Sports

Picturesque Veterans’ Park on the University of Wisconsin-Platteville campus is the perfect setting for the annual Dick McKichan Platteville Invitational. Flooding a year ago, though, forced the competitive cross country meet to be held at Platteville High School, to the disappointment of coaches and athletes alike.

It was a unique span of five days for Sauk Prairie’s boys soccer team last week with one game postponed due to inclement weather and two other matches being moved from the football stadium to a nearby practice field.

It was a rough week for Sauk Prairie’s girls volleyball team. But there were several encouraging moments, as well. Northern Badger Conference leader Waunakee downed Sauk Prairie, 21-25, 26-24, 25-15, 25-19, last Tuesday. DeForest then edged the Eagles, 25-21, 9-25, 25-23, 20-25, 15-9 last Thursday.

Conference realignment for high school football in Wisconsin goes into effect beginning in 2020. So what about the other sports that area schools like Mount Horeb and Sauk Prairie are currently offering? Their turn will come sooner than you might think.

What’s a defensive coordinator to do? When it comes to stopping Wisconsin Heights’ high-powered offenses, no foe has come up with a good plan yet this year.

Facing Waunakee is inevitable playing in the Northern Badger Conference. Sauk Prairie knows it has to see the perennial powerhouse every season, and the Eagles’ time came last Friday. Unfortunately for Sauk Prairie, this was not a night where David toppled Goliath. Waunakee, the top-ranked team in Division 2, defeated the host Eagles, 28-7.

Luke Francois began his love affair with wrestling in kindergarten as a member of the Baraboo youth program in 1976. Spring forward four decades later and the Middleton graduate and two-time state qualifier said he had to reach out to his first coach to share some good news.

There are still three weeks until girls volleyball teams begin their postseason. But the way Sauk Prairie is trending, it will be a tough out when tournament season arrives. The Eagles won the Westfield Invite Saturday, going 4-0 and playing some of its best volleyball of the year. Sauk Prairie defeated Markesan in the title game, 25-20, 25-18.

They wanted more. And who could blame them. Wisconsin Heights’ girls volleyball team settled for fourth place at its own invite last Saturday. The Vanguards reached the semifinals, but lost to Dodgeville, 25-23, 25-21.

The Wisconsin Heights/Barneveld boys soccer slipped to fourth place in the 10-team Capitol Conference with a loss to Lake Mills and a win over Lakeside Lutheran last week. The Vanguards are now 3-2 in the conference. The Vanguards fell to Lake Mills, 3-2, on Sept. 24, in a game played at Breese Stevens Field.