the magazine
MARCH 2019
GRAND FINALE
MYHERS BROTHERS’ DIFFERENT STYLES HELP BRING OSSEO-FAIRCHILD TO STATE TOURNAMENT
MORE INSIDE
• Former Rice Lake track star Bednarek making waves on national level • Ellenson in unfamiliar territory with latest stop of NBA career • Five questions with Ms. Hockey, Eau Claire Area’s Charlotte Akervik
the magazine
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TABLE OF CONTENTS 5: Myhers brothers’ differing play styles help bring Osseo-Fairchild back to state tournament 7: Five questions with the winner of the 2019 Ms. Hockey award, Eau Claire Area’s Charlotte Akervik 8: Posterized: Eau Claire North’s Carter Duerkop and Eau Claire Memorial’s Levi Smith 10: Former Rice Lake track star Kenny Bednarek gaining nationwide attention in first year of college 12: Rice Lake graduate Henry Ellenson in unfamiliar territory with latest stop of NBA career 14: McDonell’s Hoglund, Bleskachek join elite company by playing in fourth career state tournaments
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McDonell’s Charlie Bleskachek reaches for the ball during a sectional semifinal against Rib Lake at Chetek-Weyerhaeuser High School on March 8, 2018.
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Osseo-Fairchild basketball players and brothers, Cory, left, and Ryan Myhers, photographed March 5, helped lead the Thunder to the state tournament this season.
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GRAND FINALE
Myhers brothers’ different styles help bring Osseo-Fairchild to state in last season together By Spencer Flaten OSSEO — The casual observer might not notice. No, without the help of a roster, there’s not much to give away that Cory and Ryan Myhers are brothers when they’re on the basketball court. With play styles as night-and-day as the Osseo-Fairchild duo’s, it’s easy to miss the family connection. Even the physical differences can throw you off the trail. On one hand there’s Cory. The 6-foot-5, auburn-haired senior is an imposing presence in the paint, a traditional big man who doesn’t stray too far from the lane. When the Thunder take the court for a game, Cory’s height is often one of the first things opposing teams notice. Then there’s Ryan. The 6-foot-2, brown-haired junior guard is more comfortable handling the ball around the perimeter, ready to put up a 3 or drive to the hoop when the opportunity is there. “It’s about 180 degrees of difference between those two kids. They play two different styles of basketball,” Osseo-Fairchild coach Tim Popple said. “One’s a big inside post player, the other’s a point guard who handles the ball and bombs away from outside.” But off the court, those differences start to fade away. “They are pretty similar in personality,” Popple said. “They’re not outspoken, they’re very good competitors. And they’re very good to each other, which may be surprising for brothers.” Don’t be fooled though. The typical rivalry seen time and time again between teenage brothers is still there. “It’s your usual brotherly relationship,” Cory said. “Fighting one day, best friends the next.” In terms of basketball, the brotherly competition reaches back to the days of the young Myhers playing pickup games on the driveway along with their older brother Alex.
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Osseo-Fairchild’s Cory Myhers (52) has his shot challenged by McDonell Central’s Charlie Bleskachek in the first half of Cloverbelt Conference action Thursday, Dec. 20, 2018 at Osseo.
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“We’d always have our competitions to see who’d win, and it was kind of all over,” Cory said. “He’d find some way to whip up a shot from his hip before I could block it.” Innovation was key to getting the better of the taller brother, who swatted his fair share of shots along the way. But after all those hours spent taking each other on, who has emerged as the better player? “We play different positions so it’s kind of hard to tell, but I think I’m better,” Ryan joked. Personal opinions aside, both provided plenty of success for the Thunder this season. The Myhers were two of the top three scorers for Osseo-Fairchild through the sectional finals, and were a big reason why the Thunder punched a ticket to the state tournament. Cory, unsurprisingly, was one of the top rebounders in the Western Cloverbelt Conference this season and earned first team all-conference recognition. Ryan was an honorable mention All-Western Cloverbelt pick. With Ryan often handling the ball and Cory often finding space in the paint, one brother’s play can have a direct effect on the other’s. “He can pass it to me, and if I’m doubled or tripled I can send it right back to him,” Cory said. The brothers have both been on the Thunder’s varsity squad for three seasons. They endured a de-
but season which saw the team go 5-19 before turning things around to win a conference title in each of the last two years and a sectional title this season for the team’s first trip to state since 1992. “Basically, we’ve all been learning to play with each other and developing our game at the varsity level,” Cory said. “That helped us get to where we are now.” There may have been a learning curve to adapt to the varsity game, but the Myhers have played on the same team for just about as long as they can remember, dating all the way back to elementary school. They also play football and baseball, but there’s no question which sport takes precedence. “Basketball is definitely at the top of my list,” Ryan said before getting a quick agreement from Cory. That makes this basketball season particularly special to the duo. This is the last year the Myhers will play varsity sports together. Ryan has one more year left at Osseo-Fairchild, while this is Cory’s final go-around. “This is kind of it for them. They’ve still got baseball, but this is the sport they really love,” Popple said. “So it’s really cool that they get to do this at the end, have this kind of success. They’ve earned it. They’ve put a lot of time in at this gym.”
