Stars of the century: Sauk Prairie

The task was daunting. The Star News recently asked a 12-person panel to vote for the top 10 male and top 10 female athletes to pass through Sauk Prairie High School in the 21st century. Any athlete who competed in the 21st century was eligible to be nominated and their exploits across their entire career were considered, even if a portion of their playing days were in the 1990s. The panel consisted of past and present coaches, administrators and community members, that have seen as many Eagles events as anyone. I also contributed a ballot, having covered many of Sauk Prairie’s elite athletes during my career. There were no set criteria outlined. Beauty was in the eye of each beholder.  If one voter thought a multi-sport athlete with solid production across the board rated ahead of a one-sport athlete who excelled at their craft, that was their prerogative. If another voter prioritized team success, that was fine, too. More than 60 boys and 50 girls were nominated for consideration, and after the votes were tabulated, each field was eventually trimmed to a top-20. There were 45 male and 32 female athletes who received at least one vote by the panel. The Star News published the top 20 girls the past two weeks, and present the boys list of Nos. 11-20 this week. The top 10 boys list will conclude our ‘Stars of the Century’ series next week. We hope you enjoy looking back at many of the athletes that have helped make Sauk Prairie athletics shine this century.   11/12. Matt Friede and Tyler Lentz Swimming (Class of 2010) The school’s most decorated male swimmers of the 21st century, Friede and Lentz grew up in Reedsburg, which didn’t have a swimming program. So the duo applied to Sauk Prairie to open enroll as sophomores and commuted to the school daily for their final three years of high school. Sauk Prairie/Wisconsin Heights swimming coach Todd Wuerger recalled how he broke down emotionally at the team’s 2010 banquet when talking about the journey that Friede and Lentz undertook daily after they committed to swim for the Eagles. “They had to drive back and forth from Reedsburg, and a one-way trip is 45 minutes. They had to do that twice a day, which is an hour and a half in the car,” Wuerger said. “But they were full-fledged students who did that for nine months each year. They were very team-oriented people.” Wuerger recalled how the boys swim program came close to collapsing in 1999 before beginning a co-op with Wisconsin Heights. The addition of Friede and Lentz then elevated the program to elite status. “We were an okay program, but then Matt and Tyler really put Sauk Prairie on the map,” Wuerger said. “With them we were able to do so much more with our relays. They literally carried our team during the lean years when we only had 12 guys on the team.”  Friede and Lentz each won three individual state championships and swam together on four state championship relays during their three years of competing for the Eagles’ co-op program at the WIAA Division 1 state meet. “They really took the program to a different level,” Wuerger said. Sauk Prairie/Wisconsin Heights placed in the Division 1 top six in the team standings all three years Friede and Lentz were on the team, including a runner-up finish their junior year. “We finished second to Madison Memorial and were only 17 points away from winning a title that year with only five guys (at state),” Wuerger said. “The main reason we were able to achieve that was because of those guys.” As senior co-captains, Friede and Lentz each won two individual titles and swam on the winning 200-yard medley relay to lead the Eagles to a fifth-place finish in the team standings. Friede defended his 50 freestyle title in a state record time of :20.44 and was first in the 100 freestyle. Lentz defended his title in the 200 individual medley and won the 100 backstroke championship. As juniors, the duo also swam on the state championship 200 freestyle relay, which set a state record (1:24.32), and 400 freestyle relay.  Friede and Lentz made a successful debut as sophomores, swimming on the championship 200 freestyle relay to help the Eagles place sixth in the team standings. Friede, who went on to swim at Purdue, and Lentz, who swam at Iowa, each made it on the awards podium 10 times with top six finishes. Friede still holds school records in the 50 freestyle and 100 freestyle, while Lentz remains the school record-holder in the 200 individual medley and 100 breaststroke. They also are part of school records in the 200 and 400 freestyle relays. “Any workout, they would eat it up and spit it out and just come back and say, ‘What’s next?’ ” Wuerger said. “When you have two guys like that, that just really lifts the program because everybody is trying to keep up with those guys in workouts. “You could see the team moving up several notches. They brought the team up to a new level. It is possible with one or two horses on a team that you can do that. Those were really special years. They both still hold over half of our school records.”     