Daily News (West Bend, Wis.)
Published: Sept. 26, 2013
By NICHOLAS DETTMANN
Daily News Sports Editor
APPLETON — The WIAA will move forward with the Green Bay Realignment following a lengthy discussion Wednesday at Fox Valley Lutheran High School.
“I thought it went very well,” WIAA Associate Director Deb Hauser said about the discussion.
After a handful of school administrators expressed their opinion about the proposal, which looks to impact about 90 schools in northeastern and eastern Wisconsin, including Kewaskum and Kettle Moraine Lutheran, Hauser said the plan is ready to move forward.
Hauser added she will re-draft the proposal and have it ready for all those involved by Oct. 11. From there, it will go to the WIAA’s Board of Control for its Dec. 6 meeting. If approved, teams will have up to 40 days to appeal. If there are no objections, the plan would go into effect for the 2015-16 school year.
If there are objections after an OK from the Board of Control, the target date of implication would still be possible.
If the Board of Control rejects the plan or modifies it at December’s meeting, a re-draft would then be required and the target date may be extended.
Hauser said this is a plan that has been in the works for about three years. It will happen, she added. When it’ll happen may still need to be determined.
The proposal combines Kewaskum and KML into one conference, which doesn’t have a name as of now, with Berlin, Campbellsport, Plymouth, Ripon, Waupun and Winneconne.
The Eastern Wisconsin Conference, which Kewaskum is a member of, would have Brillion, Chilton, Kiel, New Holstein, Roncalli, Sheboygan Falls, Two Rivers and Valders. The Flyway Conference, which KML is a member of, would have Laconia, Lomira, Mayville, North Fond du Lac, Omro, Saint Lawrence Seminary, St. Mary’s Springs and Winnebago Lutheran Academy.
Kewaskum athletic director Jason Piittmann supports the change.
KML athletic director Len Collyard doesn’t support it.
“We’re better off staying in the Flyway Conference and figure out some other options for that new conference,” Collyard said.
Collyard had support from other Flyway schools, such as Winnebago Lutheran.
“We like the rivalries we’ve built over the years,” WLA Principal Dave Schroeder said, adding it doesn’t want KML to leave the conference.
If the plan, which has KML in any other conference other than the Flyway, is OK’d by the Board of Control, Collyard said expect KML to appeal it.
“I think the travel issue for us if we go to that new conference would be too big to overcome,” he added. “I think it would hurt us in terms of our enrollment and the interest in our athletic programs.
“It would not be a good fit.”
The other conferences involved are the Fox River Classic, the Fox Valley Association, the Eastern Valley, the Bay, the Marinette-Oconto, the Olympian and the Packerland.
Also jumping into the mix Wednesday was the Central Lakeshore, which consists of Cedar Grove, Elkhart Lake, Howards Grove, Kohler, Oostburg, Ozaukee, Random Lake, Sheboygan Christian and Sheboygan Lutheran.
“I was very pleased with the Central Lakeshore folks coming up to engage and maybe provide a solution we hadn’t considered before,” Hauser said.
Representatives from the CLC suggested to combine its conference with Hilbert, Manitowoc Lincoln, Mishicot, Reedsville and St. Mary Central as the CLC is down to six schools which have 11-player football.
“They’re trying to help themselves and I applaud them for doing that,” Hauser said.
Geographic location and enrollment were the biggest factors into how Hauser and the WIAA setup the proposal. It was also those two elements that were heavily discussed by the members.
The other area of concern was being able to schedule football games, specifically nonconference games. Maintaining rivalries was a hot topic as well. Hauser said those rivalries were not considered in the draft of the plan.
Collyard said the new alignment would create a number of trips longer than 45 minutes, one way. The Flyway already has Omro, which is a stretch for travel as it is, he added.
“It’d be a problem for our students,” Collyard said, adding being competitive wouldn’t be a problem.
Travel doesn’t bother Kewaskum as much.
One concern Piittmann had was summer baseball as the new EWC and the proposed new conference have a mix of spring and summer baseball teams, but believes it is an easy fix.
“I think we’ll be able to make a summer baseball-only conference,” he said.
Monday, October 14, 2013
East, West ask out of Little Ten
Daily News (West Bend, Wis.)
Published: Sept. 19, 2013
By NICHOLAS DETTMANN
Daily News Sports Editor
OCONOMOWOC — First Wisconsin Lutheran, now West Bend East and West Bend West have decided its time for a change.
East Athletic Director Jeff Rondorf and West Athletic Director Scott Stier made a request to the WIAA on Wednesday to withdraw from the Wisconsin Little Ten Conference and join the North Shore Conference. The request was made during the fourth of seven area meetings throughout the state. The meeting was at Oconomowoc High School.
The move comes a week after Wisconsin Lutheran also requested to leave the Little Ten, citing geographic location as the biggest problem.
What might work in East's and West's favor is the schools play North Shore summer baseball, and both play schools from the conference in nonconference play in the other sports.
"The reality is that this has been talked about for the last few years," Stier said. "Transportation always seemed to make sense with the North Shore.
"Then last year it came back on the plate as far as conversation when our boys swim co-op was denied by the Little Ten."
Stier and Rondorf said they've enjoyed the relationship they've had with each of the Little Ten schools.
Milwaukee Lutheran, a member of the Little Ten in spring baseball and the North Shore in other sports, requested to leave the North Shore as well Wednesday. In addition, the Rock Valley Conference requested realignment, as did Johnson Creek High School. Milwaukee Lutheran would like to move to the Woodland Conference, which is believed to be a possible destination for Wisconsin Lutheran.
Milwaukee Lutheran principal Matt Pankow made the request. According to the 2013-14 enrollment figures provided by the WIAA, Milwaukee Lutheran has 606 students, the lowest in the North Shore.
"It's been difficult for us to be competitive," Pankow said.
With Milwaukee Lutheran potentially leaving the North Shore, at least two teams want into the North Shore.
More of these requests could be on the way with three more area meetings yet to be held, including one Wednesday at Fox Valley Lutheran High School in Appleton. After that meeting, the WIAA will meet with more than 80 schools from nine conferences about a massive realignment, which includes Kewaskum and Kettle Moraine Lutheran and almost all schools from Green Bay to Milwaukee. That plan is called the Green Bay Realignment.
The WIAA's Associate Director Deb Hauser said there are at least six other requests from schools and/or conferences requesting realignment. On Friday, the WIAA's Board of Control approved the realignment of four conferences, including giving the OK for Wayland Academy in Beaver Dam to move from the Midwest Classic Conference, which has Living Word Lutheran, to the Trailways Conference, and move St. Francis from the Woodland to the Midwest Classic.
Per WIAA rule, membership schools have a 40-day window to file an appeal. Final action will be made Oct. 23.
With changes on the horizon, Hauser said she couldn't say if and when East's and West's request will be granted.
The request leaves the Little Ten with five teams still committed to the conference. WLT commissioner Becky Blank declined comment.
After Wednesday's meeting, Slinger Athletic Director Dan Karius said he and the administrative staff will look at possible options as a precaution, but have no plans to do anything right now.
Hartford Activities Coordinator Jill Stobber was not available for comment.
The WIAA oversees more than 500 senior high schools. If all these proposals go through, more than 100 schools would be affected, or at least one-fifth of the schools in the state, if not more.
"It's so much up in the air who knows what's going to happen," Karius said. "It's just a request right now. Probably in a year or two, (the WIAA) will look at realigning the southeastern (Wisconsin) area.”
Published: Sept. 19, 2013
By NICHOLAS DETTMANN
Daily News Sports Editor
OCONOMOWOC — First Wisconsin Lutheran, now West Bend East and West Bend West have decided its time for a change.
East Athletic Director Jeff Rondorf and West Athletic Director Scott Stier made a request to the WIAA on Wednesday to withdraw from the Wisconsin Little Ten Conference and join the North Shore Conference. The request was made during the fourth of seven area meetings throughout the state. The meeting was at Oconomowoc High School.
The move comes a week after Wisconsin Lutheran also requested to leave the Little Ten, citing geographic location as the biggest problem.
What might work in East's and West's favor is the schools play North Shore summer baseball, and both play schools from the conference in nonconference play in the other sports.
"The reality is that this has been talked about for the last few years," Stier said. "Transportation always seemed to make sense with the North Shore.
"Then last year it came back on the plate as far as conversation when our boys swim co-op was denied by the Little Ten."
Stier and Rondorf said they've enjoyed the relationship they've had with each of the Little Ten schools.