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Osseo-Fairchild’s Ryan Myhers goes up for a layup as Altoona’s Evan Moss reaches for a block on Jan. 15 in Altoona.
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BUCKSHOT THE MAGAZINE | MARCH 2019
FIVE-POINT BUCKSHOT WITH EAU CLAIRE AREA’S MS. HOCKEY CHARLOTTE AKERVIK By Jack Goods For four years, Charlotte Akervik brought a calming presence to the Eau Claire Area Stars blueline and struck fear in opponents. The smooth-skating defender could change a game in seconds, often showing an innate ability to glide by opponents and go coast-to-coast down the ice. She was an instrumental piece in ECA’s first state title last year. As a senior, she was the top scoring defender in the state, a first-team All-State selection and the second straight Star to be named Ms. Hockey, awarded to the top player in Wisconsin. With her high school hockey career over, Akervik is playing with Team Wisconsin and preparing for her Division I college career with Minnesota State. Akervik is our featured athlete in our first edition of Five-point Buckshot, a monthly Q&A with an influential person in the Chippewa Valley prep sports scene. What does it mean to you to be named Ms. Hockey? It’s really special how us players are able to get recognized for all our work we put in. That award, going to the banquet freshman year and seeing the girl who won it then and realizing I wanted to be there some day, things just kind of came full circle for me in my high school career. It was kind of a bittersweet ending for it I guess. With Abigail Stow winning the award last year, what kind of impact do you think two Stars going back-to-back can have? I think it shows how good Eau Claire is when producing high-level hockey players. Even on the boys side, Sam (Stange) obviously won it. Two years in a row just shows how well-represented Eau Claire girls hockey is. Obviously like you said, it’s a tough ending to your career, not ending with another trip to state like the team hoped. Even with that, you were a part of a group that changed the perception of the Stars and won a state title. What kind of legacy do you hope this group has? Starting with kind of nothing, like from bare minimum freshman year to coming around actually having won state and being one of the top contenders, top teams in the state the past two years, I just hope that the program keeps getting built on. Hopefully we see the strides being made that we were able to make. What are your plans for the rest of the school year and the summer? I just want to finish out the school year, get that done with. I’ll probably just be working out, getting in shape, and then I’ll be heading to Mankato in the summer and I’ll be there for about six weeks. With you heading off to Minnesota State soon, what excites you most about your next chapter? I think Mankato is kind of a similar team to how the Stars were my freshman year. They’re just kind of now rebuilding and getting pretty good. I’m excited to see what’s in store for the next couple of years there.
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Charlotte Akervik of the ECA Stars skates against Hudson in girls hockey play on Thursday, Jan. 3 at Hobbs Ice Center.
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ECA Stars’ Charlotte Akervik battled for the puck with Hudson’s Hana Hellmers during girls hockey on Feb. 21, 2019. View more photos at LeaderTelegramPhotos.com.
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SUPERHERO STATUS Former Rice Lake track star Kenny Bednarek making a name for himself on national stage By Nick Erickson Special to Buckshot Donning a Superman cut-off tee and stepping off the track he immortalized for the final time, Kenny Bednarek’s route back to his team tent at last year’s WIAA state championships was blocked by young autograph seekers. Laying claim to the fastest ever 200 and 400-meter runs by a prep on Wisconsin soil, the Rice Lake phenom said goodbye to a crowd at Veterans Memorial Stadium in La Crosse that spent four years watching superhero-like performances from a kid who will go down as the greatest sprinter Wisconsin has ever seen. Those signature seekers who brought their meet programs, t-shirts and just about anything else capable of holding a permanent marker weren’t just after the guy who set the prep sports world on fire with times that shattered 20-year old state records. They wanted the ability to show people someday that they saw
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Bednarek run before he hit the big time. He lit up Wisconsin with times that may never be replicated again — 20.43 in the 200 and 46.19 in the 400, not to mention 10.42 in the 100. Folks who gave the seven-time state champion a standing ovation three years running in La Crosse wanted to know just how many more levels he had him. In his first indoor season at Indian Hills Community College, just months removed from his high school graduation, Superman took the air again to show the sky might not even be the limit. On Dec. 8, Bednarek broke 46 seconds in the 400 in his first collegiate race, a 45.93. And on Feb. 2 in Lincoln, Nebraska, Bednarek clocked a 20.3, the 13th-fastest indoor 200 time. Ever. As in the history of the world. “I’ve never seen Carl Lewis in person, and I know he is kind of the pinnacle” said sprint coach and mentor Leron Williams. “But when I look at Kenny, I say when it’s all said and done and we are doing breaking down his form, I think you are looking at a career that is going to be very long.”
