sons in chemistry class. Coaching his sons was never awkward — being their teacher was.

“I thought about transferring,” Terry said, adding he didn’t want any possibility of favoritism to show.

It was something he never worried about as a coach because he, his sons and all the runners had something in common: running.

“It was fun,” Terry said of coaching his sons.

In addition to his continuing coaching duties at Slinger, Terry enjoys watching his sons compete.

David, who’s competed in about 30 marathons, graduated from Slinger in 1999. He was an All-Conference performer and a conference indoor champion in the 3,200meter run.

“There was never anything awkward about it,” he said. “I was just another guy on the team.”

He claimed he wasn’t a great runner in high school.

Terry said he didn’t have a lot of standout runners. But together with all the guys on the team, they were a solid team.

On Sunday, David said he felt good until about the 22 1/2-mile mark when he began to cramp.

“Other than that, it felt pretty good,” David said. “I just tried to make it comfortably hard the entire way.”

His biggest concern?

“That I’d DNF, because my foot would be in excruciating pain,” David said. “Luckily that was not the case.”

He added he felt some pain throughout the race, but nothing unbearable like he thought he might.

David’s time is fast enough to compete in the 2017 Boston Marathon if he chooses. He’s done it four times previously, but not since 2012.

“Boston is a great race, a lot of fun, but it’s kind of hassle,” David said. “It’s a lot of fun, but it’s not something I need to do every year.”

Like David, Ehli wanted to learn something about herself.

Three years ago, she was an avid marathon runner. Then she gave birth to a son and has since changed jobs. It’s been a slow buildup to get back into the flow of frequent marathon training and running.

She thinks she has it figured out now and it shows with an ambitious schedule this spring, summer and fall.

In 2012, she did eight races. In 2013, the year her son was born, she did three.

One of the events she’s considering doing this year is a half Ironman. She’d also like to do the Pewaukee half-marathon in May and go to the Twin Cities in June.

That much she’s sure of.

Last year, she did one full marathon and two half marathons.

“Training has been a little rough this year, but I definitely felt a lot better,” Ehli said. “I just wanted to do this to see where I was, set goals for the year.”

Reach sports editor Nicholas Dettmann at ndettmann@conleynet.com.

Slinger once sued WIAA

Daily News (West Bend, Wis.)
Published: April 23, 2016

Slinger once sued WIAA

Challenged organization’s plan for realignment

By NICHOLAS DETTMANN

Daily News

In nearly 20 years, schools and conference affiliation has changed in Wisconsin high school sports.

What hasn’t changed are the heated debates on conference realignment and Slinger played its part in them.

Almost 20 years ago, Slinger School District was tired of being “the odd person” when it came to conference realignment and the WIAA.

So, on Sept. 29, 1996, it sued the WIAA. And on Oct. 22, 1996, Slinger won the case in circuit court.

“Part of the reason was we weren’t satisfied with the realignment,” said Doug Riesop, who was Slinger’s athletic director at the time. “I don’t think under normal circumstances we wouldn’t been satisfied, except with our history with the WIAA.

“It was like we were the odd person and we always got placed somewhere. It got to a point where we weren’t really happy.”

Riesop added Slinger was continuously shuffled around as the WIAA struggled with conference alignment and membership demands for it.

“We were probably in five conferences in 10 years and none were conferences were where we were a good fit size-wise, distance-wise, program-wise which is the WIAA’s big thing,” he said.

“We decided it was enough.”

According to court documents, Slinger sought “temporary and permanent injunctions enjoining the WIAA from placing Slinger in an athletic conference known as Conference A pursuant to the realignment conference plan adopted September 12, 1996. The circuit court granted a temporary injunction, dated October 22, 1996, enjoining the WIAA from placing Slinger in Conference A and ordered the WIAA to place Slinger in an athletic conference which is reasonably close to Slinger and contains other schools of comparable size which offers similar programs.”

At that time, Slinger was about 700-800 students.

The plan by the WIAA, according to Riesop, was for Slinger to join the Wisconsin Little Ten Conference, which had nearby Hartford Union. However, Hartford, at that time, had more than 2,000 students and Oconomowoc had more than 1,300.

“It was a mess for us,” Riesop said.

“The goal was to get some put in a conference where schools were more conducive to size and programs,” he added.

The circuit court considered three criteria with its ruling:

■ Distance to be traveled,

■ Enrollment size, and

■ Comparability of athletic and nonathletic programs.

The circuit court said the WIAA “did not follow its own realignment policies when placing Slinger” in what was called “Conference A.”

Plus, the circuit court said, “The WIAA shall put Slinger in a conference which is reasonably close to Slinger, comparable in size of schools, and, most importantly, have similar programs.”

Not happy with the decision, the WIAA appealed.

The WIAA argued that Slinger is a voluntarily member of the organization and by being a member, the members agree to abide by the bylaws and Constitution of the organization, including conference alignment.

On April 23, 1997, the Court of Appeals of Wisconsin reversed the circuit court’s decision and ruled in favor of the WIAA.

“It was difficult,” Riesop said. “There was no perfect fit for us. But there were a lot better fits than where we were.”

The WIAA also argued, “what Slinger perceives as satisfactory alignment is not a ‘personal or property right.’ The question is more fundamental.”

Slinger eventually joined the WLT and 10 years later is enjoying success in several sports.

“We weren’t happy when we went into the Little Ten,” Riesop said. “As it turned out, it’s worked out fine.”

Almost 20 years later, conference alignment is still an issue the WIAA and its more than 500 member schools are continuing to deal with.

At Tuesday’s WIAA Board of Control meeting, the board voted 7-4 in favor of the conference realignment plan that was debated, often heated, for nearly two years.

At that meeting, 18 schools stated their case for appeal. Among those schools were Waukesha South, Waukesha North, Catholic Memorial, Wauwatosa West and Wauwatosa East.

Germantown Athletic Director Jack Klebesadel, a former Board of Control member, spoke at the meeting and said he was not in favor of the proposal. But it wasn’t because of Germantown’s placement with several Greater Metro schools.

“The issue we had is the schools that asked for help didn’t get any,” Klebesadel said. “It made it worse.”

Waukesha South and Waukesha North argued changing demographics hindered their ability to compete against other Classic 8 schools, such as Arrowhead, Waukesha West and Mukwonago.

The only thing Klebesadel disagreed with regarding Germantown’s placement was a nine-team conference.