13. Bailey Breunig Football, basketball, baseball (Class of 2014) Breunig was a seven-time recipient of all-conference honors, including all three sports as a senior. He pursued football in college, contributing as a two-year starter at defensive back at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater. He was also a member of the Warhawks’ 2014 NCAA Division III National Championship team. At Sauk Prairie, Breunig earned All-Badger North Conference second-team honors at running back and linebacker as a senior and honorable mention recognition at running back as a junior. “He had to carry the ball almost every down, and then had go and play defense every down,” said former coach Chuck Fiene. “When Whitewater looked at his film, they saw a player who had 70 percent of the carries on offense and 70 percent of the tackles on defense. “He was a kid you put in harm’s way at every opportunity because he was a kid who’d make the plays. If you were ever going to have a solider with you for anything, you’d want Bailey because he was all-in and absolutely committed to his team and teammates. He would run through fire to get the job done.” In basketball, Breunig was the team’s Most Valuable Player as a junior and earned all-conference honorable mention honors as a senior. “I was his coach only one year, but we had a great senior class that year,” former basketball coach Levi Massey recalled. “Bailey was one of those kids, who physically was very, very well put together. He was strong, he was quick, he was athletic. Basketball-wise, he was very willing to do anything we asked of him.   “Our team had a lot of great personalities where guys were very passionate and energetic. Bailey was such a steadying voice and force for that crew. He just kept everybody together. He was that great glue. He continued to grow and to peak, and you could see that when he went to Whitewater.” Breunig wrapped up his prep career by earning the Eagles’ Most Valuable Player award and All-Badger North Conference honors in baseball as a senior. He also earned all-conference honorable mention honors as a junior, when he batted .352, and as a sophomore.   14. Josh Holler Football, basketball, baseball, lacrosse (Class of 2017) Holler achieved the rare feat of serving as a team captain as well as earning all-conference honors in three sports his senior year for the Eagles. His coaches agreed that few athletes were a better teammate than Holler, who finished as a 12-season athlete and was a nine-time letter winner.  “Josh was undersized early on, but was athletic and would do anything you asked,” former football coach Scott Schutt said. “He grew into it and was a very effective quarterback and a very good cornerback.” But it was the sport that Holler was introduced to last, lacrosse, that he had the most success at in high school. Holler played baseball as a freshman but switched to lacrosse as a sophomore along with classmates Devin Ballweg, Trevor Wilkinson and Ben Humbracht. Lacrosse coach Dylan Baier said he was amazed how quickly the quartet took to the game. “All four of those guys, I’ve never seen guys plays for three years and have the success that they had,” Baier said. A three-time letterwinner, Holler was also a two-time team captain and two-year starter as a midfielder for the Eagles’ co-op program. Holler was a unanimous selection as Sauk Prairie’s ‘Most Valuable Player’ his senior year after leading the Eagles in total points (66), assists (36) and ground balls (122) and finishing fourth in goals (30). He was also awarded the Madison Area Lacrosse Association White Conference Player of the Year honor for the Eagles, who went 8-0 in league play. An ACL injury in the sectional finals ended his prep career, but Sauk Prairie went on to defeat Waukesha Catholic Memorial in the 2017 Wisconsin Lacrosse Federation Division 2 state finals to record the program’s second state title.  Also a unanimous first-team selection as a midfielder as a senior, he earned all-league honorable mention recognition and was the varsity ‘Coaches Award’ recipient as a junior. “Josh was a great teammate,” Baier said. “He was a man of few words. But he showed people how to work and how successful he was by the work he put in during practice and the success he had in games.” Holler was a two-year starter and two-time team captain in football, where he earned All-Badger North Conference second-team honors at wide receiver as a junior and honorable mention recognition at quarterback as a senior. “He was the point guard who got the ball to the right person and ran the ball well enough to be able to do it when he needed to,” Schutt said. A three-year varsity performer in basketball, Holler earned all-league honorable mention honors as a senior swingman. He