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They wear BEN-SHULL on their jerseys and won the Six Rivers West girls basketball championship this past season.
They got to the Regional Finals before losing to eventual state D5 champion Barneveld.
They are being picked to win again next season and have a good chance at ending their season on the Resch Center floor in Green Bay...at the state tournament.
Things were looking pretty good for the co-op team that at one time was not convinced playing together would work.
But after the kinks were worked out the girls bonded and would really have it no other way.
Enter the superintendents from the Six Rivers Conference.
Last Tuesday, by secret ballot, the top rung of the conference's education system voted 8-5 to not renew the co-op which is at the end of its second year and must be re-applied for by April 1.
The superintendents have been asked to provide how each one voted but "from advice of counsel" they have declined.
Nathan Russell, who is the head coach of the co-op team is an attorney and he is seeking to contest the decision through legal channels.
Russell had heard rumors that there were feelings the co-op should be dissolved but he wasn't too concerned as no co-op had ever been turned down before.
"I didn't think a whole lot of it because the conference had never not approved a co-op in any capacity, and there were other ones that have had way bigger number disparities than ours could ever have, so I didn't think much of it," admitted Russell.
But, others in the conference thought numbers were too good to justify the schools continuing with their co-op.
Russell says that often projected numbers are almost always on the high end because not every basketball player in eighth grade goes out for basketball in high school and not every player in high school plays all four years.
"Playing in junior high does not indenture you to playing four years of high school basketball. Attrition has been rife in Shullsburg over the years," he stated.
Russell disputes the validity of those numbers, which he noted came from counting the number of girls from both schools from their volleyball rosters - the only female sport the two schools do not co-op in - and carrying them over to the basketball program. Instead, he feels the two schools together will have closer to 23-28 players combined next season.
"To say we'll have 39 kids next year and 49 kids the next year, it's just not true. I'd love that to be the case because both programs could survive on their own," said Russell. "I do believe that there are schools that are presenting numbers that are inaccurate attempting to break us up on that basis when in fact it is competitive in nature."
"Our experience with the co-op has been very successful and it was a positive experience for the girls who were involved with it. I'm disappointed to see that opportunity with that joint venture come to an end at this time," commented Shullsburg superintendent Loras Kruser. "We'll take a wait and see approach, but if the numbers are low I expect to go back to the conference in a year or two to ask that the co-op be reinstated."
Benton superintendent Kyle Luedtke also felt the co-op was working well for the schools, the kids and both communities and is disappointed to see it end. But, as a member of the Six Rivers Conference, he feels his school is obligated to go along with the vote until a time when the numbers favor returning to the co-op.
"As a school, I think we should follow what the conference sets out for us," Luedtke said, noting that he voted to continue the co-op. "The conference has spoken. As a member of the conference, I feel we have to abide by the decision. As enrollments decline here at Benton, we may have to look at co-oping again in the future. But, at this time, we have enough players."
Benton/Shullsburg was set to return four all-conference players and their top five scorers next season if the co-op were to continue. Three of those players will play for Benton and two will play for Shullsburg if the teams are divided.
Every school in the Six Rivers Conference - both West and East - has been in a co-op agreement in a sport at one time or another, and currently 13 of the 14 schools co-op in at least one sport.
Benton co-ops in 10 of the 12 sports they offer at the school, including five of the six girls' sports. Benton and Shullsburg also co-op in baseball, softball and track and field in the spring, but those co-ops could be in jeopardy as well if their numbers remain strong.
Russell has a problem with decisions being made by individuals who are not involved with either school district that affect the kids and the local tax dollars. Dividing the program will prove costly as each district has to purchase new uniforms, find new coaches, cover travel expenses and develop new schedules as part of the break-up.
Russell also pointed out what he feels is a bit of hypocrisy by the conference in their decision when seen in conjuncture with the push of the Six Rivers' schools to get their reducer plan passed by the WIAA.
Their plan would reduce a school's enrollment by 40 percent of its free/reduced lunch count, so a school of 100 students with 20 students on free/reduced lunch would count as only having 92 students using the formula X-(Yx0.4)=Z. This plan is supported by a survey of all Minnesota public schools that shows students in poverty participate in school activities at a rate 40 percent lower than students of non-poverty.
Russell noted Shullsburg has the highest free/reduced lunch count in the Six Rivers at around 50 percent of its enrollment, which would mean they would have more non-participating students than any other school in the league using the Six Rivers' own argument.
The attorney part of Russell personally filed a complaint with Lafayette County district attorney Kate Findley asking her to investigate and prosecute any open meetings law violations stemming from last Tuesday's meeting and throw out the secret vote that was made during the meeting.
He feels the meeting constituted a government meeting because of the schools who were involved and resources they collectively hold, and as such, was subject to open meetings laws. His complaint included four parts: 1- no public notice was given for the meeting, 2- it was not held in a public place, 3- they had walking quorums before the meeting with schools discussing the vote prior to the meeting, and 4- a secret ballot was held for the vote, which is not allowed for such a vote.
"I believe the meeting that was held on Tuesday violated open meetings rules," said Russell, who wanted it known that the lawsuit was not being paid by either school.
April 1 is also the deadline for submitting winter sports co-op applications for next season to the WIAA. A court hearing was set for that morning.