The plan passed Tuesday, dubbed the “Hauser Plan” after WIAA Associate Director Deb Hauser who came up with the alignment, affected 45 schools, including Germantown, Hartford, Slinger, West Bend East and West Bend West.

Kewaskum, Kettle Moraine Lutheran and Living Word Lutheran were not affected.

The arguments 20 years apart haven’t changed.

“I don’t envy the WIAA at all for having to do this,” Riesop said. “It is a no-win situation for them. Programs change, schools change. There’s too many times where there’s people that look at the situation and they’re not looking at size, program and how far they’ve got to travel. They’re looking at the success of schools.”

Nearly two years ago, the membership voted overwhelmingly against turning conference alignment power over to the schools from the WIAA.

Riesop liked the alignment for Slinger with the Hauser Plan, putting the Owls with East, West, Hartford, Port Washington, Cedarburg, Grafton, Nicolet, Whitefish Bay and Homestead.

While the plan was passed, don’t look for conference realignment discussion in southeastern Wisconsin to go quiet.

“I see coming back every year asking for relief,” Klebesadel said. “They’ve been asking for relief for years.”

But is it a battle that can be won?

“Everybody wants to have the best of both worlds,” Riesop said. “It’s so difficult.”

❑

The Waukesha Freeman contributed to this report.

Reach sports editor Nicholas Dettmann at ndettmann@conleynet.com.

Ad Hoc member glad success factor failed

Daily News (West Bend, Wis.)
Published: April 22, 2016

Ad Hoc member glad success factor failed

Area student-athletes not in favor of enrollment multiplier

By NICHOLAS DETTMANN

Daily News

One of the Ad Hoc committee members is glad the success factor for WIAA postseason tournament placement failed.

So were area student-athletes.

“I’m very happy that it failed,” Kettle Moraine Lutheran Superintendent David Bartelt said. “The success factor was always the best proposed solution to a perceived problem. I felt it was the best option.

“If it’s just a perceived problem, then status quo should continue. I was happy it failed.”

Bartelt was one of 21 administrators from throughout the state who were challenged by the WIAA membership in 2014 to find a solution for what several members called a competitive imbalance in high school sports.

On Wednesday, the WIAA’s membership voted against the success factor, 221-198.

In 2015, the success factor was proposed to the members at the WIAA’s Annual Meeting, but the proposal was amended in favor of an enrollment multiplier of 1.25. It failed, 297-134.

Then an amendment was made for 1.65 multiplier. That also failed, 293-141.

Bartelt said Thursday he had no hard feelings about the memberships vote after the committee’s nearly yearlong research.

“The majority of the committee put it forward as the best option if there had to be a solution,” Bartelt said. “The majority of the committee did that because that’s what we were tasked with. Most of us agreed to keep status quo.”

While Bartelt wasn’t surprised status quo remained, he was surprised at how close the vote was, a 52.7 to 47.3 split.

“I thought it’d be two-thirds against the success factor,” he said. “I did believe that it would fail.”

“I think the WIAA probably should continue to gather information, gather data over the next couple of years,” Bartelt added. “If the problem keeps on coming back, they can look at the data already collected and look at it again.”

He also believes the discussion will go quiet for the next year.

“They’ll watch tournament results over the next year and see if the perceived problem goes away or gets worse,” Bartelt said.

So what do area student-athletes think? Well, most of them haven’t followed much of the process if at all. And most don’t care what happens, enrollment multiplier or success factor.

“I don’t feel like there’s one team that’s at state every year,” Kewaskum senior basketball player Sammie Wiskirchen said.

Wiskirchen played club basketball with some girls from KML last summer and found out it is no fluke the Chargers are as good as they are, especially in girls basketball.

“They work out. They have daily workouts,” she said. “They’ve earned it to be as good as they are. It’s not like they’re getting handed anything.”

The perception that private schools have it better than public schools started with Whitefish Bay Dominican’s five straight state titles in boys basketball.

Living Word Lutheran sophomore Jacob Bolwerk, who is on the Timberwolves’ boys basketball team, believes it is a challenge to move up a division, rather than punishing success.

“I think it would be a motivator for us,” Bolwerk said. “We’re a small school playing against the bigger schools. Let’s go out and compete against them.”

However, he does understand why the debate exists. But, as a player, “you can’t think about that.”

“You just go out and play.”

Bolwerk, along with West Bend West junior Jack Thelen, who is on the Spartans’ football, basketball and baseball teams, said if they had to choose between the enrollment multiplier or the success factor, they’d chose the latter.

“The success factor because that would mean those schools that are having repeated success, they’re not on the same field as others,” Thelen said.

Wiskirchen, Thelen and Bolwerk agree an enrollment multiplier would be unfair.

“Yes we’re a private school, but it should be the same at public schools,” Bolwerk said.

“(With) like Living Word and KML, I wouldn’t say they have an unfair advantage,” Thelen said. “You get what you put in. They have to put in the work just like the others.”

Reach sports editor Nicholas Dettmann at ndettmann@conleynet.com.

Avoiding the hazards

Daily News (West Bend, Wis.)
Published: April 21, 2016 - A1

Avoiding the hazards

Teen golfer back on the course after his lung collapsed — twice

By NICHOLAS DETTMANN

Daily News

KEWASKUM — Golf coach Glenn Eichstedt describes senior Sean Murray as a “good-natured young man.”

“He’s got a very unique sense of humor, always joking around,” Eichstedt said. “He keeps things loose.”

That didn’t change even after Murray had surgery to repair a collapsed lung.

That’s right: a collapsed right lung.

At his first checkup after the nearly hour-long surgery in December, Murray looked at his doctor and asked when he could play golf again.

His doctors were amazed he made it as far as he did.

The fiasco started while watching his classmates compete in a wrestling match on a Thursday evening in December. He noticed pain in his chest and back, but thought nothing of it.

“It wasn’t bad enough to stop me from helping my cousin,” Murray said.

Two days later, Murray attended his cousin’s wedding and acted like nothing was wrong. But the pain continued.

“The main symptom was chest and back pain, and almost a whooping cough to match it,” Murray said. “I just put it in the back of my mind.”

The following Monday, he went to the doctor. There was a problem — a small hole in his lung.

It was like trying to blow up a plastic bag, but with a hole in it. The lung wouldn’t inflate. The doctor was stunned, amazed Murray was sitting there in his office and not dead.

