P IE RCE COUN TY HERAL D | FEBRUARY 17, 2016 | PAGE 3B

PRESCOTT BOYS BASKETBALL

E-PC BOYS BASKETBALL

Gehlen adds depth to talented Prescott roster

Wolves rise into

D-SC mix

By Blaze Fugina
bfugina@rivertowns.net

The Prescott boys basketball team already had what

appeared to be the deepest roster of players in the Middle
Border Conference.
Now the state-ranked
Cardinals have another player
who can contribute on both
sides of the ball and add double-digit oensive numbers on
a nightly basis. Senior forward
Nick Gehlen transferred to
Prescott High School during
the middle of this school year
from Woodbury, Minn. after a
move with his mother following her engagement.
Although the senior said
he has enjoyed his time in
Prescott, a transfer between
schools in the middle of the
year does have its challenges.
I came here towards the
end of the rst semester, so it
was a little rough of a transition
going from trimesters to semesters, Gehlen said.
However, Gehlen added his
transition to the Prescott boys
basketball team was a little
easier. Gehlen played his rst
game for the boys basketball
team on Friday, Jan. 22 against
New Richmond. He has since
scored double-digit points in
three games over the past three
weeks for the Cardinals.
Its actually been really
good, Gehlen said of the transition to a new team. We do
a lot of similar things, so I just
really t into the system. Coach

Johnson gives us a lot of freedom on oense.

The Prescott players have
enjoyed the added depth as
well. Not only is Gehlen another player who can score points
for an already talented roster,
but his height is an advantage
as well. Gehlen is listed as 6
feet 4 inches tall on the teams
roster.
Every game hes been in,
hes been a really good player for us, and obviously hes
got some size to him, teammate Owen Hamilton said. He
knows what hes doing, and it
helps us out a lot. Hes a good
player.
Gehlen said he has enjoyed
his experience on the Prescott
team. He said being on the
same oor as a 7-foot tall center in Hamilton is a new experience, and has appreciated the
teams quick players who can
score points in a hurry.
Its denitely an up-tempo
game, and I really like that,
Gehlen said. They are really
nice guys.
Head coach Nick Johnson
said Gehlen has come o
the bench to contribute on
both oense and defense.
Oensively, Johnson said the
senior is versatile because he
can handle the ball well enough
to play point guard if needed.
This can help to take pressure o Prescotts other point
guards Peter Brookshaw and
Luke Murphy.
As a defender, hes very
good o the ball because he

Win places E-PC in

tie for fourth
By Blaze Fugina
bfugina@rivertowns.net

Nick Gehlen dribbles into the oensive zone during the rst half of
Prescotts game last Tuesday vs. Osceola. (Herald photo by Blaze
Fugina)

reads so well and he antici- to score. He can take the ball

pates so well, Johnson said. to the rim, hes a very good
So he can create turnovers. dribbler.
Oensively, he has the knack

PRESCOTT GIRLS BASKETBALL

Cardinals defeat Ellsworth to halt losing streak

By Blaze Fugina
bfugina@rivertowns.net

The Prescott girls basketball

team snapped a seven game
losing streak with a 53-38 victory over Ellsworth at home on
Friday.
The Cardinals previously had not won a game since

defeating Amery on Friday,

Jan. 22. However, on Friday
they were able to cap o a busy
week with a Middle Border
Conference victory. Jennifer
Kleinschmidt scored 15 points
to lead the Cardinals on Friday,
while Heather Furlong nished
with 12 points on oense.
The Cardinals also lost three

Regionals...
the lead, but he needed to
hold Newton down for the
rest of the period to preserve
a 4-3 decision. Strom just
barely held on to win the
decision and earn a regional
championship.
Its pride, Strom said
after the match. If you want
to win, youve got to do
whatever it takes.
Strom said it was an interesting feeling to only wrestle
one match in a tournament,
with that one match being for
a regional championship.
You dont get a feel for
how your shots go, pretty
much you have to depend on
that one match, Strom said.
You have to go out there
ready.
Three other Panthers
picked up pins in the championship rounds of their brackets to earn regional championships. Sam Stuhl won by
a pin at the 1:10 mark of the

the Cardinals scoring versus

Spring Valley. Furlong led
with 17 points scored versus
River Falls on Tuesday, and on
Thursday Kleinschmidt scored
15 points to lead the oense.
The Cardinals now have a
6-7 record in Middle Border
Conference play this season,
with a 6-15 mark overall.

C o n t i n u ed fr om p a g e 1B

championship match at 126.