Milwaukee Lutheran, a member of the Little Ten in spring baseball and the North Shore in other sports, requested to leave the North Shore as well Wednesday. In addition, the Rock Valley Conference requested realignment, as did Johnson Creek High School. Milwaukee Lutheran would like to move to the Woodland Conference, which is believed to be a possible destination for Wisconsin Lutheran.
Milwaukee Lutheran principal Matt Pankow made the request. According to the 2013-14 enrollment figures provided by the WIAA, Milwaukee Lutheran has 606 students, the lowest in the North Shore.
"It's been difficult for us to be competitive," Pankow said.
With Milwaukee Lutheran potentially leaving the North Shore, at least two teams want into the North Shore.
More of these requests could be on the way with three more area meetings yet to be held, including one Wednesday at Fox Valley Lutheran High School in Appleton. After that meeting, the WIAA will meet with more than 80 schools from nine conferences about a massive realignment, which includes Kewaskum and Kettle Moraine Lutheran and almost all schools from Green Bay to Milwaukee. That plan is called the Green Bay Realignment.
The WIAA's Associate Director Deb Hauser said there are at least six other requests from schools and/or conferences requesting realignment. On Friday, the WIAA's Board of Control approved the realignment of four conferences, including giving the OK for Wayland Academy in Beaver Dam to move from the Midwest Classic Conference, which has Living Word Lutheran, to the Trailways Conference, and move St. Francis from the Woodland to the Midwest Classic.
Per WIAA rule, membership schools have a 40-day window to file an appeal. Final action will be made Oct. 23.
With changes on the horizon, Hauser said she couldn't say if and when East's and West's request will be granted.
The request leaves the Little Ten with five teams still committed to the conference. WLT commissioner Becky Blank declined comment.
After Wednesday's meeting, Slinger Athletic Director Dan Karius said he and the administrative staff will look at possible options as a precaution, but have no plans to do anything right now.
Hartford Activities Coordinator Jill Stobber was not available for comment.
The WIAA oversees more than 500 senior high schools. If all these proposals go through, more than 100 schools would be affected, or at least one-fifth of the schools in the state, if not more.
"It's so much up in the air who knows what's going to happen," Karius said. "It's just a request right now. Probably in a year or two, (the WIAA) will look at realigning the southeastern (Wisconsin) area.”
No fear of the water
Daily News (West Bend, Wis.)
Published: Sept. 13, 2013
By NICHOLAS DETTMANN
Daily News Staff
Edith Schultz loves the water, even if it scared her almost three generations earlier.
When she was 6 years old, she and her family were vacationing at a lake. She sat on her father's shoulders as they walked into the lake. When they came to a small ridge under the surface, her father stumbled and she fell off his shoulders and into the water. A friend quickly pulled her out.
She didn't want to be afraid.
When she was 10, she taught herself how to swim by hanging to a rope in deep water and pretending to swim. When she let go of the rope, she floated and swam.
"I just always loved the water," she said. "I've always loved to swim."
She only likes to swim in a pool, not a lake.
"I don't like the weeds touching my legs," she joked, adding with a whisper she doesn't like to swim with the fish ... er, leavings.
"I really should be afraid of the water," she added with a smile.
Schultz turned 90 in April, but it doesn't show. She doesn't have a sedentary lifestyle. She swims about three times a week for an hour, she walks, stretches and eats healthily.
Growing up she didn't have a lot of reasons to adopt a healthy lifestyle. Her father smoked and died of lung cancer, but was 80 when he died. He quit smoking at 50.
"I always try to do the right thing and stay healthy," she said.
On Saturday, she'll compete in the Wisconsin Senior Olympics at the Shorewood Recreation and Community Services VHE Community Pool, where she'll swim in three events. She's been doing the event each year since 2006 and has won 20 medals.
The Senior Olympics is for athletes 50 and older.
"I wanted to defy that," she said about what happened to her when she was 6. "I'm not going to be afraid of the water."
Schultz loves what swimming has to offer: physical and mental relief.
Swimming is a low-impact exercise because it doesn't cause stress to one's joints. It is also one of the best forms of cardiovascular exercise as it is a full-body workout.
"I love to swim," Schultz said.
Schultz grew up in Lodz, Poland, about four and a half hours east of Berlin, but is of German ancestry. Throughout her childhood, she swam whenever she could find the time, whether it was at school or at the local YMCA.
She moved to the United States in 1948 and lived in Douglas County. She was 25 at the time.
She moved to the U.S. because she met this good-looking guy who was stationed at an airport outside of Munich, which was controlled by the U.S. She left Poland when Russia invaded the country during the early weeks of World War II and she went to Germany.
At that time, there was no civil, or private, mail from Europe to the U.S. So she asked a young man, an American soldier, if he could mail a letter for her. She'd write the letter and he'd mail it back to the U.S., where she had family in New Jersey. The family would then write back to him and he'd deliver the letter to her, as a messenger.
Some time later, the young man was discharged and returned home to the U.S. She asked him to introduce her to another soldier who could continue their agreement.
That man, Robert, became her husband and they were married for 52 years. He died in 2000.
"He was watching me all the time," she said with a smile.
For the next three years, Schultz lived alone in a big place at Voyager Village in Webster. She got lonely.
"It got too much for me to take care of the outside," Schultz said. "So I was looking for a place to move to retire."
While there, she became friends with a couple that went on to retire and move to Cedarburg. They discovered Cedar Ridge in West Bend.
"She said, 'You have to come down and see this,'" Schultz recalled.
Schultz took the tour and liked what she saw. She was convinced Cedar Ridge was the place for her the moment she saw the pool.
"My mind was made up," she said. "That was it. I wanted to live here."
She moved in March 2003.
For the next three years, she swam recreationally, but often.
"It's relaxing," Schultz said. "My doctor always tells me it's the best exercise I can do."
At 90, Schultz doesn't take any medications and doesn't need any canes or walkers to help her get around.
A neighbor, who was 91 in 2006, introduced her to the Senior Olympics. She was a competitive swimmer.
"When they met me, they said, 'Come on. Do it,'" Schultz said. "So I did."
She won two medals in her first attempt.
"I always just did it for fun," she said.
She also likes being the unofficial spokeswoman for healthy living. She eats fresh vegetables and doesn't drink soda. She also walks a lot and encourages people to not quit if you feel a little pain. That's a good sign.
"I just go to the doctor once a year and my tests are always normal," Schultz said.
"I always feel rejuvenated," she added about what she feels after a good swim. "It makes me feel good."
She wants you to feel good, too.
Published: Sept. 13, 2013
By NICHOLAS DETTMANN
Daily News Staff
Edith Schultz loves the water, even if it scared her almost three generations earlier.
When she was 6 years old, she and her family were vacationing at a lake. She sat on her father's shoulders as they walked into the lake. When they came to a small ridge under the surface, her father stumbled and she fell off his shoulders and into the water. A friend quickly pulled her out.
She didn't want to be afraid.
When she was 10, she taught herself how to swim by hanging to a rope in deep water and pretending to swim. When she let go of the rope, she floated and swam.
"I just always loved the water," she said. "I've always loved to swim."
She only likes to swim in a pool, not a lake.
"I don't like the weeds touching my legs," she joked, adding with a whisper she doesn't like to swim with the fish ... er, leavings.
"I really should be afraid of the water," she added with a smile.
Schultz turned 90 in April, but it doesn't show. She doesn't have a sedentary lifestyle. She swims about three times a week for an hour, she walks, stretches and eats healthily.
Growing up she didn't have a lot of reasons to adopt a healthy lifestyle. Her father smoked and died of lung cancer, but was 80 when he died. He quit smoking at 50.
"I always try to do the right thing and stay healthy," she said.
On Saturday, she'll compete in the Wisconsin Senior Olympics at the Shorewood Recreation and Community Services VHE Community Pool, where she'll swim in three events. She's been doing the event each year since 2006 and has won 20 medals.
The Senior Olympics is for athletes 50 and older.
"I wanted to defy that," she said about what happened to her when she was 6. "I'm not going to be afraid of the water."
Schultz loves what swimming has to offer: physical and mental relief.
Swimming is a low-impact exercise because it doesn't cause stress to one's joints. It is also one of the best forms of cardiovascular exercise as it is a full-body workout.
"I love to swim," Schultz said.
Schultz grew up in Lodz, Poland, about four and a half hours east of Berlin, but is of German ancestry. Throughout her childhood, she swam whenever she could find the time, whether it was at school or at the local YMCA.
She moved to the United States in 1948 and lived in Douglas County. She was 25 at the time.
She moved to the U.S. because she met this good-looking guy who was stationed at an airport outside of Munich, which was controlled by the U.S. She left Poland when Russia invaded the country during the early weeks of World War II and she went to Germany.