received the team’s prestigious ‘Mr. Eagle’ award and the ‘Humility’ award. A two-year starter and two-time captain, Holler averaged 7.2 points and 4.7 rebounds per game as a senior and was one of the team leaders in hustle points. He also received the team’s ‘Unity’ award as a junior and the ‘Most Improved Player’ and ‘Sixth Man’ awards as a sophomore. “I have not coached a better all-around young man than Josh Holler,” former basketball coach Levi Massey said. “No disrespect to anybody else I’ve coached, but Josh is just the most pure, genuine, good young man I’ve ever had the opportunity to coach. “The way he did his business and the way he went about things is just a testament to the quality of person he is but such a role model to other kids, too. He was always willing to be that positive role model in our community, our school.”    15. Taylor Koenig Football, basketball, baseball (Class of 2004) Like his father, Kurt, older brother, Lucas, and younger brother, Sam, Taylor Koenig competed in three sports for the Eagles. While Taylor achieved success in all three sports in high school, he proved to be the best football player in the family. Koenig was a standout on both sides of the ball, earning All-Badger North Conference first-team honors at linebacker and second-team recognition at quarterback his senior year. He also earned all-league first-team honors at linebacker as a junior. Former football coach Chuck Fiene marveled at what Koenig accomplished on the gridiron. “Can you imagine a quarterback today also playing linebacker?” Fiene said. “Taylor led our team in tackles, he was our quarterback. He never came off the field. That is how much we needed him and how much confidence we had in him.”  “Taylor could hit. We also put him in charge of our offense, and he was tough and smart. Like his brothers, you just give them the ball and a few rules and they will take over on any court, any field.” Koenig helped lead Sauk Prairie to a 7-4 overall record, including 4-2 in Badger North Conference play, and a berth in the second round of the 2003 WIAA Division 2 playoffs his senior season Former head coach Scott Schutt, who served as the team’s defensive coordinator, said he loved how Taylor competed on both sides of the ball. “Taylor was very athletic, very smart. He used those two things to his advantage,” Schutt said. “He was a competitor, but he wasn’t an ‘in-your-face’ kind of guy. He just played hard and led by example and got things done with his athleticism and intelligence. “His junior year, we went to the playoffs and lost to Waunakee in double overtime. No one thought we’d make the playoffs that year because we lost three games early. But we knew we’d played the best teams and lost some close games.” Koenig was a two-time letterwinner in basketball and a three-time letter winner in baseball. On the diamond, he was a unanimous All-Badger North Conference first-team selection at catcher as a senior. He also earned all-conference second-team honors his junior year, when Sauk Prairie won the Badger North Conference title. Taylor, who recently retired from playing for the Home Talent League Sauk Prairie Twins, also pitched for the Eagles. “He was a very intelligent player,” former baseball coach Bill Dettman said. “Taylor looked up to Lucas, just like Sam would look up to Taylor. I thought the world of the whole family.”   16. Jacob Fiene Soccer, basketball, lacrosse, football (Class of 2014) Jacob Fiene achieved the rare feat of earning all-conference honors in  three sports his senior year. He finished off his prep career as a 12-season athlete, earning eight varsity letters. Fiene kicked off his final season in soccer by earning All-Badger North Conference second-team honors as a midfielder after receiving all-league honorable mention status at defender as a junior. He played football as a freshman, but switched to soccer as a sophomore. “Jacob was a big, solid center defender,” former soccer coach Mike Rauls said. “He was really strong on the ball. It was very clear watching him play that he was a monster out there with the ball. He did not get displaced. He was a force in the middle of the field.” Fiene provided a physical presence on the court as well and earned all-conference second-team honors in basketball his senior year. He was named the team’s Most Valuable Player and earned all-league honorable mention as a junior. “I learned to love that kid because of how much he wanted to win,” former basketball coach Levi Massey said of Fiene. “Some people get scared of kids like that, who like to fight and grind because it means so much to them. Sometimes that can be abrasive to a lot coaches, it’s my way or the highway.  “But we learned to work together. Jake was such a poised kid, where he wasn’t early in his career. He just grew to be that kid who could hone and reel his competitiveness in.”  