Locals successfully compete in men’s basketball, women’s swim

PART 2: WINTER SPORTS COLLEGE REPORT

The recently-completed winter sports season at the college level included several Taylor County athletes competing in indoor track, wrestling, basketball and women’s swimming.

Here is part two of our look at some of the notable performances from those athletes, focusing on men’s basketball and women’s swimming.

Levi Ewan, a 2020 Rib Lake graduate, helped lead the UWSP-Wausau Huskies to the Wisconsin Competitive Sports League championship this winter.

In his second season in the program, Ewan was second on the team in scoring at 19.1 points, averaged 4.1 rebounds per game and added 4.4 assists per game with 61.

The only Husky to score more was Chase Bonnell, a Merrill graduate who scored 23.8 points per game. The only Husky with more assists was Ryan Lecerte, a Wausau East alum, who had 97.

Ewan shot 45.8% from the field overall (87 of 190) and was 41.5% from 3-point range (39 of 94). He also shot 78.6% from the free throw line (55 of 70).

The Huskies went 11-3 this winter, including 8-2 in regular-season conference play. The team won both of its conference tournament games, finishing the year with an 87-70 win over UWO-Fond du Lac in the championship game. Ewan scored 32 points to lead the Huskies in that win.

UWSP-Wausau outscored opponents by an average of 84-68 during the year and shot 47.8% from the field while holding opponents to 38.6% shooting.

Andy Hecker, who starred for the Gilman Pirates during the 2019-20 and 2020-21 basketball seasons, averaged 8.3 points and 4.8 rebounds per game and shot a team-best 53.7% from the field for the Faith Baptist Bible College men’s basketball team.

In his sophomore season, Hecker helped the Eagles post a 17-14 overall record this winter, including a 7-5 mark in the Midwest Christian College Conference. Faith Baptist beat Central Christian College of the Bible 67-54 on March 3 in round one of National Christian College Athletic Association Division II regional play but lost to the NCCAA’s topranked team, Crown College, 83-52 the next night to end its season. Hecker had nine points and three rebounds in the win and seven points and three rebounds in 15 minutes in the loss.

Hecker hit double figures in scoring in 13 of 27 games he appeared in, led by a season-high 18 points on seven-of-12 shooting in an 87-70 win at Free Lutheran Bible College on Nov. 21. He had 12 rebounds in that game to complete a double- double. He had a 12-point, 10-rebound double-double in an 88-86 home loss to Maranatha Baptist University on Dec. 10. He made all eight of his free throws in that game and added two steals and two blocked shots in 28 minutes.

He hit five of six shots and all four of his free throws in 15 minutes and scored 14 points and grabbed seven rebounds in a 100-88 win against Barclay College on Jan. 6. He made five of six shots in 16 minutes and scored 11 points in an 88-79 win over Emmaus Bible College on Jan. 10. He hit all four of his shots from the field, including a 3-pointer and made all four free throws while scoring 13 points in 17 minutes in a 76-59 win over Union College on Feb. 21.

Hecker led the team’s regulars in free throw percentage at 87.2%. He made 34 of 39 during the season. He made 88 of 164 shots overall from the field, including 14 of 43 3-pointers.

The Eagles reached the championship game of the conference tournament. They beat Calvary University 75-74 in their first game on Feb. 16, beat Ozark Christian College 93-90 in overtime in game two, avenging a pair of regular-season losses and then lost 83-64 to Manhatten Christian College in the championship.

Faith Baptist Bible College is located in Ankeny, Iowa.

Bryson Keepers, who starred on the football field for Gilman in the 2018-21 seasons, played a key role on the men’s basketball team at Oak Hill Christian College, a small school of about 100 students in Bemidji, Minn.

The 6-4 freshman averaged 6.4 points and 5.8 rebounds per game this winter for the Wolfpack, who went 8-18 overall and 8-5 in the Northern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. The team tied for third place in the regular season NIAC standings and was upset in its conference tournament opener 80-77 buy Free Lutheran Bible College on Feb. 17. The Wolfpack’s season ended March 1 with a 102-93 overtime loss to Maranatha Baptist University in the first round of National Christian College Athletic Association regional play.

Keepers scored a season-high 24 points on 10-of-13 shooting and had five rebounds and four steals in an 87-74 home win over Free Lutheran on Jan. 6. He made seven of eight field goal attempts while scoring 18 points and adding six rebounds in a 102-71 loss to Northwestern College on Nov. 26. He had a nice debut on Oct. 28, making six of 10 shots to score 14 points in a 100-70 loss to Waldorf University.

Keepers had a season-high 10 rebounds in the conference tournament loss. He scored seven points in that game. He had four steals in a game twice and had a season-high four assists Jan. 21 in a 109-85 win over Canadian Mennonite University. He scored six points in that game. Keepers shot 46.7 from the field (64 of 137), including six of 21 on 3-pointers. He had 25 assists and 25 steals in 26 games.

Morgan Ball, a 2021 Medford graduate, was a key member of the Minnesota-Morris women’s swim team during its third-place finish at the six-team Liberal Arts Conference Championships hosted by Principia College in Elsah, Ill. Feb. 8-11.

Individually, Ball’s highest finish was seventh in the 100-yard butterfly. She won the consolation final with a time of 1:04.54 which is a career best with the Cougars. She had swam the preliminary race in 1:05.32. Ball also swam in the consolation final of the 200-yard backstroke, placing second in that heat and eighth overall in 2:25.4, which was a season-best and just off her career-best 2:25.01. Ball was 14th in the 100-yard backstroke with a time of 1:07.93.