At that time, there was no civil, or private, mail from Europe to the U.S. So she asked a young man, an American soldier, if he could mail a letter for her. She'd write the letter and he'd mail it back to the U.S., where she had family in New Jersey. The family would then write back to him and he'd deliver the letter to her, as a messenger.
Some time later, the young man was discharged and returned home to the U.S. She asked him to introduce her to another soldier who could continue their agreement.
That man, Robert, became her husband and they were married for 52 years. He died in 2000.
"He was watching me all the time," she said with a smile.
For the next three years, Schultz lived alone in a big place at Voyager Village in Webster. She got lonely.
"It got too much for me to take care of the outside," Schultz said. "So I was looking for a place to move to retire."
While there, she became friends with a couple that went on to retire and move to Cedarburg. They discovered Cedar Ridge in West Bend.
"She said, 'You have to come down and see this,'" Schultz recalled.
Schultz took the tour and liked what she saw. She was convinced Cedar Ridge was the place for her the moment she saw the pool.
"My mind was made up," she said. "That was it. I wanted to live here."
She moved in March 2003.
For the next three years, she swam recreationally, but often.
"It's relaxing," Schultz said. "My doctor always tells me it's the best exercise I can do."
At 90, Schultz doesn't take any medications and doesn't need any canes or walkers to help her get around.
A neighbor, who was 91 in 2006, introduced her to the Senior Olympics. She was a competitive swimmer.
"When they met me, they said, 'Come on. Do it,'" Schultz said. "So I did."
She won two medals in her first attempt.
"I always just did it for fun," she said.
She also likes being the unofficial spokeswoman for healthy living. She eats fresh vegetables and doesn't drink soda. She also walks a lot and encourages people to not quit if you feel a little pain. That's a good sign.
"I just go to the doctor once a year and my tests are always normal," Schultz said.
"I always feel rejuvenated," she added about what she feels after a good swim. "It makes me feel good."
She wants you to feel good, too.
Proposed bill could affect high school athletics
Daily News (West Bend, Wis.)
Published: Sept. 25, 2013
By NICHOLAS DETTMANN
Daily News Staff
A proposed bill would allow non-public school students to participate in extracurricular activities, including sports, at a public school.
Supporters said it’s a way to get more students involved in activities, while others believe the pending bill is not necessary and there are concerns people will abuse the law, if enacted.
WIAA Executive Director Dave Anderson is urging the organization’s membership to call their state representative and vote no.
Act 118.133 sparked controversy for high school sports in Wisconsin, forcing one delegate at a recent WIAA area meeting to say the bill will be an assault on public schools. The proposed legislation was drafted by Rep. Jeremy Thiesfeldt, R-Fond du Lac.
If passed as a bill, it would allow students from private, home, independent charter and virtual schools to participate in public school extracurricular activities.
“I’d hear from parents that they don’t have an opportunity to get involved in extracurricular activities and I don’t think that’s fair,” Thiesfeldt said.
In addition, pupils, “who are enrolled in a private school or independent charter school, the bill applies only to those sports that the private school or charter school does not offer.”
The bill is in its infant stages and is going through a re-draft to “close some loopholes,” said Hariah Hutkowski, Thiesfeldt’s chief of staff, adding the hope is to get it ready for discussion within another week.
There was one point Thiesfeldt wanted to make clear to those who are apprehensive: “There’s no guarantee they’ll make the team,” he said.
“Ultimately I think the kids don’t worry too much where the kids come from,” he added. “They’re there to compete and sometimes you lose in competition. ... I think it’s a positive thing when we get more kids involved in athletics.”
That isn’t sitting well with the WIAA, which consists of more than 500 high schools in the state.
“We have concerns,” Anderson said during a WIAA area meeting last week in Oconomowoc. “Do not sign on to this bill.”
“I don’t think the bill is necessary,” he added.
If passed, it would go into effect July 1.
“The WIAA has taken a historical position on this and it’s a strong belief students need to be full-time students of that school,” Anderson said, adding this has been the WIAA’s position since the organization’s founding almost 120 years ago.
The bill would also, ”prohibit a school district from being a member of an athletic association unless the association requires member school districts to allow such pupils to participate in interscholastic athletics.”
If that happens, schools would ultimately be forfeiting the possibility to compete for a WIAA state championship if they don’t comply.
“I’m supportive of the WIAA on that without a doubt,” Slinger Athletic Director Dan Karius said. “I think if you’re going to be participating in a school’s extracurricular activities, which are a privilege, then you need to be a student of that school.”
Thiesfeldt and his staff are working on making sure the system isn’t abused, such as a student becoming academically ineligible at a school then deciding to go into homeschooling just to become eligible.
Athletic directors at the WIAA meeting immediately raised concerns about policing a student’s eligibility. Thiesfeldt’s office said that won’t be a problem as those applying to take advantage of the bill would have to submit a letter to a school board and it would act as a statement under oath. If the statements prove to be false, the offending party could face legal punishment.
“What we’re hoping to do is make it less burdensome for everyone involved,” Hutkowski said.
Pointing to rural schools which may struggle to field full teams, this bill could help increase participation.
“This could be an opportunity to field a team whereas that couldn’t before,” Thiesfeldt said.
Published: Sept. 25, 2013
By NICHOLAS DETTMANN
Daily News Staff
A proposed bill would allow non-public school students to participate in extracurricular activities, including sports, at a public school.
Supporters said it’s a way to get more students involved in activities, while others believe the pending bill is not necessary and there are concerns people will abuse the law, if enacted.
WIAA Executive Director Dave Anderson is urging the organization’s membership to call their state representative and vote no.
Act 118.133 sparked controversy for high school sports in Wisconsin, forcing one delegate at a recent WIAA area meeting to say the bill will be an assault on public schools. The proposed legislation was drafted by Rep. Jeremy Thiesfeldt, R-Fond du Lac.
If passed as a bill, it would allow students from private, home, independent charter and virtual schools to participate in public school extracurricular activities.
“I’d hear from parents that they don’t have an opportunity to get involved in extracurricular activities and I don’t think that’s fair,” Thiesfeldt said.
In addition, pupils, “who are enrolled in a private school or independent charter school, the bill applies only to those sports that the private school or charter school does not offer.”
The bill is in its infant stages and is going through a re-draft to “close some loopholes,” said Hariah Hutkowski, Thiesfeldt’s chief of staff, adding the hope is to get it ready for discussion within another week.
There was one point Thiesfeldt wanted to make clear to those who are apprehensive: “There’s no guarantee they’ll make the team,” he said.
“Ultimately I think the kids don’t worry too much where the kids come from,” he added. “They’re there to compete and sometimes you lose in competition. ... I think it’s a positive thing when we get more kids involved in athletics.”
That isn’t sitting well with the WIAA, which consists of more than 500 high schools in the state.
“We have concerns,” Anderson said during a WIAA area meeting last week in Oconomowoc. “Do not sign on to this bill.”
“I don’t think the bill is necessary,” he added.
If passed, it would go into effect July 1.
“The WIAA has taken a historical position on this and it’s a strong belief students need to be full-time students of that school,” Anderson said, adding this has been the WIAA’s position since the organization’s founding almost 120 years ago.
The bill would also, ”prohibit a school district from being a member of an athletic association unless the association requires member school districts to allow such pupils to participate in interscholastic athletics.”
If that happens, schools would ultimately be forfeiting the possibility to compete for a WIAA state championship if they don’t comply.
“I’m supportive of the WIAA on that without a doubt,” Slinger Athletic Director Dan Karius said. “I think if you’re going to be participating in a school’s extracurricular activities, which are a privilege, then you need to be a student of that school.”
Thiesfeldt and his staff are working on making sure the system isn’t abused, such as a student becoming academically ineligible at a school then deciding to go into homeschooling just to become eligible.
Athletic directors at the WIAA meeting immediately raised concerns about policing a student’s eligibility. Thiesfeldt’s office said that won’t be a problem as those applying to take advantage of the bill would have to submit a letter to a school board and it would act as a statement under oath. If the statements prove to be false, the offending party could face legal punishment.
“What we’re hoping to do is make it less burdensome for everyone involved,” Hutkowski said.
Pointing to rural schools which may struggle to field full teams, this bill could help increase participation.
“This could be an opportunity to field a team whereas that couldn’t before,” Thiesfeldt said.
Johnson wins title at Beaver Dam
Daily News (West Bend, Wis.)
Published: Sept. 24, 2013
By NICHOLAS DETTMANN
Daily News Sports Editor
BEAVER DAM — Joe Johnson didn't want a championship battle to determine his game plan each week on the race track.
For the first time this season Saturday at Beaver Dam Raceway, the battle was on his mind.
