Plain White T s to perform at Fieldhouse By LINDA MCALPINE Although a medical emergency led to a cancellation of the U2 Zoo concert Thursday night at the West Bend high schools, the group that organized it, Athletes for the Arts, announced plans to bring the band Plain White T s to perform May 16 in the West Bend High School Fieldhouse. The group, Athletes for the Arts, is comprised of student athletes from both West Bend high schools who are working to raise money to support the West Bend Public Schools Foundation s $3 million campaign to transform the high school auditorium into a state-of-the-art performing arts center. Thursday night s concert was to be the first of two to raise money for the auditorium renovation. West Bend School District Superintendent Ted Neitzke said tickets for the May 16 concert will be $25 and will go on sale April 21 at Westbury Bank. Plain White T s is a Grammy-nominated pop/rock group from Chicago. They were also nominees in the American Music Awards, MTV Video Music Awards and Peoples Choice Awards, and won the Teen Choice Awards in 2007, according to information on the band on MTV s website. Associated Press file photo The Plain White T's perform their No. 1 song Hey There Delilah during their appearance on NBC s Today on July 24, 2007, in New York. Silverbook has chain of respect By LINDA MCALPINE It snakes its way through Silverbrook Middle School for approximately one-eighth a mile but when students see it suspended from the ceiling and winding its way down the hallways, they smile. On Thursday morning, Erica Becker, school counselor, climbed a ladder and added a few more lengths of the chain made of colorful paper links that lines the school s hallways near the ceiling. We call it our respect chain, Becker said, giving the chain a twist to untangle it before fastening it in place near the ceiling in one the hallways. During lunch students can take a strip of colored paper and write down what respect means to them or what they did that day that showed respect. The paper then becomes a link in the chain. On one day, I wrote that respect means caring for others, said Chanel Kreuser, a sixth-grader who was overseeing a table in the school s cafeteria to assist other students in making their paper links. I also wrote one that says that respect is listening to others.
Sixth-grader Quentin Hanson said he wrote about helping a student who had dropped their books. I also think respect is holding doors open for others and I wrote that on a link, too, he said, lifting a cardboard box that was filled to overflowing with the latest sections to be added to the chain. The chain was started last week and the goal is to have it run the entire length of the building, Becker said. About 60 percent of referrals of students to the school office are due to issues that deal with disrespect in some form, Becker said. We decided we wanted to do something with the students that would focus on what respect is and do so in a positive and real way. Kristen Jenkins, a fifth-grader, said being involved in making the chain and seeing it grow is having a good impact on students. I do think behavior is changing and people are becoming more respectful, she said. You hear kids talking about the chain while walking in the halls. Fifth-grader Sierra Tillman said the colorful links are helping to promote an increase in school spirit, too. I think there is a lot of school pride in it, she said of the chain. Assistant Principal Dave Talma said he guesses the chain was about an eighth of a mile long as of Thursday morning. Becker said making the chain isn t the only way respect is being brought to the students attention. We ve been making respect part of our daily discussions and we have lots of fun activities planned as surprises for the students next week, she said. Linda McAlpine/ Silverbrook Middle School counselor Erica Becker uses a ladder Thursday morning to hang a paper chain created by students with each link reinforcing what respect means at the school.
GIRLS SOCCER G town cruises past West Warhawks Blankenheim scores hat trick By JASON CLARY GERMANTOWN In a non-conference girls soccer matchup between West Bend West and Germantown, Warhawks senior Paige Blankenheim recorded a hat trick and helped lead her team to a 8-0 victory over the Spartans on Thursday. Blankenheim scored the game s first goal just three minutes in one of five first-half goals for Germantown. The five goals were scored in the first 17:12 of the match. The Spartans were short-handed, missing starters Alex Saythany-Sengmanivong, Maya Patrykus and Kristina Krier, who were out because of injuries. However, on the other side, Germantown was without senior Amy Flasch, who tore her ACL in the Warhawks last game, a 3-2 loss against Whitefish Bay. Flasch is committed to play soccer at Winona State in the fall. You never know when your last game is going to be, Germantown coach Paul Sikinger said. She has started every game since freshman year. It s devastating. We started the second half with a different formation. I think we re going