Steve’s Cheers and Jeers

The fall season for North Shore area prep teams began with October-like temperatures but a summer-like sense of optimism and hope as most sports went into full swing.

Here are some selected highlights that we weren't able to fit into this week's edition of the North Shore NOW. Look for similar updates every week on this site.

---Nicolet girls cross country coach Mike McKenna has long lamented the lack of competitiveness that his last place North Shore Conference Knights have shown in recent years.

Signs of life, created by freshman Lauren Cunningham's fifth place finish in the frosh/soph race at the Menomonee Falls Rotary Park Challenge on Aug. 27, have reinvigorated McKenna as four other Knights, Christie Cunningham (12th), Allison Maling (19th), Grace Dykstra (24th) and Kristen Maling (27th) were all in the top 30 in the 122-runner race.

"There's a real competitive atmosphere out there," he said. "One that we (the coaches) don't have to manufacture."

---The 2008 NSC runner-up Nicolet boys team looks like it might be able to shake off some high-level graduation losses as the Knights put four runners between 17:47 and 18:59 in the junior/senior race at Falls and got a major surprise when sophomore Josh Greenberg took second in the frosh/soph race in a team best of 17:15.

---The Whitefish Bay/Shorewood girls golf team took early control of the North Shore Conference race when it won the league mini-meet at Brown Deer on Monday as Keeley Wallis shot a nine-hole total of 41 for meet medalist honors.

Last week, the Blue Dukes, who have already won Mukwonago Invitational this season, lost out on a tiebreaker for the championship in the 20-plus school Waukesha County Scramble at Ironwood. Bay/Shorewood had a collective score of 60, the same as eventual winner Brookfield Central, Brookfield East and Arrowhead. A note of concern, Nicolet, home of recently graduated two-time state individual champ Tory Bauman, has been fielding an incomplete team so far this season. Let's hope the Knights can elicit a little more interest as school gets into full swing this week.

---Enthusiasm remains high with the Brown Deer/University School co-op girls swim team even though numbers are down (25 total) this fall.

Coaches Bob Van Lieshout and John Douglass will rely on three strong seniors Caroline Roos, Kim Surfus and Nicole Hornslein to lead the way, while getting help from juniors Dani Goss, Kim Zwicke, and Caroline Bridges as well as from sophomores Kevlyn Holmes and Kristin Gosse.

Van Lieshout said the team's first-ever WildFalconCat Invitational on Aug. 28 was a huge success as the Falcons were fourth of six with North Shore power Whitefish Bay winning (see North Shore NOW for Bay details).

Roos was second in the 200 freestyle and third in the 100 butterfly while Bridges was third in the 50 free and fourth in the 100 free. The Falcons two freestyle relays were both second as Bridges, Roos, Goss and Hornslein were clocked in 1:47.6 in the 200 free and the crew of Bridges, Roos, Goss and Surfus charted a 3:58.5 in the 400. Both relays were well ahead of times set at this point last year.

The Falcons will drop down into state division 2 competition again this season after a successful one-year trip into Division I. Van Lieshout feels this will be a good season, but can't wait for this year's talented eighth graders to arrive as freshmen next fall.

---Meanwhile, down the road in Glendale, Nicolet swim coach Dwight Davis is facing a new reality in terms of numbers. They are still solid enough at 44 athletes, but are off the usual 50 to 60.

That's because the school is getting a little smaller and the area swim clubs are not as well-organized in the Glendale/Bayside/Fox Point area as they used to be, he said. He's going to work other channels to try and keep the talent pool flowing.

National youth diving champion Calli Head will join senior Leah Fischer to give the Knights strength off the one-meter board while senior twins Nicole and Yvonne Hangsterfer and junior Taylor Winter will provide high-caliber talent in the pool.

---On the volleyball front, everyone knows about the talent that returning North Shore Conference champion Nicolet has (see North Shore NOW for details), but the Knights will not have a walk in the park to another league title.

Germantown won the league tourney last season and has nine returnees. The Warhawks won the Cedarburg Invitational last week to get their season underway, and Homestead, under second-year coach Sarah Wasmer, will make some serious noises of its own right.

The Highlanders, who lost a thrilling WIAA sectional semifinal to state qualifier Watertown last season, will build around four seniors including powerhouse outside hitter Erica Reetz, whom Nicolet coach Dann Jacobson calls "A major talent, one of the top players in the state".

Other seniors for Homestead include libero Andrea Voss, middle hitter Lauren Kellaher and setter Natalie Sperling. Sophomore Claire Raddatz is a sophomore outside hitter.

"We are motivated to try and win conference after taking second last year," Wasmer said.

The Highlanders were an impressive seventh in the powerhouse Milwaukee Lutheran Joust last weekend. Among their match victories were wins over 11-time state champ Waupun and seven-time Greater Metro Conference champ Menomonee Falls.

---A dark horse in that volleyball race will be Whitefish Bay, which finished third in its season-opening West Allis Central Invite on Aug. 29.

Four seniors and a junior will lead the Dukes. Heading up the list is outside hitter/setter Maggie Rice ("Love the way she plays the game," said Jacobson. "...she brings some serious power"), along with libero Meredith Ludwig, defensive specialist Hillary Stein and middle blocker Jessie Taylor. Junior outside hitter/seter Frankie Carroll is also a major threat.

The Blue Dukes are coached by Beth Haberli, who switched over from Bay's boys team last season after an earlier stint with the girls.

"We're going to play about nine people consistently," she said, "so we'll have some depth. ..The conference is tougher than it used to be but the girls have been responding well."

---It had to be a sense of "deja-vu all over again" for the Homestead boys soccer team on Aug. 29, as the Highlanders dropped a 1-0 decision to defending state champion Marquette in the semifinals of the Gusho Tournament.

The game bore an eerie resemblance to the Highlanders state semifinal loss last fall to the Hilltoppers by the very same score. Chris Browne kept Homestead in the game with four saves as Marquette outshot Homestead by an 18-2 count.

Homestead then ran out of gas in the consolation contest, falling to host East 5-0.

---Patience was a virtue for the Whitefish Bay football team last Friday night, but it didn't pay off in victory, as the Blue Dukes lost a storm-delayed opener to Waukesha West, 14-7.

"We didn't get home until after midnight," said Blue Duke Coach Jim Tietjen, "because we had an hour and 15 minute delay at one point. The kids tried to stay loose in the cafeteria and we had some opportunities to win it, but we just had some dropped passes at inopportune times."

Charles Congdon provided the gamewinner for the Wolverines on an eight-yard run in the fourth quarter. Brian Kroll had tied the score for Bay on a seven-yard run in the second quarter. He also had an interception. Tietjen thought that junior quarterback Cal Ehrke looked good in his first offical start, doing so well that he earned a co-captain's slot.

Tietjen also praised senior linebacker Tim Haberli, who filled in for Blue Duke mainstay Victor Gottlieb, who was out with a knee injury. Tietjen noted that Gottlieb thinks he can return to action reasonably soon.

Tietjen said that all of the mistakes that were made are correctable. Bay will host Slinger at 7 p.m. Friday.

---Patience mixed with optimism was the tone of the evening when the Nicolet football team opened its season with a 40-0 loss to defending Woodland champ Pewaukee. It was the third straight loss in as many seasons for the Knights to the Pirates.

New Nicolet coach Everett Jenkins tried to accentuate the positive.

---Brown Deer's boys soccer team (2-3 overall) has played some very competitive ball early this season.

The Falcons dropped their Woodland Conference 1-0 to Whitnall Monday night, in what Coach Joe Shokatz called "a very physical game." Shokatz said that the Falcons had many chances but could not convert as Joey Mattefs made 11 saves in goal and junior Rob Davis was praised for his defensive work.

Brown Deer also fell to state division 2 power Grafton 3-0, last week, as in a critical sequence, the game turned when the Falcons hit the post with one shot and then shortly thereafter the Blackhawks did the very same thing, only they were able to collect the rebound and score.

The high point for the week was a 4-0 win over Greendale Marttin Luther on Aug. 26, when David Radtke had two goals and Kaj Edstrom and Rafath Fanou-Agossou one each.

Brown Deer will host its own Cup Tournament this weekend, playing Carmen High School and then taking on the winner of Milwaukee Lutheran and Elkhorn.

With state football powers D.C. Everest and Homestead set to do battle in a rich, fattening desert of a season opener Friday at 7 p.m. in Mequon, I thought a little history lesson might be in order to give the enticing tilt a little context.

Early in November 2003, I was on deadline for the Mequon/Thiensville Courant, wanting to dress up my preview story for the intriguing WIAA Division 1 state semifinal football game between the then unbeaten Everest and Homestead squads.

I made a call into the northwoods of Wisconsin and couldn't believe my luck when legendary Evergreens coach Wayne Steffenhagen answered his own phone and was ready and willing to chat football, history and anything else on his mind. "Great," I thought. "This'll make for a terrific preview!"

And with his genial manner and platitudes and high praise for the high-scoring Highlanders (41 points a game going into the contest), Steffenhagen had me hooked like a lazy trout in the summer sun and reeled me in with a faulty, undeserved sense of security about what was going to happen in the contest.

You see, I had already made plans to go to the Germantown-DeForest Division 2 semifinal in Watertown that same day with the crazed, wonderful (and sadly masochistic, given how much work that would have involved) thought that both my teams would win their semifinals and I would have two tickets punched to the championship contests the following week in Camp Randall.

For you see, Germantown and Homestead had played one of those truly, great memorable games just a month earlier. It decided the North Shore Conference championship, was won on virtually the last play on a pass from Highlander quarterback Derek Watson to end David Harkensee and was clearly the best match-up in a long series of great contests between these two area titans.

"Games like these are the reasons you play football," Highlander coach Dave Keel said at the time. With that baggage in tow,I had a greedy, wonderful thought of them both winning state titles, creating opportunities for a series of rich, exciting stories and a hope of an amazing "once in a lifetime" reporting coup that I could recall again and again as I got old and boring.

Only Steffenhagen and the Evergreens popped my bubble like a five-year old's cheap balloon. The bill of goods that he sold me about how difficult the game with Homestead would be in that interview was about five times bigger than the Golden Gate Bridge and worth about a billionth of the price of that particular landmark.

"Without a question, they're the finest team in the state that we'll see," he said in the inhterview. "You look at their ability to score, to play defense. They're a real machine. I'm highly impressed."

As I was dumbfounded, as I heard Germantown fans on cell phones shout out from the stands at the DeForest game, that it was quickly 7-0 Everest, then 14-0, then 21-0. My jaw dropped and I said 'What the heck is going on?!?'" The final would be 35-7 as all the humbled Highlanders would get is a fourth quarter consolation TD.

My fine co-worker Steve Mathe, who covered the game for me, came down from Appleton (where the game was played) with tales of Everest's brilliance and Homestead's unfortunate luck to play its worst game of the season at the wrong time.

