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When Jim Myers switched from the girls program to the boys after 699 wins and 36 years it would seem the possibility of continuous trips to the state tournament may have come to an end.
Not so....nor by a long shot.
All the veteran coach did was install a new system, get the kids to buy in and put together a 19-1 run after a 4-3 start while the kinks were being ironed out. The 19th win was 57-55 over Bangor in a war in the D5 Sectional Final.
While weighing his decision to switch programs and join his junior son, Myers sought advice from the dean of Wisconsin coaches Jerry Petitgoue of Cuba City.
"He told me basketball is basketball, no matter who is playing it," Myers said.
That was part of the advice that Myers weighed in making the switch.
A Myers-coached team will find ways to score while playing hard nosed, in your face defense. He uses his bench effectively, getting contributions from many different contributors. In short, the transition has worked.
Perhaps the biggest winner in the transition has been his son, Matthew Myers.
"He was with me throughout all the girls tournaments," Myers said. "It is special to have us make the state tournament and be able to see him step out on the court."
Starters for the Eagles are Matthew Myers, Kauy Fargo, Lucas Evans Mike Zouski and Bryce Arneson. Myers is the scoring leader with 431 points and an 18.7 average. He is the assist leader with 94.
"He is a great passer and understands the game," says coach Myers.
Matthew shoots 50% from the floor and 85% from the free throw line.
Zouski is perhaps the most athletic player on the team and has scored 264 points, an 11.4 ppg average. and 150 rebounds.
Arneson is the post player and is a force inside. He has 224 points and averages 9 per game. He has also grabbed 133 rebounds.
Lucas Evans is a 6-5 forward who has progressed steadily throughout the season. He has 173 points for a 6.9 ppg average and has the most rebounds with 188.
Rounding out the lineup is sophomore guard Kauy Fargo who is a tough defender and has scored 144 points for a 5.8 ppg average.
One of the top reserves is a 6-2 freshman Malcolm Reed who started when Matthew Myers was out with a shoulder injury. He has scored 130 points and averages 5.2 ppg. He has also accounted for 90 rebounds.
Coach Myers had a taste of what the kids bring to the court when he and another father got the kids together in third and fourth grade. They coached them through 8th grade then turned them over to the high school staff.
"We are back together again," said coach Jim Myers with pride.
The Eagles won the Six Rivers East witha 12-0 record and are 23-4 overall. They open Friday's session of the D5 tournament at 9:05 am when they meet the Catholic Central Hilltoppers.
Barneveld enrollment is 124.
Golden Eagle Roster
No. Name Position Gr. Ht.
1 Matthew Myers G 11 6-0
4 Kauy Fargo G 10 5-11
10 Trey Laube G 11 6-2
12 Lucas Evans F 11 6-4
14 Malcolm Reed G 9 6-2
20 Mike Zouski F 11 6-2
22 Samuel Shatrawka F 11 6-1
24 Drew Archie F 12 6-2
30 Will Clausen G 12 5-10
32 Jacob Slaney F 10 6-2
34 Jonas Ignatius G 10 6-0
40 Jacob Roberts F 10 6-0
42 Bryce Arneson F 12 6-2
Head Coach: Jim Myers
Career Record/Years: 720-142/39 yrs
School Record/Years: 720-142/39 yrs
Catholic Central was 5-8 at the end of January when realizations set in.
"We were running drills but we were not meeting our goals," said coach Kyle Scott. "We decided to stay on a drill until it was done perfectly and when that happened the kids figured out how good they can really be."
As the only D5 school in the conference the Hilltoppers face a battle every season just to get through games in the Metro Classic Conference.
"It is tough game after game," Scott said.
Like most D5 schools the Hilltoppers have their athletes involved in multi-sports. Leading scorer Ben Heiligen also quarterbacks the football team. He averages 22.3 points per game with 553 and is also the rebound leader with 228, an average of 9.1 per game. He is listed as a 6-3 forward.
Frank Koehnke, a 6-1 sophomore, is the second leading scorer with 237 points and a 9.5 average. Rounding out the starting unit are 5-9 junior Aaron Rueber who has 72 assists on the season, 6-0 senior Brandon VandeHei and 6-3 senior forward Andrew Kempken. Key reserves are 6-3 junior Cole Pankau and 6-5 junior Hayden Kempken.