“It was not taking in air,” Murray said. “I was going off one lung.

“I toughed it out,” he added. “I spent a whole weekend with one lung.”

Hours later, he was admitted to Froedtert and the Medical College in Wauwatosa.

“At that point, after the weekend, it was getting to a point that could cause some more problems,” Murray said.

Four days after being admitted to Froedtert, Murray had a 45-minute surgery to repair the lung. Of course, golf didn’t stray far from his mind.

“I watched a lot of Golf Channel on TV,” Murray said.

There was no rehabilitation program. It was just rest, avoiding large movements and heavy lifting ... including golf clubs.

A month later, it seemed he was in the clear. Think again.

Three months later while on a run with a friend, those same pains resurfaced. This time, there was no hesitation. There was no “toughing it out.”

“We were on top of it,” Murray said.

He was immediately taken to the hospital.

Suddenly, the energetic, good-spirited young man was frustrated and down.

“It wasn’t on the same scale, about a 50 percent collapse,” Murray said. “It was kind of like, ‘We did all this, I didn’t get healthy, what is there left to do?’” It rattled those close to Murray. It was hard to imagine someone who loves to sing in the team van on the way to golf meets had to go through this, let alone twice in three months.

“(It was) more shocking and disturbing than the first time because you know there’s a serious problem and it needs to be addressed in a serious way,” Eichstedt said.

The doctors didn’t take any chances. Murray’s second surgery lasted about three hours.

“They opened me up and checked everything,” Murray said.

Just like before, he wondered when he could golf again. Golf was important to him, as was being there for his teammates.

Murray is in his fourth season on the Indians’ varsity golf team. He’s never missed a varsity match. In 2014, his sophomore year, Murray was selected as the team’s most valuable player. Last year, he had the lowest scoring average.

With an experienced lineup set to take to the course this season, Murray and the Indians were excited about their potential.

Then this happened ... again. If anything, it was a motivator for his teammates.

“They were concerned — his health was the No. 1 concern,” Eichstedt said. “I didn’t sense any worry or letdown on their part. Let’s go out and do this and show we can do it.”

Murray again waited for the OK from his doctors. He got it much sooner than he and everyone else thought he would: April 6, less than a month after the surgery.

“My parents and I were shocked by that,” Murray said. “With the extent of the surgery, they were letting me go that early.”

Then another eye-opener happened five days later: He was going to have to golf.

The thought was to ease Murray back into the mix. Certainly by the start of May, he’d be in full swing. Unfortunately, three players expected to compete in the Indians’ first conference match April 11 were scratched. Murray got a text message from his coach, asking him how he felt.

“The first thing I did was I called my dad,” Murray said. “He said if I’m comfortable doing it, go ahead. I wasn’t quite nervous, I was curious. It was the first time I hit a golf ball in five weeks.”

Expectations were low: just get through the ninehole meet, the first ECC mini-meet in history. No one expected what happened next.

His score of 42 at Lake Breeze Golf Course in Winneconne, a course he’s never played, put Kewaskum over the top to win the inaugural ECC meet.

“I was surprised he played as well as he did,” Eichstedt.

A 42 is only two or three strokes above his typical play.

“It went good,” he said. “I got through the fourth or fifth hole and started getting knots in the back.”

A golfer is usually their own harshest critic. He was no exception, even with a twice-repaired lung.

“Definitely left a lot out there,” Murray said.

Overall, however, who cares?

“It was great,” Murray said. “Just being on a course was nice.”

Still going strong, Murray doesn’t appear to have lost much with his game and that bodes well for Kewaskum as it chases an ECC championship and a deep postseason run. 

Reach sports editor Nicholas Dettmann at ndettmann@conleynet.com.

OUTDOORS: Casting with the best

Daily News (West Bend, Wis.)
Published: April 20, 2016

Casting with the best

Local men prepare for 3rd season on pro circuit

By NICHOLAS DETTMANN

Daily News

Mike Yamaguchi’s wife, Cassie, jokingly regrets allowing her husband to help their daughter’s Girl’s Scout troop build a float for the West Bend Christmas parade in 2010.

The construction took place at Mike McCardle’s house in West Bend. In the garage was McCardle’s boat.

It was like Yamaguchi had fallen in love again.

“My husband was eyeing it up as we’re building the float,” Cassie said. “They hit it off pretty well that night.

“I’ve regretted it ever since.”

No, just kidding.

“I like Mike (McCardle),” Cassie said with a smile.

Six years later, the Mikes have gone on several recreational fishing trips and, for three years, fished competitively.

They each compete in the National Walleye Tour and the tour’s first event of the season is a two-day competition starting Thursday in Sandusky, Ohio.

After that, it’s a pair of home lakes for Yamaguchi and McCardle. On May 26-27, the tour competes on Lake Winnebago, and June 23-24 in Green Bay.

The season concludes Aug. 3-5 at Lake Oahe in Mobridge, South Dakota, with the tour championship.

McCardle is a pro-level angler, while Yamaguchi is a co-angler, or an amateur.

In the NWT a random drawing is done to pair a pro with a co-angler the day before the tournament.

A pro angler is just that — a professional, usually in charge of the boat. Such as where to take it, where to cast a line. A co-angler does is like an assistant.

Think of a pro-am golf tournament. It’s the same thing with the NWT.

However, there is a little twist. The Day 1 pairings aren’t the same for Day 2.

How the results are determined is if Yamaguchi and his pro catch 10 pounds of fish on Day 1, then on Day 2 Yamaguchi and his new pro catch 15 pounds, Yamaguchi is scored with 25 pounds.

As for Yamaguchi’s pro on Day 1, that angler takes the 10 pounds they caught and then adds the weight he or she got with the second co-angler on Day 2 to come up with that final weight.

It’s a unique setup. Because of the unknown, the pressure can be high, especially for the pros. There is more money and sponsorship on the line.

“You’re fighting for a specific spot and you have a couple hundred boats or, a couple dozen boats that are trying to get in that one little spot the size of a coffee table,” Yamaguchi said of the competition. “You’ve got a lot of people cutting people off.”

It’s also a learning experience, especially for the co-angler.

“A lot of the anglers come up through the co-angler ranks,” McCardle said. “A lot of them will be future pros. You learn a lot of different techniques.”

That’s what McCardle did. That’s what Yamaguchi is doing now.

