‘Jays are winners of last nine
Senior lefty nails corner threes in win
By Casey Krautkramer
Athens senior Evan Guralski calmly sank a trio of three pointers from the same corner on the basketball court to help his team easily beat Spencer, 66-37, in a nonconference matchup on Monday.
The Bluejays, with a 12-2 overall record this season, have won nine consecutive games heading into a home game this Thursday, Jan. 20, against twoloss Marathon.
Basketball fans might think Evan Guralski, the son of Shane and Carrie Guralski of Poniatowski, loves shooting the corner three pointer from watching him against the Rockets, but that’s not exactly the case.
“I’m not usually a fan of shooting corner three pointers because it’s all rim and no backboard, so either you swish the shot or you miss it,” the lefthanded shooting Evan Guralski said after the victory on Monday, while standing on the exact spot where he sank the trio of three pointers. “I’ve had a lot of success making corner three pointers in my home gym, so even though I don’t like shooting them, I’m getting good at making them so I guess I’ve learned to like them.”
Junior Aiden Janke led Athens with 20 points in the win against Spencer. Senior Kody Lepak contributed 12 points and Evan Guralski had 11. Senior Cooper Diedrich paced the Bluejays with seven assists and 11 rebounds. Lepak added 10 rebounds while junior Connor Sheahan and Janke had seven apiece. Lepak was second on the team with five assists. Diedrich and Janke led Athens with three assists each.
Athens head coach Jeramie Penney, while proud of his team’s win against Spencer, realizes the Bluejays didn’t play a perfect game because they had too many “unforced turnovers” against the Rockets.
“We aren’t clicking on all cylinders yet because we need to reduce our unforced turnovers,” Penney said. “We need to make the other team play defense against us, but we are causing our own turnovers by throwing the ball away. Sometimes our players need to be more selfish and just score a basket instead of looking to make an extra pass.”
Athens needed overtime to beat Prentice, 69-67, on the road Friday. Diedrich and Lepak led the Bluejays with 19 points apiece, while Sheahan added 17 points and Janke had 14.
Janke paced Athens with seven blocks and 12 rebounds. Lepak added eight rebounds and Diedrich had five. Diedrich led the team with eight assists and four steals, while Sheahan had three steals.
Athens girls win big
The Athens varsity girls basketball team destroyed Prentice, 73-33, on the road Thursday. The Bluejays improve their record to 6-2 in the Marawood North Conference and 12-2 overall this season.
Sophomore Addison Lavicka led Athens with 19 points and seven assists. Sophnomore Jazelle Hartwig contributed 18 points and sophomore Sydney Coker added 11.
Lavicka and Sophia Coker paced the Bluejays with nine rebounds apiece, while Lavicka and Hartwig led the squad with five steals each. Sophia Coker had two blocks.
Tiger boys beat ‘Jacks
Stratford’s varsity boys basketball team improved its overall record to 13-1 this season after Tuesday’s 66-43 non-conference road victory against Wausau East.
Senior Camden Daul led the Tigers with 21 points and junior Ashton Wrensch added 15. Senior Devin Ulrich contributed 10 points and senior Kaden Griesmer had eight.
Daul paced the team with five assists and senior Caden Bruesewitz added four. Daul and Ulrich led Stratford with eight rebounds each. The Tigers shot 50 percent from the floor against the Lumberjacks.
Stratford upended Wisconsin Rapids Assumption, 63-18, on the road Friday.
Daul led the Tigers with 19 points while junior Braeden Schueller added 11 and Wrensch had 10.
Bruesewitz paced Stratford with seven assists. Ulrich led the team with five rebounds and two steals.
Stratford made 11 of 14 two-point shots for 78 percent. The Tigers shot an overall 20 of 37 for 54 percent from the floor against Assumption.
The Tigers’ lone defeat this season is to the Marathon Red Raiders. Marathon and Stratford are currently tied atop the Marawood South Conference with 8-1 records.
Stratford girls fall to Eagles
Stratford’s varsity girls basketball team lost to Auburndale, 43-39, at home on Tuesday. The Tigers fall to 4-5 in the Marawood South Conference and 8-8 overall this season.
Junior Tessa Berg led Stratford with 13 points, while junior Ella Heidmann added eight. Juniors Lauren Kraus and Bailey Linzmaier contributed seven points each.
PUSHING THE BALL UP THE COURT- Athens senior Kody Lepak dribbles the ball in front of a Spencer player during the Bluejays’ 66-37 home win against Spencer on Monday. He was second on the team in scoring with 12 points against the Rockets.STAFF PHOTO/CASEY KRAUTKRAMER
DRIVING HARD TO THE HOOP- Edgar junior Reagan Borchardt gets fouled by a Wausau Newman Catholic player during the Wildcats 55-35 home win on Thursday.STAFF PHOTO/CASEY KRAUTKRAMER