Mike Freund was only one
of three heavyweights in his
regional bracket, meaning he
received a bye to the championship match. There he won
by a pin in 34 seconds to
wrap up a regional championship. Tristen Mueller also
pinned his opponent in 46
seconds at 160 pounds for
a title.
Jacob Sigler cruised in his
championship match at 182
pounds. He won by tech fall,
19-4, to wrap up a regional
title.
Other Ellsworth wrestlers
who earned regional titles
were Matthew Peterson at
106 (7-0 decision), Owen
Matzek at 120 (major decision 13-3), Cole Skelton at
132 (9-3 decision), Anders
Lantz at 145 (10-2 major
decision) and Dalton George
at 170 (major decision 11-2).
Two Panthers wrestlers

ATHLETIC STANDINGS
GIRLS BASKETBALL

non-conference games during

the week. Prescott lost a 51-46
game to Spring Valley at home
on Monday, and followed that
with a 56-44 road loss to River
Falls on Tuesday before falling
51-44 to Menomonie at home
on Thursday.
Furlong and Kelsey Penk
each scored 13 points to lead

also nished in second to

advance to sectionals next
Saturday. Devin Drier took
second place after falling to
Brady Simonson of BloomerColfax 10-4 in the 138-pound
championship match. Jacob
Kinneman lost to Prescotts
Dillon Kimmen by pin in
the 220-pound title match,
but rebounded to pin his
opponent in the second place
match to wrap up his spot in
sectionals.
The Panthers were next
scheduled to wrestle in the
team sectional tournament on
Tuesday evening at MelroseMindoro High School.
Matzek said it was important for the Panthers to stay
focused in the team sectionals in order to earn another
spot at Madison in March.
Well come back to
that prepared, Matzek said.
Again, the biggest thing for
us as a sta and as a team is

MBC...

to not think its given to us.

Individual sectionals are
scheduled to take place in
Osceola this Saturday, with
the rst session starting at
10:30 a.m.

REGIONAL
RESULTS
1. Ellsworth, 326; 2. Bloomer/
Colfax, 140.5; 3. BaldwinWoodville, 132.5; 4. Prescott,
129.5; 5. Stanley-Boyd/OwenWithee, 124; 6. Osseo-Fairchild/
Augusta/Fall Creek, 101.5
ELLSWORTH - 106 - Matthew
Peterson, 1st place; 113 Sawyer Strom, 1st place;
120 - Owen Matzek, 1st place;
126 - Sam Stuhl, 1st place;
132 - Cole Skelton, 1st place;
138 - Devin Drier, 2nd place;
145 - Anders Lantz, 1st place;
152 - Breck Melstrom, 1st place;
160 - Tristen Mueller, 1st place;
170 - Dalton George, 1st place;
182 - Jacob Sigler, 1st place; 195
- Caleb Linder, 4th place; 220 Jacob Kinneman, 2nd place; 285
- Mike Freund, 1st place

The Elmwood-Plum City

boys basketball team has placed
itself right in the mix of the
Dunn-St. Croix Conference
standings with a recent 4-3
stretch of play.
The Wolves most recent
victory came against Mondovi
61-56 at home Thursday thanks
to a 14-3 run that gave them
control in the second half. The
win improved the Wolves to a
6-4 record and a tie for fourth in
the Dunn-St. Croix Conference
with Mondovi.
The Wolves recent stretch
of basketball comes after a sixgame losing streak through
December and January. They
said Thursday that a change in
attitude has helped fuel the better
play.
Talking more on defense,
senior Hunter Schoengarth said
about the improvements made
after the losing streak. Being a
team, having fun on the court as
a team. Thats what basketball is
all about, is having fun.
On Thursday, the Wolves
bounced back from an early
rst half decit to take a 29-27
lead into halftime. Mondovi led
16-11 after seven-and-a-half
minutes had passed in the rst
half. However, the Wolves came
back on an 11-5 run to retake
the lead.
After Mondovi again took
a 38-33 lead early in the second half, Elmwood-Plum City
bounced back on a 14-3 run
to take a 47-41 lead with 5:30
remaining in the game.
Head coach Chris Segerstrom
said defense played a big role in
the Wolves taking control of the
game in the second half.
We really picked it up defensively, and focused on a couple
of their guys that hurt us in
the rst half, Segerstrom said.
And then oensively a couple set plays, just getting quality
looks and guys attacking the rim
gave us some condence.
The Wolves players said they
were able to connect on some
plays during the second-half run
that gave them the lead. This
appeared to result in more open
looks near the basket.
We were setting screens and
playing as a team, Schoengarth
said. The defense really opened
up in the middle.
After trailing by as much as
12 points, Mondovi made things
interesting late in the game by

