PART 1: COLLEGE ATHLETES FALL REPORT - Seidl steps up at Stout; Ball swims all over for Cougars

PART 1: COLLEGE ATHLETES FALL REPORT

Our 2023 fall sports update for local student-athletes at the collegiate level will be published in two parts, with cross country to be highlighted next week.

This week’s update features Medford graduates who were on their school’s football, women’s swim and volleyball rosters this fall and lists athletes to watch this winter.

Football

Surprising no one who watched him play linebacker in high school, UWStout’s Blaine Seidl, a 2021 Medford graduate, worked his way into the starting lineup with the Blue Devils’ defense this fall and ranked fourth on the team in total tackles with 50, 27 of which were solo tackles.

Seidl, a third-year sophomore, had one quarterback sack, 3.5 tackles for loss and three passes broken up for the Blue Devils, who went 4-6 overall and 2-5 in the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC). Seidl is an inside linebacker in Stout’s 3-4 base defense.

On Oct. 21, Seidl had an outstanding game in Stout’s 37-20 loss at WIAC runner-up and NCAA Division III playoff qualifier UW-Whitewater. The Warhawks were ranked fifth in the country at the time. He had 12 total tackles to lead the team, consisting of eight solo tackles and four assists. Two of those tackles went for losses and he broke up a pass.

Five of the tackles came in a scoreless first quarter. On one, he took down Whitewater’s Tamir Thomas for a 4-yard loss. The last tackle of the quarter came in the red zone and helped hold the Warhawks to an early second-quarter field goal. Two tackles came on kickoffs. He dropped Whitewater’s Ammiel Jackson for a 2-yard loss on a fourth-quarter running play.

On Oct. 28, Seidl had seven total tackles, including five solos in a 49-35 home loss to UW-River Falls, who was ranked seventh in the nation at the time. Nearly all of the tackles came on the Falcons’ All-WIAC and All-Region quarterback Kaleb Blaha. He ended his season with seven tackles, including four solo stops, in the Blue Devils’ 41-24 loss at UW-Platteville on Nov. 11.

In a 24-7 non-conference win over Gustavus Adolphus Sept. 16, Seidl had seven total tackles and 1.5 tackles for loss, including an 8-yard sack early in the contest. He assisted on the stop of a short pass that resulted in a 4-yard loss in the second quarter.

Seidl broke up two passes in Stout’s 38-13 win at UW-Eau Claire on Nov. 4. He had two tackles in that game.

Stout ranked sixth in the eight-team league in yards (426.3) and points (28.5) per game.

The Blue Devils also beat UW-Stevens Point in league play 51-14 and opened the year with a 35-7 win over St. Ambrose. Seidl had four tackles on Sept. 30 when Stout gave eventual undefeated league champion UW-La Crosse a run for its money on the Eagles’ home field but eventually lost 45-40.

One of Stout’s most exciting games was a 48-46 double-overtime loss on Oct. 7 to visiting UW-Oshkosh, a team that included 2020 Medford graduate Ean Wilson.

Wilson also plays linebacker for the Titans. The fourth-year junior appeared in eight games and recorded seven tackles, including a sack. UW-Oshkosh went 4-3 in the WIAC, good for a three-way tie for third with River Falls and Platteville and finished the year with 38-31 upset win at home over River Falls on Nov. 11. The Titans were 6-4 overall.

On Sept. 16, in a 60-7 win at East Texas Baptist University, Wilson had two tackles, one of which went for a 2-yard sack on quarterback Carlos Garibay late in the game. His second tackle came on a thirdquarter kickoff, limiting returner Paul Woodard to just 14 yards. Wilson assisted on a 1-yard tackle for loss late in Oshkosh’s 48-31 seasonopening win over Texas Lutheran University on Sept. 2.

Wilson was credited with two solo tackles in the Titans’ 66-28 over UW-Stevens Point on Oct. 28. Both of those came on kickoffs.

Women’s swim

Morgan Ball, a 2021 Medford graduate, continues to be a versatile member of the Minnesota-Morris women’s swim team.

Individually, the junior competed in six different events for the Cougars during the fall portion of their schedule. She’s also competed in five different relays for Morris, which has a 5-3 dualmeet record.

Ball was in eight different events during the three-day Augustana (S.D.) Invitational Nov. 16-18, where Morris placed 10th out of 11 teams. Individually, she posted her best times of the season so far in the 100-yard butterfly (1:08.58) and 100-yard backstroke (1:10.69). She placed 48th in the 200-yard backstroke at 2:39.11 and swam the 500 yard freestyle for the first time this season, taking 62nd in 6:29.07.

