Sports return for North, South

KEVIN RAUCH swims at South’s first meet on Thursday. – Photo by Lisa Reed

For the first time in nine months, sporting events returned to Sheboygan North and South last week.

Wrestling season began Thursday, and although the Golden Raiders lost to Pulaski and Manitowoc Lutheran, sports are officially back.

“This is what I live for,” senior Zane Tinkle said. “I’m a simple guy.”

Swim season also got underway that evening, as the Redwings traveled to Two Rivers and lost by just six points.

“I was very excited to get in the water,” senior Jed Walleser said. “I was excited to enjoy this first meet with the people I’ve been practicing and preparing for with.”

But he did not have to wait nine months like his teammates to compete.

Walleser attends Sheboygan Falls and ran cross country this past season, while South and North delayed all fall sports until spring.

However, all 2020 spring sports in the state were canceled, so it has been an unusual stretch for him, too.

“Everything felt kind of different,” said Walleser, who is a member of the track and field team. “You had to deal with things you weren’t really used to. And everything was kind of changing, and we never really knew what was going to happen the next day.

“So it added a sort of weird feeling to everything we did as far as practices or competitions. We didn’t know which practice or competition was going to be our last one.”

Kevin Rauch, who is also a senior at Falls and swims at South, was going to be on the track and field team as well. At least he was able to play football for the first time for the Falcons.

“It’s been really crazy,” Rauch said. “You don’t really know what’s going to happen within the next week, let alone months or the next year. We all got shut down last spring and had our whole summer stuck inside doing nothing, so just getting the opportunity to finally get out and swim – whether it be delayed or not – I think we’re all just happy to be back.”