AMHERST GIRLS GRAB TWO SEED, AHEAD OF OTHER AREA TEAMS
By Mike Wendlandt
The brackets have been released and the matchups are set. Now we shall see what the CWC-East can do in the WIAA tournament starting in a little over a week in Divisions 3 and 4. Let’s take a look at each team and where they stand heading into the dance.
AMHERST FALCONS (16-6, 11-1) - #2 Seed in Division 3 (BYE)
The Falcons got the best possible scenario for their seeding in an extremely tough Division 3 Section. With Freedom locked into the top seed after their season long dominance it was down to the Falcons, Wrightstown, and Xavier for the 2-4 seeds. Not only did Amherst jump both teams in the computer formula and get to host the final two games of the Regionals as long as they keep winning, they avoid a matchup with Freedom until the Sectional semifinal where they’ll have more time to prep for a potential matchup with the Irish.
BONDUEL BEARS (18-4, 10-1) - #3 Seed in Division 4 (BYE)
The Bears were able to jump over Oconto after demolishing the Blue Devils and handing them their first loss. With a bye on Tuesday they’ll prepare for the winner of Crivitz and Crandon with a potential trip to Mishicot on the horizon and a potential sectional semifinal against top seed St. Mary Catholic. It’s a good draw for the Bears and they’re a dangerous team that is capable of making a deep run.
IOLA-SCANDINAVIA THUNDERBIRDS (13-8, 5-6) - #3 Seed in Division 4 (BYE)
The Thunderbirds can still be a big time spoiler in the conference with a date against Bonduel this week but they also are an interesting team to keep an eye on during the opening week of the tournament as they’ll host either Stratford or Necedah and then a trip to Auburndale to follow. That’ll be an extremely tall task but Joel Biadasz will have his team ready, especially defensively.
SHIOCTON CHIEFS (12-10, 5-6) - #7 Seed in Division 4 (vs #10 Weyauwega-Fremont)
It’ll be a CWC-East rematch between Shiocton and Weyauwega-Fremont on the opening Tuesday night of the tournament. The Chiefs already won both matchups this season by a combined 61 points including a 49-point blowout win on January 28. Mishicot awaits the winner.
WITTENBERG-BIRNAMWOOD CHARGERS (14-8, 5-6) - #5 Seed in Division 4 (vs #12 Montello)
Don’t sleep on the Chargers to make it to the Regional Final in Division 4 as they have a favorable draw with Montello up first and then a trip to Marathon to face a team they already defeated this season. With a scorer like Reese Rogowski they can be a nightmare matchup for most teams but it’ll be a tough task if they reach the Regional Final with a Westfield team that made it to State last year and returns four starters.
MENOMINEE INDIAN EAGLES (9-10, 3-8) - #7 Seed in Division 3 (vs #10 Tomahawk)
The sixth team in the conference to get a home tournament game the Eagles have the offense to take down 5-15 Tomahawk team but then it’ll be a second trip to Amherst to take on the Falcons where they have already lost. The Eagles have a lot of offense and should put up a huge amount of points in their opening game but they’ll need to figure out how to slow down the attack of Amherst’s post presence to have a chance at an upset.
WEYAUWEGA-FREMONT WARHAWKS (6-16, 0-11) - #10 Seed in Division 4 (at #7 Shiocton)
Weyauwega-Fremont has some intriguing young talent led by freshman star Olivia Witkowski but they’ve got a tough road ahead in the tournament. They were defeated twice by Shiocton twice already and with another trip on the horizon it’ll be a tall task to make it past Tuesday.