“I wanted to be more in control of the decisionmaking,” McCardle said when asked why he moved to the pro level.

He also believed he had enough confidence to compete with the best walleye anglers in the country. He just needed to find out for sure. He’s been in competitive fishing tournaments since 2003.

To get ready for a tournament like the one in Sandusky, McCardle and Yamaguchi left Friday to get on the water of Lake Erie and pre-fish. The purpose is to scout the water and the walleye population, learn the characteristics of the lake.

McCardle and Yamaguchi often travel together to make sure tournament entries stay even.

McCardle competes in fishing tournaments because it’s a nice getaway from work. But it’s hardly a vacation.

“We’re on the water 1214 hours per day,” he said.

One of the first pros Yamaguchi was paired with was Ron Seelhoff, a veteran of more than 30 years in competitive fishing. It was at the same place as this weekend’s tournament.

“It was an eye-opening experience,” Yamaguchi said of his first tournament. “There’s a lot of great fishermen.

“Seeing some of their techniques was probably the most interesting thing.”

The Yamaguchis moved to West Bend about seven years ago from New Braunfels, Texas, which is near San Antonio.

Mike Yamaguchi got a job with Harley Davidson as a solution and integration manager.

He started fishing as a kid with his father on the Gulf of Mexico. Today, his father is a guide near Galveston, Texas.

“I’ve always been interested in fishing and I’m somewhat competitive,” Yamaguchi said.

When he got to Wisconsin, he still wanted to fish.

The Mikes met through their children with the Washington County Youth Hockey Association and school.

First it was at McLane Elementary, then Badger Middle School and Silverbrook Intermediate.

The idea of competitive fishing came up when McCardle asked Yamaguchi to help him pre-fish for an upcoming tournament.

“Then it was, ‘Hey, why don’t you sign up as my coangler?’” Cassie said.

Yamaguchi didn’t hesitate.

“I was all in,” he said.

Last season, McCardle finished 62nd in the tour standings out of 188 pros.

“Consistency,” he said when asked how is a good angler is measured.

“To be able to place in the top 25 percent consistently, you’re doing pretty well — top 10, you’re doing wonderful.”

Yamaguchi was 44th in last season’s co-angler standings out of 218 — top 20 percent.

In 2014, Yamaguchi was 54th out of 192 co-anglers, while McCardle was 74th out of 144.

This year, the duo has two home lakes on the schedule. So they like their chances.

“I love fishing and the chance to win some money is even better,” Yamaguchi said. 

Reach sports editor Nicholas Dettmann at ndettmann@conleynet.com.

West Bend man led rebuilding project at Beaver Dam Raceway

Daily News (West Bend, Wis.)
Published: April 16, 2016

West Bend man led rebuilding project at Beaver Dam Raceway

By NICHOLAS DETTMANN

Daily News

Jimmy Gish was upfront and honest, which made him a good people person. It also made him a good businessman.

He resurrected Beaver Dam Raceway and the track will start tonight for its 24th season since Gish reopened the track after it sat dormant for more than a decade.

Born in 1937, he grew up in Milwaukee and started working at a salvage yard. He worked his way up through the ranks at the business and eventually bought it.

Gish moved to West Bend in 1968 where he purchased, owned and operated Bradley Auto Salvage on Highway A. Later, in 1986, he opened a car wash — Soft Touch Car Wash. Today, that car wash is Scrub-ADub, 1515 S. Main St.

That car wash was a way of life for the Gish family, which included himself, his wife, Bonnie, and three sons, Joel, Daniel and Nathan.

“We all had a responsibility in that business,” Nathan said.

Dad ran the business. Mom ran the counter. The boys did whatever else needed to be done.

On Feb. 12, 1987, Bonnie Gish passed away. It changed everything.

“When mom died, the plan fell apart,” Nathan said. “So he got out of that.”

In addition to his business ventures, Jimmy loved to race. He raced in what some area short-track racing enthusiasts call the “golden years.” Racing was done five or six nights per week, and it was done against the likes of Miles “The Mouse” Melius, Fuzzy Fassbender and Billy Johnson.

When Bonnie died, it was at about the same time Alan Kulwicki broke in with NASCAR after a successful run on short tracks in Wisconsin, including Slinger Super Speedway.

“Kulwicki and my dad were very close,” Nathan said.

“Him and Alan went to NASCAR country. Dad drove him and dad waited in the car while Alan did his presentation to see if NASCAR was a right fit.”

Kulwicki was NASCAR’s Rookie of the Year in 1986 and later won the then-NASCAR Winston Cup Series championship in 1992 before dying in a plane crash in 1993.

“He reached out to my dad and said, ‘I want you to be my business manager,’” Nathan said. “My dad said, ‘No.’ “I was in high school at that point. The other boys, Dan was in college and Joel was off starting his life. Dad had to take care of me.”

A few years later, a deserted piece of property on Highway 33 west of Beaver Dam changed the whole family’s life and redefined Jimmy’s legacy.

Racing stopped at Beaver Dam in the early 1980s and the track was demolished.

“The place basically completely got demolished where you couldn’t tell there was a race track there,” Nathan said.

But, and this was key, the property still had the permit to have a race track built on it. Gary Schlafer bought the land and had a dream to resurrect racing at Beaver Dam.

“He was the guy with the dream and he bought the race track,” Nathan said of Schlafer. “But didn’t have the money to do anything.”

Schlafer’s construction project didn’t last long. Concrete blocks were stacked and scattered throughout the property. Buildings, such as the concession stand and restrooms, were started, but never completed.

A few years later, that’s when Jimmy took over.

At the encouragement of his sons and Kulwicki, Jimmy decided to finish Beaver Dam Raceway, purchasing the track in 1992. It opened for business in the following spring in 1993.

“We saw the opportunity in the place,” Nathan said. “Not that he was blind to it, because he had interest too, but it was encouragement from us.”

Also at that time, openwheel dirt racing was booming, with the help of the World of Outlaw Sprint Car Series.

“We were at the age where racing was the greatest thing,” Nathan said, who was 18 at the time. “Dan is five years older than me and he was running midgets at Sun Prairie. He was Rookie of the Year in 1992. Joel was running modifieds at Plymouth. I was racing go-karts at Dousman. We were all pretty tied to racing.”

The WOO was the hot ticket no matter what track the series went to.