Fiene’s most decorated sport proved to be lacrosse, where he was a four-time recipient of all-conference honors. Fiene earned first-team all-league honors and was named the team’s Most Valuable Player as a senior as an attacker.  He was a second-team all-conference selection as a junior, earned first-team honors as a sophomore and honorable mention recognition as a freshman. “Jacob was one of the most lethal shooters I’ve ever seen,” said coach Dylan Baier, who served as an assistant coach during Fiene’s career. “He had one of best and most pure shots, and hardest shots at the time probably in the state. He was a production machine.”    17. Camden Desroches Cross country, hockey, lacrosse, track and field (Class of 2020) Desroches was a 12-time varsity letter winner and the school’s male student-athlete nominee for the WIAA’s annual Scholar-Athlete program this past year. He was an impact athlete from the moment he stepped on the cross country course his freshman year.  “Cam is the type of distance runner you love to work with,” cross country and track and field coach Andy Sherman said. “He understands what we are trying to do. “He is ultra-competitive and he knows everyone in the race, which helped him know who to run with.” A four-time letter winner, Desroches helped lead the Eagles to back-to-back Badger North Conference cross country titles his junior and senior seasons and runner-up finishes as a sophomore and freshman. He was a two-time all-conference first-team and two-time all-conference second-team selection and was the team’s Co-Rookie of the Year as a freshman. “Cam has achieved great things in his time as a runner, but he has really grown into a leader, which is even more special than his running accomplishments,” Sherman said.  Desroches was a four-time letter winner and four-year starter in hockey as a center. He earned all-conference second-team honors as a senior, when he was second on the team with 35 goals, third in assists (34) and tied for second in points (69). He also recorded all-league second-team honors and was the team’s Co-Most Valuable Player as a junior, when he was second on the team in goals (32), assists (34) and points (66). Desroches earned all-conference honorable mention recognition as a sophomore and freshman and was the team’s ‘Rookie of the Year’ award-winner as a freshman. He finished with 103 goals and 97 assists for 200 points in 100 career games. “Cam just worked so hard in practice and in games,” hockey coach David Lohrei said. “He was so fast and quick. “But the amazing thing about Cam is that as many minutes as he played as hard as he worked, and as many battles as he was in, he took three penalties all year long. He played the game the right way.” Desroches earned a varsity letter as a midfielder on the lacrosse team as a freshman before switching to track and field as a sophomore, where he excelled as a middle distance and distance runner. He ran on the Badger North Conference championship 3,200-meter relay as a junior and was named the team’s Most Valuable Runner. “Cam was ferocious during his races, doing whatever was needed to place as high as possible for our teams,” Sherman said.  “His conference championship 4-by-800 team more than likely would have been able to repeat this year with the strong group of distance runners that we had.”    18. Jerry Kerska Cross country, track and field (Class of 2009) Kerska learned his lessons well under Wisconsin Track and Field Coaches Association Hall of Fame coach Dan Winzenried before heading off to UW-La Crosse where he earned All-American honors and helped the Eagles win an NCAA Division III title in track and field. A two-time Badger North Conference individual champion in cross country, Kerska was a three-time first-team selection and also earned second-team honors as a freshman. Kerska helped lead the Eagles to a runner-up finish in the Badger North Conference meet his freshman year before pacing Sauk Prairie to a string of three straight conference championships. Sauk Prairie qualified for the WIAA Division 1 state meet his junior season, and Kerska was a three-time state qualifier, competing twice as an individual. Winzenried, who coached Kerska in both cross country and on the track, said his protege refused to be outworked in practice or the meets. “I called him ‘the little lawyer,’ ” Winzenried said. “He was very smart and liked to negotiate workouts. He always tried to make them harder than I had them.  