I'm Phil Ne, with Southwestern Wisconsin Sports. The Richland Center High School Wrestling
Hall of Honor selection committee has announced the induction class of 2025. They will be honored
at the Richland Wrestling Invitational Saturday just before the championship matches. This year's
honorees include the first Richland Center Wrestling teams, which were birthed under legendary
Coach Laverne Piper. The team was formulated in the fall of 1958. In addition, four individuals will
be enshrined, including three teammates from the graduating class of the year 2000. And a teammate
who claimed to state title that same spring as a freshman. Matt Maxwell was a co-valvectorian
of his class of 2000, and despite not wrestling during his junior year, compiled a 64 and 11
one-loss record and was a state qualifier as a senior. He is also one of just a handful of hornets
to win a bi-state classic championship during Richland Center's now 30-year involvement in that
tournament. Zach Elliott was a four-year letter winner, producing a record of 93 and 43
and placing twice in the WIAA state tournament. Elliott was fifth at 171 pounds as a junior
and sixth at 189 as a senior, while also reaching the finals at the bi-state his senior season.
Matt Winterberg was a three-time WIAA state tournament qualifier who twice won third place medals
at the state meet at 160 pounds as a junior in 1999 and at 171 pounds as a senior the following
spring. Winterberg won a bi-state classic title as a senior and he is fifth on the old-time wins list
for the wrestling hornets with a career record of 124 and 25. Zach Manny is also being inducted.
He was a state champion as a freshman at 112 with a record of 33 and seven in the year 2000.
Twice more he reached the state finals but fell just short both as a junior and as a senior
and both times to wrestlers who in toppling many would pose their fourth state championships.
Zach Manny was a four-time bi-state classic place winner and his fourth in wins in the hornet
wrestling annals with a record of 128 and 26. Again that new class will be inducted just before
the finals of this Saturday's Richland Invitational at the Richland Center High School fieldhouse.
Among the many teams involved in this Saturday's Invitational, the River Valley Black Hawks,
I asked first year head coach Shane Legal about that tournament.
Yeah we're looking forward to it. You know we're coming up here we got a couple
duels on Thursday and then Richland Center on Saturday. A couple of the teams we have seen
already this year so we're looking to maybe avenge some some washes earlier in the season
but there also are a lot of teams we haven't seen so you know nice close tournament for us
but just another one another opportunity and that's kind of the biggest thing I've been preaching
this year is it's just an opportunity you know and whether it's a win or a loss it's
it's some some place where we can go out have some fun and and try to just put points on the board.
And the girls are going to Badger State this weekend and that's a good tournament for them to be in.
Absolutely yeah um down in Madison I think it's a cool environment that's a one thing that we've
kind of talked to the girls about this week it's it's a cool place to go wrestle and again with
the girls it's just another tournament where they haven't seen some of those teams so they're
going to get a few different opponents um and yeah I hope they hope you go down there and have
some fun. River Valley coach Shane Legal I ask why it's see Richland Center Boys wrestling coach
about the upcoming invite. Same number of teams um and you know that's historically that's a tough
tournament and uh it looks like it's going to be it's going to continue to be a tough tournament.
There's some good teams down there. We'll see some good competition. Um that's always uh
it's always a really good test right before we get into the by state.
Richland Center Boys wrestling coach why it's seep on the schedule tonight. River Valley will be
involved in a quad at point at uh River Valley Boys against Cambridge and uh Weston,
Ithaca and point at tonight. So good matchups there girls wrestling. It is River Valley taking
on point at in dual mean action and there is a wrestling action coming up tomorrow night.