“They’d have 90 sprint cars show up for a World of Outlaws show,” Nathan said.

“Open-wheel racing was really coming into its time at that time, big crowds, stands were packed and good car counts,” Dan said.

Jimmy eventually recognized the opportunity.

“Kulwicki was influential in that as well, saying, ‘Go ahead and do it. It’ll be good for you.’” In a matter of months, the family transformed the track from a farm field into a one-third mile oval that was later dubbed the “Taj Mahal of dirt tracks.”

“Ted Johnson, who is the founder of the World of Outlaw Sprint Car Series, he would go around the country because it was his job and he traveled to all these race tracks,” Nathan said. “What he would say to other track owners and promoters is, ‘We need to get these race tracks like Beaver Dam Raceway.’” What a compliment.

In 1996, the series made its debut at Beaver Dam in front of a more-than-capacity crowd. The race was won by Dave Blaney. His son Ryan Blaney is a rookie with the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series this season.

NASCAR champion Tony Stewart has also raced and won at Beaver Dam.

So what made Beaver Dam Raceway?

“The appearance and the experience,” Nathan said. “The VIP center, the VIP tables, the cleanliness of the facility, the grass seating and not a lot of obstructions.”

“It was touted as a stateof- the-art track,” Dan said.

It also offered something new, never before seen at a dirt track: banked turns.

Hales Corners Speedway, for example, like most others in the state at that time, were flat ovals.

The sprint cars, which these days have horsepower similar to those of stock cars on the NASCAR circuit, struggled to showcase their speed.

That was not a problem at Beaver Dam. The cars used the banking to push down on the gas, nearly taking corners at full throttle and then shoot down the long backstraights.

The track surface, using the best clay money could buy, also helped. The Gishes used trucks to bring in clay from the shoreline of Lake Michigan near Port Washington. It wasn’t cheap to do that.

Beaver Dam is also a wide track. As many as three or four wide can fit through a turn, adding another element of excitement for the drivers and the fans.

“The intention was to build a first-class facility that would attract the fans and the drivers,” Dan said. “At that time, that was a first-class facility. Back then, you’d go to dirt tracks where clean bathrooms was a huge thing, make it a more family atmosphere.”

The racing at Beaver Dam was and remains some of the best around.

“It’s a very racey track,” Dan said. “(Beaver Dam) always puts on a good show. That’s what it’s all about.”

It’s a challenging track, too, and that’s something drivers like, in addition to speed.

“In a legend car, it’s a real momentum track,” said Slinger’s Joe Johnson, who won a legend track championship at Beaver Dam in 2013. “You’ve got to have your whole lap figured out and be consistent in order to be competitive.”

Jimmy worked at, owned and built up salvages yards, a car wash and a race track.

“He worked hard and treated people really good,” Nathan said. “He was honest. He was a genuine.” Reach sports editor Nicholas Dettmann at ndettmann@conleynet.com.

East coach resigns, cites health concern

Daily News (West Bend, Wis.)
Published: April 16, 2016

GIRLS BASKETBALL

East coach resigns, cites health concern

Suns go 9-13 in Graf’s lone season

By NICHOLAS DETTMANN

Daily News

Growing health concerns have forced Travis Graf off the sideline for the West Bend East girls basketball program.

Graf revealed his intent to resign during a meeting with East Athletic Director Shane Hansen and West Bend high schools Assistant Principal Ryan Tomczyk.

Graf’s vacancy was posted on the West Bend School District’s website Wednesday. On Friday, Graf revealed his reason for resigning.

Graf denied any allegation that he was forced to resign by any school administrator or parent.

“It turned out to be more serious than I thought,” he told the Daily News, declining to go into specifics about his health.

However, he said the problem was likely keep him away from coaching until at least August at the urging of his doctor.

With that in mind, knowing the Suns were going into the offseason on the heels of seven seniors graduating in June, Graf didn’t believe it was “fair for the program” for him to take time away in a crucial offseason.

“I didn’t feel good for the program,” Graf said. “I decided to step aside and let someone step in.”

Graf coached one season at East, leading the Suns to a 9-13 record — one season

after the program went 3-20.

“I think he did a nice job,” Hansen said. “Travis is a nice person. He’s easy to get along with. He came in and tried to coach the basketball team. I think he did a good job, did the best he could.”

Graf’s hiring came with apprehension by parents and supporters of the Suns’ program after the previous coach — Don Gruber — was fired.

Gruber’s firing started a hurricane of bad publicity, which included the temporary suspension of several athletes’ eligibility. Parents also sent a letter to administration about their distaste of Graf as coach.

On July 27, six groups of parents sent a letter to West Bend School District Superintendent Ted Neitzke demanding answers over the district’s decision to hire Graf.

“The student-athletes believe their progress has been stunted by a coach with limited playing experience, lack of coaching expertise and a general detachment to the school and community,” the letter said.

The letter also questioned why Ron Larson wasn’t hired.

“Why would (West Bend high schools) Principal (Bill) Greymont, an advocate for student-athletes, compare the two resumes of Graf and Larson and deem Graf more qualified merely by the fact he has ’head coach’ listed on his resume and has a teacher’s license?” it said. “Five years as a head JV boys coach at a large high school greatly outweighs one year at a high school of 53 students.”

Greymont stood behind Graf, even if parents didn’t, and Graf reiterated the administration’s support Friday.

“The administration was repeatedly very supportive,” he said.

“I don’t have any regrets,” Graf added. “The only regret I have is I won’t be able to continue it. I think there’s potential for this program to be pretty good going forward. I did the best I could under the circumstances.”

Graf said there was only one parent — whom he declined to name — who had a problem with him. He added several parents hoped he would continue as the coach. It was his intent to do so, but he couldn’t with his condition.

“I hope when they hire a new coach, I hope the people can move on,” Graf said, adding he hopes the coach has more support when he or she arrives.

During Monday’s meeting with Hansen and Tomczyk, Graf said they talked at length about the season and the surrounding distraction that loomed over the program ever since Gruber was fired 13 months ago.

“I hope I got them through the absurd drama that was going on when I got in,” Graf said. “Hopefully I got them through that with a little grace and the next coach won’t have to go through it.”

Graf thanked his coaching staff for their work, including Eric Katz, who filled in for some games as Graf battled his health issue. Graf hopes Katz is considered to replace him.

“He’s a great coach,” Graf said.