cutting the decit to 60-56 with

less than 30 seconds remaining.
But the Wolves were able to stop
Mondovi on its nal possession
to wrap up the game.
Schoengarth
led
the
Elmwood-Plum City oense
with 13 points scored, followed
by Darek Nelson with 12 points
scored and Luke Baier with 11.
Mondovi was led by Blake
Purdys 23 points.
With the Elmwood-Plum
City win combined with the
Mondovi loss, both teams were
tied for fourth in the Dunn-St.
Croix Conference at 6-4. Those
two teams are in the middle of a
Dunn-St. Croix Conference cluster, with Spring Valley a halfgame ahead in third place at 7-4
and Colfax a few games behind
at 5-6.
Segerstrom said the Wolves
still have a few things to iron out,
like cutting down on turnovers
and mental mistakes, but said he
has noticed an improved mindset
over the past few games.
These type of games help
build condence, Segerstrom
said. We still have work to
do, theres little things we need
to get better at. But ultimately, condence is the key, and I
think we are moving in the right
direction.
The Wolves players also feel
they have been playing with
more synergy over the past seven
games.
Were playing more together as a team, Baier said.
Elmwood-Plum City still had
three important Dunn-St. Croix
Conference games heading into
this week. The Wolves were
scheduled to play back-to-back
games against Glenwood City
and Durand on Monday and
Tuesday this week before playing Colfax on the road Friday.
With just two weeks remaining
in the season, Segerstrom said
the goal is to win as many games
as possible.
The goal is to always win
out, he said. Take it a game at
a time and play the best basketball going into the playos.

GAME RESULTS
E-PC - 29 32 - 61
MONDOVI - 27 29 - 56
E-PC SCORING - Hunter
Schoengarth - 13 points; Darek
Nelson - 12 points; Luke Baier - 11
points; Carlos Leija - 9 points;
Wyatt Holt - 8 points; Anthony
Ebensperger - 2 points; Sam Hoyt 3 points; Kraig Heit - 3 points
MONDOVI - Blake Purdy - 23 points;
Greg Poeschel - 11 points; Cole
Kamla - 11 points; Branden Becker
- 6 points; Hunter Evans - 2 points;
Shane Van Roo - 2 points; Sawyer
Hayes - 1 point

C ontinu e d from p a g e 1B

BOYS BASKETBALL

MIDDLE BORDER
CONFERENCE
Somerset 13-0
Baldwin-Woodville 10-3
St. Croix Central 9-4
Amery 6-7
Prescott 6-7
Osceola 5-8
New Richmond 3-10
Ellsworth 0-13

MIDDLE BORDER
CONFERENCE
Prescott 11-0
St. Croix Central 8-3
Osceola 7-3
New Richmond 6-4
Amery 4-7
Ellsworth 4-7
Somerset 3-8
Baldwin-Woodville 0-11

DUNN-ST. CROIX
Elk Mound 12-1
Glenwood City 10-2
Colfax 9-4
Durand 9-4
Boyceville 4-8
Spring Valley 4-9
Mondovi 2-11
Elmwood-Plum City 1-12

DUNN-ST. CROIX
Durand 9-2
Elk Mound 8-2
Spring Valley 7-4
Mondovi 6-4
Elmwood-Plum City 6-4
Colfax 5-6
Boyceville 1-10
Glenwood City 0-10

Tuesdays win over Osceola.

The win improved Prescott
to 11-0 in the MBC with
three games left to play, and
a New Richmond win over
St. Croix Central dropped

the Panthers into a second

place tie with Osceola.
The Cardinals would
clinch a conference title
outright with a win versus
Somerset on Tuesday.

GAME RESULTS
PRESCOTT - 37 42 - 79
OSCEOLA - 24 31 - 55
PRESCOTT - Peter Brookshaw - 11 points; Luke Murphy - 6 points;
Keegan Nielsen - 8 points; Michael Harris - 20 points, 6 steals; Owen
Hamilton - 12 points, 4 blocks, 10 rebounds; Nick Gehlen - 18 points, 2
assists; Payton Bartsch - 4 points
OSCEOLA - Jon Rein - 6 points; Jacob Johnson - 3 points; Tucker
Hazzard - 8 points; Logan Miller - 15 points; Haakon Carlson - 7 points;
Joe Swanson - 6 points; Jason Bents - 7 points; Taylor Fehlen - 3 points

Hunter Schoengarth dribbles in the oensive zone during Thursdays

Dunn-St. Croix Conference game versus Mondovi. (Herald photo by
Blaze Fugina)

ATHLETIC SCHEDULE

Friday, February 19
B BASKETBALL - Ellsworth vs.
Prescott, 7:30 p.m.
B BASKETBALL - Colfax vs.
Spring Valley, 7:30 p.m.
B BASKETBALL - ElmwoodPlum City at Colfax, 7:30 p.m.

Saturday, February 20
WRESTLING - Ellsworth,
Prescott at Osceola sectional,
10:30 a.m.
WRESTLING - Spring ValleyElmwood at Independence, 10
a.m.
Monday, February 22
B BASKETBALL - Somerset vs.
Ellsworth, 7:30 p.m.
B BASKETBALL - St. Croix
Central vs. Prescott, 7:30 p.m.
B BASKETBALL - Cameron vs.
Spring Valley, 7:30 p.m.
Tuesday, February 23
G BASKETBALL - Start of WIAA
regional tournaments, TBD

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Thursday, February 18
G BASKETBALL - Ellsworth at
Somerset, 7:30 p.m.
G BASKETBALL - St. Croix
Central vs. Prescott, 7:30 p.m.
G BASKETBALL - Spring Valley
at Durand, 7:30 p.m.
G BASKETBALL - Elk Mound vs.
Elmwood-Plum City (@PCHS),
7:30 p.m.