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Rice Lake alumnus Kenny Bednarek runs in a race for Indian Hills Community College during the indoor track season this winter.
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Bednarek won Indian Hills its first national junior college championship at last weekend’s national meet as he clocked in another sub-46 — 45.96 to be exact — in the 400. He blew up the social media with his electrifying times, especially after taking down some of the top Division 1 runners at Nebraska. “Every time he steps on the track, he wants to make people look,” Indian Hills head coach Blake Albrecht said. That’s something track fans in Wisconsin won’t argue. While his running abilities creates a buzz, it’s the quietness of Ottumwa, Iowa, that has really suited the humble and soft-spoken star. On a smaller campus with little outside noise it, Bednarek has been surrounded by people who have tweaked his mechanics and put him through elite workouts. Not only that, but those same folks care about Bednarek the person and student. He’s comfortable there, and it is showing with his torrid terror that has made him a household name across the country. “I think being here has made me more focused,” Bednarek said. “Since it’s a higher level, you have to be serious. This is a quiet place and not much to do around here. We are just more focused on what we are supposed to do. “Being here in a small area just helps keep me on track.” His training plans during the preseason forced extreme focus. They were certainly eye-opening for the former Warrior. He had some fine coaching at Rice Lake — the Warriors won the Division 2 team title last year after finishing second in 2018. At Indian Hills, he’s been exposed to more extensive workouts as well as more attention to detail. Bednarek has coaches who help break his form down and build it back up. Williams also introduced him to some longer intervals, 350 to 400 meter kind of repeats. While Bednarek, who would occasionally dabble in the 800 for Rice Lake, had run those kinds of workouts in practice before, Williams cut his rest time down considerably between repeats. “What I wanted to do was focus, taking his naturally gifted speed and training him longer under duress so he could get used to training under lactic acid,” Williams said. “That last 100 of the 400, we wanted to make sure he could handle that before we got to the nitty gritty of his training.” Even though he drew standing ovations every time he came around the curve in
high school, there’d be times Bednarek would tighten up down the straightaway and not come close to his first half split during a 400. Coupled with his new training and a weightroom regiment that focused on his core, Bednarek was able to keep form all the way through to the line right away to begin the season. “The core thing, I could tell it was a huge factor,” Bednarek said. “The way I run, instead of using my feet I use my arms and all that stuff. Every day after a meet I’d be sore. So I know I use my whole body to run that fast. I finished stronger and stayed upright, all that stuff.” Bednarek blew away everybody he came up against this winter, just as he did in high school, where he went unbeaten in individual races his sophomore through senior seasons. His biggest competition has been the clock as well as himself. He works his darndest to get the best of both of them. “You never have to motivate him,” Albrecht said. “He’s always ready for the next thing. He never races to win. He is always going to run as hard as he can.” A cramping issue slowed up the end to Bednarek’s indoor season. He actually had to withdraw from the 200 finals at nationals. He felt like he was ready to pop something super special, and it’s made him up his goals for the outdoor season. If he stays healthy and continues to progress under his current training, Bednarek hopes to break 20 in the 200 and dip well under 45 in the 400. With his indoor times, that’s a fairly realistic jump. Keep in mind he never broke 48 indoors in the 400 in high school and went almost two seconds faster by the end of outdoor. For reference, Bednarek’s 200 time would already qualify him for the 2016 Olympic Trials standard. His 400 would be a half-second off. Bednarek has a lot of decisions upcoming. He could have the opportunity to turn pro sooner than later. He could also transfer out to attend a high-profile Division 1 school. For now, though, he’ll focus on continuing to do what he’s done the past four years. “I feel like anywhere I go I feel like I can go out and blow out the competition,” he said. Who knows what kinds of doors — nationally and internationally — he’ll open. But if you were lucky enough to track Superman down last June, best be sure to hold on to that signature you collected.
