Big wrestling tourney, big fundraiser to fight hunger
Two of the top teams in the Mississippi Valley Conference meet up on the mats tonight in Holmen to determine who is the best this season.
Both Holmen and Aquinas are ranked #2 in the state in their respective divisions; The Vikings in Division 1 and Aquinas in Division 3.
So each has something to prove when they get together this evening.
Beyond what’s expected to be a great competition in a packed fieldhouse, tonight’s match is also a fundraiser.
Money, non-perishable, and hygiene items are being collected for Pin Down Hunger to help people in the Holmen community.
Jason Luloff, Holmen’s Activities Director, said last year they raised nearly $4,000 at the event. This year, the goal is to raise $5,000.
It’s a good way to support the community, even if you may not be a wrestling fan.
“If you’ve never attended a wrestling dual meet, this would be a meet that I would highly recommend checking out. It’s one of those events where if you’re in the gym, you’re going to enjoy yourself. And I can say as a wrestling person, not all wrestling meets are that way,” Luloff said.
JV and Girls matches begin at 5:45 p.m. The Pin Down Hunger Event is at around 6:35 p.m. The Varsity matches start at 7 p.m.
If you're unable to make it, you can stream the meet at https://www.wktysports.com or on your TV via the Around River City app on Roku.
Ben Loomis: From Western Wisconsin to the Winter Olympics
He's traveled the world.
He's seen many European countries.
He is a Winter Olympian.
His name is Ben Loomis and he's from Eau Claire, Wisconsin.
Ben is 27 years old. He was named the Nordic Combined Athlete of the Year by the United States Ski and Snowboard Association in 2016. He competed in the 2018 and the 2022 Winter Olympics. But when we talked to Ben Loomis about his most memorable experiences, he brought up his time growing up in Eau Claire, Wisconsin.
He said his time there set him up well for his competitive career. The ski clubs and ski jumps in the area and in Wisconsin helped him as he grew into the Olympic athlete he is today.
Ben joined WIZM 1410 AM on the phone from Austria with La Crosse Talk's Sean Dwyer on Wednesday. That is where he is preparing and competing as a ski jumper on the U.S.A team. He is working toward medals as he prepares for this year's Winter Olympics in Milan, Italy. Ben has lots of fun stories to share.
Although this is his third Olympics, there are still nerves to deal with it. "Less so than maybe than in the past, just being a little more used to it. But just gotta learn how to navigate that and work with those nerves and use them to your advantage. But eliminating them, I would say, is basically impossible for just about everyone."
He admitted that says his favorite post-competition meal is a good hamburger, which he says is hard to find in Europe.
Listen to Loomis' full interview below.
Janus leaves UW-La Crosse for DII's Northern Michigan
After getting UW-La Crosse football to five consecutive trips to the NCAA Division 3 playoffs for the first time in school history, Matt Janus is moving on and moving up.
UW-L announced Monday that Janus is taking the head coaching job at Northern Michigan, a Division II school in Marquette, Mich., that competes in the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference.
UW-L’s search for his replacement begins immediately. Janus was the 24th coach in program history and sixth since 2002.
The Eagles finished No. 8 in the final D3Football.com poll this year, going 8-3 before losing in the third round of the playoffs, after a first-round bye.
Janus leaves with a 76.3 winning percentage (45-1) — second only to UW-L coaching legend Roger Harring's 77.1% (261-75-7 over 31 seasons).
Janus’ best season with UW-L was 2023, when he was named WIAC coach of the year and D3Football.com’s regional coach of the year. He led the Eagles to an 11-2 record overall and an unbeaten 7-0 in the WIAC and first-ever automatic bid to the playoffs.
There, UW-L made it to the quarterfinals for the first time since 1996, before losing to the eventual national champions, North Central — the same team that eliminated the Eagles this year, before losing to UW-River Falls in the title game.
TOP PHOTO: FILE - Matt Janus on the sidelines coaching the UW-La Crosse football team (PHOTO: UWL Athletics)
Cochrane-Fountain City loses in Division 7 Football Championship
The Cochrane-Fountain City Pirates came up short in their first ever visit to the WIAA State Football Championships with a 35-19 loss to Kenosha St. Joseph Catholic.
Both teams came into the Division 7 championship game at Camp Randall Stadium in Madison with equal 13-0 records.
The Lancers got on the board first when Zach Rizzo hit Tomas Baez for an 11-yard score.
The Pirates’ Aidan Lisowski answered with a 44-yard run to tie the game up at 7.
St. Joseph took the lead when Rizzo ran the ball in from the 1 to make it 14-7 after 1.
Two more scores gave the Lancers a 28-7 halftime lead.
A bit of excitement in the 3rd Quarter when Dylan Hager stripped the ball from a St. Joseph runner and ran it back 57 yards for a score to make it 28-13.
The Lancers came back early in the 4th quarter when Rizzo found Dominic Rinaldi for 62 yards and a score for a 35-13 lead. Rinaldi had 10 catches and 177 yards and two scores in the game.
A late 41-yard score on a pass from Parker Kujak to Steve Meyer made it the final score of 35-19.
Sciturro named new manager for La Crosse Loggers
Last year’s third base coach for the La Crosse Loggers is getting a promotion.
The team announced on Wednesday that Dominic Sciturro will take over as the new manager for the team.
He’s replacing Josh Frye, who recently began a new job at Biola University in California.
Besides manning third base, Sciturro was also the team’s hitting coach in 2025.
Under his leadership, the players set four franchise records for offense last season. The Loggers set records for runs scored and stolen bases, which was good for third place among all Northwoods League teams.