Johnson finished fifth in the legends division "A" main. By doing so, he wrapped up his first track championship at Beaver Dam and the second of his career.
"It's pretty cool," he said. "We came into the year just wanting to win as much as we could. We don't points race because, really, we're no good at it.
"If we could go out and win, the points would figure themselves out."
Johnson was one of the drivers to beat all season in the division. In 21 races, he had 18 top-fives, including four victories. His average finish was 4.9, including three finishes outside the top 15. All season, he knew consistency would be the determining factor in a championship season.
Of the three finishes outside the top 15 this season, two were mechanical failures and the other was a crash. Otherwise, it was a smooth season.
At Angell Park Speedway in Sun Prairie, Johnson won a feature as well.
"It's probably right at the top," he said when asked where his accomplishment ranks in his career. "I've won a lot of races in go-karts and legend cars. To put a whole season together is no easy task.
"The easiest way for me to deal with it was to not think about it and just go out there and run each race, one week at a time."
Richfield's James Bucher finished seventh in the points. Kewaskum's Bille Lehmann was ninth.
Johnson came close in 2011 at Beaver Dam, losing the championship by 27 points to Eric Barth, who went on to win the national championship as well.
Last year, Johnson won the track championship at Chilton. However, the track went bankrupt and he was unable to receive a trophy for the accomplishment. For the next year, he had that vacancy in his trophy case.
"We can't really look back at it and have any proof," Johnson said. "With this one it's something we can look back on. It was a team effort and we can hang our hats on that."
This championship will also go alongside one of Johnson’s greatest achievements: winning the 2007 state championship for the Wisconsin Dirt Legends series. It's also exciting for the family as Johnson joins his legendary grandfather to have won a track championship on more than one track. His grandfather is Southeastern Wisconsin Short Track Hall of Fame member Bill Johnson Jr.
Bill Johnson Jr. won the midgets division track championship at Slinger in 1948, the year the track opened. He also won four modified track championships at Slinger (1963, 1965, 1966, 1968).
In all, Bill Johnson Jr. won 19 track championships between Cedarburg, Beaver Dam, Slinger, State Fair Park, Hales Corners and Plymouth. He, along with his father Bill Johnson Sr., were inducted into the Southeastern Wisconsin Short Track Hall of Fame in 2007. At the time of his retirement, Bill Johnson Jr. was the only driver to win five track championships in the same season.
Joe Johnson's first thought of winning the championship at Beaver Dam didn't enter his mind until after he won one of the three heat races Saturday. His competition, Mike Mueller, also won a heat race, which meant he didn't lose or gain any ground in the standings. He didn't need to do any calculating either. His wife and crew took care of that for him.
All he worried about was what he had to do on the track, and he drove smooth, smart and consistent.
"That put us in position to be able to just go out there and if we finish top 10 we would have it locked up," Johnson said. "At the same time, I can't just go out there and ride around. I didn't have to drive it as hard as I could to get as many position as I could. Otherwise it wouldn't have been satisfying for me to just go ride around and play it safe."
"We just went and did everything we had been doing," he added.
Germantown's David Jaeger finished third in the modified points standings.
Published: Sept. 24, 2013
By NICHOLAS DETTMANN
Daily News Sports Editor
BEAVER DAM — Joe Johnson didn't want a championship battle to determine his game plan each week on the race track.
For the first time this season Saturday at Beaver Dam Raceway, the battle was on his mind.
Johnson finished fifth in the legends division "A" main. By doing so, he wrapped up his first track championship at Beaver Dam and the second of his career.
"It's pretty cool," he said. "We came into the year just wanting to win as much as we could. We don't points race because, really, we're no good at it.
"If we could go out and win, the points would figure themselves out."
Johnson was one of the drivers to beat all season in the division. In 21 races, he had 18 top-fives, including four victories. His average finish was 4.9, including three finishes outside the top 15. All season, he knew consistency would be the determining factor in a championship season.
Of the three finishes outside the top 15 this season, two were mechanical failures and the other was a crash. Otherwise, it was a smooth season.
At Angell Park Speedway in Sun Prairie, Johnson won a feature as well.
"It's probably right at the top," he said when asked where his accomplishment ranks in his career. "I've won a lot of races in go-karts and legend cars. To put a whole season together is no easy task.
"The easiest way for me to deal with it was to not think about it and just go out there and run each race, one week at a time."
Richfield's James Bucher finished seventh in the points. Kewaskum's Bille Lehmann was ninth.
Johnson came close in 2011 at Beaver Dam, losing the championship by 27 points to Eric Barth, who went on to win the national championship as well.
Last year, Johnson won the track championship at Chilton. However, the track went bankrupt and he was unable to receive a trophy for the accomplishment. For the next year, he had that vacancy in his trophy case.
"We can't really look back at it and have any proof," Johnson said. "With this one it's something we can look back on. It was a team effort and we can hang our hats on that."
This championship will also go alongside one of Johnson’s greatest achievements: winning the 2007 state championship for the Wisconsin Dirt Legends series. It's also exciting for the family as Johnson joins his legendary grandfather to have won a track championship on more than one track. His grandfather is Southeastern Wisconsin Short Track Hall of Fame member Bill Johnson Jr.
Bill Johnson Jr. won the midgets division track championship at Slinger in 1948, the year the track opened. He also won four modified track championships at Slinger (1963, 1965, 1966, 1968).
In all, Bill Johnson Jr. won 19 track championships between Cedarburg, Beaver Dam, Slinger, State Fair Park, Hales Corners and Plymouth. He, along with his father Bill Johnson Sr., were inducted into the Southeastern Wisconsin Short Track Hall of Fame in 2007. At the time of his retirement, Bill Johnson Jr. was the only driver to win five track championships in the same season.
Joe Johnson's first thought of winning the championship at Beaver Dam didn't enter his mind until after he won one of the three heat races Saturday. His competition, Mike Mueller, also won a heat race, which meant he didn't lose or gain any ground in the standings. He didn't need to do any calculating either. His wife and crew took care of that for him.
All he worried about was what he had to do on the track, and he drove smooth, smart and consistent.
"That put us in position to be able to just go out there and if we finish top 10 we would have it locked up," Johnson said. "At the same time, I can't just go out there and ride around. I didn't have to drive it as hard as I could to get as many position as I could. Otherwise it wouldn't have been satisfying for me to just go ride around and play it safe."
"We just went and did everything we had been doing," he added.
Germantown's David Jaeger finished third in the modified points standings.
Final chapter: Storybook journey ends with title
Daily News (West Bend, Wis.)
Published: Sept. 17, 2013
By NICHOLAS DETTMANN
Daily News Sports Editor
There isn't anything to not like about these Hartford Hawks. They had all the factors to make them a lovable team.
The Hawks completed an impressive run through the Rock River League playoffs Sept. 7 with a 4-3 victory over Milton. It was the team's first championship.
"It's starting to sink in," Hawks manager Ben Kluck said. "The more you look at and break down each game, it gets more amazing."
The Hawks had to win a play-in game to get into the playoffs. Once in, they didn't look back, sweeping league favorites Kewaskum and Rubicon in two games of a best-of-three series to reach the league championship series. Then the Hawks swept Milton in the best-of-three championship series. The Hawks did it with a lot of flair, winning five of six playoff games by one run; the one game that wasn't was the Hawks' 3-0 victory in 12 innings in Game 1 against Milton.
This was all after the Hawks finished divisional play with a record of 9-7.
"At the start of the playoffs, if you would've asked everybody on the team, 'Do we have a good shot at winning it?' Half the team had some doubt," Kluck said.
Hartford beat defending league champion Kewaskum in Game 1, 2-1, on Aug. 17.
"Once we won that game at Kewaskum, the first game of the playoffs, it really sparked these guys," Kluck said. "It put some belief in us. They really started to believe."
In 2010, one of its biggest contributors, Ken Kluck, died of a heart attack. He was 54. Kluck took over as the team manager before the 2000 season. Without Kluck, the Hawks may have died as they had a clouded future.
The same was true when Kluck died.
Baseball was a big part of the late Kluck's life, having coached youth leagues and at Hartford Union High School before taking over the Hawks. The Kluck family wondered what do next.
"It was one of things where we knew he would want us to go on and continue playing," Ben Kluck said. "We had to fill his shoes and that was a big task."
In the days after Ken Kluck's passing, the Hawks won the Tri-County Night League championship.
However, Ben's younger brothers, Jim and Tom, and their mom, Mary, gave thought to leaving the Hawks and turning it over to somebody else once the season was over. Ken Kluck's legacy was too much to overcome, they thought.