"It hurts a lot," Keel said then, as he was looking to get Homestead back to the finals for the first time since 1999. "..Our kids did not perform and we did not do a good job coaching." Five turnovers verified his point. It was the third year in a row that the Highlanders had been stymied in the state semifinal round.

To Steffenhagen's credit, I don't think the state coaches Hall of Fame selection was truly trying to pull a fast one on me or Homestead in the preview interview ("Homestead probably made some uncharacteristic mistakes," he said afterward. "We're not that much better than them.'). He had been in the coaching game long enough at the time to know that there are good days and then there are days when you burn the film.

For Keel and the Highlanders, this was clearly one of the latter.

And the rout was not a fluke for Everest, as Mathe and I were finishing up the post-game happiness of Germantown's division 2 title win over Menomonie the following week, we repaired to the Camp Randall pressbox and got a birds'-eye view of the Evergreens demolition of a truly overmatched Arrowhead team in the Division I final. The formula for Everest was the same as it was for the Homestead game: Hit them hard, hit them fast and never give them a chance to breath.

It would be Everest and Steffenhagen's fifth state championship and their most recent trip to the finals to date. In the intervening time, Stevens Point has ascended to the top of the Wisconsin Valley Conference's ranks with three straight berths in the state semifinals (but with no chance to walk on the Camp Randall carpet just yet).

Everest did win the Valley last season and finished 9-1 overall, but it lost in the second round of the playoffs to Point. Point eventually lost to Arrowhead in the semifinals and then the Highlanders outlasted the Warhawks in the finals for their second state title in three seasons.

Which brings us to Friday's festivities as two defending conference champions with eight state titles between them (the Highlanders have three) prepare to do battle.

Homestead, which has had to make arrangements with Michigan schools in recent years for its nonconference fare (the Highlanders have been untouchable in such games for a decade making them an unpalatable choice for early season competition to most opposing coaches), has struck a home-and-home arrangement with not only Everest, but 2005 state finalist and fellow Valley member Wisconsin Rapids, which the Highlanders will visit Sept. 4.

"It's part of our secret plan to join the conference," laughed Keel.

I ran out of time on deadline before I could try and reach Steffenhagen for a preview of this year's game, but it's probably for the best. I'm older and even slower than I was back then and Steffenhagen, with 30-plus years on the job, is probably no less adept at pulling the wool over gullible reporters' eyes than he was in our original interview.

Still, I'll probably cross the sideline after the game, no matter the outcome, and hopefully share a laugh with him about the lesson he taught me concerning humility and about getting one's hopes up too high that fine November afternoon six years ago.

I just hope he doesn't bring his fishing tackle.

Germantown held up its end, claiming a gritty 7-3 decision over DeForest and eventually beating powerhouse Menomonie for the state title 

The baseball wasn't so good this summer for former Menomonee Falls three-sport star Doug Dekoning while competing in the Hamptons Collegiate Baseball League in Long Island, New York, but that didn't dampen his attitude one bit, as the UW-Milwaukee Horizon League All-Conference outfielder and all-around nice person was still grateful for the chance to expand his boundaries.

He displayed his class and dignity on a couple of fronts this summer, which wasn't easy to do while he was hitting a career-worst .235 for the Riverhead Tomcats (he never turned in an average below .448 in high school while earning three NOW All-Suburban selections including Player of the Year honors in 2007).

First and foremost, he wanted his hosts to know that he appreciated all of their hospitality.

"I lived with a very nice family and they had two younger sons who I got along well with," he said. "Though I wasn't there a lot (the team played almost everyday), I always felt welcome. When we had a chance, we had dinner by their pool."

He had a reason to feel right at home in Riverhead. The village as a population of 27,680 and was built in the 1930s as a Depression-era public works project and its post office, which dates back to that time, is on the National Registry of Historic Places.

"It was very laid back, a lot like the (Menomonee) Falls," he said, especially in comparison to New York City itself, which he had one chance to get to and which he laughingly referred to as "absolute chaos" (having walked through downtown Mahattan a few times myself, I fully understand his joint sense of dismay and wonder).

But the chaos he felt about New York City paled in comparison to his frustration with his play. He tried a new batting stance but still struck out too often. And while going for a diving catch in rightfield one game, he sprained his right shoulder, limiting his playing time. "I've still got a little pain," he said, "but it's basically OK. Just any quick movements hurt a little bit. I tell you, it was like adding insult to injury."

However, in true Dekoning fashion, he refused to use the injury as an excuse.

"Basically, I was swinging at good pitches and just not hitting them," he said. "I have to bridge that gap. ..I've never really had to struggle before like this. It was a great test of my composure."

He did have a couple of pretty good moments though, including a few nice catches, as well as a Crash Davis/Babe Ruth "call your shot" bit that every player who's ever picked up a bat wishes they could follow through on.

"I was on-deck once and told a buddy that I would hit a home run in my next at bat and I did," he said. "It was pretty funny, even though we still lost the game."

Dekoning said he couldn't wait to get home by the end of the season, and once he got there, he got a pleasent surprise as he was named to the NOW Newspapers 20th Anniversary baseball team.

This led to another moment of Dekoning-style class and dignity. 

As he is wont to do, the communications major sent out a mass e-mail announcing the honor and essentially thanking all of those people who have ever supported his athletic endeavors from the first time he swung at a t-ball pitch, all the way up to now.

And with the way it was written, you got the feeling that it wasn't the first such e-mail that Dekoning has sent out.

"Everytime I receive an award of this nature or magnitude I think of you all and all your hard work you put into me and my development as a ballplayer and a person," he wrote. "I am thankful to all of you. ...None of you are forgotten. This award is as much yours as it is mine, and for all you have done, I take this moment to say thank you!!"

One gets the feeling as he continues his road towards becoming a teacher and a better ballplayer at UW-Milwaukee, that this won't be the last such e-mail that Dekoning sends out.

For Wisconsin summer baseball devotees' it is as the saying goes: "Past is now prologue".

For after an intensely competitive 2009 WIAA state tournament series capped off by Arrowhead's wild win over 2008 champ Marquette in the finals, a quick look into the immediate future foresees an equally wild ride in 2010.

Because with so many good teams returning so many fine players next season, the WIAA should forestall any plans to change the system. The summer program finished with 67 teams this year (relatively stable this season after years of decline) and discussions have been ongoing with the coaches association and the WIAA about combining it with the dominant spring season for years.

The intensity of this year's play in the summer tournament and the talent returning next year and even the year after that should give pause to any bureaucratic tinkering just yet, because the potential for these next few seasons is just too exciting to let whither under a cold and rainy spring sky.

Let me show you just the tip of the iceberg of hard hitters and harder throwers who are coming back to heat things up next summer.

The defending champion Warhawks, fresh off their 34-5 championship season, will get hit hard by graduation, but will still return Wisconsin Baseball Coaches Association first-team all-staters infielder Brian Crook (.489 BA) and pitcher Jordan Paszak (11-1, 1.86 ERA). Their fifth-best hitter, outfielder Connor Harmann (.386) will be back to give Arrowhead some strength up the middle. Key losses will include catcher Karl Sprung, who had game-winning hits in both the state finals and in an epic 10-inning sectional semifinal win over Menomonee Falls.

And don't forget the impact of 30-plus year coach Tim O'Driscoll, he of the 700-plus career wins and two state titles. His savvy no doubt had a hand in the Warhawks coming out on top in this year's state event, especially considering that four of Arrowhead's six wins in the tournament were of the extremely harrowing variety.

Of the teams that qualified for the state tournament in 2009, there will be talent galore waiting for a chance to usurp the Warhawks. And a quick glance in the rearview mirror by O'Driscoll will reveal that Marquette, the team of the mediocre 19-20 record going into the finals in Stevens Point, will be a major headache again next summer.

The Hilltoppers stumbled in Greater Metro Conference play this season, finishing with a regular season mark of just 16-20 in a huge rebuilding campaign for veteran coach Jim Wilkinson. But they found their footing in the tournament series and a potential superstar in sophomore utility player Nolan Peterson, who was seven-for-seven in the semifinals and finals combined at state including two home runs and six RBI.

Marquette had only five seniors this season and will also return key state players third baseman Ryan McShane, second baseman Joe Cannon and pitcher Collin Weyer (7-3, 1.63 ERA).

State semifinalist Franklin (25-14), led by another 700-plus win coach in Jim Hughes, started up to six sophomores this season. Two of those are hard-hitting outfielders including NOW All-Suburban outfielder Jay Direnzo (.400 BA, 35 RBI) and Lance Baretz (.407 BA, 23 RBI). The Sabers will also return their top two pitchers in junior Brandon Wiedenfeld (6-2, 2.47 ERA) and sophomore Ian Malmstadt (4-1. 2.87 ERA).

Muskego (24-10) was another state semifinalist, was also co-champ in the Greater Metro Conference South Division and had only four seniors on its roster. Sophomore NOW All-Suburban pitcher Cole Borek (11-1. 1.97 ERA) will lead the Warriors into battle next season as will junior catcher Nick McCormack (.368, 23 RBI) and sophomore outfielder/pitcher Adam Schulz (.364)

Also looming not so far in the distance is 2007 champ West Bend West, who survived a "rebuilding" season with a fine 26-6 record, that included a tough loss to Arrowhead in the quarterfinals. The Spartans, who were runners-up to the junior-dominated Nicolet squad (28-6) in the North Shore, had just two seniors, but one of them was WBCA State Player of the Year Ryan Schilter (.514, 46 RBI, 4-0, 1.64 ERA).

Junior outfielder/pitcher Eric DuCharme (.430, 37 RBI) and sophomore pitcher/infielder Shane Hayes (.427, 28 RBI) will lead the way for the Spartans, who if they want to succeed next season, will first have to get by that aforementioned Nicolet bunch in the North Shore. The Knights tatooed West in a pair of games this season by a combined score of 30-3.

Those Knights, paced by NOW All-Suburban Coach of the Year Dick Sykes, who will pass the 500-career win mark next season, will be led by returning NOW All-Suburban selections outfielder Brian Huntsinger (also first-team all-state WBCA), pitcher/catcher Sam Kohnke (second-team all-state) and infielder Rob Mayer.

Sykes, who like Hughes and O'Driscoll, is a WBCA Hall of Famer, gets a lot of respect from his players and that'll count for a lot when the Knights try to go even further next summer.

"He knows a lot of baseball, so you really have to listen to him and be aware of what he expects in certain situations," Mayer said. "You mess up, he lets you know about it but then he moves past it quickly and praises you when you do something right."

West Salem (28-2) put up gaudy numbers out west, but was overmatched by Marquette in the state quarterfinals. That still didn't prevent sophomore second-team all-state catcher Tony Schultz from putting up some truly eye-popping numbers including a .632 batting average (43 of 68) and 34 RBI.