Tomczyk will take the lead on the hiring process as Hansen and Greymont are each resigning at the end of the school year.

“Last time we went through this, we had a very good candidate pool,” said Tomczyk, who was on the hiring panel as a coach representative because he was the East boys varsity basketball coach at that time. “I’m excited to see what this next process will bring. We want to get the right candidate for West Bend.”

Tomczyk said steps are being taken to get the girls through the summer offseason programs, such as tournaments and practices. He said the team is signed up for some summer tournaments.

When asked if the hire is a make-orbreak decision for the future of the program, Tomczyk said all coach hirings are important.

“It’s a priority because it’s somebody’s senior year, their last opportunity to enjoy high school athletics,” Tomczyk said. “As long as I’ve been in the West Bend School District, there hasn’t been a priority that wasn’t a major priority. They all carry extreme amount of weight.

“The girls need some stability and hopefully this next person will be able to do that.”

❑

Doornek wants to remain East boys coach

A letter was sent by Hansen on Thursday to parents of players in the East boys basketball program addressing the situation with Kevin Doornek.

Doornek was appointed as an interim coach before last season after Tomczyk accepted an assistant principal position at the high schools.

East went 5-19 with Doornek as the coach.

Doornek said Friday he will apply for the job on full-time basis.

In the letter, Hansen writes, “We would like to sincerely thank coach Doornek for taking on that challenge late in the game, and for his leadership and dedication to the program. His willingness to step up and help is greatly appreciated.”

Doornek said Hansen plans to nominate him for the job.

Reach sports editor Nicholas Dettmann at ndettmann@conleynet.com.

Germantown’s Juwan McCloud

Daily News (West Bend, Wis.)
Published: April 16, 2016

2015-16 DAILY NEWS ALL-COUNTY BOYS BASKETBALL TEAM

PLAYER OF THE YEAR

Germantown’s Juwan McCloud 

Senior keeps tradition going for Warhawks

STORY BY NICHOLAS DETTMANN ■ DAILY NEWS

Juwan McCloud wasn’t intimidated — he was eager to do whatever he could to help his new teammates.

“It wasn’t anything I wasn’t capable of doing,” McCloud said. “I accepted the role.”

Then he got hurt.

In his sophomore year at Germantown, McCloud, who played his freshman year at Menomonee Falls, suffered a stress fracture on his tibia in his left leg.

He missed nine games.

Once cleared to play, he had two games to get ready for Brookfield Central, who beat Germantown to end its thennation- leading 69-game winning streak.

Two games later, McCloud was in the starting lineup for the first time for the Warhawks after four teammates were suspended for code of conduct violations. One of the players suspended was the team’s leading scorer, Lamonte Bearden.

McCloud was Bearden’s backup at point guard.

“I wasn’t nervous,” McCloud said. “I was actually really excited. I had a lot of confidence. I felt it was an opportunity to show my work.”

He scored 14 points and it was the start of a legacy for McCloud with the Warhawks.

McCloud, committed to the University of Northern Iowa on a basketball scholarship, was voted the 2015-16 Daily News All-County Boys Basketball Player of the Year.

“He’s a great example for the kids in the program to do what he’s done,” said Mark Adams, who coached Germantown last season but has since retired after he replaced Steve Showalter — the Warhawks’ coach for 15 seasons.

“He’s got some range,” Adams added. “The last few years, he’s put the time in. He’s got a nice little teardrop.

“His 3-point shooting has really evolved. He’s gotten more consistent as far as his scoring.”

Scoring and assists were two things McCloud wanted to improve on, saying those are the aspects that define a point guard.

This season, he scored 577 points — 23.1 points per game.

In his freshman season at Menomonee Falls, McCloud scored 253 points — 11 per game — which was second on the team.

McCloud joined Germantown’s program after his family moved to town because his parents work in Germantown.

When McCloud arrived, it was at the height of Germantown’s reign in high school basketball. The Warhawks were in the midst of a 56-game winning streak and had won the previous two Division 1 state titles.

In addition, it had just graduated the state’s Mr. Basketball award winner — Luke Fischer. But still on the roster was Bearden, among others either committed to Division I programs or being recruited by D-I programs.

Bearden eventually signed with the University of Buffalo and is the Bulls’ leading scorer for a team that made its second straight NCAA Tournament appearance last month.

In a way, it was the right situation for McCloud to come into.

“I think it was a lot easier with the eyes being on Germantown,” he said. “The way it all happened, it helped my game. It allowed me figure out how to be a role player.”

After his first start, which was Jan. 24, 2014, against Whitefish Bay, McCloud did what he needed to do — he averaged 7.5 points in 12 games.

McCloud wasn’t intimidated by what had already happened at Germantown and who was before him.

“Being in that program, everybody has to get used to a pecking order,” Adams said. “I think he was ready for it. One of the reasons he was, it was because of the confidence he built over time.”

Adams was familiar with McCloud; he was the coach of Brookfield Central when the Lancers beat the Warhawks to end the historic winning streak. Plus, Brookfield Central and Menomonee Falls are in the Greater Metro Conference.

“As a sophomore, I thought he had a lot of potential but at that point, from a physical standpoint, he wasn’t close to physical maturity yet,” Adams said. “He was pretty lean.”

Adams also thought McCloud needed to work on his range. He got the chance to help when then-Germantown coach Steve Showalter added Adams to his staff during McCloud’s junior season. Adams worked with McCloud and the other guards for Germantown.

“A lot of what I was trying to get him to do was understand what to do and what not to do as far as shot selection,” Adams said. “He was a very unselfish player before I got there. The desire he had for the importance of getting other people involved — he was very comfortable with that.

“But with his talent, he had to work on doing things himself.”

Adams also worked on Mc-Cloud’s defense.

“I don’t think he ever looked at himself that way,” Adams said. “He had to push himself on both ends of the floor. There’s nothing harder than trying to get someone to play defense.”

Adams helped transform Mc-Cloud into a complete point guard, which included McCloud averaging more than 2 steals per game last season on top of his offensive production.

As for his range, McCloud made seven 3-pointers his sophomore season. This year, he made 61.

McCloud finished with 1,148 points in less than three seasons at Germantown. If you count his Menomonee Falls totals, he had 1,401 points.

“I think I prepared myself in the AAU season,” McCloud said. “I really developed a scoring mentality. It was being ready for that moment.”