Ball was on four relay teams during that meet. The highest-place team was 16th in the 400-yard freestyle relay at 4:11.75. The 800-yard freestyle team was 18th in 2:05.87, the 400-yard medley team was 19th in 4:46.24 and the 200-yard freestyle team was 20th in 1:59.61.

In an Oct. 27 double-dual Morris hosted with Jamestown (N.D.) and Nebraska Wesleyan, Ball was fourth in the 100yard butterfly (1:09.82) and fourth in the 100-yard backstroke (1:10.8) and added an eighth-place finish in the 200-yard backstroke (2:37.89). She was part of the third-place 400-yard medley relay team (4:35.67).

Morris beat Nebraska Wesleyan that day 130-118 and beat Jamestown 159-118.

The following day, in a 107-92 loss to Nebraska Wesleyan, Ball was third in the 100-yard backstroke at 1:12.4 and fourth in the 200-yard individual medley at 2:45.91. She was on the second-place 200yard medley relay team, which finished in 2:02.17.

Morris went 2-1 in a Nov. 3 triple dual with Concordia (Minn.), Iowa Lakes and Southwest Minnesota State. Ball was third in the 50-yard backstroke (32.22) and was part of the third-place 400-yard freestyle relay team (4:07.39) and the fourth-place 400-yard medley relay team (4:36.52). The next day, while splitting a double dual with Southwest Minnesota State and Iowa Lakes, Ball was sixth in the 100-yard butterfly at 1:09.15 and was part of the third-place 200-yard medley relay team (2:05.18) and fourth-place 200yard freestyle relay team (1:55.86).

Minnesota-Morris will next compete in a dual meet at Augustana on Jan. 12.

Faith Piller, a 2020 Medford graduate, is in her senior season as a diver with the UW-Stevens Point women’s swim program. She’s competed in two meets for the Pointers, who are 2-3 in duals and won the eight-team Wheaton Invite Dec. 1-2.

In a 185-108 win at St. Norbert College Oct. 27, Piller placed sixth in 1-meter diving with a score of 146.85 and fourth in 3-meter diving with a score of 143.7. In a Nov. 4 doubledual at Minnesota State-Mankato that included Gustavus Adolphus, Piller was 12th in 3-meter diving at 129.75 and 16th in 1-meter diving at 138.8.

After an early January training camp trip to Puerto Rico, UW-Stevens Point next hosts UW-Oshkosh on Jan. 12 and Northern Michigan the next day.

Volleyball

Gilman 2023 graduate Gracie Tallier got a taste of court action this fall with the UW-River Falls volleyball program, appearing in two matches, totaling four sets played.

Her most extensive action came with three sets played in the Falcons’ 3-0 sweep of Beloit College Sept. 16 at UW-Eau Claire’s tournament. The Falcons cruised 259, 25-7, 25-9.

Listed as a defensive specialist/ libero on the roster, Tallier had six digs and an assist in the win. She also appeared on one set Sept. 1 during a 25-11, 25-8, 25-21 sweep over Pacific (Ore.) during the season-opening North Park Invite in Chicago.

The Falcons went 20-10 overall this fall and were 3-4 in the WIAC. They beat UWPlatteville 3-2 in the opening round of the WIAC tournament before getting swept at eventual tournament champion UWWhitewater in the semifinals.

So far this winter

Among local college athletes to watch as the winter season progresses.

Jake Rau, a 2020 Medford graduate, is 8-5 so far as a senior 197-pound wrestler at the University of Jamestown (N.D.). He is 4-1 in the Jimmies’ last three meets, including two pins and a major decision.

Rau had a sixth-place finish while going 2-2 at the season-opening Jamestown Open Nov. 4. Rau had a 56-second pin over Dallas Paxton in a 42-12 win over Hastings and a 9-0 major decision over Nate McDonald in a 39-6 win over Midland in a Nov. 21 double-dual in Sioux City, Iowa.

Jamestown has a 3-4 dual-meet record and resumes its season Jan. 9 with a dual at Briar Cliff (Iowa) University.

Sawyer Scholl, who played for the Medford Raiders in his freshman season of 2016-17 before moving on to Green Bay Notre Dame, has two goals and two assists in his first season with the Wisconsin Badgers’ men’s hockey team, which is 14-4 overall and 8-2 in the Big Ten, good for second place, one point behind 7-1 Michigan State, who swept the Badgers in a two-game series in mid-November. The Badgers are currently ranked sixth in the nation.