Other area teams that didn't make state but which will be factors next season, include Woodland Conference champ New Berlin West, which had 10 sophomores on its roster and Menomonee Falls, which won 29 games despite heavy graduation losses in the last two seasons. The Indians scared the heck out of Arrowhead in the sectionals and will return 10 juniors. Veteran coach Pat Hansen will also have the luxury of surveying the products of a stunningly talented freshmen bunch that went 24-0 this season.

So here's to the summer of 2010, with its American Legion ball up north and its tough as nails WIAA-sponsored brand based largely in the Milwaukee area. They can co-exist just fine, because there's just that much talent to go around.

Retired Hall of Fame coach Dick Huxtable certainly thinks so.

"Summer ball is better than spring," said Huxtable, who coached in both seasons. "Summer ball doesn't affect school as much and the weather is no comparison. You don't have competition for facilities and the better kids are playing in spring (non-school) leagues before you get them, so they come in ready to go."

To Homestead baseball coach Ernie Millard, Franklin's Jim Hughes is the "silver-haired fox", a talented, genial and driven individual who has had the Sabers' among the state's elite for many years now.

His 700-plus wins are testament to his success, his longeviety and maybe to a sturdy set of combs as Hughes appears still to have every hair on his head that he was born with.

He has won numerous conference titles, sent countless players onto college, earned seven trips to the state tournament and in this, the 20th anniversary of the NOW Newspapers All-Suburban team, his Sabers still have the most all-time selections (30, three better than Nicolet).

But one thing he doesn't have is a state title. The closest he got was the rain-drenched 2000 event, where his squad had to play two heartbreaking qualifying games earlier in the day, only to lose to the Brookfield Central juggernaut in the final that same night at the end of a very long but very compressed  tournament. Only Central got its first round game in on the first day in that soggy state event.

However, if Hughes is feeling any pressure heading into his Wednesday quarterfinal at Bukolt Park in Stevens Point against Homestead, he's not showing it. Veteran NOW reporter Dave Cotey, who won a state title in 1996 as a player with South Milwaukee with Hughes long-time friend John Galewski at the helm, said Hughes is loose and relaxed, as the young Sabers (24-13) seem to be playing under the watch of a diligent and hard-working guardian angel.

They won all three of their qualifying tournament games by one run, including a 5-4 decision over Greater Metro Conference South Division champ and rival Oak Creek in the sectional final.

Franklin has eight sophomores on the roster and up to six start at anyone time. Outfielders Jay Direnzo (.400 BA, 44 hits and 35 RBI) and Lance Baretz (.407, 41 runs and 23 stolen bases), lead that group of 10th graders and the Sabers. Junior Brandon Wiedenfeld (6-2, 2.47 ERA) tops the pitching staff.

Even Millard, who Highlanders (21-15) wrote their own "Cinderella" story in upsetting favorites Nicolet and Whitefish Bay to advance, is happy as a clam to have both Hughes and fellow member of the 700-win fraternity Tim O'Driscoll of Arrowhead (31-5) at the annual state party.

"Those are two pretty good resumes', don't you think?" Millard said. "The two winningest coaches in summer baseball."

But like I said earlier, Homestead has its own good backstory, having lost 10 of 11 at one point during a rough closing stretch before rallying behind six seniors, including three (Casey Barnes, Brady Bingham and Matt Lamers) who were on the 2007 Homestead state tournament team. Pitcher infielders Bingham (.402, 49 hits and 26 RBI) and Barnes (.343, 7-3 record, 1.83 ERA) and infielder Matt Lamers (.364, 36 RBI) said that confidence never waned during the wretched late-season run.

"I think we had a little bit of it (confidence) still lurking around heading into the tournament," chuckled Lamers after the 8-4 win over Bay in the sectional final.

And when asked if the state tournament berth is adequate compensation for the miserable streak, Barnes said: "I'll take it everytime."

The Highlanders are making their eighth trip to state and are trying to win their fourth state title including their second under Millard (1994).

O'Driscoll, the veteran scorekeeper for the Brewers, is taking Arrowhead on its sixth trip to state. He won his only title in 1979 and his senior-laden team will enter the tourney with the second-best team batting average (.349). Junior first baseman Brian Crook leads the offense (.489, 42 runs, 34 RBI and 29 stolen bases) while senior catcher Karl Sprung (.421, 35 hits, 33 RBI) has the best sense of the moment. He went five for five in the thrilling 10-inning 4-3 sectional semifinal win over Menomonee Falls, including hitting the first pitch of the 10th inning out of the yard for the game-winning homer.

Seniors Andrew Bauer (6-0, 0.81) and Justin Mortensen (6-0, 1.83) and junior Jordan Paszek (11-1. 1.86) lead the pitching staff.

The Warhawks will take on 2007 champ West Bend West (26-5) in arguably the most compelling quarterfinal. The Spartans (just two seniors) are another young team that finished second to Nicolet in the North Shore. Senior outfielder/pitcher/seige gun Ryan Schilter (.514, 41 runs, 54 hits, 46 RBI, 4-0 record on the mound) is virtually the only holdover left from that title team that is making its 10th state trip.

The most curious qualifier of the tourney is defending champion Marquette as it limps into state with a 19-20 record, but the Hilltoppers took out the best the Woodland Conference had to offer (New Berlin West and Eisenhower) in the sectional to earn their fifth consecutive state berth.The rebuilding squad, with a comparatively small total of just six seniors, is led by senior pitcher/infielder Jack Archie (.385 and 28 RBI) and junior Collin Weyer (7-3, 1.63).

And with West Salem (28-1) as their opponent, the Hilltoppers help create that most curious match-up of the team with the worst record versus the one with the best. The Panthers, making their second straight state appearance, look to earn some upstate pride in the summer event, as they seek to become the first non-Milwaukee area champ since Unity in 1992.

They come in with the best team batting average (.380) and scored in double digits 17 times this summer. Sophomore catcher Tony Schultz comes in with a ridiculous batting average of .632 with 43 hits and 34 RBI, while sophomore Jake McCabe (6-0, 1.74) and senior Dan Schneider (7-0, 1.86) lead the pitching staff.

In the final quarterfinal of the day, GMC South co-champ Muskego (23-9) will take on 2007 state runner-up New Holstein (23-4). The Warriors are making their first trip to state since losing the "Classic in the Clouds" state final to West Bend East in 2002 that was decided by a walk-off home run hit into the fog at Bukolt. The Warriors had a long day in the sectional, playing a combined total of 18 innings against Waukesha West and Whitnall in claiming their fourth overall state berth.

Sophomore pitcher Cole Borek (11-1, 1.97) has had a sensational year on the hill while junior catcher Nick McCormack (.368, 35 hits and 23 RBI) paces the balanced offense.

Their opponent New Holstein, represents the model of consistency in the summer tournament, as the Huskies are making a record 17th appearance. They won their only title in the very first summer event in 1965.

The senior-dominated squad is paced by senior infielder Parker Schrage, who not only hits fiercely (.463, 38 hits and 27 RBI) but also pitches with a commanding presence (10-0, 0.58).

Homestead, Franklin and Muskego will be looking for the first crown for a NOW-area squad since Oak Creek won the last of its three straight championships in 2005.

The semifinals will be at 10:05 a.m. Thursday, July 30 and the championship will be at 3:35 p.m.

JULY 29 QUARTERFINALS

10:05 a.m. quarterfinal session--Homestead (21-15) vs. Franklin (24-13); West Salem (28-1) vs. Marquette (19-20)

3:05 p.m. quarterfinal session--West Bend West (26-5) vs. Arrowhead (31-5); New Holstein (23-4) vs. Muskego (23-9).

PREVIOUS NOW AREA STATE CHAMPIONS (22)

Brown Deer 1966, Brookfield Central 1969, Homestead 1974, Brown Deer 1975, Brookfield Central 1976, Brown Deer 1977, Homestead 1978, Greendale 1980, Sussex Hamilton 1981, Greenfield 1983, Nicolet 1985, Greendale 1987, Whitnall 1991, Homestead 1994, Greendale 1995, South Milwaukee 1996, Wauwatosa East 1997, Nicolet 1998, Brookfield Central 2000, Oak Creek 2003, Oak Creek 2004 and Oak Creek 2005. 

It wasn't so much the rain and the dramatically cooler temperatures that made the second day of the WIAA State Track Meet in La Crosse on June 6 a near fiasco.

But they didn't help.

No, what made the day not so much a travesty, but an opportunity missed was the adjustment the WIAA and the state track coaches association made to the Saturday finals schedule. The pushing back of the start time of those last races, including several of the time-consuming 3,200-meter variety, from 10:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. in the face of ever poorer weather made what was supposed to be a celebration into almost a forced march.

"I'd like to shoot the guy who suggested that," said one area coach who wished to remained anonymous of the new time schedule..

Other coaches complained of not getting their athletes home until well after midnight on Saturday. That was because the final team awards were not made until close to 8 p.m. The truely ironic part of it all was that just before the final races started at 7:15 p.m. or so, a WIAA official, high and dry in the nicely-appointed brand-new Veterans Memorial Sports Complex Pressbox, announced that the meet was only four minutes behind its unofficial schedule. All this was also after an 11-hour first day (under albeit sunny and bright conditions) that drained and enervated event the most most die-hard fan.

Under the old start time, the meet used to end around 4-4:30 p.m. Coaches, fans and athletes could get out, get a leisurely meal, mull over the day's fantastic highlights and still get home before nine or 10 o'clock. Now, those who live across state are lucky to get a quick hit at a fast-food joint before making the three-to-four ride home in the wee hours of the morning.

What this all leads to, is that maybe its time for the WIAA and the coaches association to start seriously thinking about adding a third half-day to the schedule on Thursday (the meet normally runs Friday and Saturday).

Yes, it would further strap an already costly event (the whole track tournament series ran a $196,000 deficit in 2008) but maybe by running some of the long duration field events on that first day, the WIAA and La Crosse could find some compensations. The second day as a whole could be shortened and the log jam of finals and awards could be cleared a bit on the third day. It would make for a smoother, more enjoyable meet for athletes, officials, coaches and fans. Not to mention that the WIAA and La Crosse would benefit from an additional day of ticket sales, concessions, hotel stays, restaurant business, etc.

Regardless of the weather.

In discussing things with WIAA Communications Director Todd Clark and UW-La Crosse Site Coordinator Larry Terry, the adjustment to the finals day start time was made largely due to the reconfiguration of the new stadium's jumps set-up.. In the rebuilding of Memorial Stadium, it was decided to put the jumps on the infield near the football field and right next to the track. This is all well and good, but a compromise was made for safety and that led to the untenable schedule adjustment.

The set up was felt to be unsafe to have both jumpers and runners competing at the same time. The coaches of the jumpers would be too close to the track and the possibility of poles and crossbars falling into the track while a race was being run was felt to be a risk that should not be run.

Homestead boys coach Dan Benson, a former state champion jumper and now a jumps coach himself, found the whole situation difficult to comprehend.

