Sports Digest

Retzlaff won’t return to NASCAR ride

Rhinelander native Parker Retzlaff is in the market for a new ride for 2026 after announcing Monday that he will not return to Alpha Prime Racing in NASCAR’s second-tier Xfinity Series. 

“I can’t thank (team owners) Tommy Joe Martins, Caesar Barcarella and Team Alpha Prime enough for giving me the opportunity this seasoned allowing me to continue to chase this dream of mine,” Retzlaff stated in a social media post announcing the move. 

Retzlaff had an up-and-down year driving the No. 4 Chevrolet this season, which concluded with a 27th-place finish in the season finale Nov. 1 at Phoenix raceway Avondale, Ariz. Retzlaff recorded three top-10 finishes, including a career-best runner-up showing April 19 at Rockingham (N.C.) Speedway, but he also failed to finish eight of the 32 races on the schedule — tied for the second-most DNFs in the series this season. He finished 22nd overall in the championship standings and failed to make the playoffs.

“As a team, we have a lot to be proud of, achieving my career-best of second place at Rockingham and a lot of other stellar runs. Thank you for always showing up every weekend reach to be our best,” Retzlaff’s statement continued. “To my sponsors, supporters and team members, thank you for all of your supportive encouragement while I piloted the No. 4 this year.”

Retzlaff moved to Alpha Prime Racing in 2025 after two seasons with Jordan Anderson Racing. In three full-time seasons in the Xfinity series, Retzlaff has recorded four top-five finishes, 15 top-10 finishes and had a best championship finish of 16th in 2023. 

“As this year is another chapter in my book and a stepping stone to my career, thank you to everyone who helped me get to this point,” Retzlaff said.

Retzlaff stated in the release that his 2026 plans will be announced at a later date. 

WIAA warns of possible social media scam

The Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association (WIAA) on Tuesday sent a bulletin to its member schools and media, alerting them to what it claims is a fraudulent Instagram account impersonating the WIAA. 

“The Instagram account @wiaawisports has been actively engaging with member schools, photographers, and student-athletes — sharing links to fake livestreams, ticket sales, and requests for credit card information. Please note that this account and others are not affiliated with the WIAA in any way,” Megan Loken, marketing and brand manager for the WIAA, stated in the message.

Loken noted that fraudulent social media accounts often appear during popular WIAA tournament seasons. She encouraged schools and community members to report any suspicious accounts or posts claiming to represent the WIAA and avoid clicking on unfamiliar links related to WIAA livestreams or ticket sales unless shared directly by the WIAA’s verified accounts or posted on wiaawi.org.

Loken stated the association’s only official Instagram account is @wiaawi. The association is on X @wiaawi and @wiaawistate and the association’s official Facebook page can be found at www.facebook.com/WIAAWIS.

Find swim sectional results this weekend on RiverNewsOnline.com

Due to an early print deadline because of the Veterans Day holiday, a recap of Saturday’s WIAA Division 2 girls’ swim sectional meet in Rice Lake will be posted online this weekend at RiverNewsOnline.com. 

Those with a print subscription have online access included with their subscription. Call the River News office at 715-365-6397 during regular business hours (8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday to Friday) if you are not already set up for online access. 

A full report from the meet, and a preview of the WIAA Division 2 state swim meet will be published in the Friday, Nov. 14 edition of the River News.