Scholl scored his first goal in the third period of a 5-2 win at Michigan Tech on Oct. 21. The goal put UW up 4-1. He pulled the Badgers within 3-2 of Michigan State at the 8:16 mark of the third period in that Nov. 17 game, but the Spartans went on to win 4-2.

The Badgers will open the two-day Kwik Trip Holiday Face-off at Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee on Dec. 28 by meeting Air Force at 7:30 p.m. They’ll face either Minnesota-Duluth or Northeastern the next day.

Logan Baumgartner, a 2023 Medford graduate, is averaging 3.5 points and 2.1 rebounds awhile averaging 12.6 minutes per game for the 5-3 UW-Stevens Point men’s basketball team. On Nov. 15, he logged 18 minutes and scored seven points while helping the Pointers nearly dig out of an 18-point second-half deficit in a 64-61 loss at St. Olaf. He had four points in 15 minutes Dec. 9 when the Pointers fell 79-78 at Trine University (Ind.), ranked 19th in the nation at the time. Baumgartner scored during a second-half rally that nearly wiped out a 15-point deficit.

Baumgartner had nine points on three-of-seven 3-point shooting in a Nov. 1 scrimmage with the Wisconsin Badgers, which UW won 87-44 at the Kohl Center. The Pointers host the Milwaukee School of Engineering Dec. 28 and Illinois Wesleyan on Dec. 30 before opening WIAC play at UW-Stout on Jan. 3.

Tatum Weir, a 2023 Gilman graduate, has scored six points so far this season in six appearances for the UW-Platteville women’s basketball team, who is off to a 5-3 start. Weir scored four of those points while playing a season-high 12 minutes in the Pioneers’ season-opening 72-45 win over Marian on Nov. 10. She had a bucket while playing 11 minutes in an 83-74 win at Augustana (Ill.) on Nov. 16.

The Pioneers will play three games at the University of California-Santa Cruz tournament Dec. 27-30 before starting WIAC play at home against UW-Eau Claire Jan. 3.

Andy Hecker, who starred for Gilman during the 2019-20 and 2020-21 basketball seasons, is averaging 9.1 points and a team-leading 6.3 rebounds per game in his third season with Faith Baptist Bible College’s men’s basketball team. The Eagles are 3-5 so far.

Hecker had 14 points and eight rebounds in the team’s 93-78 season-opening win over Providence University College and 11 points and nine rebounds the next day in a 65-16 rout of Free Lutheran Bible College. He grabbed a season-high 11 rebounds while scoring nine points in a 90-77 loss to Trinity Bible College Nov. 17.

Faith Baptist, located in Ankeny, Iowa, resumes play Jan. 12 at home against Barclay College.

Bryson Keepers, who played football for Gilman in the 2018-21 seasons, is starting for the Oak Hill Christian College men’s basketball team. The school of about 100 students is located in Bemidji, Minn.

The Wolf Pack is 2-9 and, in its last game, challenged itself by playing at NCAA Div. I North Dakota State, losing 108-14. Keepers had a rebound and a steal.

Through 11 games, Keepers has 39 points, 46 rebounds, 22 assists, 14 steals and nearly a blocked shot per game. He had eight points, nine rebounds and six assists in the team’s 75-74 win at Sisseton Whapeton College (S.D.) on Dec. 2 and four points, 11 rebounds, three assists and three steals in a 90-88 home win over Sisseton Dec. 10.

The Wolf Pack gets back into action with a Jan. 5-6 road trip to Kansas Christian College and Calvary University.

A commitment

On Nov. 30, Medford’s Tanner Hraby announced his commitment to join the re-start of the baseball program at UWRiver Falls. Baseball was discontinued at the university in 2002 but had been revitalized through a club program that started in 2017.

The varsity program will begin play in the spring of 2025.

Hraby is a middle infielder/pitcher with the Raiders but is versatile enough to play infield or outfield in college. Hraby was named the Great Northern Conference’s top utility player in 2023 and a second- team All-GNC infielder. He earned honorable mention All-State honors as a utility player and was named Academic All-State by the Wisconsin Baseball Coaches Association.

Morgan Ball

Faith Piller

Gracie Tallier

Blaine Seidl, a 2021 graduate of Medford Area Senior High, was one of the leading tacklers while starting at inside linebacker for the UW-Stout football team this fall. Here, he sizes up UW-Stevens Point’s offensive formation during a 51-14 win over the Pointers on Oct. 14. NOAH ALBRECHT/UW-STOUT

Tanner Hraby