I had to calm him down.” At state, Kerska placed 116th as a sophomore, 61st as a junior, when the Eagles finished 14th in Division 1, and topped his career with a third-place finish at the 2008 WIAA Division 1 state meet as an individual his senior year. Kerska’s time of 15 minutes, 43 seconds in his final prep meet still stands as a school record on a 5,000-meter course. He had success on the track for the Eagles, too, finishing ninth at the 2009 WIAA Division 1 state meet in the 800-meter run as a senior after winning a sectional title. Along with his younger brother, Garrett, and Kevin Grunewald and Josh Campbell, Jerry Kerska qualified for the 2008 WIAA Division 1 state track and field meet in the 3,200-meter relay, which finished 13th in 8:07.37. The quartet still holds the school record of 7:56 in the event. “Jerry was a smart runner, kind of like a little pit bull-type of runner,” Winzenried said. “He was tough and kind of an ornery runner. He was a nice kid, but he would go after it.  “He was a bit more cerebral in his approach. He would think, and maybe think too much, but most of his thinking was positive.”    19. James Wixom Football, wrestling (Class of 2010) Wixom was living proof of the compatibility of football and wrestling, excelling at both while earning a combined seven varsity letters. “James was verbally quieter, but was one of our most physical and emotional leaders. He just worked so hard that he brought others along with him,” former football coach Scott Schutt said. “He did whatever we asked. We moved him around a little bit.” Wixom was a three-time All-Badger North Conference honoree at linebacker, including second-team honors as a junior and senior. “Defensively, he was dominant at linebacker,” Schutt said. “On offense, we asked him to play in the line at times, but he was a fullback type. His senior year, we let him run the ball a little bit, but he was basically a pulling guard in the backfield.” In wrestling, Wixom was a four-time state qualifier and a three-time Badger Conference champion.  He capped his career with back-to-back fourth-place finishes at the WIAA Individual State meet at 171 pounds as a junior, when he posted a 38-3 record, and at 171 pounds as a senior (39-4). Wixom also competed at 160 pounds as a freshman (34-10) and sophomore (36-8). “James was a ‘flip the switch’ guy,” former wrestling coach Scott Smith said. “He was tough as nails and gritty on the mat. He was a ferocious competitor. But when we weren’t competing, he was a fun guy to be around.” A two-time Most Valuable Performer for the Eagles, Wixom was a team captain and finished his prep career with a record of 147-25. Smith said Wixom was a technician on the mat. “He had a very good cradle,” Smith said. “His freshman year at sectionals, he pulled out a very dramatic cradle in the final seconds and put the kid on his back for the win to help qualify for state. That was an exciting moment.”   20. Lucas Koenig Football, basketball, baseball (Class of 2001) Koenig paved the way for younger brothers, Taylor and Sam. A six-time letter winner, including three in baseball as a catcher and pitcher, Lucas Koenig later played baseball at Madison College and at NCAA Division I North Dakota.  He currently is a player/manager for the Sauk Prairie Twins Home Talent League team. Koenig played football three of his four years in high school, opting to play fall baseball his junior year before returning to the gridiron as a senior where he played quarterback for the Eagles. “He was a smart kid, who was the ideal athlete that a coach loves to work with,” former football coach Jeff Ochsankehl said. “He was extremely coachable. If you asked him to jump over this wall, he would jump over the wall if he could. “He was competitive and a sound leader. The guys looked up to him. To me he was as close to the ideal athlete that there was. He carried himself with a lot of confidence, a quiet confidence.” He also played basketball all four years of high school, earning varsity letters his final two seasons. A starting forward, he was the team’s third-leading scorer when Sauk Prairie won the Badger Conference title his senior year and also garnered honorable mention all-conference honors . He also was a captain on the Eagles’ basketball and baseball teams his senior year. Baseball, though, was always No. 1 for Koenig. “Lucas had a tremendous passion for the game of baseball,” former coach Bill Dettman said. “He lived, slept and ate baseball. He inspired both of his younger brothers.” A three-time All-Badger Conference selection, Lucas Koenig helped lead Sauk Prairie to the conference baseball title his sophomore year. After earning all-conference honorable mention honors as a junior, Koenig went out with a bang his senior year.  He was a Wisconsin Baseball Coaches Association all-state second-team, All-District first-team and Badger Conference first-team selection.  Koenig capped his final season by tossing a no-hitter against Madison Memorial in a 3-0 victory in a WIAA Division 1 sectional semifinal. The senior right-hander was perfect through five innings and allowed just three baserunners on two walks in the sixth and one in the seventh. The Eagles then lost a 6-5 heartbreaker to La Crosse Logan in the sectional finals. “We weren’t the favorites coming in, but Lucas threw a gem to help us believe we could make it to state,” Dettman called. “That was a great game.”