View from the cheap seats
A weekly perspective on sports
Casey Krautkramer Reporter The Record-Review
I’ve tried hard not to interview my relatives while working as a sports writer at The Record-Review newspaper for nearly the past six years, so readers won’t think I’m biased in my reporting.
On Saturday night, however, I felt it was necessary for me to interview my first cousin, Hope Krautkramer, who is a senior on Marathon’s volleyball team. She played one of the best matches in her high school career and she deserved to be interviewed for my story on the Red Raiders winning their first WIAA Division 3 regional championship in six years. I love researching the archive newspapers in the office, in order to discover the history of when a local sports team last won a regional, sectional or state title. Local natives Bailey Seubert of Marathon and Lane Tessmer of Athens, who are now an engaged couple, both had historic 2014 fall sports seasons for their respective schools.
Bailey was a great volleyball player on the Red Raiders’ WIAA Division 3 state runners-up squad in 2014, which was coached by Carla Elliott who retired after that season. This was the most successful volleyball team in Marathon High School history.
Other great volleyball players on Marathon’s 2014 state runners-up team were sisters Amanda and Emily Kind, Morgan Rachu, Julia Anderson, Courtney Ford, Sarah Volhard, Olivia Meurette and Dana Gertschen.
Lane, meanwhile, was a great running back on the Athens 2014 football team that lost, 31-7, to Fond du Lac St. Mary’s Springs in the game before state. This was the most successful football team in Athens High School history, because it advanced the furthest in the playoffs of any Bluejays’ football squad and its only loss in the 2014 season was to St. Mary’s Springs.
The sport was so important to Lane that I remember him carrying a football into the Athens High School gym during his 2015 graduaton ceremony.
In this week’s sports section, my coworker Ross Pattermann features Cobie Ellenbecker, the youngest brother of Collin Ellenbecker, in his story on the Athens football team beating Stevens Point Pacelli on Saturday afternoon. Collin Ellenbecker was the Bluejays’ starting quarterback in the team’s historic 2014 season.
Ross also features Dayne Diethelm scoring five touchdowns against Pacelli in his story this week. Dayne’s oldest brother, Devon Diethelm, was another great player on the Athens 2014 football team.
Other great players on the 2014 Athens football squad were Shane Coker, Austin Engel, Tyler Hutchinson,
brothers Max and Jake Stange, Aaron Wickman, Tony Thurs, brothers Nathan and Jared Belisle and Steven
Busse. I apologize if I failed to mention other great players on this team.
