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View from the cheap seats

View from the cheap seats View from the cheap seats

A weekly perspective on sports

Casey Krautkramer Reporter The Record-Review

It’s been great to witness varsity high school volleyball matches again this fall with gyms full of people watching and student fans congregated together cheering loudly for their beloved teams. After all, it was a Oct. 29, 2016, WIAA Division 3 sectional semifinal volleyball match between Athens and Stratford in the Marathon High School gym that got me excited about the sport.

The Marathon gym was packed full of Athens and Stratford fans. Athens student fans wore bright colored t-shirts that I believe were hot pink and yellow, while Stratford’s student fans dressed as gangsters. I recall Stratford’s pep band even playing what seemed to be some sort of gangster song, and the Tigers mascot was dancing merrily with the student fans.

Athens and Stratford engaged in an intense back-and-forth battle on the volleyball court, with the Bluejays winning the match. Athens went on to defeat Wittenberg-Birnamwood in the Division 3 sectional championship match in the Auburndale High School gym to advance to the state championships for the first time in 40 years.

Kaylyn (Schreiner) Halopka was a senior on Athens’ memorable 2016 state tournament volleyball team. It amazes me she has already graduated from college and is in her first school year teaching fifth and sixth grade at St. Anthony de Panda Catholic School in Athens, where she once attended school herself while growing up in Athens.

Stratford was able to beat Athens the very next season, in a 2017 sectional semifinal volleyball match played in Auburndale’s gym, to advance to the state championships for the first time in school history.

It just so happens one of Stratford’s top volleyball players that season, Makayla Krall, is now dating Kyler Ellenbecker of Athens.

Stratford’s volleyball team ended up playing in two straight Division 3 state championships, finishing as state runners- up in the 2018 season.

Two weeks ago, I loved seeing the Stratford and Marshfield Columbus student fans performing chants backand- forth to each other during the volleyball match in Marshfield. Stratford seniors Cole Marten, Caden Bruesewitz, Elijah Lucio and Zack Seitz, among others, did a great job cheering for the varsity volleyball team.

On Thursday, I got to hear the Marathon High School pep band play songs before Marathon’s home volleyball match against Loyal. It was great to see Marathon student Saul Beranek enjoying his experience playing the drums. I also loved seeing the excitement Marathon’s student section had for its volleyball team. For example, Marathon seniors Noah Gage and Ben Robbins did a great job leading Marathon’s student section in cheers.

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