HONORABLE MENTION Colin Biesterfeld, sr., Kettle Moraine Lutheran

Jacob Bolwerk, soph., Living Word Lutheran

Tyler Reinhardt, sr., Slinger Derek Sabin, soph., Slinger Charlie Witek, sr., Kewaskum 

Reach sports editor Nicholas Dettmann at ndettmann@conleynet.com.

A natural: Slinger sophomore among nation’s best in 1st season

Daily News (West Bend, Wis.)
Published: April 12, 2016

A natural

Slinger sophomore among nation’s best in 1st season

By NICHOLAS DETTMANN

Daily News

Slinger’s Lexi Bullis always had the thought of competitive snowboarding. Instead, skiing and soccer always took precedent. Snowboarding was a recreational activity, something to do on the side.

But when she spotted an unused snowboard in her stepdad’s garage about four years ago, her desire to snowboard competitively was rekindled.

Several times Bullis asked if she could try it.

Each time her stepdad said no, but with a condition.

“He wanted to be there to teach me,” Bullis said.

When Slinger announced snowboarding was added to its list of winter sports offerings, Bullis saw it as the opportunity she was waiting for.

“Snowboard comes around and it makes the two of us get into it,” Bullis said.

Six months later, she is one of the best snowboarders in the country after she finishing fourth in the young women 14-15 division in giant slalom at the 27th annual USASA Snowboard National Championship at Copper Mountain Resort in Copper Mountain, Colorado, about 75 miles west of Denver.

She was also 15th in slalom.

The national meet capped a jaw-dropping season for the Slinger sophomore.

This season was the first year snowboarding was offered at Slinger. The conference the Owls competed in — the Milwaukee Metro High School Snowboard Conference — just finished its second year. It’s so new, it doesn’t have a website.

“I wanted to have fun with a bunch of friends,” Bullis said. “I had no goals, no expectations. I had no idea how it was going to go.”

Snowboarding was supposed to be her “fun” sport.

Her curiosity to try competitive snowboarding started during the times she was on the slopes with her park board — used strictly for recreation — saying she’d try to go through the ski gates.

“It was a lot of fun,” Lexi said.

In the Owls’ first meet of the season Jan. 2 at Tyrol Basin in Mount Horeb, Bullis led a 1-2-3 finish.

She was the conference champion on giant slalom and boardercross and led the team to a conference championship in its first season.

On top of that, she was also a state qualifier in skiing for Slinger. The Owls took 12th in conference and qualified for state. She was honorable mention All-Conference.

This was all in her first year of racing on a snowboard. Her coach and her dad, Paul Bullis, was impressed. It was hard to not be.

“(It’s) very difficult,” Paul said about Lexi qualifying for state in skiing and snowboarding. “It’s hard to master one of the sports. To master two is difficult, exemplary. I don’t know the exact word.”

Lexi started skiing when she was 2 years old. She started snowboarding when she was 4.

She’s also a goalkeeper for Slinger’s varsity soccer team.

“She’s got very good athletic talent,” Paul said.

It may be the genes. Lexi’s mom is an avid skier, while Paul is an avid snowboarder.

“I’ve been juggling snowboarding and skiing most of my life,” Lexi said.

When she was in sixth grade, her neighbor coached a club ski team and that’s how she got into club ski racing. She stopped that before her freshman year at Slinger and joined the Owls’ ski team.

“She’s very natural for (skiing),” Paul said. “But she had to learn how to ski competitively. Slalom and giant slalom takes a lot of skill and takes years to master.”

“She caught on to skiing very quickly,” he added. “Snowboarding took a little while to catch on. But after a couple of years she was comfortable with both.”

While the principle is the same for competitive skiing and snowboarding — get down the hill as fast as possible — how that’s done varies drastically.

“In skiing, you have to worry about one ski versus the other and not put too much pressure on a ski or you’ll fall,” Lexi said. “In snowboard, you have to put pressure on the edge and you have to drive power through edge of board.”

There was another challenge for Lexi with snowboarding: The board she had was a park board.

That board sitting in her stepdad’s garage had been in his possession for quite some time. Some of the components on it are from 1996, older than Lexi by more than three years.

So when they hit the slopes for the first time at Little Switzerland in Slinger, Lexi found out how drastic the difference is between a park board and a racer’s board.

“Let’s just say I fell a lot in the beginning,” she said.

One of the key characteristics between a park board and a racer board is foot placement. A park board typically consists of soft boots and the feet are perpendicular.

That’s not true with racer board.

The boots are hard, similar to ski boots, and the feet are turned toward the front of the board at about a 65-degree angle.

“You don’t want to be sideways, you want to face straight down the hill,” Lexi said.

It took some time to get used to.

“It was really, really hard,” she said. “I was not used to how the board responded.

“On the first day (of the season), it can be rough even if you’ve done it for years and years.”

As for the racing aspect, skiers aim to go through the gates. Snowboarders have to be able to flick their legs around the gates, while leaning over them with their her upper body.

“You have to be in good aerobic condition with very quick reflexes,” Paul said. “In order to be successful in snowboard and skiing, you have to have a good understanding on how to read the hill.

“It takes years to master excellent skiing and excellent snowboarding.”

She had to work out some old habits. When she did, she showcased what she could do and put together a memorable season.

“It was a lot of fun,” Lexi said. “I was pretty excited to tell people I qualified in two sports on the same weekend.”

Lexi’s personality, according to Paul, helped her get out to a solid start on a snowboard.

“You have to be very competitive and have no fear,” he said.

Reach sports editor Nicholas Dettmann at ndettmann@conleynet.com.

OUTDOORS: Wisconsin to host 1 of 4 national fundraisers

Daily News (West Bend, Wis.)
Published: April 9, 2016

Wisconsin to host 1 of 4 national fundraisers

Event set for April 16

By NICHOLAS DETTMANN

Daily News

Shooting sports are catching on around the nation.

Rick Leach, director of development of the Scholastic Shooting Sports Foundation, pointed to Minnesota as an example.

“It’s No. 2 in Minnesota, only behind football, but ahead of hockey,” Leach said. “Not many would expect that in Minnesota.”

Wisconsin is in a similar position as it has the most participants in the Scholastic Action Shooting Program, which is why the SSSF will have one of its four national fundraisers April 16 at the Ozaukee County Fairgrounds, W67 N866 Washington Ave., Cedarburg.