to be moving forward with that. Everyone knows they ll have to pick it up. They ve been around the game long enough to be able to adjust. Flasch, along with Blankenheim, Maddie Tetzke and Kayla Schlosser are all playing collegiate soccer next year. West coach Kyle Cruse said his team knew what it was getting into when it agreed to play Germantown. We re a super young team, he said. We started four freshmen and two sophomores. There s times where we re going to be unorganized. But, we re getting better every single game. We played them pretty strong for the last 35 minutes we ll take that. We know (Germantown is) going to compete for a state championship. After the first five goals got past West goalkeeper Jessica Gruber, the Spartans put freshman Grace Oliver in the net and got solid minutes from their versatile upand- comer. She plays in the field, too, Cruse said. She has some experience back there. I knew what she could do in goal. Germantown possessed the ball for most of the first half and for the majority of the second half, all while being aggressive and putting the ball on net. The Warhawks had 28 total shots, compared to the Spartans three. Oliver let three balls get past her, but also had a dozen saves. Overall, we gained a lot of confidence (tonight), Sikinger said. Especially coming off our loss from Whitefish Bay. (West) was able to stop a lot of things we were trying to do, but we were able to (capitalize). We could have tucked more away. Along with Blankenheim s hat trick, Tetzke and Mackenzie Challoner added two goals, and Brianna Klopfer had one. GERMANTOWN 8, WEST 0 West Bend West...0 0 0 Germantown...5 3 8 First half 1, GT, Blankenheim, 3rd minute; 2, GT, Tetzke, 7th minute; 3, GT, Challoner (Blankenheim), 12th minute; 4, GT, Tetzke, 15th minute; 5, GT, Klopfer (Schyler), 17th minutesecond half 6, GT, Challoner, 42nd minute; 7, GT, Blankenheim, 45h minute; 8, GT, Blankenheim, 52nd minute
John Ehlke/ Germantown s Mackenzie Challoner, left, and West Bend West s Brianna Greefkes battle for position Thursday evening in Germantown. TRACK AND FIELD Slinger girls win WLT title West leads area boys teams By MARK HUTCHINSON Conley News Service OCONOMOWOC How high can you climb? Slinger pole vaulter Jordyn Schwartz cleared 10 feet, and her winning performance in the final event catapulted the Owls to the girls team title in the Wisconsin Little Ten Conference Indoor Track and Field Meet on Thursday. Slinger scored 118 points to win the meet by four points over West Bend West. The boys team title went to Wisconsin Lutheran, which collected 130 points to dethrone defending champion Oconomowoc by 24 points. The Raccoons took second. Schwartz s dramatic triumph wasn t the only one of the day for the Owls, who also got first-place efforts from Mary DeWalt (55 dash in 7.59; the 200 in 27.41; the 400 in 1:01.89), Kiley Sabin (shot put, 43-11.50), Julia Haugen (55-meter hurdles in 9.29 seconds), and Brook Johnson, Schwartz, Kaitlyn Kelly and Haugen (640 relay in 1:31.50). West s event winners were Erica Wanie in the long jump (16-0.50), and Abby Janto, Leah Gudex, Kyra Gudex and Caroline Krebs (the 3,200 relay in 10:28.27). Hartford finished fifth in the girls meet with 65.50 points, and West Bend East came in eighth with 14.50. Other first-place finishers from area girls teams were Hartford s Ashley Melvin in the high jump (4-10), and Melvin, Nina Bustamante, Lisa LaBelle and Hannah Mertens in the 1,600 relay in 4:23.15. West's boys placed third with 91 points, Hartford was fourth with 86, West Bend East was seventh with 29 and Slinger was eighth with 17. The Spartans event champions were Jason Diels in the shot put (50-7.25), Alec Miller (1,600 in 4:44.60), Tyler Boudry, Alex Haese, Donovan Ferguson and Justin Schroedel in the 640 relay in 1:19.43, and Ryne Prinz in the 3,200 in 10:22.86. That's the first time since I've been head coach that we've won that race, West coach Mike Vorpahl said of the 640 relay. We had a few hiccups here and there, but the distance ran well; they were very strong, Vorpahl said. In all the distance events, we scored two people. Hartford s Donovaun Britton won twice (high jump, 6-2; 55 hurdles, 8.08 seconds). Teammate
Drew Dueck won the 800 in 2:01.63. WISCONSIN LITTLE TEN CONFERENCE INDOOR MEET at Oconomowoc High School Girls Team Scores 1. Slinger 118; 2. West Bend West 114; 3. Wisconsin Lutheran 76.50; 4. Beaver Dam 69; 5. Hartford 65.50; 6. Oconomowoc 60; 7. Watertown 27.50; 8. West Bend East 14.50 Boys Team Scores 1. Wisconsin Lutheran 130; 2. Oconomowoc 106; 3. West Bend West 91; 4. Hartford 86; 5 Watertown 46.50; 6. Beaver Dam 39.50; 7. West Bend East 29; 8. Slinger 17 SPRING PREVIEW: EAST TRACK AND FIELD Suns girls team hopes to build on confidence boost Boys have a lot of new faces this year By NICHOLAS DETTMANN West Bend East s girls track and field teams hopes Megan Ludke s confidence boost this fall can carry into this spring not only for her, but for the whole team. In the fall, Ludke qualified for the WIAA State Cross-Country Championship meet, giving East