HIGH SCHOOL NOTES

This is the last season for Bill Sunagel as head coach of the Sheboygan co-op hockey team.

And its four-win season – entering the weekend – has nothing to do with it.”

“The number of losses this year doesn’t really reflect the season,” he said. 

Sunagel says the team has six losses by one goal, including one to De Pere on Thursday after losing the first meeting, 9-4.

“The boys stuck together; they worked as a team,” he said. “We had a lot of valleys and we’d rise to the occasion the next game. They kept battling. We had injuries. … I really think the boys, as a group, hung together and played for one another versus themselves.”

GIRLS BASKETBALL

MACKENNA EPPING (right) had 22 rebounds recently. –Photo by Michelle Epping

Christian’s rebounding machine

Not only did Mackenna Epping help the Eagles win their first game last Tuesday, she grabbed 22 rebounds and scored 21 points.

The junior, who made seven baskets and seven free throws, says she had a plan in her team’s 52-24 win at Stockbridge.

“We went into the game really focused, we all went in with personal goals, and mine was rebounds,” Epping said.

Epping, in her first full season on varsity, had an inkling she had a large number of rebounds at halftime but did not find out what she finished with until after the game.

“My coach told me and I was very, very excited,” Epping said.

It was the most points scored and the fewest allowed by the Eagles this season as well.

“It was great,” Epping said. “We all have such a good relationship with each other, and we were all hyping up each other. … It was just really, really fun.”

North wins two close calls

After an 0-3 start in the Fox River Classic Conference, the Golden Raiders won six in a row – including the last two by two points apiece.

One came Jan. 14 against Green Bay Southwest.

Victoria Toeller hit two free throws with 27.5 seconds remaining and then the Trojans hit a three-pointer to tie the score with 7.5 left.

Anna Fogle was fouled with 1.4 to go as she dribbled up the court and made both free throws for the 61-59 victory.

Similar pattern for Lutheran

The Crusaders have followed their two losses of the season with five-game winning streaks each time.

After a loss to St. Mary’s Springs on Dec. 4, Lutheran won its next five games by an average margin of 30 points.

The Crusaders then fell to New Holstein on Dec. 29 and are 5-0 since then. Their average margin of victory this time? Twenty-nine points.

BOYS BASKETBALL

Holzheimer’s night of nights

Lutheran’s Jackson Holzheimer scored his most points in a varsity game – 21 – in a 67-57 victory at Howards Grove last Tuesday. And it came at a good time, since leading scorer Casey Verhagen was held to his season low of 12.

“Casey wasn’t having the best game of his life, so I had to step up a little bit,” he said.

Credit also goes to Robby Michael’s defense on the Tigers’ Miles Barnstable, who spent his first two years at Lutheran before transferring.

“I’ve been waiting two years for this game and I’ve been preparing for it ever since I left,” the senior said. “It was pretty nerve-racking and I had a lot of nerves coming into it. It was probably one of the biggest games of my life so far.”

Michael held Barnstable to 17 points, his second-lowest output of the season.

“I was excited,” Michael said. “I love to compete, so knowing I was going to go against a good player like Miles, I was happy and I was excited for the challenge.”

BOYS SWIMMING

North gets third title in a row

For the third straight time, North’s swim team captured the Redwing Invitational and the Raider Relays. And the squad also set four pool records at South in the process.

At that Redwing Invite, Will Hayon broke records in the 200-yard freestyle (1:42.67), the 100 backstroke (50.74) and the 50 free (21.21) as the leadoff swimmer in the 200 free relay.

He was joined by Logan Pond, Caleb Webb and Dylan Dettloff to set that pool mark (1:29.98) as well.

WRESTLING

Katz keeps up at South

For the third time in four tournaments, four-year varsity wrestler Aden Katz finished fourth or higher.

He placed second in the 51^st Peshtigo Invitational at 285 pounds to improve to 15-6 entering action Thursday.

The senior, who also finished first and fourth at previous meets, advanced to the final with a 4-0 decision over Oostburg’s Josh Wensink.

However, Katz was pinned by Oshkosh West’s Garth Martell to finish runner-up.

“I was up in the third period, was riding him high and he just kind of flipped me over,” he said.

Teammates Jose Salgado (126) and Johnny Lee (138) each finished third.

“I saw the potential that our young guys have,” Katz added.