"I'm really glad we stayed with it," Ben Kluck said.
In the years that followed, the Hawks were the common bond for the entire Kluck family, including its extended family.
The family came together when Ken Kluck took over the Hawks as Ben was already a member of the team and his brothers were members of the Neosho Rockets.
It was a no-brainer for the brothers to join the same team as they chased the same dream of their father's: to win a Rock River championship.
"There's so many people that have pitched in," Ben Kluck said. "It's such a great thing for the community."
It touched everybody in Hartford, including Mayor Joe Dautermann, who attended the championship game.
Mary has continued to be involved with the team, helping maintain the concession stand at home games, while their grandfather, Lloyd, constantly spread the word throughout town to let people know there was a game.
To become a championship team, the Hawks knew they had to step it up. One of the big contributors during the championship run was Matt Buhrow, an addition to the Hawks this season.
A former college pitcher at Carroll University in Waukesha, Buhrow pitched the complete game in the final game, allowing just three runs — two earned — and four hits, walked three and struck out nine. Buhrow was magnificent during the playoffs. He was 2-0 with a 1.40 ERA with 23 strikeouts to just nine walks. For the season, Buhrow was 2-1 with 1.93 ERA in six appearances (three starts), with 32 strikeouts and seven walks.
"Matt really stepped up," Ben Kluck said. "I think he was the X factor."
To make his season just that much more remarkable, he was coming off Tommy John surgery on his right pitching elbow. He had the surgery Sept. 11, 2012. He was pitching six months later. Typically, Tommy John surgery requires 12-18 months of rehab.
Buhrow remembers when he heard the pop in his arm: July 3, 2011. He went more than a year with the injury, admitting his pain tolerance is quite high.
A week after hearing the pop, he had an MRI done and the diagnosis a complete tear of the ulnar collateral ligament. He had a difficult decision to make. He was heading into his senior year at Carroll and knew if he had the surgery, he'd miss his senior year as he was due to graduate in the spring.
"My family and I discussed it," Buhrow said. "I decided that I was going to play through it. I would rather fight through the pain."
When college was done, he still wasn't ready to have the surgery as he wanted to play summer baseball with his friends. Once that was finished, he had the surgery. For the five to six months after the surgery, he worked on regaining his strength in his arm.
Buhrow was recruited to the Hawks by Jordan Stephans, a former Orioles baseball player and the Klucks' cousin. Stephans also went to Carroll.
When he joined the Hawks, the arm was the last thing on his mind.
"The whole part was I can't disappoint these guys," Buhrow said. "I don't know them and they don't know me."
And it's a good thing the team overlooked its first impression.
On the first pitch he threw of the season against North Lake in a Tri-County League game, he threw the ball into the backstop on the fly.
"I was like, 'Oh boy,'" Buhrow recalled.
Later in the season, Buhrow replaced Zach Christopherson in a game despite Christopherson was pitching quite well at the time. Buhrow still struggled with his control, leaving Christopherson wondering: “I got replaced by him?”
Eventually, Buhrow came around.
"We kind of eased him into it," Ben Kluck said. "We'd start with two or three innings early in the year. You could see his strength getting better as the year went along. He kind of convinced me that he did feel strong and his pitching performance showed."
It wasn't an easy position for Kluck. He was dealing with a sensitive injury for a pitcher with a player he didn't know much about.
"It was tough and it was nerve-wracking," Kluck said. "I've never really had to deal with it. I trusted him in what he would tell me."
On July 27, Buhrow pitched a complete-game six-hit shutout and struck out 13 batters. He said that's when he regained his confidence.
"It shocked me because I never really felt pain," Buhrow said. "It was definitely an eye-opener with how well it worked out."
A championship season hardly ever goes according to plan as trouble hit the Hawks in late July.
Tom Kluck, the youngest of the Kluck brothers at 31, was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma, a form of cancer more commonly found in people age 45-74, according to the National Cancer Institute.
Kluck had been seeing an allergy specialist since he was a kid. One day, he decided to ask the specialist about this growth on his shoulder. The specialist suggested he see a dermatologist. Kluck had three biopsies to get to the root of the problem. He will never forget the phone call.
"I got a call while I was out on the golf course with my girlfriend," he said. "My doctor said I should make an appointment to get in the next day."
"I was shocked," he added. "I was initially worried because I've had this on my arm for eight to 10 years. Over time, it got bigger, it never alarmed me."
The growth was about the size of a baseball.
He never gave thought about it as it never seemed to hurt him. He finally asked about it only after he felt tightness in his throwing arm and was having a hard time getting loose.
Thankfully for Kluck and the entire family, the disease is treatable and is expected to complete his therapy in another week.
To put a lid on all this, the Hawks won the league championship at home, the field that was such an important part of late Ken Kluck's life. The man who dreamed of having lights installed at West Side Park, where the Hawks won the championship-clinching game.
"He would've had a huge smile," Ben Kluck said.
"I thought of it immediately," Tom Kluck added. "Even the week of, knowing we had a chance to clinch it at home and what it would mean to my dad. I know he'd be so happy."
To add another chapter to this fairy tale journey, the Hawks won the Southern Wisconsin Amateur Baseball Association Class B championship with a 12-6 victory Thursday over the Milwaukee Angels.
The Hawks won their final 12 games to finish 26-12 and two championships.
"It was an unbelievable ride," Tom Kluck said. "I don't think I'll ever be a part of it again."
Published: Sept. 17, 2013
By NICHOLAS DETTMANN
Daily News Sports Editor
There isn't anything to not like about these Hartford Hawks. They had all the factors to make them a lovable team.
The Hawks completed an impressive run through the Rock River League playoffs Sept. 7 with a 4-3 victory over Milton. It was the team's first championship.
"It's starting to sink in," Hawks manager Ben Kluck said. "The more you look at and break down each game, it gets more amazing."
The Hawks had to win a play-in game to get into the playoffs. Once in, they didn't look back, sweeping league favorites Kewaskum and Rubicon in two games of a best-of-three series to reach the league championship series. Then the Hawks swept Milton in the best-of-three championship series. The Hawks did it with a lot of flair, winning five of six playoff games by one run; the one game that wasn't was the Hawks' 3-0 victory in 12 innings in Game 1 against Milton.
This was all after the Hawks finished divisional play with a record of 9-7.
"At the start of the playoffs, if you would've asked everybody on the team, 'Do we have a good shot at winning it?' Half the team had some doubt," Kluck said.
Hartford beat defending league champion Kewaskum in Game 1, 2-1, on Aug. 17.
"Once we won that game at Kewaskum, the first game of the playoffs, it really sparked these guys," Kluck said. "It put some belief in us. They really started to believe."
In 2010, one of its biggest contributors, Ken Kluck, died of a heart attack. He was 54. Kluck took over as the team manager before the 2000 season. Without Kluck, the Hawks may have died as they had a clouded future.
The same was true when Kluck died.
Baseball was a big part of the late Kluck's life, having coached youth leagues and at Hartford Union High School before taking over the Hawks. The Kluck family wondered what do next.
"It was one of things where we knew he would want us to go on and continue playing," Ben Kluck said. "We had to fill his shoes and that was a big task."
In the days after Ken Kluck's passing, the Hawks won the Tri-County Night League championship.
However, Ben's younger brothers, Jim and Tom, and their mom, Mary, gave thought to leaving the Hawks and turning it over to somebody else once the season was over. Ken Kluck's legacy was too much to overcome, they thought.
"I'm really glad we stayed with it," Ben Kluck said.
In the years that followed, the Hawks were the common bond for the entire Kluck family, including its extended family.
The family came together when Ken Kluck took over the Hawks as Ben was already a member of the team and his brothers were members of the Neosho Rockets.
It was a no-brainer for the brothers to join the same team as they chased the same dream of their father's: to win a Rock River championship.
"There's so many people that have pitched in," Ben Kluck said. "It's such a great thing for the community."
It touched everybody in Hartford, including Mayor Joe Dautermann, who attended the championship game.
Mary has continued to be involved with the team, helping maintain the concession stand at home games, while their grandfather, Lloyd, constantly spread the word throughout town to let people know there was a game.
To become a championship team, the Hawks knew they had to step it up. One of the big contributors during the championship run was Matt Buhrow, an addition to the Hawks this season.
A former college pitcher at Carroll University in Waukesha, Buhrow pitched the complete game in the final game, allowing just three runs — two earned — and four hits, walked three and struck out nine. Buhrow was magnificent during the playoffs. He was 2-0 with a 1.40 ERA with 23 strikeouts to just nine walks. For the season, Buhrow was 2-1 with 1.93 ERA in six appearances (three starts), with 32 strikeouts and seven walks.