"As a coach I do not have to be there (on the track)," he said. "There's no need for that at all. Put us outside the track (in the far side bleachers) or better, build some small bleachers near the pits. There were also pits inside of those we used (right next to the track) which would have worked too (and put everyone out of harms way if a running event was held)."

Benson, who also had an issue the day before with the long jump being contested into a strong headwind, said of the whole situation "Didn't make for good track" and would take things up with his district rep.

Clark said that the WIAA went "back and forth" with the coaches association about the start time and about how the jumps were going to be run. He said the people traffic by the long jump and pole vault pits in the area did not lend itself to using the furthest pit (the one most easily used while a running event was going on).

"It's just too tight," he said "There are too many people who need to see. We talked to many people (in the track community) and it was decided that it would be better to shift the meet and get some of the events in (the jumps and other field events) before the start of the races."

But that doesn't fully explain away the entire inflexibility of the day's schedule. WIAA and La Crosse officials knew what the weather forecast was going to be like on Saturday. They could have adjusted things back to the old start time (10:30 a.m.) and gotten some races in before the start of the really bad weather.

Because it just got worse as the day wore on with light to steady rain more suited to a fall cross country meet. Not helping matters was the bottleneck at the awards stand that occurs every second day at the state meet. It is generally agreed that it makes for a better podium photo if the athletes are in their singlets and not in the warmer (and presumably dryer) sweats. But by mid-afternoon of that second day, events are sometimes backed up four or five deep, making for a crowded and hastily run awards presentation with shivering, anxious athletes sitting on cold aluminum benches, getting wetter and tighter and wondering if they're ever going to get their award.

Or if they're ever going to get dry.

Under good conditions, this set-up is a hassle, but under a steady rain and 50-degree temperatures with wind, it made for a health hazard on June 6. Espeically for the multi-event athletes, the sprinters and jumpers, who thrive in the warm and the dry and despise the cold.and wet. They need to be warming up for the next event not left standing around adjusting their I-Pods.

Brookfield Central sophomore sprinter Chidera Obasih summed up the consensus of most of the athletes when she said that she's looking forward to the day she could go to college down south, where she would always be warm. One can't blame her for that thought.

And there were other issues. The discus events, especially the Division I boys, did meet the operating definition of fiasco according to Benson, who had two competitors taking part.

"It got completely ridiculous," he said. "The first flight there was drizzle. Annoying, but workable. The second flight, it was a steady rain, making things very difficult. For the third flight, it got really heavy, making it downright dangerous."

No one got hurt, but the competitiveness of the event was greatly diminished.. The first flight, full of the lowest qualifiers, wound up with the best conditions, and earned three of the six medals, which no one in their right mind would think to happen. The top flight, filled with the best qualifiers, but who competed under the worst of the conditions, got just two.medals.

"At what point do you hold off," Benson asked. "Someone could have slipped and hurt themselves. At some point, someone (the event judge probably) has to say something like "Fellas, hold on, we'll wait for a half-hour and see if it gets better.' It just wasn't safe. That's my whole premise."

And Benson said this despite the fact that his number two qualifier, Teiko Amuzu, was heading to the medal stand with a fifth place finish.

"God bless 'em," he said of Amuzu, "but wow, did we have to do it that way?"

Maybe not. The pole vault, due to its inherent danger was taken indoors to Mitchell Hall on Saturday. The WIAA has done this in the past with great effect. But another group of athletes nearly undone by the lousy and long conditions were the high jumpers. The division 2 boys event was won at a pedestrian 6-3 because of the slippery conditions. Even well meaning officials with industrial blowers could not make the situation condusive to high-level jumping (the class record, which was probably not going to be threatened under the best of conditions, is 6-11 but still, these athletes deserved better).

And in talking to two division I girls placewinners from the Wauwatosa area, even abundant thoughts of warm and tropical breezes was of little comfort to them.

Terry said that the high jump could be moved indoors too if needed along with the pole vaullt, there's that much room, but he noted that it is generally agreed that this is considered an outdoor championship and that the kids could adapt to the conditions.

One group that has had to adapt over and over again through the 20-year history of the state meet in La Crosse, is the fans.

They too, could also benefit from a three-day schedule.. They welcomed the newer, far more spacious seating in the new main grandstand, which made everyone much more comfortable (the whole project cost $16 million). But they too endured the 11-hour first day under a beating sun (which warranted many cautions from WIAA officials) and hunkered down for the long, difficult Saturday under the gray, wet skies.

I think a lot of the 17,492 who piled in over the course of the event, would happily pay for a third day, if it meant the competition for their kids was better, the schedule not so cramped, and the end of the day closer to something approximating the dinner hour (it was close to 9 p.m. on Friday night). New revenue streams have to be created to help defray the cost, because of all the spring sports, this event is the most popular in terms of attendance, but fans alone can't make up the difference even with the magnificent bluffs to look at in the background.

La Crosse, the WIAA and the coaches association have worked to make this meet a great event over the years, but there are still things that need to be done to make it more competitive for the athletes and make it more enjoyable and viewer friendly to the fan.

In short, make it a state meet worthy of the name.

The remarkable show that the performers in the Homestead track sectional put on last Friday to rave reviews is going on the road.

And no doubt, it will have legs.

As well as speed, power, skill, drama and a whole host of other active verbs that will tell the 12,000 or so fans who will crowd into the newly revamped Memorial Stadium on the UW-La Crosse campus this weekend for the WIAA State Meet that they will be in for a very good, very quick time.

"It's kind of crazy," Highlander boys coach Dan Benson said. "You try to keep track of all the different scenarios. And then it gets really exciting if you have kids who you think can do it."

But the weight of expectation can sneak into the back of the mind of the average coach and make him feel like he's toting a large set of barbells across his neck.

Take Menomonee Falls boys coach Mike Burling, whose team won the sectional and will have three number one seeds going into the Division I meet: Hurdler Matt Widule in both the 110 highs and 300 intermediates and its blistering 800 relay, which has recorded the second-fastest time in state history. According to a pre-scored ranking based on sectional efforts, the Indians are slated to finish right ahead (Milwaukee Vincent) and right behind (Arrowhead) fellow Homestead sectional competitors this weekend at the very top of the state rankings.

And those three top seeds? Well, they're just some of the eight such rankings the sectional carries into state.

"I know, I know," Burling said. "I've done the math. The key is, can we find a few more points? Because if we perform, we have a chance (at winning it all)."

Which would be heady stuff, as no one in Menomonee Falls has won a team state title in anything since the 1981 Falls North boys cross country team.

"People around the school, people who don't know anything about track are coming up to us and congratulating us," Burling said. "I've gotten e-mails from people I haven't heard from in 15 years." Falls has won five meets in a row, including its first-ever back-to-back WIAA regional and sectional titles, and will bring nine individuals and two relays to state to see if it can make it six in a row on the biggest of all stages.

The sectional crown in the most powerful qualifying meet in the state was heady stuff for Burling and it's not like the Indians lacked for competition. Milwaukee Vincent will have two top seeds (defending 100 and 200 champ Centrell Minter in the 200 and the 400 relay) and Arrowhead (Chris Pendergast in the pole vault and the 1,600 and 3,200 relays) will boast three top seeds at state, all with efforts done at Homestead.

"We did put on a bit of a show, now didn't we?" chuckled Benson. Numerous second and third seeds will also push for state honors.

Not that the girls at the sectional took second-billing lightly. Tasha Allen of Milwaukee North Division will lead five top seeds coming out of the Homestead. Allen had long-time Homestead cross country head coach and track assistant Dan Claussen whispering quetly "We may see her in the Olympics in a few years," after she went well below the existing state 400-meter record in the sectional despite coasting into the line the final few meters.

She's ranked third in the 200 and second in the 100 as well, but look for her to be atop the medal stand in all three races when all is said and done on Saturday, maybe with all kinds of records left in her wake.

Homestead's Marissa Savitch is another who has a shot at history. The determined and visceral performer has gone under the 20-plus year old record in the 100 high hurdles twice already this year and also owns the best time in the lows. Her father Mike said she was a bit shell-shocked when she advanced to state in the 100 highs last season as a freshman and clobbered the very first hurdle she tried to clear. She used that frustrating moment as a launching pad, doing well in junior nationals and other regional and national competition last summer.

If she does win both races, she said, she will thank her sectional mates quite vigorously for the help.

"This was the best race competition," she said. "It was just so strong. ...It pushed me to work ever harder."

The heady nature of the speed that came out of Homestead, was also exemplified by the Milwaukee King 400 and 800 relays. The Generals have the top time in the state in the 400 relay. Further, they are second in the 800. The curious thing about that situation is, is that King is second in that race despite having run a time of 1:39.68. Before last year, when Bradley Tech did it, no girls 800 relays in Wisconsin history had gotten close to going below 1:40. Now, both Tech (1;39.3) and King have done it again, setting up a possibly delicious final on Saturday, with another record as well as a state title on the line.

A curious scenario is also developing for the 3,200 relay, as Onalaska, behind the high-powered Jami Hill was going to take a run at the hallowed and very, very strong state record of Marinette.  But though Hill, who owns several of the top times in the state in distances ranging from the 400 all the way through to the 3,200, is still listed as an alternate on the relay, she will likely not be available for state.

That is a true loss for track fans, but her absence opens the door for the likes of the fun-loving and laughing out loud Germantown 3,200 team, which has the top seed in the state field. The Homestead sectional champs are working with new coaches this year who have the same energy and enthusiasm that they do, said head coach Greg Siegert.

"Now, instead of being happy just to advance to state, they now want to do well there," he said.

Burling knows that feeling. It was about seven-eight years ago that Falls coaches began to get the inkling that getting to stare up at the beautful La Crosse bluffs for a couple of days each year just wasn't good enough for them anymore. They wanted to move on and be like the Arrowheads and the Vincents of the world.

In short, they wanted to contend.

And now, here they are, with an opportunity to shine like never before, having won with the sectional, one of the most important meets in school history.

With the opportunity to do it one better.

But though Burling might be feeling that weight of expectation, his athletes apparently are not.

"The kids were joking with me after we won the regional (on May 26)," he said. "I said 'Yes, it's an upset now, but whether that thought stays that way depends on what you do with it. You've made a pretty big cake, but how much frosting do you want to put on it?'"

"They gave me their answer the other day when (Tyler) Trokan, Widule, (Nick) Zeman and (Brad) Tietyen came into my room with four large cans of frosting (laughs)."

Enough to cover one seriously enormous cake. Or one big gold trophy.

Arrowhead boys track coach Chris Herriot is a busy man these days, honing the skills of his powerful Classic 8 Conference champs for a run at the WIAA state championship.

And he knows he will get sturdy preparation in his chase for the gold ball when his team takes part in the withering crucible that will be the WIAA sectional meet at Homestead on Friday, May 29, the final qualifying test before state in La Crosse on June 5 and 6. The top three in each event, plus all those whose efforts are among the top eight of all sectionals statewide, will advance to La Crosse.