Ball swam on four relay teams during the four-day meet. The 400-yard medley team was the highest-placing team, taking fourth in 4:16.1. Saint Ambrose won in 3:58.02. The 800-yard freestyle team she was on was seventh in 8:47.02.

The Cougars scored 329 points to finish behind Saint Ambrose (547.5) and Asbury University (486.5) and ahead of Illinois Institute of Technology (308), Prinicipia (143) and Williams Baptist University (49).

Ball placed in two individual events in a 141-73 home win over Concordia-Minnesota on Jan. 28. She swam the 200yard individual medley in 2:36.71 to place third and took fourth in the 100-yard backstroke in 1:11.19. She was part of the winning 200-yard medley relay team, which finished in 2:03.4, well ahead of the Morris B team (2:10.98).

Ball was seventh in two individual events at a Jan. 21 double-dual hosted by Southwest Minnesota State. She swam the 100-yard backstroke in 1:11.82 and the grueling 1,000-yard freestyle in 13:08.86. She was part of the third-place 200-yard freestyle relay team that finished in 1:47.31. The Cougars lost to the host team 180-43 and lost to Northern State 151-50.

Ball was busy competing in five events at the Minnesota State-Moorhead Dragon Invitational Jan. 13-14. That included a 12th-place finish in the 100-yard butterfly (1:06.03), a 16th-place finish in the 100-yard breaststroke (1:27.85) and a 21st-place finish in the 50-yard freestyle (28.26).

In a 118-112 win at the University of Jamestown (N.D.) on Nov. 5, Ball was fourth at 1:08.25 in the 100-yard butterfly. She was also fourth in the 200-yard individual medley at 2:43.63 and was part of a 200-yard medley relay team that placed second in 2:06.41.

A day earlier, in a 139-78 win over Con- cordia College in Moorhead, Minn., Ball was part of the winning 400-yard medley relay team that was timed at 4:29.31 and won by nearly 14 seconds. She was third in the 200-yard backstroke at 2:35.63 and on a 200-yard freestyle relay team that took third in 1:55.74.

Erin Bergman, a 2021 Medford graduate, filled backstroke and freestyle events as a sophomore for the St. Cloud State women’s swim team, which placed third in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference championships held Feb. 8-11 in West Fargo, N.D.

Individually, Bergman most commonly swam in the 100-yard and 200-yard backstroke races for the Huskies. In the 200, Bergman had a breakthrough race in the Dec. 4 C Final of the Rochester Invitational, placing 19th in a time of 2:15.8. She actually had a faster preliminary time of 2:15.05. Other top times included 2:22.4 with an 18th-place finish during the Nov. 11-12 St. Thomas JoAnn Andregg Invitational and 2:22.42 with a 10th-place finish at the Augustana triangular, which included the University of Sioux Falls. The Huskies finished third that day and were second at St. Thomas with 689 points in between Minnesota State (721) and St. Thomas (645).

Bergman had a time of 30.4 seconds in the 50-yard backstroke during the team’s intrasquad meet on Labor Day weekend. She swam the 200-yard freestyle and finished in 2:11.84 to place 10th in an Oct. 28 triangular with St. Benedict’s and St. John’s, which the Huskies won handily.

Bergman was on several 200-yard medley, 400-yard medley, 200-yard freestyle and 400-yard freestyle relay teams this fall. She was on a 200-yard medley team that placed seventh in 1:53.57 at the Augustana triangular. She was part of a 400-yard medley team that took sixth in 4:18.63 at the University of Omaha on Sept. 30. A 400-yard freestyle team that included Bergman was seventh in 3:59.07 in a loss to Northern Michigan Oct. 7-8. She was part of a 20th-place 200-yard freestyle team at the Dec. 2-4 Rochester Invitational that finished in 1:41.97.

Faith Piller, a 2020 Medford graduate, continued to fill a diving role for the UW-Stevens Point women’s swim team, which placed third at the WIAC Championships, hosted by UW-Oshkosh at the Schroeder Aquatic Center in Brown Deer Feb. 15-18. The Pointers scored 554 points to trail UW-Eau Claire (901) and UWLa Crosse (883) but also outscore UWWhitewater (381) and UW-Oshkosh (338). The Pointer men won their 23rd straight WIAC championship.

In the conference meet, Piller placed 20th in both women’s 1-meter and 3-meter diving.

In the regular season, seasonhigh scoring total for 1-meter diving was 152.7, set during a Nov. 19 WIAC dual meet with visiting UW-Whitewater. She placed fifth that day. She also scored 151.05 in 3-meter diving in that meet, good for fourth place.

Diving was not part of the team scoring in a Feb. 4 dual meet at UW-Milwaukee, but Piller earned a 1-meter score of 150.4 and a 3-meter total of 148.95. She was 10th in 1-meter competition at UWEau Claire on Oct. 22 with a total of 148.85 and was 10th in 3-meter competition that day at 133.2. She totaled 139.85 points to place 10th in 1-meter diving in a 186-112 home loss to UW-La Crosse on Jan. 28.

Morgan Ball was a versatile member of the 2022-23 Minnesota-Morris women’s swim team, competing in a wide variety of events.PHOTO COURTESY OF UM-MORRIS ATHLETICS

Andy Hecker, who starred at Gilman for two seasons, averaged 8.3 points and 4.8 rebounds per game for the Faith Baptist Bible College men’s basketball team this winter.PHOTO COURTESY OF FAITH BAPTIST BIBLE COLLEGE ATHLETICS

Erin Bergman

Faith Piller