"Matt really stepped up," Ben Kluck said. "I think he was the X factor."
To make his season just that much more remarkable, he was coming off Tommy John surgery on his right pitching elbow. He had the surgery Sept. 11, 2012. He was pitching six months later. Typically, Tommy John surgery requires 12-18 months of rehab.
Buhrow remembers when he heard the pop in his arm: July 3, 2011. He went more than a year with the injury, admitting his pain tolerance is quite high.
A week after hearing the pop, he had an MRI done and the diagnosis a complete tear of the ulnar collateral ligament. He had a difficult decision to make. He was heading into his senior year at Carroll and knew if he had the surgery, he'd miss his senior year as he was due to graduate in the spring.
"My family and I discussed it," Buhrow said. "I decided that I was going to play through it. I would rather fight through the pain."
When college was done, he still wasn't ready to have the surgery as he wanted to play summer baseball with his friends. Once that was finished, he had the surgery. For the five to six months after the surgery, he worked on regaining his strength in his arm.
Buhrow was recruited to the Hawks by Jordan Stephans, a former Orioles baseball player and the Klucks' cousin. Stephans also went to Carroll.
When he joined the Hawks, the arm was the last thing on his mind.
"The whole part was I can't disappoint these guys," Buhrow said. "I don't know them and they don't know me."
And it's a good thing the team overlooked its first impression.
On the first pitch he threw of the season against North Lake in a Tri-County League game, he threw the ball into the backstop on the fly.
"I was like, 'Oh boy,'" Buhrow recalled.
Later in the season, Buhrow replaced Zach Christopherson in a game despite Christopherson was pitching quite well at the time. Buhrow still struggled with his control, leaving Christopherson wondering: “I got replaced by him?”
Eventually, Buhrow came around.
"We kind of eased him into it," Ben Kluck said. "We'd start with two or three innings early in the year. You could see his strength getting better as the year went along. He kind of convinced me that he did feel strong and his pitching performance showed."
It wasn't an easy position for Kluck. He was dealing with a sensitive injury for a pitcher with a player he didn't know much about.
"It was tough and it was nerve-wracking," Kluck said. "I've never really had to deal with it. I trusted him in what he would tell me."
On July 27, Buhrow pitched a complete-game six-hit shutout and struck out 13 batters. He said that's when he regained his confidence.
"It shocked me because I never really felt pain," Buhrow said. "It was definitely an eye-opener with how well it worked out."
A championship season hardly ever goes according to plan as trouble hit the Hawks in late July.
Tom Kluck, the youngest of the Kluck brothers at 31, was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma, a form of cancer more commonly found in people age 45-74, according to the National Cancer Institute.
Kluck had been seeing an allergy specialist since he was a kid. One day, he decided to ask the specialist about this growth on his shoulder. The specialist suggested he see a dermatologist. Kluck had three biopsies to get to the root of the problem. He will never forget the phone call.
"I got a call while I was out on the golf course with my girlfriend," he said. "My doctor said I should make an appointment to get in the next day."
"I was shocked," he added. "I was initially worried because I've had this on my arm for eight to 10 years. Over time, it got bigger, it never alarmed me."
The growth was about the size of a baseball.
He never gave thought about it as it never seemed to hurt him. He finally asked about it only after he felt tightness in his throwing arm and was having a hard time getting loose.
Thankfully for Kluck and the entire family, the disease is treatable and is expected to complete his therapy in another week.
To put a lid on all this, the Hawks won the league championship at home, the field that was such an important part of late Ken Kluck's life. The man who dreamed of having lights installed at West Side Park, where the Hawks won the championship-clinching game.
"He would've had a huge smile," Ben Kluck said.
"I thought of it immediately," Tom Kluck added. "Even the week of, knowing we had a chance to clinch it at home and what it would mean to my dad. I know he'd be so happy."
To add another chapter to this fairy tale journey, the Hawks won the Southern Wisconsin Amateur Baseball Association Class B championship with a 12-6 victory Thursday over the Milwaukee Angels.
The Hawks won their final 12 games to finish 26-12 and two championships.
"It was an unbelievable ride," Tom Kluck said. "I don't think I'll ever be a part of it again."
Kenseth starts Chase with bang
Daily News (West Bend, Wis.)
Published: Sept. 17, 2013
By NICHOLAS DETTMANN
Daily News Sports Editor
JOLIET, Ill. — In a week of scandal, Matt Kenseth was his typical self: quiet.
However, when he had the chance to speak, he made a statement and made fun of his team owner.
Kenseth led a race-high 89 laps, including the final 23 en route to a victory late Sunday night at Chicagoland Speedway in the Geico 400, the first race of the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series championship.
Teammate Kyle Busch was second, followed by Kevin Harvick, Kurt Busch and Jimmie Johnson.
“I felt good about my car since we got here, honestly,” Kenseth said, 10 hours after the race was supposed to start.
Kenseth will now hope history repeats itself as the winner of the last two Chase openers in Chicago have gone on to win the championship (Tony Stewart, 2011, and Brad Keselowski, 2012).
Kenseth’s triumph was his sixth of the season, a career best, and it ended what was a long day and a long week for NASCAR.
On Sunday, the race was delayed twice for rain, including one that lasted for more than five hours after 109 laps were completed of the 267 scheduled. The start of the race was delayed almost two hours because of weather.
The race was supposed to start at 1 p.m. and didn’t end until after 11 p.m.
“I was worried about the rain, the track conditions in the night time,” Kenseth said. “I thought we were going to be better in a hotter, slick condition. But just shows I don’t know what I’m talking about.”
Kenseth came into NASCAR’s version of the playoffs as the top seed by virtue of winning a series-leading five races in the first 26 contests of the season. He led Johnson by three points as the five-time champion had four victories in the “regular season.” Busch was also three points back.
When the series left Richmond on Sept. 7, NASCAR got more than it wanted to handle.
Claims that drivers and teams purposely manipulated the outcome of the race in an effort to qualify for the Chase or improve one’s own position were the focal point all week.
Because of all the negativity surrounding the series in the week leading up to Sunday’s race, Kenseth didn’t have to feel any heat as the top seed when he might’ve if the chain of events from Richmond had never occurred.
“Well, for me, I wasn’t involved in any of it so I kind of enjoyed that,” Kenseth said. “It seemed like we came in as the first seed, which was really great, but we were in the shadows all week with everything going on. I was all right with that.”
“I think it’s been a tough week for not only some of the teams and stuff involved, but it’s a tough week for NASCAR,” he added. “They don’t want to do any of that stuff. I don’t think they do. That part of it hasn’t been any fun for anybody.”
Seriousness aside, Kenseth can crack a joke or two when given the opportunity and he took it, with his car owner, former NFL coach Joe Gibbs being the recipient. It helped lighten the mood.
Sitting with his car owner during the postrace news conference, Kenseth said, “Coach also needed the win tonight. I don’t know if anybody saw the Packers game.”
Kenseth, a six-time Slinger Nationals champion and Green Bay Packers fan, teased Gibbs as the Packers beat Gibbs’ former team, the Washington Redskins, 38-20, on Sunday.
Gibbs led the Redskins to three Super Bowl titles (1982, 1987, 1991).
“He’s not stopped all day,” Gibbs said about Kenseth’s ribbing. “He’s not stopped (smiling).”
Busch, the 2011 Slinger Nationals champion, led 67 laps and was trying to pull off the NASCAR sweep for the second time in his career. He won the Camping World Truck Series race Friday and the Nationwide race Saturday.
“I watched it slip right away,” Busch said of the attempt at a sweep. “It sucks. Nothing you can do about it. Certainly it would be nice if we could have won tonight and brought home a trifecta.”
Kenseth leads Busch by eight points heading into next weekend’s race in New Hampshire.
Published: Sept. 17, 2013
By NICHOLAS DETTMANN
Daily News Sports Editor
JOLIET, Ill. — In a week of scandal, Matt Kenseth was his typical self: quiet.
However, when he had the chance to speak, he made a statement and made fun of his team owner.
Kenseth led a race-high 89 laps, including the final 23 en route to a victory late Sunday night at Chicagoland Speedway in the Geico 400, the first race of the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series championship.
Teammate Kyle Busch was second, followed by Kevin Harvick, Kurt Busch and Jimmie Johnson.
“I felt good about my car since we got here, honestly,” Kenseth said, 10 hours after the race was supposed to start.
Kenseth will now hope history repeats itself as the winner of the last two Chase openers in Chicago have gone on to win the championship (Tony Stewart, 2011, and Brad Keselowski, 2012).