its first state qualifier since Jenna Hirschboeck in 1999. It s great for her going to state for cross-country, said Cody Olson, the Suns first-year girls track and field coach. It s a huge confidence builder. It can lead to a lot of great things. The Suns only have two seniors on the team, but only one has been on the varsity team for four years, Sarah Laufer, who specializes in the distance events, such as the 800 and 1,600. The other senior is in her first year with the program. But don t let that fool you. While the team is full of underclassmen, all have already had their taste of competing in track and field. There are 11 juniors on the team, including Ludke, and plenty of sophomores with experience that has Olson optimistic for a potentially good season. They seem like they re seniors, Olson said of his sophomore class. They re amazing girls. Those sophomores include Georgia Harrison, Morgan Dommisse and Emmalee Ciriacks. Harrison was sixth at the Wisconsin Little Ten Championship in the 800 last season, while Dommisse was third in the 3,200 and Ciriacks was second in the triple jump. Dommisse, Harrison and Ludke return from the sixth-place sectional 3,200 relay team as well. We have a great distance core, Olson said. Anybody can fill that spot. Ludke was seventh at the WLT Championship in the 1,600. During the cross-country season, the Suns had their best finish at conference (fifth) since taking fifth in 2000. Despite the struggles with the program while their counterparts, the West Spartans continue to flourish, the Suns impressed Olson, who was an assistant with the program last year. Olson was also an assistant for the Suns boys program for five seasons. They never gave up, he said. We started off rough with some meets, but we progressed from there and we built that team unity. When the coach, Julie Willmas, stepped down, Olson didn t plan to succeed her. As time passed, Olson believed he should be the coach. I didn t want someone to come in and not know the team and just plug people in, he said. While the outlook for Suns girls program appears to be good, it doesn t look as good for the boys team. The East boys program graduated most of its team, most notably Korey Peters, a state qualifier. One of the leading competitors back for the Suns is Alex Dodge. Dodge took fifth at last year s sectional and missed qualifying for state in the triple jump by just 2
feet. Also back is Tyler Bodart, a state qualifier on the 400 and 1,600 relay teams. He s the only runner back for the Suns in both events that competed at state. We are young and new, East coach Tom Hoogester said. With losing 11 seniors last year, six of them state qualifiers, we are looking to fill in some gaps. I do have a good senior class this year but losing guys like Nick Pabich, Korey Peters, Joe Munch, Tom Balestrieri, Matt Melvin, Jake Perez, Kyle May and Zach Anderson isn t going to be easy and has left us with some holes to fill. There at least appears to be willing takers for those spots, with 14 freshmen. We have some newer faces that are giving track a try and are loving the new experience, Hoogester said. The jumps, throws and distance events look to be the Suns strong points. Pole vault may be another one as Eliah Memmel is already clearing 10 feet 6 inches, where the top height last year was 9 feet. We may not be the most talented in some areas, we may not score a lot of points in some meets, but we are having fun and we have a great group of guys, Hoogester said. file photo West Bend East s Alex Dodge nearly missed qualifying for state last year in the triple jump. SOFTBALL Firing blanks Hartford shuts out 2nd-straight opponent By ADAM LINDEMER HARTFORD Hartford Union s softball team has been collecting the hits early this season. The Orioles are also playing tough defense and stellar pitching to go along with it. A dangerous combination for any opponent. The Orioles shut out the West Bend West Spartans, 8-0, to continue the season s hot start. In just two games this season, Hartford (2-0, 2-0) has outscored its opponents, 23-0, while pitcher Clare Robbe struck out 26 batters 13 in each game. (Clare) took advantage today, Hartford coach Tim Kerrigan said. The first two games, she s kept the ball down. When the ball gets up in the strike zone is when you have problems, but she s done a good job of keeping it down. After pitching a perfect game Tuesday against West Bend East, Robbe allowed an infield single in the top of the first against West to end the bid for a second-straight perfect game. She went
on to allow four hits and five base-runners in the game, with just two runners reaching second base. We re not hitting the ball, West coach Dallas Wodsedalek said. We put the ball in play today, but we just couldn t string any hits together. Of her 13 strikeouts, Robbe had nine during the last four innings, including striking out the side in both the fourth and seventh inning. John Ehlke/ Hartford Union s Rachel Cammack slides under the tag of the West Bend West catcher for the first run of the game Thursday in Hartford.