Posted: March 1, 2010 |(0) Comments

Menomonee Falls/Germantown girls gymnastics

Senior Abby Croft fought back illness and turned in a routine of a lifetime on the uneven bars to earn her first-ever WIAA State meet berth for the Indians from the intensely competitive sectional meet in Hartland on Saturday.

Her advancement was the major highlight from a day that saw teammates Aerial Holt (floor exercise) and Shelby Smykal (balance beam) narrowly miss out on state slots of their own.

"It was a beautiful effort," said Falls/GT coach Tracy Howard of Croft. "We were the first team up on bars and she had come down with the flu on Thursday night and was sick all the way through Friday night. Her parents drove her straight to the meet (on Saturday).

"She had a bucket with her, and she looked like a ghost but she absolutely gave it her all," Howard said. "She had nothing left at the end."

Croft turned in a score of 9.075, good for a tie for the fifth and final state meet berth in the event.

She will take part in state individual competition at 5:40 p.m. Friday when the WIAA State meet begins in the Wisconsin Rapids Lincoln field house. Team competition will be held on Saturday.

Croft's effort led the Indians to a sixth-place team finish in the nine-school event with 135.775, as Arrowhead (143.725) and Homestead (140.7) earned the state team berths.

Her qualifying marks the 20th time in Howard's 21-year coaching career that the Indians have advanced someone to the state meet.

And it was so close to being more than just one person. Smykal, another senior, was sitting in fourth on the beam (9.175) until the final two competitors, when she was bumped to fifth and then to the frustrating and nonqualifying sixth spot.

Smykal had won the event at the Greater Metro/North Shore event the week before.

Holt, just a freshman, had a similar experience, also taking sixth in floor exercise with a 9.1, just .05 out of a state berth.

"We had a spectacular team performance," said Howard, "a best for the season. It's just that everything was so close at this meet."

Menomonee Falls boys basketball

Momentum, it can safely be said, is on the Indians' side as the team enters the WIAA Tournament.

Falls closed out a perfect Greater Metro Conference season at 14-0 and ran its winning streak to 13 games with an 80-64 win over Brookfield Central on Feb. 25.

The Indians will (19-3 overall) earned a first-round bye in WIAA tournament play and will host the winner of seventh-seeded Waukesha North and 10th-seeded Mukwonago in a 1:30 p.m. regional final Saturday. Tickets can be purchased at the school athletic office. Availability is limited.

The regional champion will advance to sectional play at the Al McGuire Center on the Marquette University campus March 12 and 13. Falls made it to sectional finals last season before losing to two-time state qualifier Germantown.

"Last week we celebrated (when we clinched the GMC title)," said Indians coach Ben Siebert, "but we didn't want to finish 13-1 in conference, we wanted to go 14-0. The kids really wanted to run the table."

With the 19 wins, the Indians now have the most victories of any Falls team since the 1991-92 sectional final squad went 18-6.

Falls cruised out to a 17-10 first quarter lead on Central (12-10) and then never looked back. They were never able to really put away the Lancers, nor were they seriously threatened.

J.P. Tokoto led the way with 23 points as senior guards John Cording (17) and Conor Cassidy (15), each had one of their best games of the season. C. J. Malone added nine, as both he and Cassidy had three, 3-pointers apiece. Falls had a total of nine trifectas on the night.

"They started out in a zone on us and that slowed us for a little bit, but then we were really able to get after it," said Siebert.

Germantown girls basketball

The Warhawks just went flat in a 46-31 loss to North Shore Conference rival Grafton on Friday, and that loss may have cost them a place or two in WIAA seedings.

"We basically forget that there was a basketball game scheduled for Friday night," said Germantown coach Matt Stuve. "It was just one of those really bad days."

The point total was a season low for the Warhawks.

Germantown (9-4 in North Shore play and 16-5 overall), will try to close out the regular season on a positive note with a 7:30 p.m. Friday contest at Homestead. Then on March 9, they will turn around and host the Highlanders in a 7 p.m. WIAA regional semifinal.

The winner of that game will face the victor of fourth-seeded Waukesha South and 13th-seeded Menomonee Falls in a regional final on March 13 (TBA). Germantown is the fifth seed.

Germantown was actually up on Grafton 19-14 at the half, but then the Blackhawks outscored the Warhawks 16-2 in the third quarter to take control.

On Feb. 23, the Warhawks closed out their nonconference portion of the campaign with a 69-56 win over Greendale. They outscored the Panthers 24-7 in the first quarter and never looked back.

Eliza Wortman matched her season high with 29 points, including 11 free throws as Rachel Hoft contributed 17. Greendale's Mary Merg had 26 points, including six 3-pointers.

Menomonee Falls girls basketball

The Indians were overpowered by Brookfield Central, 63-36 on Friday and will prepare to close its regular season at home against Greater Metro Conference leader Divine Savior Holy Angels at 7:30 p.m. Thursday.

Falls earned the 13th seed in its WIAA sectional bracket and will visit fourth-seeded Waukesha South on March 9 in a 7 p.m. WIAA regional semifinal. The winner of that game will face the victor of Germantown and Homestead in a March 13 regional final (TBA).

GMC runner-up Central took a 21-8 lead in the first quarter on Falls and never looked back. Rachel Defnet had eight points and Kari Braatz seven for Falls.

Menomonee Falls/Germantown/Hamilton boys swim

The Indians recently announced their season-ending awards. The most valuable performer went to state runner-up diver Nate Cox, while the hardest worker honor went to Ben Perry. The team spirit award went to Ben Midlikowski.

The team recently finished its season with a 12th place finish in the Division 1 state standings.

 

- Steven L. Tietz