“The SASP is having four fundraising events across the nation and Wisconsin — because of our high participation, the state with the most athletes — we were selected as one where one would be held,” Leach said. “It supports the national program, which runs all the events in the program, but proceeds also goes to the Ozaukee Scholastic Shooting Sports team.”

The Ozaukee club is the host for the event and Leach is one of the program’s coaches.

“The proceeds will offset operational costs, the regional, state and national championship events, which was in July in Ohio,” Leach said.

Fundraisers will also be in Tennessee, Missouri and Arizona.

The cost is $50, which includes a buffet. There will be a silent auction, live auction and a raffle. Doors open at 5 p.m. and the dinner is at 6:30 p.m.

The SSSF was founded in July 2012 and has quickly become a popular organization, overseeing a rapidly growing sport.

“We’ve got teams across the country who are competing in piston and rifle competitions, local, regional, national and virtual,” said Tammy Mowry, the SSSF national director.

When the organization started in 2012, it was pistol only. In January, rifle was added to the mix and the

organization has seen a growth it thought it could get — just not at this level.

“We’re very pleased with it,” Mowry said. “With adding rifle, we know it’s going to really grow.”

In the last several years, many area high schools have added trapshooting as a club sport.

In 2013, West Bend high schools added trapshooting to its list of extracurricular activities. More than 80 kids — boys and girls — signed up.

“It’s a lifelong sport,” Leach said. “It starts with the safety aspect, handling firearms. Then it’s learning the skills for competition.”

The other appealing aspect, according to Leach, as to why shooting sports are rising is because there is no strength element.

“It’s about learning fundamentals and skills — willingness to practice,” Leach said.

“We’ve seen huge growth the last few years,” he added. “Kids are finding out about it because of how programs are run. It’s a very safe sport. The shooting sports are safer than recreational walking.”

There are clay shooting teams in all 50 states. Pistol and rifle shooting teams are not yet in all 50 states, but they’re getting close. Plus, the SSSF is the official feeder system for the U.S. Olympic program.

The SSSF is open to shooters in grade school, middle school, high school and college, while also providing scholarship opportunities for college.

The Ozaukee team started five years ago in pistol shooting and has won three national championships in that time.

“It’s truly one of the level playing-field sports,” Leach said. “It’s a coed sport. A lot of the girls shoot better than the boys.”

There have been discussions about the possibility of adding trapshooting or other forms of shooting sports to the WIAA. The discussions have been preliminary.

“We’re looking forward to coming to Wisconsin,” Mowry said. “We’re looking forward to a great banquet.”

For more information, contact Leach at 262-8944284 or rleach@sssfonline. com.

OUTDOORS: DNR postpones rule change proposals

Daily News (West Bend, Wis.)
Published: April 8, 2016

DNR postpones rule change proposals

Local legislator believes one rule violates state law

By NICHOLAS DETTMANN

Daily News

Responding to overwhelming criticism, including from Rep. Bob Gannon, R-Slinger, the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources has decided to table its rule packages proposal which was to go in front of the Natural Resources Board next week.

More than 30 rule changes were to be presented to the NRB at its Wednesday meeting in Madison. Among those rule changes included removing the ban of possessing or discharging a weapon — gun, crossbow, etc. — in state parks and replace it with a ban in designated campsites, and create universal rules for shooting ranges, which include the possession and consumption of alcohol at shooting ranges.

“As of (Thursday) morning, we’re delaying consideration, based on the number of comments that we received, the input we received,” DNR spokesman George Althoff said Thursday. “It became evident that some people were misinterpreting our intention.”

Among those not a fan of some of the rule changes was Gannon.

“I’ve been disappointed with some of the rules,” he said Thursday. “This is a shining example of packing more restrictions without thinking them through.”

On Wednesday, Gannon released a statement about his disappointment with the DNR, specifically pointing to the possession or discharge of a weapon in a state park or campsite.

“As the Legislature is the elected body of the government, we have been designated the power to create the laws of the state,” he said in the statement. “The DNR should not be promulgating any rule or regulation that moves that power away from the officials elected to fulfill it.”

The DNR’s proposal was to “remove state parks from and add designated campsites to the list of locations where no person may take, catch, kill, hunt, trap or pursue any wild animal or bird, or discharge any firearm, or have in possession or under control any uncased firearm or air gun or any bow, crossbow, slingshot or springload device designed for shooting a projectile unless the same is unstrung or enclosed in a carrying case.”

According to the DNR’s proposal, “state parks are being removed from the list to be consistent with a statutory change, which expanded hunting in state parks.”

In addition, “designated campsites are added to the list for public safety consideration.”

Gannon wrote in his statement, “This seriously concerns me because the Legislature purposely wrote state statutes giving its citizens some of the broadest (concealed- carry weapon) rights in the nation.”

Althoff said the DNR’s proposal wouldn’t override state law. Gannon disagreed.

“That directly conflicts with the concealed carry laws in the state of Wisconsin,” Gannon said. “You can go to the Capitol with a concealed (weapon), but not in the middle of a forest?”

Althoff admitted there was a “lack of clarity” with the rules proposal package.

“This package of rules, I thought, was pretty clear and that it didn’t impact open carry,” he added. “But (opponents) thought it did.

“We thought we would pull it off the agenda for next week, gather feedback, listen to concerns and make adjustments.”

Gannon prefers it not come up again.

“Don’t pass laws that are not truly clear or absolutely on point,” he said. “We’re cluttering the rules and regulations.”

As far as the shooting range regulations, some of the proposed rules included no malt, fermented or alcoholic beverages are permitted within the area maintained as the shooting range; no exploding, glass or other breakable materials may be used as targets, except clay targets; and firearms should be unloaded and their actions open except while on the firing line.

Gannon said he’d support a rule prohibiting alcohol at shooting ranges.

“I don’t like people intoxicated and hunting,” he said. “It’s not a good mix.”

The argument against outlawing alcohol at shooting ranges is range businesses want to host fundraisers, which include alcohol sales and consumption.

Gannon said state law prohibits one going to a restaurant where alcohol is served and have a gun.

“There’s got to be common sense,” Gannon said.

The DNR will revisit its proposals, reach out to advocacy groups and the public, and collect more information about its ideas. The hope is to have a more concise set of rule proposals where there is no confusion.

“We’re not going to rush it,” Althoff said. “We want to do it right.”