Kenseth’s triumph was his sixth of the season, a career best, and it ended what was a long day and a long week for NASCAR.
On Sunday, the race was delayed twice for rain, including one that lasted for more than five hours after 109 laps were completed of the 267 scheduled. The start of the race was delayed almost two hours because of weather.
The race was supposed to start at 1 p.m. and didn’t end until after 11 p.m.
“I was worried about the rain, the track conditions in the night time,” Kenseth said. “I thought we were going to be better in a hotter, slick condition. But just shows I don’t know what I’m talking about.”
Kenseth came into NASCAR’s version of the playoffs as the top seed by virtue of winning a series-leading five races in the first 26 contests of the season. He led Johnson by three points as the five-time champion had four victories in the “regular season.” Busch was also three points back.
When the series left Richmond on Sept. 7, NASCAR got more than it wanted to handle.
Claims that drivers and teams purposely manipulated the outcome of the race in an effort to qualify for the Chase or improve one’s own position were the focal point all week.
Because of all the negativity surrounding the series in the week leading up to Sunday’s race, Kenseth didn’t have to feel any heat as the top seed when he might’ve if the chain of events from Richmond had never occurred.
“Well, for me, I wasn’t involved in any of it so I kind of enjoyed that,” Kenseth said. “It seemed like we came in as the first seed, which was really great, but we were in the shadows all week with everything going on. I was all right with that.”
“I think it’s been a tough week for not only some of the teams and stuff involved, but it’s a tough week for NASCAR,” he added. “They don’t want to do any of that stuff. I don’t think they do. That part of it hasn’t been any fun for anybody.”
Seriousness aside, Kenseth can crack a joke or two when given the opportunity and he took it, with his car owner, former NFL coach Joe Gibbs being the recipient. It helped lighten the mood.
Sitting with his car owner during the postrace news conference, Kenseth said, “Coach also needed the win tonight. I don’t know if anybody saw the Packers game.”
Kenseth, a six-time Slinger Nationals champion and Green Bay Packers fan, teased Gibbs as the Packers beat Gibbs’ former team, the Washington Redskins, 38-20, on Sunday.
Gibbs led the Redskins to three Super Bowl titles (1982, 1987, 1991).
“He’s not stopped all day,” Gibbs said about Kenseth’s ribbing. “He’s not stopped (smiling).”
Busch, the 2011 Slinger Nationals champion, led 67 laps and was trying to pull off the NASCAR sweep for the second time in his career. He won the Camping World Truck Series race Friday and the Nationwide race Saturday.
“I watched it slip right away,” Busch said of the attempt at a sweep. “It sucks. Nothing you can do about it. Certainly it would be nice if we could have won tonight and brought home a trifecta.”
Kenseth leads Busch by eight points heading into next weekend’s race in New Hampshire.
Richfield's Bilicki taking in historic event at Road America
Daily News (West Bend, Wis.)
Published: Sept. 20, 2013
By NICHOLAS DETTMANN
Daily News Sports Editor
ELKHART LAKE — Josh Bilicki’s biggest worry at 4 years old wasn’t about when to take the training wheels off his bike. It was to get maximum speed on the straightaway and the corners in a go-kart that could reach speeds of at least 30 mph.
That’s right. At 4 years old, Bilicki, an 18-year-old native of Richfield and 2013 Slinger High School graduate, was racing before the training wheels came off his bike.
“I knew how to drive a go-kart before I could ride a bike,” he said with a smile.
Bilicki is one of three drivers from Washington County competing in the historic SCCA National Championship Runoffs at Road America, which start today. It is the 50th anniversary of the event and it’ll be the last time the event will be held at Road America, which has hosted it since 2009. Next year, the event will be at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca in California, followed by Daytona in 2015 and Mid-Ohio Sportscar Course in 2016.
With all the historical significance surrounding the race, Bilicki believes it’s almost imperative to have a good weekend. His goal is to finish in the top 15.
He will start today’s race today in 38th.
“I didn’t get that great of a qualifying position,” Bilicki said. “But everybody was slower today because it was humid out. The engine just didn’t put out as much horsepower. But I know I can move up.”
Also competing from the county is Hubertus’ Greg Gauper in the H-Production class and Erin’s Dave Yahn in the Spec Racer Ford class.
Gauper was the regular season champion in 2012 in his class and won the Runoffs in 2011. He will start today’s race sixth.
The SCCA championship points season allows drivers throughout the country to compete in an attempt to qualify for this event. Then once at the event, it’s all or nothing. This is the SCCA’s Super Bowl.
Past winners of this race include 1986 Indianapolis 500 champion Bobby Rahal, Roger Penske, actor/driver Paul Newman and Mark Donohue to name a few.
There are almost 700 drivers in the event amongst 28 classes of various sports cars.
Bilicki will compete in the Spec Miata division, which has a record 70 cars registered for the race. In Bilicki’s first Runoffs last year, there were 25.
“It’ll be chaotic, especially if it rains,” he said.
“Top 15 will be nice,” he added. “There’s a lot of fast guys here.”
Another driver to watch is Jim Downing of Atlanta.
Downing, who is competing in the C Sports Racing class this weekend, was the polesitter for the first Runoffs in 1964 at Riverside International Raceway in California. He competed in the Formula Vee class and finished 10th. This will be his 11th start at the Runoffs. Last year, he finished third in the CSR class.
He still can’t believe he’s racing because when he started at 21, his only goal was to just make the next race.
“It’s ridiculous,” he said when asked about what 50 years of racing meant to him.
It played out well for him as he won five series championships with the International Motor Sports Association and won 41 races.
Downing has also been a life-saver off the track as he was one of the co-inventors of the head-and-neck restraint system, the HANS device, which minimizes drivers’ head movement inside a car, especially during a crash.
Fourteen years after learning to whip through corners and soar down straightaways, Bilicki is still racing, even teaching people twice his age.
“At first it was a little different,” Bilicki said. “But all of the guys are awesome. I meet a lot of cool people.”
Bilicki got started in racing because his father, Mike, was racing and still is. Mike Bilicki races a 1965 Ford Mustang with the Vintage Sports Car Drivers Association.
Being that the young Bilicki is a racing teacher at Road America and it is so close to home, nothing would mean more to him than a victory this weekend. In 2008, he had one of his racing highlights — winning the 2008 Supernationals at Road America, a go-kart event on the 4-mile road course.
“I was never scared,” he said of racing a go-kart at 4 years old.
Next month, he has a test session scheduled with a USF2000 open-wheel Indycar in New Jersey. He likes racing sports cars because of its wheel-to-wheel competitiveness, but will consider other options, if they come up.
“I want to make a career out of racing,” Bilicki said.
“Next year we’d like to find sponsorship so we can race Trans-Am (Series),” he added. “I like to keep my opportunities open.”
Published: Sept. 20, 2013
By NICHOLAS DETTMANN
Daily News Sports Editor
ELKHART LAKE — Josh Bilicki’s biggest worry at 4 years old wasn’t about when to take the training wheels off his bike. It was to get maximum speed on the straightaway and the corners in a go-kart that could reach speeds of at least 30 mph.
That’s right. At 4 years old, Bilicki, an 18-year-old native of Richfield and 2013 Slinger High School graduate, was racing before the training wheels came off his bike.
“I knew how to drive a go-kart before I could ride a bike,” he said with a smile.
Bilicki is one of three drivers from Washington County competing in the historic SCCA National Championship Runoffs at Road America, which start today. It is the 50th anniversary of the event and it’ll be the last time the event will be held at Road America, which has hosted it since 2009. Next year, the event will be at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca in California, followed by Daytona in 2015 and Mid-Ohio Sportscar Course in 2016.
With all the historical significance surrounding the race, Bilicki believes it’s almost imperative to have a good weekend. His goal is to finish in the top 15.
He will start today’s race today in 38th.
“I didn’t get that great of a qualifying position,” Bilicki said. “But everybody was slower today because it was humid out. The engine just didn’t put out as much horsepower. But I know I can move up.”
Also competing from the county is Hubertus’ Greg Gauper in the H-Production class and Erin’s Dave Yahn in the Spec Racer Ford class.
Gauper was the regular season champion in 2012 in his class and won the Runoffs in 2011. He will start today’s race sixth.
The SCCA championship points season allows drivers throughout the country to compete in an attempt to qualify for this event. Then once at the event, it’s all or nothing. This is the SCCA’s Super Bowl.
Past winners of this race include 1986 Indianapolis 500 champion Bobby Rahal, Roger Penske, actor/driver Paul Newman and Mark Donohue to name a few.
There are almost 700 drivers in the event amongst 28 classes of various sports cars.