Riverdale will be involved in a triangular on the schedule for basketball tonight. Girls
basketball games include Readsburg at Fort Adkinson Madison West at Wisconsin Heights and
Toma at West Salem. Mostly all boys games in our immediate area coming up tonight. Westby at
Varroqua, Ridge and Valley, Kickaboo at LaFarge, Seneca at DeSoto. It's also Weston involved in a
game at home against North Crawford and Ithaca will host was Zika Stuban. In the SWAL Iowa grant
will be at Southwestern, Cuba City at Boscabel, Phenomore, Darlington and Middle
Point travels to Riverdale and in the Southwest Wisconsin Conference, Plattville at Landcaster,
Dodgeville at River Valley, Prairie to Sheen plays at Richland Center. Horns are coming off a big
win against River Valley last Friday night. Here's coach Brian Pulse. You know it was really
encouraging the uh just the resilience that we showed as a group um you know as as we went through
the game it's especially getting down in that first half by uh by at least a dozen a couple of
times uh we were able to reel them back in but throughout that second half we just never really
could get quite over the top uh and then you know when we were fortunate enough to take that lead
briefly they're late in the second half you know they made a couple of plays and went back in front
and you know the like I said the resiliency that we showed uh to be able to get a couple of real
key turnovers um in within the last two minutes and then pay those off and and execute uh how we
needed to uh down the stretch to to get a really hard fought conference win it's just it was great
to see at this point of the season so we were really happy with with uh with the win on Friday.
You rarely see a five point swing like you had you know with a free throw and then a basket and then
a steal and a basket uh that really put you over the top didn't it? Yeah and that was the just the
the sequence that you know you look back on and obviously that was the the shift of the game
there in the last couple of minutes and credit to you know uh Brady Jaden you know our guards who
created that that pressure throughout the whole game it was something that we talked about that
you know this this pressure is going to eventually you know wear them down wear them down mentally
and physically and and that's that's what happened we were able to create those those two turnovers
right in a row and uh and pay them off and and be able to take that lead and and that was the
difference in the game. Excellent center boys basketball coach Brian Poles his team will be on
the air versus Prairie Dushin from the Richardson Center high school fieldhouse tonight around
715. Bowling score is from the merchants league last night the series high belong to the Phoenix
Center number two a 2915 Gerner Farms 2867 AutoZone 2742 Phoenix Center number two a 1027 Gerner
Farms 1000 and two AutoZone 1000 Traten Shepp had the top series 737 Greg Shepp 691
Traten beaten the old man last night and Chase Keller with a 687 Greg Ballwig had the top game a
267 Traten Shepp had a 258 and a 257 on the way to that 737 last night and Isaac Davidson with a
256 game in action from the merchants bowling league. Well River Falls advanced to their first
ever semifinal appearance by beating Wheaton College 4621 in last Saturday's quarter finals
the Falcons will face John Hopkins coming up on Saturday at noon at River Falls. Here is coach
Walker of River Falls. It took me a little bit those first few years I had to work through
what I wanted that identity to become you know we've clearly found it now on both sides of the
football but the pitch was we're going to have great culture here we're going to play our butts
off we're going to have good people this is a charming place it's a great place to go to school
it's a great place to live it just took longer than anybody wanted to elsewhere in sports on
the state scene future Hall of Fame defensive lineman JJ Watts says the Packers didn't have any
interest in him when he was a free agent five years ago on the Pat McAfee show Watts says he wanted
to play for Green Bay he says he told his agents he didn't care about the money but he liked
something to consider they told him the team wasn't responding and had not made him an offer.
Buckscoach doc river says he'll still be confident his players and plans no big changes
despite 11 losses in the last 14 games Milwaukee hasn't won back to back games in nearly seven weeks
getting knocked out of the mid season tournament gave the team the opportunity to practice on two
consecutive days this week that rarely happens during an NBA season river says his team is playing
hard despite the losses it hosts the Raptors tonight Marquette opened its Big E's conference season
with a 78 69 loss to Georgetown last night and also in women's basketball you can't beat Marquette
89 to 53 on the Thursday schedule that also includes the Wisconsin Badger volleyball team in the
final four they will take on Kentucky this evening I am Phil Ne with an update on sports