"Our philosophy has been to go 1-0 in every practice and game," Scott said.
The Hilltoppers finished the season 18-9 and were second in the Metro Conference at 10-6.
Scott is 25-24 in two seasons at Catholic Central.
Enrollment is 181.
Hilltoppers Roster
No. Name Position Gr. Ht.
1 Aaron Rueber G 11 5-9
2 Brandon VandeHei G 12 6-0
3 Austin Neuhaus G/F 11 6-2
4 Ben Heiligenthal F 12 6-3
5 Tyler Rieck F 10 5-11
10 John Pum G 10 5-10
11 Andrew Kempken F 12 6-3
12 Frank Koehnke G/F 10 6-1
13 Cole Pankau F 11 6-3
15 Chad Zirbel F 10 6-0
22 Sam McKinney F 11 6-3
30 Hayden Kempken F 11 6-5
Head Coach: Kyle Scott (Edgewood College, 2007)
Career Record/Years: 25-24/2 yrs
School Record/Years: 25-24/2 yrs
The McDonnell Central Macks finished 20-2 for the regular season and tied for first in the Western Cloverbelt Conference with Eau Claire Regis as both finished 13-1.
Coach Archie Sherbinow said the two losses were learning experiences for the Macks.
"The first one was in front of a huge crowd and I think we got caught up in it," Sherbinow said. "We learned not to make it bigger than it is and we knew we would be in front of big crowds again."
"The second we learned we had to work on making better decisions so that became a focus of practice," he said. That loss was in triple overtime to Marathon.
The Macks beat Prairie du Chien, a D3 state tournament participant, 48-44 in a non-conference game early in the season.
The Macks are the biggest team in D5 with 6-7 junior Alex Ohde leading them in scoring (17.6, 440 points) and rebounding (9.9 per game, 248). Their line up includes three other double figure scorers in 6-1 senior Ben Retzlaff (16 ppg), 6-6 junior Grayson Knowlton (12.7) and 6-5 sophomore Hayden Baughman (11.2). Knowlton and Baughman average seven and six rebounds per game.
Ohde was named first team Western Cloverbelt Conference and Retzlaff is called one of the best shooters Sherbinow has coached.
Enrollment is 166.
Macks Roster
No. Name Position Gr. Ht.
1 Grayson Knowlton F 11 6-6
3 Ben Retzlaff G 12 6-1
4 Alex Ohde F 11 6-7
5 Henry Erickson G 12 6-2
11 Evan Smith G 12 5-10
12 Jake Wiensch G 12 5-11
13 Wes Benish G 11 5-10
14 Ryan Sorensen F 11 5-10
20 Cory Hoglund G 9 5-11
21 Hayden Baughman F 10 6-5
23 Nate Hoglund G 11 6-0
24 Austin Amelse G 11 5-11
32 Isaac Bohaty G 10 5-11
33 Charlie Bleskachek F 9 6-1
34 Joey Huffcut G 10 6-0
42 Jordan Moulton F 11 6-1
Head Coach: Archie Sherbinow (UW-La Crosse, 1995)
Career Record/Years: 193-122/13 yrs
School Record/Years: 193-122/13 yrs
The Green Bay NEW Lutheran Blazers are no stranger to the WIAA state tournament as they make their fourth straight appearance in D5.
Coach Mark Meerstein is 315-280 in 25 years with the Blazers.
It was a tough regular season for the Blazers who finished sixth in the Packerland with a 5-7 record and were 8-14 overall. They won their last five games, all in post season tourney play.
It was like a flip was switched that turned things around.
"When we beat Lena the seniors got the team together and said it was time to take ownership in the team," Meerstein said. "They said it was time to go out and win and they did. They decided it was their team."
Meerstein said part of the improvement was because of the strong schedule the Blazers play.
"I belive in scheduling up," the coach said. "We might take our lumps but we see different styles and talent. It gets us ready for the post season run."