As has been the case for the better part of a decade, this particular sectional will likely be one of the dominant ones in the state.

Herriot verified that heated assertion, when over the cold of winter, he prepared a spread sheet comparing the strength of various sectionals statewide based on state meet results from 2004-2008. The results, which showed the point total of each division I team at state over that time period and then averaged them out, demonstrated that this northwest Milwaukee suburban sectional is a gold standard of undisputed proportions.

The results, based on the average point total has Milwaukee Vincent (2005 state champ) in first, with Arrowhead second (2004 champ), Germantown fourth (2006 champ) and Watertown fifth. Just for good measure, Menomonee Falls is 12th, Port Washington 14th and Whitefish Bay 16th.

The only other sectional that comes close to it is the Waukesha/Middle Surburban, which has five in the top 20 statewide, but none higher than sixth (Bradley Tech).

Herriot sent the list out to close friends in the coaching community, including Homestead's Dan Benson, and let them disseminate it at will. It's a tremendous testament to the prep talent pool in this corner of Wisconsin, Benson said.

"It's amazing to look at that and then remember all the incredible athletes who have come through these sectionals," he said. Homestead, a long time track power which spent the better part of the decade in Germantown's shadow before winning this season's North Shore triple crown, will host the sectional for the first time in several years.

It will try to match up to the heady and dazzling meets this group has contested at Arrowhead and Germantown in past years.

The number of indvidual state champions that have been produced is remarkable. In 2004, there were four, while in 2005, there were seven, including three of the four relays. That same number held form in 2006 too. In 2007, there were four and last season, there were five.

Further, a closer examination reveals no gerrymandering, so sudden transfer of powerful schools in and out of the sectional by the WIAA. All those institutions that were mentioned in the top 20 have been by and large in the same sectional grouping for many years. This year reveals only one change as Port Washington moves north to Beaver Dam, while Grafton, a long-time Division 2 power, has as a reward for its increase in enrollment a transfer to this extraordinary test of skill and will.

This caliber of meet is not a good thing for nervous coaches, but it is a grand thing for fans and followers of the sport, because they are in for a treat.

Heading into tonight's regional meets, the Homestead sectional is looking to be a sprint and hurdle powerhouse, as returning state 100 and 200 champ Centrell Minter of Vincent has overcome knee problems suffered in the indoor season to again own the top times in his two specialties (10.69 and 21.48, respectively).

But he will get pushed, as Washington Farrington of Falls is fourth in the 100 (10.83) and fifth in the 200 (22.02) while first-year track athlete, senior Gavin Robertson of Nicolet, has recorded a second-best in state 200 of 21.82 and Homestead senior Ian Thompson has moved up to ninth in the 100 (10.90).

Arrowhead itself will likely make a lot of hay in the distances, with the likes of well-rested Tim Hucke (800), John Simons (1,600 and 3,200) and Kevin Emmerich (3,200), all owning top 10 state honor roll times.

In the 110 high hurdles, Falls junior Matt Widule owns the state's top time at 14.33, but Germantown's Dexter Schleis, who has beaten Widule once at that distance already this season, is ninth (14.82). Both Widule (third) and Schleis (ninth) look to be in the mix of a highly contentious 300 intermediate hurdle competition, as there are 10 times in state Division I between 38.92 and 39.8.

But as difficult as that sounds, however, one look at the relays, and you realize why coaches in this sectional quaff Pepto-Bismol like its iced tea on a 95-degree day.

Four of the first six (Arrowhead, Vincent, Falls and Nicolet) in the 400 relay will likely be running hard on Friday, as will two of the top four in the 800 relay (Vincent and Oconomowoc). In the 1,600 race, Arrowhead (first), Homestead (fourth), Falls (sixth) and Oconomowoc (seventh) will all be vying  for one of the three coveted state slots.

Falls coach Mike Burling consoled a concerned Herriot at a recent meet about the likely intensity of the relay races at sectional.

"He said to me 'You figure you've got it all set and then something like this (a whole new set of fast times) happens,'" Burling said. "But I told him 'Look at it this way, you come out of this sectional (to state) and you're likely to be on the podium when it's all done'"

That's likely to be the case in the 3,200 relay too as Homestead has the groupings top time (8:05.96, good for fourth) while look for Arrowhead to drop an enormous amount of time from its current 12th place slot (8:12.73).

In the field events, top performers include Justin Barber of Homestead in the shot put (11th) and discus (17th); Chris Pendergast of Arrowhead (first) and Wes Heupel of Germantown (eighth) in the pole vault; returning state runner-up Danny Schiller of Homestead (fourth) as well as Nick Hughes of Milwaukee King (ninth) in the high jump; Rashad Morris of King (eighth), Widule of Falls (ninth) and Brad Pelisek of Homestead (15th) in the long jump; and Darius Feaster of Homestead in the triple jump (17th).

Benson, the host coach, said the Homestead facility has been upgraded and is ready to host a meet full of speed and thunderous applause.

"I think it's as good as anyone else's around here," he said, "and we can turn around the sprints (to get the favorable wind), even in the 200. We're looking to put on a good show."

Just like this sectional always does.

The same thing that was in the water at the girls North Shore Conference Outdoor track meet in 1988 must have been there on May 19 in Cedarburg, as a total of seven league marks, some of them as old as 21-years, were taken down at the eventful meet.

It was the same number of records that were set back in that pivotal year of 1988.

The names that were abruptly replaced on the books on that windy and warm day read like a who's who of Milwaukee area track legends

There was Joanna Cox of Homestead, whose 1988 marks in the 100 and 200 meters, previously so rock-solid and sacrosanct, were obliterated in a space of a couple of hours by Whitefish Bay senior Becca Schmidt, who soared up the state honor roll with times of 12.01 and 24.93, respectively. Carol Obi of Shorewood, who shared the old 200 mark with Cox at 25.6 (her version was set in 1990), must be shaking her head somewhere as Schmidt just sent the old standards scattering to the blustery breeze.

Schmidt, who is a humble, well-spoken but confident young woman, is pleased to be thought of as the best sprinter in North Shore history.

"I just felt strong," she said. "My form has been coming along and the coaches have been working very hard with me. This is just great (the records). It had been my plan since the start of the season but I didn't know if I would get them." Just for grins, she also won the long jump.

Then there was Grafton hurdle ace Julie Wojcik, whose clocking of 15.0 in the 100 high hurdles had also stood since 1988. Homestead sophomore Marissa Savitch, who attacks hurdles with a fury and strength more suited to a lioness chasing down a gazelle, not only crushed that mark with her 14.55 clocking, but also roared by the state record set by Jenni Evans of Waukesha South in that same fabled year of 1988 (14.60).

"For me, it's a mental thing every race," Savitch said. "I tend to take things very seriously every time out. I just focus on attacking and getting to the finish line as fast as I can." It was the second time this season that Savitch has gone under 15 seconds in the highs. Her 14.55 is a ridiculous .89 of a second ahead of the second-best performer on the state honor roll. That, in a race, where very tiny increments of time often decide the well-remembered state champions from the forgotten runners-up.

Savitch will have to wait for the actual state meet, June 5 and 6 in La Crosse, to see if she can better Evans in the ultimate arena (the only place official records can be set) and find a space alongside 1980s Highlander superstar and state hurdles champ Lynn Hidde in the hearts of area track fans.

"It's an honor to be thought of that way," she said.

Savitch also won the 300 low hurdles in a personal best of 46.34 seconds, which is third-best in state at the moment. Wojcik can take a deep breath for now, as her mark of 45.8 is still safe.

Liz Wendt of Germantown used teamwork in knocking down two record walls. She and fellow Warhawk Andrea Sielicki went back and forth in the 800, with the shorter Sielicki taking the lead in the beginning and the taller, longer-striding Wendt controlling the final 200 to bust the year-old mark of Whitefish Bay state champion Megan Palmer with a 2:17.83 clocking.

The two were a curious sight along the north fence at Cedarburg High School afterwards, as they discussed in a very animated fashion the tactics of the race and good-naturedly carped about whether one cut off the other (there were a lot of laughs involved in that conversation).

"Hey, whatever works," chuckled Wendt.

"I really wanted to stay with you, but I just couldn't," Sielicki said. "...I'm just so happy."

The only sad thing about that record erasure was that Palmer was not there to defend her title, as she has battled a variety of illnesses this spring and has only now just begun light running.

Other records included 2008 state runner-up Hannah Wallace of Whitefish Bay breaking teammate Camille Schwartz's year-old barrier in the pole vault by more than a foot (11-0) and the Milwaukee Lutheran 400 relay team (49.98).

It was then up to Wendt and Sielicki, along with teammates Caitlin Dillon and Meredith Humiston, to take down the final record of the evening and this one was the most important. The quartet not only cast aside Port Washington's year-old standard in the 1,600 relay by more than a second with a 4:03.93 effort as Wendt rallied on the anchor leg for the win, but it also partially ensured that the Warhawks would earn a share of their first conference title since 1990 with three-time league triple crown champ Homestead.

Germantown Coach Greg Siegert said the girls have placed a remarkable amount of trust in him and his assistant coach (and wife) Marin Siegert, and that, he said, led to both the new league marks and the title.

"They're comfortable enough to answer honestly to us when we ask 'Do you feel comfortable? Are you tired?'" he said. "That allows us to adjust the training and that's why we're here at the end of the year.'

Breaking a whole lot of records.

In a time of a crisis, when money is tight, jobs are uncertain and people are looking for any kind of ray of light, it's hard to find room for compassion sometimes.

But not when it concerns the Homestead and North Shore area girls track community. Just a sad two weeks past the funeral for Highlander distance coach Andy Edington, the kindness and the funds continue to flow in for his family.

Take what happened at Homestead's traditional powerhouse Lady Highlander Invitational.on May 9.

The t-shirts created for the event were customized to honor Edington and all proceeds, including specialized lettering, was to go to the family. Also consider the fact that it was a dreary, chilly day, with occasional rain and blustery, unseasonable winds.

"They were still printing and taking orders as people were leaving," coach John Krueger said. "We were thinking that we sold upwards of 150 shirts, and it didn't end there. People were coming up and just flat-out giving donations. There really was a statement being made today."

Then there was the meet program, which had a small inscription from one of the distance runners, whom Edington coached. It went very much like all the lovely sentiments that were written on a student-created poster that was on display at the funeral. The inscription talked about his passion for both sports and science, used a couple of his well-worn and beloved trademark statements and remarked about how everyone is missing him and will continue to go on missing him.

The writer wished to remain anonymous.

It was a carryover from the spirit that was generated when the Highlanders won the North Shore Conference Relays at Grafton on May 6. There was discussion there of the team creating wristbands, similar to the "Team Together" bands that became a staple in the area following the tragic death of beloved basketball coach John Chekouras three years ago.

People stopped for a moment to reflect on Edington's life and its purpose. He gave his all to his family, his children and then to the students and athletes in his charge. The best tribute, thought boys coach Dan Benson, would be to carry on serving those students as best as possible.

