Cancer survivors unite on court

Teams raise funds to help other kids fight cancer

By Casey Krautkramer

Marathon’s varsity boys and girls basketball teams both easily beat Prentice on Friday, but that wasn’t the major story of the night in the Marathon High School gym.

The much larger story on Friday was the Red Raiders and Buccaneers’ varsity basketball squads and their fans raising at least $3,200 from tshirt sales, along with 50/50 and basket raffles, for the Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals at Marshfield Children’s Hospital.

Both Marathon and Prentice’s school colors include red but there was a sea of orange in the gym from coaches, players and fans from both schools wearing t-shirts that read, “Losing is not an option” on the front of them and “Supporting the fighters, admiring the survivors, honoring the taken and never, ever giving up hope” on the back.

Both schools raised money for the Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals at Marshfield Children’s Hospital in honor of Marathon sophomore girls basketball player Maddy Lang and Prentice girls basketball player Je’ann Johnson, who have both recovered from childhood cancer. The Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals at Marshfield Children’s Hospital helped out both of these young ladies during their battles against cancer.

Lang is now in remission from battling leukemia for the past 2-1/2 years. She was able to play against Je’ann Johnson at the end of the second half during the Marathon varsity girls’ 66-11 win against Prentice. Lang attempted two shots but they failed to go into the hoop, which didn’t bother her one bit because she’s accomplished so much more already in her life than simply making a basket.

“It feels pretty great to be cancer free,” said Lang, who is a shy and humble young lady. “I think it was pretty awesome both teams came together to raise money again for the Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals at Marshfield Children’s Hospital after we did it two years ago.”

Marathon girls basketball coach Jeff Schneider felt Friday was the right time for Marathon and Prentice to recognize Lang and Je’ann Johnson for their hard work in recovering from cancer.

“A few years ago when Maddy first got her cancer diagnosis, we had a fundraiser to support Maddy’s family during our game against Prentice because we knew Prentice head coach Chris Johnson’s daughter was also battling cancer at a young age,” Schneider said. “Now that both girls have beaten cancer and are in remission, we felt now was a good time to celebrate their bravery.

“People really don’t know what having cancer is like until they need to go through it themselves, and fortunately most of us don’t need to go through what they did, and certainly not at a young age. Both Maddy and Je’ann are an inspiration to us.”

Marathon led, 31-3, at halftime against Prentice. Red Raiders senior Allison Wokatsch scored a game-high 17 points in the victory.

Red Raider seniors Jada Prihoda and Laci Hoesksema and junior Kali Prihoda each scored eight points against the Buccaneers. Senior Jenna Aschbrenner and junior Ahlexis Dru Nowak added six points apiece.

Wokatsch also led Marathon with five assists and eight rebounds, and she tied Jada Prihoda for the team lead in steals with five apiece. Hoeksema contributed seven rebounds, while senior Camryn Sapinski had two assists and five boards. Kali Prihoda and Sapinski added three steals each.

Marathon’s varsity girls basketball team has a 6-5 overall record this season after suffering a 61-46 non-conference home loss to Amherst on Monday.

The Red Raiders led the Falcons, 30-22, at halftime but they were outscored, 39-16, in the second half.

Wokatsch led Marathon with 17 points in the loss, while Kali Prihoda added 13. Jada Prihoda paced the Red Raiders with three assists and nine rebounds. Jada Prihoda tied with junior Ashley Phakitthong for the team lead in steals with two apiece.

Boys score pair of wins

Marathon’s varsity boys basketball team downed Prentice, 92-51, on Friday at home.

Senior Jaden Koeller led the Red Raiders with 23 points, while sophomore Grant Warren added 14 and he also grabbed a team-high nine rebounds. Senior Ben Robbins and sophomore Tyler Underwood contributed 12 points each and senior Nathan Hanke added 11. Junior Drew Love had eight points.

Senior Noah Gage and Underwood paced the team with five assists each. Koeller and Robbins led the Red Raiders with three steals apiece.

Marathon improved its overall record to 9-1 this season following a 7550 non-conference home win against Rhinelander on Saturday.

Koeller and Warren led the Red Raiders with 20 points each against the Hodags. Warren also paced the squad with seven rebounds. Robbins led Marathon with six assists and Gage had four.

OPPONENTS ON THE COURT AND FRIENDS OFF THE COURT- Marathon sophomore girls basketball player Maddy Lang (1) dribbles the ball against Prentice senior Je’ann Johnson on Friday. They might’ve been opponents on the basketball court Friday night, but they are friends off the court because they are both childhood cancer survivors.STAFF PHOTO/CASEY KRAUTKRAMER