Bilicki will compete in the Spec Miata division, which has a record 70 cars registered for the race. In Bilicki’s first Runoffs last year, there were 25.
“It’ll be chaotic, especially if it rains,” he said.
“Top 15 will be nice,” he added. “There’s a lot of fast guys here.”
Another driver to watch is Jim Downing of Atlanta.
Downing, who is competing in the C Sports Racing class this weekend, was the polesitter for the first Runoffs in 1964 at Riverside International Raceway in California. He competed in the Formula Vee class and finished 10th. This will be his 11th start at the Runoffs. Last year, he finished third in the CSR class.
He still can’t believe he’s racing because when he started at 21, his only goal was to just make the next race.
“It’s ridiculous,” he said when asked about what 50 years of racing meant to him.
It played out well for him as he won five series championships with the International Motor Sports Association and won 41 races.
Downing has also been a life-saver off the track as he was one of the co-inventors of the head-and-neck restraint system, the HANS device, which minimizes drivers’ head movement inside a car, especially during a crash.
Fourteen years after learning to whip through corners and soar down straightaways, Bilicki is still racing, even teaching people twice his age.
“At first it was a little different,” Bilicki said. “But all of the guys are awesome. I meet a lot of cool people.”
Bilicki got started in racing because his father, Mike, was racing and still is. Mike Bilicki races a 1965 Ford Mustang with the Vintage Sports Car Drivers Association.
Being that the young Bilicki is a racing teacher at Road America and it is so close to home, nothing would mean more to him than a victory this weekend. In 2008, he had one of his racing highlights — winning the 2008 Supernationals at Road America, a go-kart event on the 4-mile road course.
“I was never scared,” he said of racing a go-kart at 4 years old.
Next month, he has a test session scheduled with a USF2000 open-wheel Indycar in New Jersey. He likes racing sports cars because of its wheel-to-wheel competitiveness, but will consider other options, if they come up.
“I want to make a career out of racing,” Bilicki said.
“Next year we’d like to find sponsorship so we can race Trans-Am (Series),” he added. “I like to keep my opportunities open.”
Area schools, WPA sound off on proposed bill
Daily News (West Bend, Wis.)
Published: Sept. 28, 2013
By NICHOLAS DETTMANN
Daily News Sports Editor
On the surface, allowing nonpublic school students to participate in public school extracurricular activities sounds OK. However, reading further into the idea, that’s where problems develop.
Rep. Jeremy Thiesfeldt, R-Fond du Lac, has proposed a bill, Act 118.133, that would allow nonpublic school students to participate in public school extracurricular activities. If enacted, the bill would go into effect July 1.
“I’d hear from parents that they don’t have an opportunity to get involved in extracurricular activities and I don’t think that’s fair,” Thiesfeldt said earlier this week.
That idea has many nonpublic school programs — private, home, independent charter or virtual schools — upset.
At Wednesday’s WIAA Area Meeting at Fox Valley Lutheran High School in Appleton, most of the administrators in attendance representing private schools said they were not in favor of the bill.
One delegate at the WIAA’s Area Meeting on Sept. 18 said the bill is an assault on public schools.
Tomi Fay Forbes, a representative for Region 13, which covers Dodge, Ozaukee and Washington counties, of the Wisconsin Parents Association, said those associated with homeschooling feel the same way.
“We see that it is best for the students in the state that are homeschooled is that they stay separate,” Forbes said. “We want to be independent.”
The WPA’s website has a link on its homepage saying, “ALERT! Stop pending sports bill that undermines homeschooling freedoms.”
“We’re using our own standards and it’s not easy for a public school to see that clearly,” Forbes said. “We don’t need involvement with the public schools.
“We want to stay separate from how public schools are evaluated.”
Kettle Moraine Lutheran Athletic Director Len Collyard is also against the idea.
“We feel strongly about the mission of our school,” he said. “We have made it a practice. If we have a practice where we aren’t in control so that our mission isn’t clear, that’s why we’ve shied away from co-ops.”
Forbes believes the proposed idea is too much of a knee-jerk reaction from one taxpayer.
“We have to look at things long term, what’s best for kids five years from now, 10 years from now, 20 years from now,” Forbes said. “I’m always looking ahead. We keep wanting to fix problems right now and not best in the long term.
“What’s best for homeschoolers down the road is to retain our economy, looking at what our individual kids need and meeting those needs the best we can for each individual child and family.”
Collyard said he has contacted Thiesfeldt, who is a KML graduate, and Sen. Glenn Grothman, R-West Bend, expressing his concerns.
“I’m hoping that the message is being sent back with some of the concerns that are going to cause people to reconsider,” Collyard said. “There are a lot of holes in the idea.
“Hopefully, enough information about the pitfalls are going to cause people to stop and think about it before they proceed.”
“At first glance it sounds fine,” he added. “But the after problems that come about trying to administer the whole thing make it not a good idea.”
Living Word Lutheran Principal Dave Miskimen is neither for or against the idea.
“I’m mixed on it,” he said. “If it benefits kids, then it’s a good thing. I don’t know if it does right now.”
Miskimen has spoken with parents and said they are OK with the idea. He believes the proposal may help Living Word.
“We could offer hockey without co-oping,” he said.
“I think it’ll affect the larger school districts than us,” he added.
However, he agreed there are some gaps that need to be filled.
“I don’t think it’s going to hurt us,” Miskimen said. “I see merits in it, but also see where it’s not so good.”
Published: Sept. 28, 2013
By NICHOLAS DETTMANN
Daily News Sports Editor
On the surface, allowing nonpublic school students to participate in public school extracurricular activities sounds OK. However, reading further into the idea, that’s where problems develop.
Rep. Jeremy Thiesfeldt, R-Fond du Lac, has proposed a bill, Act 118.133, that would allow nonpublic school students to participate in public school extracurricular activities. If enacted, the bill would go into effect July 1.
“I’d hear from parents that they don’t have an opportunity to get involved in extracurricular activities and I don’t think that’s fair,” Thiesfeldt said earlier this week.
That idea has many nonpublic school programs — private, home, independent charter or virtual schools — upset.
At Wednesday’s WIAA Area Meeting at Fox Valley Lutheran High School in Appleton, most of the administrators in attendance representing private schools said they were not in favor of the bill.
One delegate at the WIAA’s Area Meeting on Sept. 18 said the bill is an assault on public schools.
Tomi Fay Forbes, a representative for Region 13, which covers Dodge, Ozaukee and Washington counties, of the Wisconsin Parents Association, said those associated with homeschooling feel the same way.
“We see that it is best for the students in the state that are homeschooled is that they stay separate,” Forbes said. “We want to be independent.”
The WPA’s website has a link on its homepage saying, “ALERT! Stop pending sports bill that undermines homeschooling freedoms.”
“We’re using our own standards and it’s not easy for a public school to see that clearly,” Forbes said. “We don’t need involvement with the public schools.
“We want to stay separate from how public schools are evaluated.”
Kettle Moraine Lutheran Athletic Director Len Collyard is also against the idea.
“We feel strongly about the mission of our school,” he said. “We have made it a practice. If we have a practice where we aren’t in control so that our mission isn’t clear, that’s why we’ve shied away from co-ops.”
Forbes believes the proposed idea is too much of a knee-jerk reaction from one taxpayer.
“We have to look at things long term, what’s best for kids five years from now, 10 years from now, 20 years from now,” Forbes said. “I’m always looking ahead. We keep wanting to fix problems right now and not best in the long term.
“What’s best for homeschoolers down the road is to retain our economy, looking at what our individual kids need and meeting those needs the best we can for each individual child and family.”
Collyard said he has contacted Thiesfeldt, who is a KML graduate, and Sen. Glenn Grothman, R-West Bend, expressing his concerns.
“I’m hoping that the message is being sent back with some of the concerns that are going to cause people to reconsider,” Collyard said. “There are a lot of holes in the idea.
“Hopefully, enough information about the pitfalls are going to cause people to stop and think about it before they proceed.”
“At first glance it sounds fine,” he added. “But the after problems that come about trying to administer the whole thing make it not a good idea.”
Living Word Lutheran Principal Dave Miskimen is neither for or against the idea.
“I’m mixed on it,” he said. “If it benefits kids, then it’s a good thing. I don’t know if it does right now.”
Miskimen has spoken with parents and said they are OK with the idea. He believes the proposal may help Living Word.
“We could offer hockey without co-oping,” he said.
“I think it’ll affect the larger school districts than us,” he added.
However, he agreed there are some gaps that need to be filled.
“I don’t think it’s going to hurt us,” Miskimen said. “I see merits in it, but also see where it’s not so good.”
Thursday, September 19, 2013
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)