"The only thing I can see to do is to continue on teaching, coaching and working as hard as you can," he said. "Do your job to the best of your ability and do everything possible that you can do to be a credit to his spirit."

The students seemed to be taking that idea to heart at the Lady Highlander.

"At the chapel (the wake), kids were walking up to her (Edington's widow) and thanking her so much for "sharing him with us'," said Krueger's wife Heather, a long-time coach and educator herself. "That showed just so much depth on their part."

"I'm just so proud of the kids, because they really get it."

A fund for Edington's family has been set up through M and I Bank and can be contributed to through any branch in the area.

           "We are joined by sweat, bound by nothing. We are running friends. I wouldn't want it any other way."  ---Runner's credo----

There were bouquets from the Germantown girls track team, meet officials from near and far, classmates from graduate-level schooling, and literally hundreds of fellow teachers, students and athletes, some still in uniform from practices yet to be run or meets yet to be contested. Some were unable to hold back the tears no matter how many tissues were offered.

The line was an hour long at 3 p.m. and was still an hour long at 4:30 p.m.

No matter, people could read the cross country yearbooks, gaze at the large posters of well-worn and familiar phrases, linger over the thought-provoking montage of hand-written student messages or look at the array of heart-rendering hand-drawn children's cards to pass the time.

One of those cards, which featured a green field, a winding cross country trail set through a vast brown field and a large multi-colored sun, was a particular favorite. No doubt it had tear stains on it by the time the visitiation was over at 7 p.m. because the artist, probably a well-intentioned, thoughtful and gracious child, had put the name "Mr. Edington" on the sun.

"Mr. Edington" refers to the late Homestead science teacher and track and cross country coach Andy Edington, whose productive and thoughtful life was being remembered at First Alliance Curch in Germantown this April 29 afternoon.

There, the Homestead High School community was accepting condolences for another strong ray of light, another family man cut down in his prime by life's vagaries. It gave many in the community pause, as they also recalled the tragic death of reknown Homestead figure and basketball coach John Chekouras not quite three years ago.

Both men had been running at the time. Edington, 47, the head girls cross country coach and assistant track coach, was out with the distance group of the track team on April 25, when he collapsed of a seizure and eventually died.

"It's not fair to reflect on John," said boys track coach Dan Benson, who has known Edington since 1987 and was also a friend of Chekouras', "but here we are with two very fit, health-conscious individuals. ...It's hard not to draw parallels. You just throw up your hands because you can't quite make any sense of it."

And yet people tried with both humor and heart.

They remembered the man who told his runners not to tote too heavy of back-packs or not to wear high heel shoes to dances because those things could adversely affect performance. And even if they did attend the dances wearing flats, they were absolutely, positively supposed to ice their shins afterwards.

          "If you relax your tongue, your whole body will relax." (Mildly sarcastic saying from Edington, no doubt uttered during a noisy and less than successful practice).

People also took a long look at the three photo boards that dotted the visitation route. The first two were dominated by shots of him with his wife Sue and his three children (Sam, 14; Abby, 13; and Bethany, 11). There were pictures of him with them at Christmas, out on a water slide, even riding a camel. These were the important things to him. The highest priority along with his faith.

         "Thank you Mr. Edington so much! You were always there with a welcome smile and would sit next to us sometimes during meets. In my mind, you will forever be at the third turn of the track. Thank you to the Edington family for sharing him with Homestead."  Megan (student message on a long piece of poster board in the hallway at First Alliance).

The priorities right below those, the teaching of science and coaching, were frequently mixed together. He was constantly creating graphs and charts trying to scientifically and analytically figure out ways to make his runners perform better.

"He was an incredibly bright individual," Athletic Director Charlie Gross said. "His knowledge of sports was always intertwined wirth his knowledge of technology. ..He could speak to the kids with great confidence and get them to buy into the idea that what he was telling them was going to work. His vision and determination would really pay dividends." 

But sometimes his love of science got in the way of simple communication, said girls track head coach John Kruger.

"I was talking to his neighbors the other day," Krueger said, "and they spoke to me about how he would start talking about running and science and they would be blown away by his knowledge, but eventually at some point, they'd have to ask him to slow down and say ''In English Andy, in English.'" (laughs)

-         "Mr. Edington, Thank you for being so passionate about your job and loving what you did. Your enthusiasm is inspirational. You will be missed." Cristina Soto.

Competitors as well as colleagues were heartbroken.

"My kids (runners) are friends with his and that's how I found out," said Bay head cross country and assistant track coach Mike Miller. "..All barriers are gone in a situation like this. This is just devastating. My heart goes out to his wife and those three kids, all still in grade school. This is just so wrong, so unexpected. He brought that program back and he had such a wonderful rapport with his kids (runners). He had such a calming effect on them."

Krueger spoke of the endless number of competing coaches, runners and officials who came up to him and his now short-handed staff  and echoed those thoughts during a junior varsity meet on April 28.

"He was always prepared, making sure to give his best to his athletes," Krueger said.

          "Dear Mr. Edington, Practice isn't the same without you, but we can all feel you around us. You can still be our coach in the sky. Thank you for giving us more than we could ask for, more than we deserve. ..I know you're racing with me, making me stronger, pushing me further." Love, Keali

Krueger said that the rest of the season, the rest of the school year, will be difficult.

"As a staff, we'll try to figure out how to fill that large a void," he said. "We'll try to keep things as consistent as possible with his girls (the distance group). Try to continue to do what he'd have wanted them to do."

          "Mr. Edington, You helped make my transformation to HHS so much easier and I learned more from you in this short amount of time than from any other teacher in my life." Anna Kolbeck

There were more serious and much more tragic reasons for the Homestead boys golf team to be depressed (see North Shore NOW for details) as it drove home from the soggy Brown Deer golf course on April 25, with the Lake Country/MACC Fund Invitational canceled for a second straight year due to foul weather.

Yes, money had been raised and inspiring speeches were heard, but the kids really wanted to go out and golf. And with that firmly in mind and the air thick with both emotion and humidity, junior Dylan Drozdowicz sliced off a big chunk of tension by just blurting out "It's a good day to be a duck!"

"He just shouted it out," laughed Highlander coach Steve O'Brien. "Everybody just cracked up."

That summed a lot of the surface feelings for the players in attendance. They had been able to tee off and get a few holes in before torrential rains terminated any golf activity for the day. They were ones who listened to MACC Fund Executive Director John Cary talk about the deeper meaning of the event and how much good the $29,000-plus that was raised this year will do for childhood cancer research and treatment.

Five-year old Emilie Janzen, who was diagnosed with cancer last year, was on hand to put a face on the golfer's fundraising efforts. She tipped her hat and waved to the gathered players and coaches.

"I've got a five-year old," Menomonee Falls coach Tony Pritchard said quietly. "and her Dad was barely able to tell her story (he was so choked up). I think that really hit home with my guys. It was a very positive experience and I was glad that I had a senior-oriented group with me today. I think they really got it."

And as far as the golf was concerned, Pritchard just laughed and said: "I had two guys who were sad that the siren blew (signaling players to come off the course) and two others who were happy to hear it." Falls was able to raise over $1,000 and so was put into a drawing to play a round of golf with Falls native and PGA tour participant Mark Wilson.

The winners of the drawing were Mukwonago and Whitnall.

Each of the 35 schools involved handled their own fundraising for MACC a little differently. The Germantown team sold discount cards as a general fundraiser and then set aside a portion of the proceeds for MACC while Whitefish Bay coach Dave Johnson and the team put together some cash for the cause.

"The kids who go, really see it for what it is," Germantown coach Gary Anderson said. "A good cause. You get so caught up in the day-to-day of your season, it's really touching to have it broken up like this."

"And for John (Cary) to stand up there and give a speech like he did without a teleprompter is just great, He is a gem. He can really put everything in perspective. The kids got really quiet while he spoke."

Meanwhile, O'Brien and the Highlanders added a personal and more lighthearted touch to their efforts.

It's a poorly-kept secret that O'Brien has a side business to go along with his teaching. He's a skilled roofer and he knows every shingle that he lays down is going to go a long ways towards helping put his kids through college. Being the gregarious, loud and popular Irishman that he is, he is known to watch every penny.

But that still didn't prevent him from reaching into his own pocket and forking over $100 to put up an advertising sign for his business at the tournament. So anybody who dodged the raindrops and walked by the hole that had the "SOB Roofing" sign by it, well now you know who bought it.

One coaching compatriot wagged his tongue and laughed: "The name (of the business) fits him perfectly".

And also captures the "can do" spirit of the event.

"Knock on wood, we'll get it done next year," said O'Brien with all seriousnous.

Others echoed his thoughts.

"I hope they (Arrowhead coach Tom Tallmadge and the other organizers) keep it going. I don't know how they do it, but I'm glad they do," said Anderson.

Little Emilie would no doubt agree wholeheartedly.

Make no bones about it, when Wisconsin prep sports pundits start talking about empires and dynasties, Nicolet tennis is usually near ground zero of the conversation what with its 26 boys and 17 girls state titles.

And the program has been a model of consistency, with only two coaches in its history. The legendary Cary Bachman, who got the racquets swinging successfully in the school district for the first time back in the late 1950s, and Tim Koppa, who inherited the mantle in 1995.

But something else that Koppa takes great pride in, is the inclusiveness of the program. He can honestly say he doesn't remember ever cutting a kid since he took over, regardless of skill level.

So when the United States Tennis Association honored Koppa in March for maintaining such a policy, it was no big deal to the laid-back, but still highly competitive coach.

"They've had this program (the no-cut) in place since about 2005," Koppa said, "and its a good idea, though I could see where some programs could run into problems with just a limited number of courts."

"But this has just been my policy all along."

The USTA's no-cut program is designed to ensure  that every student who wishes to play is welcomed as a member of the team. The organization has recognized some programs that have kept upwards of 100 players in a given season. Since the program's inception, more than 2,100 coaches nationally have been honored.

USTA Director of Recreational Coaches and Programs Kirk Anderson said the program is about growing the game of tennis, which has had its ups and downs in terms of popularity with youth over the last couple of decades.

"We know that students who make their high school tennis team end up playing more tennis and staying in the game longer. We hope that by honoring these individuals we can inspire more coaches to run no-cut programs," he said.

Every registered no-cut coach is recognized for their efforts with a certificate from the USTA, and in addition, the USTA sends a letter to the coach's principal and athletic director acknowledging the coach's dedication. Two coaches from this group are selected annually to be honored at the USTA Tennis Teachers Conference held alongside the US Open in New York.

To learn more about the USTA no-cut program, visit www.usta.com/no-cut.

Shorewood swim coach Rob  Mccabe doesn't like the idea of kids and their parents shelling out upwards of $400 for the new super-fast "Blue Seventy" suits that increase buoyancy and reduce drag and have helped make even the most hallowed of records look like endangered species.

