Sectional Champions! Knights Move On to State Tournament!
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Sue Moen
The New Glarus Knights won the Sectional Championship on Saturday, March 9, 2019, after winning the Sectional Final game against the Belleville Wildcats. The Knights will play their first game in the State Tournament on Thursday, March 14, 2019. See more on pages 10 and 11. Back Row (L-R): JV Coach Brian Siegenthaler, JV2 Coach Gary Beutler, Varsity Volunteer Assistant Rudi Feller, Varsity Volunteer Assistant Ron Roesslein, Garrett James, Patrick Craker, Jared Martinson, Mitch Schadewalt, Mason Martinson, Trevor Gassman, Michael Janssen, Nathan Streiff, Coach Travis Sysko. Front Row (L-R): Zach Feller, Connor Siegenthaler, Darris Schuett, Jaden Kreklow, Kellan Zweifel, Manager Tucker Sysko.
For the third time this season, the New Glarus Knights and Belleville Wildcats met on the basketball court – only this time, a trip to state was at stake. New Glarus has not made it to the state tournament since 1932, and Belleville has never earned the chance to play there. Their fans packed Middleton High School on Saturday, March 9th, to watch their favorite players play in a WIAA Division 4 Sectional Final game. In the two teams' storied history, their games have always been fun to watch; the rivalry second to none. New Glarus winning games against Belleville, Belleville winning over New Glarus – although the Wildcats haven't bested the Knights since the 2013-2014 season. Emotions were high, fans were loud and the play on the court was fast and furious.
New Glarus set the pace in the first half, and the pace was fast. Before the Wildcats could even attempt to score, the Knights stole the ball. More than once. Not only did they steal, they scored. And kept scoring. The Wildcats struggled to catch up, and a few times came within 10 points, but the Knights kept hammering away and by halftime were leading 36-22.
In the second half the Knights outscored the Wildcats 29-18, winning the game and earning their way to state. The final score was New Glarus 65, Belleville 40.
"Hard to put into words what it's like to be going to state," said Coach Travis Sysko. "I'm just so incredibly proud of my guys. The support from the community has been nothing short of amazing. We're looking forward to continuing this journey on Thursday and representing New Glarus."
Jaden Kreklow led the Knights with 20 points, while Connor Siegenthaler scored 11 points and Zach Feller scored 9 points.
For Belleville, Austin Fahey scored 9 points, Jared Schulting scored 6 points and Sawyer Fahey put 4 points on the board.
The Knights were welcomed back to New Glarus by the New Glarus Fire Department, who escorted them through town and out to a pep rally held at the New Glarus High School.
The Knights, who are seeded #4, will play in the Division 4 semi-final game against defending champion Roncalli, who is coached by Joe Garceau. The #1 seeded Roncalli Jets are from Manitowoc, and are undefeated this season. This is the third straight appearance at state for Roncalli, and their eighth overall.
Photo courtesy of Denny Marty
This photo was printed in the 1932 state tournament program (courtesy of the Monroe Bulletin) and Denny Marty shared it with us. Front Row (L-R): Coach Emil Bruni, Russel Stuessy, Morris Marty, Huldrich Kammer, Otto Puempel, Joe Haegele, Manager Tommy Wurgler. Back Row (L-R): Kenneth Hoesly, Heinie Kuessel, Emil Ziltner, Isaac Aldermann, Werner Ziltner, Gilbert Strickler, Kenneth Gmur.
This is the fourth time New Glarus has played in the state tournament, and the first time since 1932. The Knights furthest advance in the tournament was to the quarterfinal when the tournament featured a single class in 1925 and 1932. They also played at the state tournament in 1918. They will play Roncalli on Thursday, March 14th, at 6:35 p.m., at the Kohl Center in Madison. Tickets are $10.00 per session (with two games per session) for all seating and are available at the ticket windows one hour to the start of any session. Online tickets are available for $12.00 and you can either print them at home or pick up at the will-call window. The State Tournament will be televised live on WKOW-TV (Madison), WAOW-TV (Wausau), WXOW-TV (La Crosse), WQOW-TV (Eau Claire), WYOW-TV (Eagle River), WMOW-TV (Crandon), WMLW-TV (Milwaukee), KBJR-MY9 (Duluth/Superior) and WCWF W-14 (Green Bay and the Fox Valley). The Wisconsin Division of Quincy Media, Inc., will produce the coverage. The championships will also be streamed on the statewide network station websites. Also, download the Magic of March app for your source for live streaming video, scores, highlights and more about the WIAA State Boys Basketball Tournament on iOS or Android phones and tablets. In addition, WEKZ will be live streaming the game from their website, http://www.wekz.com, or tune in to 93.7 FM to listen live on the radio.
See more photos from the game in the Photo Gallery at https://www.postmessengerrecorder.com/photos.