La Crosse also posted the second-highest batting average in franchise history at .276, and also set a single-season record with 104 hit-by-pitches.
In a release announcing the move, Sciturro said:
“Thank you to the Kapanke family, Chris Goodell, our former players, and the community of La Crosse for entrusting me to lead our ball club,” proclaimed Sciturro. “Last summer, I learned that La Crosse is a very special place to play our national pastime. Our Loggers will reflect the passion the community shares and will have a dedication every day to develop as the next group of Loggers who go on to do great things in the game of baseball. Copeland Park has a magic to it that only a baseball stadium that is broken in like an old ball glove can bring, In large part, that magic is due to our incredible fans. We are very fortunate to have the chance to play ball all summer representing the spirit of La Crosse and its tradition of Logger baseball. I take great ownership in the responsibility of helping these young men develop as people and players so that they may obtain the dreams they set out to achieve in college and beyond.”
Sciturro recently began a new job as the Director of Baseball Operations and Player Development at the University of Illinois-Chicago.
Cochrane-Fountain City heads to D7 state football championship
It took double overtime, but the Cochrane-Fountain City High School football team is headed to the state championship.
The Pirates got by the Oshkosh Lourdes 17-14 in the Division 7 semifinals and now take on Kenosha St. Joseph Catholic (13-0) at Camp Randall at 10 a.m. Thursday.
It's the first time to state for the Pirates.
Ethan Smith opened up the scoring for C-FC (13-0) with a 2-yard run that with the extra point, put them up 7-0 in the first quarter.
Both teams battled through three quarters to end in a 14-14 tie.
The defenses led the way in the fourth quarter with no scoring by either side. The lines fought through the first overtime with neither team scoring.
In double OT, an attempt by the Knights to score failed which set up an opportunity for C-FC's Robert Moya to get the win and trip to Madison.
His kick went through the uprights and into the school's history books.
Luther, Blair-Taylor lose in semis in WIAA state volleyball tourney
The Girls volleyball teams for both Luther and Blair-Taylor bow out of the WIAA State Volleyball tournament with loses in Friday's semifinal games.
In Division 3, fourth-ranked Luther fell to #1 seed Watertown Luther Prep in three sets, 25-17, 25-20, and 25-13. Audrey Clark had 8 kills for the Knights.
The Division 4 game between Heritage Christian and Blair-Taylor also went in straight sets. The Wildcats fell 25-12, 25-16, and 25-15.
Heritage Christian went on to win the Division 4 title by defeating Regis in the championship game.
Chloe Medenblik had 11 kills for Blair-Taylor.
Baldwin-Woodville ends Aquinas' football season
The Aquinas Blugolds season comes to a close with a 27-20 loss to Baldwin-Woodville in a WIAA Division 4 quarterfinal contest at Roger Harring Stadium on Friday night.
The Blugolds had to play from behind most of the evening with scores from Brady Lee and Marcus Klar.
A 55-yard score by Dane Veenendall and two-point conversion moved the Blackhawks out in front 16-6.
The Klar touchdown cut it to 16-12 but the Blugolds missed the two-point conversion.
A score by the Blackhawks' Joe Jensen and successful two-point conversion gave Baldwin-Woodville a 27-12 lead.
Aquinas scored again but wasn't able to complete the comeback in front of the home crowd.
Cochrane-Fountain City wins, Cashton comes up short in D7
The Pirates from Cochrane-Fountain City head to the next round of the WIAA State Football Division 7 playoffs with a 35-14 win over Boyceville on Friday night.
C-FC took a 21-14 halftime lead, then shutout the Bulldogs in the second half with a dominant defense.
The Pirates now take their 12-0 record into a game on Friday, November 14 against Lourdes Academy.
The game is set for 7 p.m. at Wisconsin Rapids Lincoln.
Whoever wins that game makes the trip to Camp Randall for the state championship.
In another Division 7 matchup, Cashton, who upset #1 seed Black Hawk/Warren, IL the week before, was shutout by Potosi/Cassville on Friday night by the score of 35-0.
Aquinas, C-FC, Cashton advance to next round of WIAA FB playoffs
LA CROSSE, WI (WKTY) - The Aquinas Blugolds advance to the next level of the WIAA State Football Tournament with a 49-7 win over Osceola on Friday night.
Ryan Johnson had the big night for Aquinas, tossing five touchdowns and 270 yards.
Receiving three of those passes was Brady Lee.
Logan Becker grabbed two of those passes for scores. He also had another one on the ground.
Aquinas plays Baldwin-Woodville next Friday at 7 p.m. in La Crosse.
In other playoff games on Friday night:
Central lost to #1 seed River Falls 50-24 in Division 2.
Logan's season also came to an end with a 31-22 loss, also to a #1 seed, Catholic Memorial in Division 3.
In another Division 3 game, Onalaska battled with Pewaukee at home on Friday night. The Hilltoppers fought back from 17-0 in the third quarter but came up a little short for a 24-21 loss to the Pirates.
West Salem lost on the road in a Division 4 contest to Little Chute. The final was 48-20.
In Division 5, Prairie du Chien lost to Stratford 28-21.
Bangor was beaten on the road by Mondovi in a Division 6 matchup with a final score of 41-12.
#1 ranked Cochrane-Fountain City shutout Glenwood City in Division 7, 27-0 to move to Level 3 of the playoffs. They play Boyceville in the next round.
#5 Cashton upset #1 Black Hawk/Warren, IL in their Division 7 bracket in the playoffs. Potosi/Cassville is next for Cashton.
Wauzeka-Steuben/Seneca lost to Hilbert in another Division 7 game, 22-20.