He's seen families and athletes go into hock and get into arguments over the suits. One set of divorced parents he knows even struck an arrangement with their child that each party would pay one-third of the cost. Things like that just don't strike him as right both ethically and educationally. 

But he doesn't see anyone jumping on the bandwagon and promoting a return to the much cheaper and now old-fashioned Speedos. No, he doesn't see that happening at all and in fact, several of his swimmers were wearing the new suits at the Feb. 20 WIAA State Division 2 meet where the Greyhounds set four school records.

"I know why people get them," he said. "You feel more buoyant, you have much less fatigue and far less drag. ..but it does put families and athletes into financial hardship. Its the way of sports now. Look at the WIAA golf tourney with all the top kids playing using Titanium Ping drivers and when was the last time you saw anybody at state tennis playing with a wood racquet?"

"These things (the suits) have revolutionized the sport and they're here to stay," he said. "I was at one meet where a record that had stood for years was broken by seven people in one heat alone."

The suits started making their way into he conversation of the swimming world at last summer's Olympic Trials and Games, where American and world records would fall in heats and then be taken down by another person in the finals, sometimes multiple times in one event. There were even cases of people setting records in the American trials in the heats and then not even making the Olympic team out of the finals because someone else had gone faster.

Yes, coaches will say, we are in a golden age of swimming led by the incomparable (and also still very human) Michael Phelps, but all will agree that technology is helping more and more.

Menomonee Falls coach Jim Weitzer, who loves to have his team compete in the super-fast, technologically advanced Waukesha South pool, which almost everyone around the state agrees is a superior facility than the UW-Madison Natatorium where the state meet is held, argued that its a matter of evening out the playing field.

"The technology is good for everybody in the case of the pool where everyone can take advantage of it," he said, "but its not good for everybody in the case of the suit. They (the athletes) can picture themselves in it, but it's become a matter of whether they can afford it or not. ..You start to see these huge drops by people and you start to believe its not the athlete anymore but the technology."

His top swimmer, state-ranked butterfly Sean Kimmitt of Germantown, agrees.

"It just seems a little unfair," he said. "It seems like whoever has the most money has the edge now."

The noise about the suits in Wisconsin became loud last fall at the state girls swim meet. It provoked much fuss and discussion on both the sportspages and in the internet chatrooms. A Wisconsin State Journal piece by Bryan Watson of the time noted that the suits had old coaching friends accusing each other of cheating.The piece also had Madison Memorial coach and President of the State Swim Coaches Association Jason Verheist stating emphatically that the suits have been declared legal by the National Federation of High Schools.

Also in the article, WIAA Assistant Director Tom Shafranski said that though technology has come to play a large role in many sports, the association can't and won't get itself involved in the matter of cost of a particular item, even of something as expensive and altering as these new suits.

Which brings the matter of fairness down to what individual programs, coaches and athletes think that particular philosophy is for them. On one hand, a coach can take the high road and not use them and then accept the consequences if their swimmers lose to other athletes who do have them. Or they can bite the bullet and try to help their athletes get the suits, which are far outside of the budgets of even the most well-off athletic departments.

"A joke going around the sectional from the coaches is that the suit costs more than your monthly car payment," said Nicolet coach Dwight Davis.

But despite all that, one thing is for certain, the speed and the advantage the suits provide is seductive, even as coaches mention that they are sometimes changing the way an athlete performs his or her stroke. Some have even taken to wearing two forms of a suit to help improve performance though many question the legality of that maneuver.

"They are amazing," said Whitefish Bay coach Jim Davis, who has been working with swimmers for 28 years. "They really give you a boost, but the thing is, in my mind, is sometimes the advantage is just psychological. You still have to go out there and perform."

Menomonee Falls state 100 butterfly recordholder Ken Riesch agrees. His mark, made in 1969 when most swimmers didn't even wear goggles, stood for 13 years.

"It'll give the good swimmers hundreths of a second," he said, "but it'll give the better swimmers much more than that, because it still comes down to desire and how much you're willing to put into your workout."

Tell that to Nicolet's Dwight Davis. The suits impact was felt by him last winter, when his top sprinter Steve Cebertowicz engaged in a hammer and tongs dual with Badger/Big Foot's Wes Lagerhausen in both the 50 and 100-yard freestyle races at state. Cebertowicz was wearing an old borrowed suit that was almost busting at the seams. He lost both races to Lagerhausen by small amounts, though to his credit in interviews afterwards, he did not blame the suit or take into account what Lagerhausen was wearing.

But irony was to rear its laughing head soon.

That's because Cebertowicz called Davis a few days later to report that a new and improved suit he had ordered had come in the mail on Monday, two days after state.

"We've opened Pandora's Box," Mccabe said. "There is no going back."

Early on the morning on Feb. 4, there was a small, happy ceremony at Homestead High School, where soccer players Andrew Wiedabach (UW-Milwaukee) and Brynn Darga (UW-Parkside) joined golfer Nicole Westcott (UW-Green Bay) in signing national letters of intent for college.

Darga, who doubles as the feisty point guard for the North Shore title-contending Highlander girls' basketball team, talked about how much Parkside liked her defenders' aggression and her fearlessness in going for any ball. She was genuinely excited about the ceremony and the fuss of the signing. And in her mental and emotional backpocket was the joy of the surprising state soccer title for Homestead that she was a part of in 2007.

Wiedabach was a bit more sedate. He was the all-state midfielder who was the offensive catalyst for the Highlander boys gritty state semifinal run this past fall. A playmaker of peerless ability, he will no doubt be a valued performer for UWM very soon.

But the morning ceremony was just the start to his day.

Later that evening, he joined 22 other FC Milwaukee club soccer teammates in an event honoring all the club members who have inked letters of intent with colleges near and far at the trendy and delightful Le Reve Patisserie and Cafe in Wauwatosa. The event celebrated a banner year for the club, which began in 1990 as The Milwaukee Kickers.

"We always pride ourselves on our players achieving the very best," said FC Milwaukee Coaching Director Peter Knezic, a long time influential figure in Milwaukee-area soccer. "This group represents an enormous amount of talent going into college. It was just very nice that we were able to pay tribute to their dedication and hard work."

Knezic's FC Milwaukee program is celebrated for creating regional and national powerhouses on all age levels from which many players have gone on to have success on both a collegiate and professional level. The kind of success the organization celebrated the other night is not uncommon to it.

But at what cost? Among those joining Wiedabach at the La Reve program were fellow Homestead seniors Ashley Stemmeler (Marquette) and Dana Larsen (Baylor). There was much ado a few years ago when these two who were among several in the area who made a decision to play strictly club soccer as opposed to high school ball.

Highlander boys and girls coach Rich Dorn wished the pair well on what he felt was the honest choice they made. The pair didn't totally abdandon high school competition either as Stemmeler is a prominent player on the basketball team and Larsen has had some success going out for track.

However, Dorn doesn't likes the processes that he feels are at work influencing other such similar decisions.

"The issue has always been with the club coaches," Dorn said. "You don't hear us (high school coaches) put down club coaches. You don't hear us say we're the end all and be all (for successfully grooming players for college). But (some) players at clubs have been told not to play high school and threatened with ramifications if they didn't go along."

"They're selling swampland in Florida," he added, referring to the clubs. "The bottom line is that players get better by going against tough competition and they (club coaches) are lying if they say there isn't good competition in high school. You get to the level where you're playing for a conference title or in the (WIAA) regional and sectional tournaments it's very intense and the stakes get even higher at state. The players are going against good oppostion at the club level too and it is good for them."

"It's just a different philosphy though."

Knezic insists that FC Milwaukee has good relations with area high school coaches and that it isn't the policy of the organization to coerce players into choosing between either club or high school play. In fact, a careful examination of the list of signees who attended the La Reve event show a number who played both.

"We really do (get along with the high schools)," Knezic said. "We have some great relationships out there, but we also help support kids who decide to make other choices. ..If our kids want to play high school soccer we support them, but depending on the high school environment and experience, it's sometimes not what they're looking for."

And who's to say there isn't a little nudge one way or the other? Both high school and club coaches have to look after their best interests after all.

The bottom line is, is that this issue will likely never be decided clearly. As college costs continue to rise, and scholarships and grants continue to dwindle (college endowments took tremendous hits in the recent stock market plunge), there is going to be more and more pressure on kids to succeed athletically, no matter by what means, in order to earn money for school.

Sometimes that means choosing between the camaraderie and familiarity of playing with your classmates and for your school or going for potentially larger, more national exposure at the select club level with players from other communities, sometimes other regions. It is not an easy choice.

Dorn draws on long experience both playing and coaching to state his case.

 "The best players, the Peles, the Beckhams of the world, they all started as kids playing pick-up games (with their friends)," he said. "Those were their tests, their education. They didn't do the seriously organized stuff until much later after they had developed their skills."

"You just have to keep working at your skills and learning and it's always better when its not being micro-managed."

Knezic offers a more direct inducement. One that could be found at La Reve in the large number of pleased athletes who were happy to play at the collegiate level and the pleased parents who were seeing at least part of their financial burden relieved by benefit of their children's talent.

Which was in some part facilitated by club participation.

"Most of our players still do well in high school," Knezic said, "and more and more of them are playing in college."

OTHER AREA PLAYERS AT THE FC MILWAUKEE EVENT

Olivia Hoff of Whitefish Bay (Wisconsin), Samantha Kailas of Homestead (Marquette), Allison Miller of Homestead (Marquette), Jason Rogers of Nicolet (Concordia), Samantha Vicker of Whitefish Bay (Marquette) and Alyssa Vogel of Germantown (Wisconsin). 

The past year has indeed been a whirlwind for Homestead all-state football defensive end Ben Gardner.

Since the Highlanders loss to Arrowhead in the 2007 state final, the newly-minted Stanford recruit has been motivated and active, working hard to build muscle, speed and attitude. He made himself 25 pounds stronger, made himself a headache to opposing offenses and an equal to linemate and Wisconsin recruit Shelby Harris and helped Homestead reverse its state fortunes this fall with a state championship 2008 season.

But on national signing day Wednesday, with teammates Harris, Bobby Ollman (North Dakota State) and Casey Barnes (Northern Michigan) also inking letters of opportunity and intent, Gardner reflected on the last convoluted and complicated 10 days. A happy recollection it was indeed, as he found himself glad to make great, good friends with the Harbaugh family; make his westward-bound moving family delighted that they were only going to be a couple of hours away from where he was going to school and then found out that he was smarter than he thought he was.

Let's take it back to that Jan. 26 day, when he was in guidance counselor and assistant football coach Todd Reineking's office. He and Reineking had spent days prepping four complex essays that are neccesary for admission to Stanford, one of the elite universities in the country. A school that requires students earn academic admission before they can be offered a scholarship. Granted, he was doing this without a clear certainty that a scholarship was going to come his way.