Gabe Lloyd, a 6-5 senior, is 45 pounds heavier than last season as he prepares to walk onto the UW football team with preferred status as a tight end. He averages 15 points per game with 345 on the season. He also has 199 rebounds for an average of almost nine.
"He does the job inside and out," Meerstein said.
Another member of the starting unit is 6-2 freshman Samuel Meerstein.
He is the coach's son and served as waterboy for several seasons until he reached high school.
"He has gone from waterboy to being able to step out on the court as a player," the coach said.
Samuel averages 13.9 points per game.
Nathaniel Schaeffer is a third player with a double figure average. He has scored 269 points to average 11.2
Enrollment for the Blazers is 119.
Blazers Roster
No. Name Position Gr. Ht.
3 Nathaniel Schaefer G 12 5-11
4 Tanner Natzke G 12 5-11
11 Luke Schaeffer G 12 5-10
13 David Cantwell G 11 5-7
15 Samuel Meerstein G 9 6-2
20 James Lana G 12 5-10
22 Will Laatsch F 11 6-0
23 Gabe Lloyd F 12 6-5
25 Brock Reisler G 11 5-10
32 Mitchell Lynch F 11 6-0
35 Matthew Sabel G 11 6-1
42 Jed McClellan F 12 6-3
43 Christian Claflin F 11 6-0
54 Jeremy Siudzinski F 11 5-11
55 Josh Waldschmidt F 11 5-10
Head Coach: Mark Meerstein
UW-Green Bay, 1988 & Concordia, 1991)
Career Record/Years: 315-280/25 yrs
Following are the WIAA Division 5 capsules:
ABOUT THE DIVISION 5 FIELD: Green Bay N.E.W. Lutheran makes its fourth straight appearance in the State Tournament and its sixth overall. The Blazers have finished as the State runner-up three times. They had back-to-back second-place finishes in 2013-14 and another in Division 4 in 2010. This season, they finished sixth in the Packerland Conference and beat Almond-Bancroft 59-37 in the D.C. Everest Sectional final to continue the quest for their first State title. Catholic Central defeated Hustisford 48-42 in the final of the Watertown Sectional final to earn its third trip to the State Tournament and its first since 2006. The Hilltoppers won Division 4 championships in each of their two previous State appearances in 2001 and 2006. They finished runner-up in the Metro Classic Conference this season behind Division 4 qualifier Dominican. As a former member of WISAA, the Hilltoppers won a Class B championship in 1984 and finished runner-up in 1976. McDonell Central will appear at State for the first time since their initial appearance in 2012 that resulted in a loss in the semifinals. The Macks' 73-61 win over Washburn in the Spooner Sectional earned them their second trip to Madison. They tied with Regis for the championship in the Western Division of the Cloverbelt Conference this season. Barneveld will be making its first appearance in the State Tournament following its 57-55 win over Bangor in the La Crosse Logan Sectional final. The Golden Eagles were the champions in the East Division of the Six Rivers Conference this year.
STATE TOURNEY TIMES
Thursday, March 17
Division 3 Session - 1:35 p.m.
Prairie du Chien (24-2) vs. Waupun (25-1)
Gale-Ettrick-Trempealeau (25-0) vs. Xavier (23-3)*
Division 4 Session - 6:35 p.m.
Aquinas (15-11) vs. Dominican (25-1)
Cameron (25-0) vs. Amherst (25-1)*
Friday, March 18
Division 5 Session - 9:05 a.m.
Barneveld (23-4) vs. Catholic Central (18-9)
McDonell Central (25-2) vs. Green Bay N.E.W. Lutheran (13-14)*
Division 2 Session - 1:35 p.m.
Waunakee (24-2) vs. Whitnall (20-6)
La Crosse Central (22-4) vs. Kaukauna (24-2)*
Division 1 Session - 6:35 p.m.
Muskego (22-4) vs. Marquette (23-3)*
Stevens Point (26-0) vs. Sheboygan North (24-2)*
Saturday, March 19
11:05 p.m.
Div. 5 Championship Game
Div. 4 Championship Game*
Div. 3 Championship Game*
6:35 p.m.
Div. 2 Championship Game
Div. 1 Championship Game*