Prep roundup (2/20): Altoona clinches 2nd consecutive regional title

The Leader-Telegram, Eau Claire, Wis.
·4 min read

Feb. 21—Brayden Turk knocked down a pair of free throws in the final 10 seconds to put Altoona up by three, and Somerset's 3-point attempt to tie the game with five seconds left missed the mark as the Rails held on for a 59-54 victory on Saturday.

The win gave the Rails a Division 2 regional title, the second championship in a row for Altoona.

Evan Moss led all scorers with 17 points for the Rails, and Evan Peterson added 15 of his own. Blend Sabani chipped in with 14 points.

After Somerset's attempt to tie came up empty, Moss iced the win away with a pair of free throws.

Altoona will learn its foe for the sectional semifinals when the field is re-seeded.

McDonell 71, Owen-Withee 60: McDonell won a Division 5 regional title for the seventh consecutive season behind 19 points from Eddie Mittermeyer and 14 from Jake Siegenthaler.

The Macks led by eight at the half and stretched the advantage in the second half. Tanner Opsal tallied 12 points, and Logan Hughes added 11.

The Macks knocked down 11 3-pointers.

Fall Creek 52, Spring Valley 47: In a regional final matchup pitting two conference champions head-to-head, the Crickets prevailed.

Fall Creek had to withstand a Spring Valley rally. The Cardinals pulled to within three points of the lead late in the game after trailing by 14 at halftime. But the Crickets hit key free throws down the stretch to win the Division 4 regional championship.

Teigen Ploeckelman scored 24 points to lead Fall Creek, and Jayden Fitch added 17. Mike Bauer scored 16 points for the Cardinals, including hitting five 3-pointers. Connor Ducklow and Tyler Bowman added 10 points apiece.

Immanuel Lutheran 94, Gilmanton 74: The Lancers clinched a Division 5 regional title, scoring more than 90 points for the second consecutive night.

Immanuel Lutheran hit 12 3-pointers, including five from Ryan Zimmerman. He finished with a game-high 33 points. Daniel Hein added 20 for the Lancers, while Jarin Rud and Lance Larson scored 20 each for the Panthers.

Immanuel Lutheran led by 12 at halftime by pulled away in the second half. The Lancers improved to 17-2 with the victory.

River Falls 66, Hudson 61: The Wildcats won a Division 1 regional title behind 24 points from Zac Johnson.

JT Dougherty added 14 points for River Falls, who overcame 26 points from Luke Healy and 23 more from Brandon Moeri.

Blair-Taylor 68, Whitehall 44: The Wildcats clinched their third straight regional title by pulling away in the final 11 minutes.

Whitehall cut Blair-Taylor's lead to 36-30 with 11 minutes to go, but the Wildcats scored 32 of the game's final 44 points.

Kyle Steien scored 27 points and secured 10 rebounds for the Wildcats, while Matt Waldera added 21 points and 10 boards. Devon McCune scored 19 to lead the Norse.

Gymnastics

Division 1 sectionals in La Crosse: Eau Claire Memorial/North's Annabella Campbell (vaulting) and Emma Loen (balance beam) both won sectional titles in individual events.

The co-op advanced to state as a team after taking second place.

Loen finished second in the all-around standings after also taking fifth in the uneven bars. Campbell also placed fourth in the floor exercise.

Girls basketball

Onalaska 55, Rice Lake 33: The Warriors went down 10-0 early and were playing catch-up the rest of the way in their sectional final matchup. Jordan Roethel led the squad with 12 points and nearly had a double-double with nine rebounds, while Grace Forsberg had six points, four rebounds, four steals and two assists.

Rice Lake, which won its first regional championship since 2014, was shooting for its first state tournament bid in program history. This was the school's first appearance in the sectional final since 2007.

The Warriors finished 16-8 and graduate two seniors, Forsberg and Jordan Pagac.

Boys hockey

Hudson 4, Verona 0: The Raiders rolled to their fifth state championship, getting a pair of goals from Carter Mears and one each from Alex Pottratz and Matthew Mauer in Wisconsin Rapids. Alex Ripplinger made seven saves in the shutout effort to help Hudson upend the defending state champs.

The state title was the program's first since 2018, when the Raiders bested Eau Claire Memorial down in Madison.

Wrestling

Division 3 team state tournament: Cadott fell to Coleman in the state semifinals, 46-18. Brayden Sonnentag, Gavin Tegels and Lukas Simenson all won by pin for the Hornets, but Coleman took all the other matchups.