Sports Digest

McFadden snags Eagle River USRA $1,200 payday

Jim Falls driver Jason McFadden ended a three-decade drought, leading every lap and surviving late race pressure from Jason Zdroik and Lucas Peterson to win the $1,200 USRA late model feature at Eagle River Speedway Saturday, Aug. 2.

The veteran racer got a good jump into the lead at the drop of the green of the 25-lap contest. Zdroik, who started outside of McFadden, maintained the second spot with current USRA national points leader Peterson running third.

The trio ran nose-to-tail for several laps, with the three running into lapped traffic with five laps remaining. McFadden kept his racer glued to the bottom groove, while Zdroik rolled the dice, and slid up to the high groove with lapped cars on the horizon.

Zdroik’s gamble came up just short as Peterson was able to play his cards right, and nipped Zdroik at the checkers for the runner-up spot. The defending track champion settled for third place money at the pay window. Zack and Travis Friske placed fourth and fifth, respectively at the checkered flag.

Pewaukee’s Jacob Zimmerman went wire-to-wire and survived a lone caution period to capture the 600 Micro Sprint feature. Watertown’s Caden Toliver, Cornell, Michigan’s Ethan Manninen, Boulder Junction’s Mya Towne and Rhinelander’s Blake Joslin finished second through fifth, respectively.

Both of the 300 Sprint Pro and Semi-Pro features went flag-to-flag without a caution. Escanaba, Michigan’s Tanner Rae won the Pro main while Beaver Dam’s Kaides Coombs won the Semi-Pro main.

Vintage features were won by Ringle’s Jeremy Allard and Merrill’s Brian Witberler.

The Badger Midget Auto Racing Association, making its first appearance at the speedway in 40 years, highlighted the Saturday night special. Todd Kluever became that series’ first new feature winner in nearly three months by taking the checkered flag in the 25-lap main event. In doing so he ended the all-time consecutive win streak in Badger for Parker Jones at nine wins.

Area youth bowlers compete in state tournaments

    Parker DeLaGarza of Eagle River is pictured after rolling a 300 game at the Wisconsin USBC Youth 500/600 Tournament Saturday, July 27 in Madison. (Submitted photo)
  

Hailey Crow and Parker DeLaGarza, two youths from Eagle Lanes in Eagle River claimed top spots in Wisconsin USBC Tournaments July 26-27 at Bowl-A-Vard Lanes in Madison. 

Kicking off the weekend in the Youth/Adult Baker Tournament on Saturday evening, Hailey Crow teamed up with her dad, Timothy, to compete in the U18 division. The team finished with games of 168, 168, 202 and 153 for a scratch score of 691 and a 937 with their handicap.

That 937 allowed the two to take first place in the division out of 32 teams and walk away with $500 in Hailey’s SMART Scholarship account.

Also in the U18 division, Rhinelander’s Dominic Hakala teamed up with family friend Zachery Wolf to put away games of 159, 169, 157 and 161 for a scratch score of 646 and handicap score of 737. The two took 31st out of the 32 teams. 

In the U15 Division of the Youth/Adult Baker Tournament, Rhinelander’s Natalie Dellenbach paired up with her mom, Christy, with games of 130, 152, 123 and 129 for a 534 scratch score and 835 with handicap. The two finished 30th out of 33 teams. 

The next day the Wisconsin USBC held its annual Youth 500/600 Tournament, open to youth who shot either a 500 series or higher (girls) or 600 series or higher (boys) in a state-championship event. 

Eagle River’s Parker DeLaGarza shot a 300 game to help him claim first place in the boys’ 160-189, scratch division. That first-place finish gave him $300 toward his SMART Scholarship account and he also earned a Junior Gold spot in the 2026 Junior Gold National Youth Tournament in Minneapolis next July. 

Also competing in the 500/600 tournament from the Northwoods USBC Alan Edwards (Eagle Lanes) and Hakala (Nick’s Hodag Lanes). 

WIAA names spring tournament sportsmanship winners

The Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association, in partnership with Rural Mutual Insurance Company, has selected the team Sportsmanship Award winners for the 2025 spring state team tournaments.

The winners of the award are Brookfield Central in girls’ soccer, Fall Creek in softball, Johnson Creek in baseball, and Neenah in boys’ tennis.

Brookfield Central received positive evaluations for the sportsmanship displayed by players, coaches and spectators at the state girls’ soccer tournament in Milwaukee June 19-21.It’s the fourth time the Lancers have been bestowed the honor overall and the first time in girls soccer. The second-seeded Lancers captured the Division 2 title with a 2-1 victory over Pewaukee in the championship game after defeating Sauk Prairie 3-0 in the semifinals.

The sportsmanship displayed by Fall Creek at the state softball tournament in Madison June 11-14 led to its selection as the WIAA/Rural Mutual Insurance Sportsmanship Award recipient for the first time in softball and for the fourth time overall. As the top seed in Division 3, they finished runner-up following an 11-5 loss to second-seeded Poynette in the championship game. D2 state qualifier Lakeland was one of 10 schools to receive honorable mention.

Johnson Creek demonstrated respectful and positive team and spectator support in winning the Division 4 championship at the state baseball tournament held in Grand Chute June 16-19. It’s the first time the Bluejays have been named as the recipient of the award. As the second seed, they shutout top-seeded Pacelli 5-0 in the championship game after downing third-seeded Pittsville 6-2 in the semifinals. 

Neenah was selected as the award recipient after the Rockets advanced to semifinals of the state boys’ team tennis tournament conducted in Madison June 16-19. It’s the 12th time in Neenah has been honored with the award and the fifth time in boys tennis. As the No. 4 seed, the Rockets defeated Marquette 4-3  in the Division 1 quarterfinals before falling to top-seeded, and eventual champion, Brookfield Central 6-1 in the semifinals. 

The WIAA/Rural Insurance Sportsmanship Award is presented to one school program and community — or communities in the case of cooperative programs — that demonstrates outstanding sportsmanship in WIAA team tournaments. Award winners are determined by the conduct and sportsmanship displayed by athletes, coaches, cheer and support groups, mascots, bands and spectators. Additional consideration is given for the effort of school administrators and chaperones to ensure support for their teams is positive and showcases the highest ideals of sportsmanship.

The selection process includes evaluations from contest officials, tournament management, as well as, security personnel, crowd control and ushers, and WIAA staff members. Rural Mutual Insurance began sponsoring the Sportsmanship Award program back in 1965.