It had been a relatively short time since Gardner had the good fortune of meeting Mequon-area resident Jack Harbaugh, who is the father of Stanford coach Jim Harbaugh. The elder Harbaugh himself knew a little about football himself having won a national collegiate grid title while coach at Western Kentucky. Gardner and the elder Harbaugh had a good 20-minute chat about things and the old coach was impressed enough to send off a tape of Gardner's highlights to his son. "A great guy," Gardner said of Jack.

Harbaugh's son was impressed enough to dispatch a couple of assistants for visits to discuss things with Gardner. The only problem was, was that football scholarships were tight at Stanford and Jim Harbaugh wasn't sure if he could come up with one for Gardner.

Which brings us back to Jan. 26, when a phone rang in Reineking's office while he and Gardner were going over things.

"It was really cool to see his face after he found out it was (Jim) Harbaugh offering him a scholarship," Reineking said. "The funny thing is, cell phone reception isn't always the best in my office but I could tell it was good news when his face went blank. He said 'I'm scared', but he had done well with the essays. Sometimes kids just don't realize how smart and talented they are."

"This whole thing has just been icing on the cake," Gardner said. "Just unbelievable. That I'll be going to a Pac-10 school and my family (which is moving out west at the end of the school year) will only be an hour-and-a-half away is just a great gift. ..We just fell in love with the place (Stanford). Everyone who helped make this possible gets my highest regards." He will major in management science and engineering.

"We all just about lost it when we found out," head coach Dave Keel said.

A bonus will be the fact that Gardner now gets to joke around with Harris about eventually meeting in the Rose Bowl someday. 

"Hey, we both have a lot of work to do to get there, man," laughed Harris.

But because of the work they put in up to this point, they now belong to the elite fraternity of recent Homestead defensive line collegiate recruits. A long and healthy lineage that includes Mike Matar, Adam and Erik Grimm, Qortney McLeod, Wale Adedokun and others. They all didn't succeed on the college level but they had the opportunity and line coach Tom Fugate is just delighted to see the run continue.

"A great deal of the credit goes to Dave (head coach Keel) and Fritz (defensive coordinator Rauch)," Fugate said. "They do a great job of distributing players (in camp). It's a time where we sit down and find out where they can contribute the best and be the most effective."

He said Gardner took it upon himself to improve himself starting with that 2007 state final.

"That's where he really takes off," Fugate said. "His attendance and interest in the weight room was superior, among the top 10 percent of our players. ..and his conditioning was phenomenal. That became apparent at the two-a-days in August, where we lined him up opposite of where plays were going and he would still get into the pursuit angle and bring the ballcarrier down."

As far as Harris, the 2007 WFCA state defensive player of the year and consensus all-state this season, is concerned, the scholarship for Gardner is not a surprise.

"I'm 100 percent happy for Ben," he said. "He's a good guy and deserves what he's getting."

The "good guy" thing is something that Harris, Keel and the rest who attended the signing ceremonies are proud of.

"All four of us have been together since youth football," Harris said. "It's a good feeling. We've all been together a long time and now we get to continue the dream. It just goes to show you how good the staff is here. They show us how to be good people and develop a good work ethic. Show us how to contibute to the community and still succeed."

And as for Keel, a man who introduced himself as "someone who just stays out of the way of all the other coaches", his pride was wider and deeper than the smile he carried this day.

"Shelby (going to Wisconsin) was a foregone conclusion," he said, "but the fact that he was able to stay in state and achieve is still amazing. Ben's thing came up so late but we were ecstatic when they (Stanford) found a place for him."

He was equally as happy for his All-Suburban strong safety Ollman, whom he said "found a home" at North Dakota State and for his quarterback Barnes, whom he said was "really jacked up about" going to Northern Michigan.

The whole event had a familial, cozy feeling, an emotion that Barnes summed up well. He said the NMU coaches were excited about his preparation and ability ("They made it clear that the school wanted me a great deal," he said), something he said was the result of the hard work of the Homestead coaches.

"That they send three or four guys a year (onto college ball) says a great deal about the program," he said. "A great deal about them (the coaches)."

It's been a game everyone in the North Shore has been pointing to ever since a last second jumper by a harried Whitefish Bay player went wide of the mark back in December and gave the two-time defending league champion Germantown boys basketball team a chance to breath a little easier after escaping with a two-point victory.

And both the Blue Dukes (7-1 in league and 12-1 overall) and Warhawks (8-0, 13-0) have done the wonderful thing of not allowing anyone to get in the way of this deliciously high-caliber re-match of state-ranked teams that will be played Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. in the historic and probably noisy Bay Fieldhouse. Both have endured scares. The Warhawks more early than late (their last seven wins have all been by a minimum of 10 points) and the Blue Dukes more recent (a fourth quarter rally needed to beat Cedarburg on Jan. 30).

But one thing is certain, despite any outcome, including that of Germantown extending a conference winning streak that began late in the 2006-2007 season or of Bay ending it, there will still be work for the victor to do if they want to win the North Shore championship.

"It is the biggest game right now because it is the next game we play," said the famously cautious Germantown coach Steve Showalter, who doesn't want his team to get too caught up in the hype of the contest.

Indeed, because if either team gets too happy because of a big win Tuesday night, landmines are still plentiful to blow up any potenital championship happiness. Both have games against dangerous squads from Port Washington, Homestead and Nicolet and the two senior-dominated squads still have non-conference distractions on their slate. Germantown will host Milwaukee Hamilton on Saturday at 3 p.m. The Wildcats are now led by long-time state championship coach Tom Diener formerly of Milwaukee Vincent. Germantown edged Diener's Vincent squad in a famous sectional final last season for the Warhawks first-ever trip to state.

Meanwhile, the Blue Dukes will host village rival and long-time state power Dominican on Feb. 10.

But for the moment, Tuesday is everything. Both sides will have focused, mentally tough Division I recruits at their helm. Germantown's 6-8 Ben Averkamp has dominated the middle of North Shore lanes for more than three years now, turning many potential lay-ups into fastbreak opportunities for the Warhawks. He will go to Loyola of Chicago.

Meanwhile, 6-2 Jimmy Sherburne has been a lockdown guard at the point for the Blue Dukes. He has been a defensive nightmare for the best opposing guards in the area and is also a deadly playmaker and shooter. He will go to Princeton.

A major key Tuesday night will be bench strength. In the Dec, 16 contest, Bay took an early lead but faded a bit in the fourth quarter as Germantown's depth (Showalter is comfortable with up to 12 players on his roster) wore them down. From then on, coach Dave Shaw said the Blue Dukes have been diligently working on adding depth.

"To some degree ever since we walked off that court," he said. "That last-second shot of ours missed and we've wanted nothing more than another opportunity with them and now we have it on our own home floor. For us to have success, we will have to start by limiting Germantown's second-chance opportunities. They just go to the boards so well. We just have to equal their intensity there and we've been working on getting other people involved. It's just a matter of balancing our strengths and weaknesses."

Senior forward Kevin James, whom Shaw calls a "warrior", will be counted on for much underneath for Bay.

And just for laughs, Shaw enjoyed recent Showalter comments about doubting whether the Blue Dukes would ever lose again this season.

"The way they're playing (the Warhawks) I don't think they have anything to worry about," Shaw countered.

And Showalter is indeed encouraged. The 80-plus point performances against Grafton and Milwaukee Lutheran last week were the best offensive outings of the season for Germantown and included a breath-taking 14 of 16 from two-point range effort in the first half of the Lutheran win on Jan. 30.

"On Monday I spent most of my time telling them (the Warhawks) how bad they were," Showalter said with a laugh. "Seriously, we talked about peaking. We have started playing a lot better since the Madison game (about a month ago) and I think its the unselfishness coming through. The kids realize that they're going to go in and out of the game six, seven, eight times a night. You just have to go hard for one or two minutes and then be ready for the next time.'

"This is a team that just wants to win," he added. "They don't care about points or anything else like that."

A feeling that will likely be infectious Tuesday night. 

Combine one part cold, two parts boredom and three parts of life's complications and you had the awkward siutation that North Shore Conference boys basketball leaders Germantown (10-0) and Whitefish Bay (10-1) found themselves in the weekend of Jan. 15-18.

With brutally cold temperatures that reached 15 below without the bone-crackling wind chill much of the weekend, schools throughout the area and therefore all basketball games and all other assorted extracurricular activities were postponed. Furthermore, since buildings were (supposed to be anyway) locked up, practices were curtailed or called off all-together. Games slated for Friday, Jan. 16, it seems, have been re-scheduled from now until the first day of spring (it only seems that way).

Take into account the fact that some schools are still trying to get in games in that were canceled by the blizzard of Dec. 19 and you had some seriously frustrated coaches. Including one that couldn't find enough for his team to do and another who had too much to do in too short a time.

Bay coach Dave Shaw was in the former camp, as he was at loose ends trying to keep his charges sharp. His team had not played since a win over Port Washington on Jan.9. They were fortunate enough to make up their postponed contest with Nicolet just this past Tuesday (Jan. 20) after 11 days off, but in a conversation after that 60-44 win, Shaw said that prior to that contest, his senior-based squad was literally bouncing off the walls looking for something to do especially in light of what seemed to be an endless series of practices.

"It was tough to keep them motivated at times (during practice)," he said. "I had to really work some motivational magic at times (laughs), so it was good that we got this one (Nicolet) in to take the edge off things."

His star, Princeton-bound senior guard Jimmy Sherburne, agreed.

"All those practices with no competition," he said. "Man, were we glad to get started again." 

Germantown coach Steve Showalter, however, was in a different situation altogether. The Warhawks had made up their Dec. 19 contest with Nicolet on Jan. 13 just a couple of days before the deep freeze set in (an 82-60 win). But Showalter, a Germantown police officer by day, suddenly found himself busier than he wanted to be due to the well-publicized Wal-Mart evacuation on Jan. 15, the first full day of the Arctic blast. He was one of the officers on duty when the event came about.

"We had to do all kinds of rescheduling as a result," he said. He was fortunate that he was able to find a kindly school official who allowed his team to get into the building  Jan. 16 for a little badly-needed practice. Further, he also caught another break when his non-conference game with Milwaukee Madison, which had already been rescheduled from Dec. 23, stayed on schedule for Jan. 17.

The Madison game was also a good chance for him to catch up with his old semi-pro, AAU and collegiate playing partner Aaron Womack. Womack, a native of Brown Deer, is coach of Madison. The 58-37 win before a surprisingly big crowd at Madison on a cold night, took a bit of the chill out of Showalter's bones despite temperatures that still hovered well south of the discomfort line (zero).  

But there was still no doubt about it, Showalter was a tired man by the time Sunday, Jan. 18 rolled around and he was going to take the tradiitional day of rest at face value and very, very seriously.

"Trust me," he said. "I was looking forward to today (a quiet Sunday)."

Because he knows it won't be quiet for long. Germantown, the two-time North Shore champ, will visit Bay on Tuesday, Feb. 3. The Warhawks edged the Blue Dukes, 53-51, on Dec. 13.