PHOTO BY ELENA DAWSON
Rice Lake’s Kenny Bednarek starts off a relay during the WIAA Track and Field State Championships at UW-La Crosse on June 2, 2018.
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UNFAMILIAR TERRITORY By Jack Goods
MINNEAPOLIS – Henry Ellenson admitted it himself. He’s never experienced adversity quite like this. The former Rice Lake star has succeeded his entire career. With the Warriors, he was named Big Rivers Conference Player of the Year and Leader-Telegram Player of the Year three times each and established himself as one of the top recruits in the country. Marquette didn’t make the NCAA Tournament in his one season with the Golden Eagles, but individually he still earned Big East Rookie of the Year and proved he was worthy of the first round pick the Detroit Pistons selected him with in 2016.
In the NBA, Ellenson is seeing the brutal business side of sports. “This has been different,” Ellenson said on March 10 prior to his New York Knicks squad’s matchup with the Minnesota Timberwolves. “It’s been a test for sure. I’ve had to learn a lot through it. … It’s definitely something I’ve never experienced, and to do it for two and a half years, that’s a lot.” Ellenson, drafted 18th overall, had his time with his original team cut abruptly last month following the trade deadline. The playoff-fueled Pistons opted to waive Ellenson, who had played only two games with the team this year, on Feb. 9 to make room for recently bought out sharpshooter Wayne Ellington.
After a career of success, Ellenson finds himself fighting for NBA future
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New York Knicks’ Henry Ellenson (13) shoots over Cleveland Cavaliers’ Larry Nance Jr. (22) during the first half on Feb. 28 in New York.
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Ellenson was sleeping when the move went down, waking up to three missed calls from his agent and another from his dad telling him to call his agent back. Suddenly, he was out of the league he worked so hard to get into. “After leaving Detroit, I wasn’t quite sure I was going to go somewhere else,” Ellenson said. “I was lucky I’ve still got teams out there that believe in me.” He found a landing spot with the Knicks, the former home of his all-time favorite player Carmelo Anthony and a team with nothing to lose when it comes to taking a flyer on a former first round selection. With it came a chance for playing time he’s been waiting years for. Getting minutes in Detroit was always difficult for Ellenson with the glut of big men the Pistons boasted, especially once the team traded for Blake Griffin last season. He averaged under nine per game in his first two seasons. “Being behind Tobias (Harris), Blake and (Jon) Leuer, (Anthony) Tolliver, veteran guys, it was tough, but I learned a lot from them too,” Ellenson said. “I wouldn’t trade that experience because I think I’ve learned so much since my rookie year. “I feel like I’ve learned a lot as a basketball player. Now it’s time to get on the court and show it.” He certainly showed growth early on with the Knicks. Originally on a 10-day deal, Ellenson all but sealed a rest-ofyear contract with a performance on Feb. 26 against the Orlando Magic. He scored 13 points, grabbed nine rebounds and dished out five assists and hit a pivotal 3-pointer with two minutes remaining. He played 36 minutes that game, the most he’s seen since his days with the Golden Eagles. “That was huge, to get that feel again and hit the big time shot at the end,” Ellenson said. “That was just fun, having fun playing basketball again. I just want to keep getting that feeling.” A game later, he scored 13 again and grabbed five rebounds against the Cleveland Cavaliers. His minutes have dwindled since those performances, with him only suiting up for three against Phoenix and four against Sacramento. Those who drove the hour and a half from the Chippewa Valley left disappointed on March 10 since he could only be seen sitting on the bench for the entirety of Minnesota’s 103-92 victory.
Knicks coach David Fizdale is still optimistic about what he sees in the former Warrior. “He’s showing some great signs for us,” Fizdale said. “He’s versatile. He can shoot the basketball. He’s super smart. Obviously, I’m beating him over the head about defensive rebounding, because I think that he can really excel there with his length and his wits. You know, we’ve been very happy with Henry and having him on board.” Minnesota is the closest Ellenson can come to a homecoming. The fervor has died down a bit since the forward’s first visit to Target Center with the Pistons, but he still asked for about 20 tickets this year. He returned to his hometown over All-Star break, but a busy travel schedule makes it difficult to come back often. He’s still plugged in though, following the UW-Eau Claire basketball teams closely to watch his girlfriend, Maddie Dunathan, and his best friend, Ben Widdes. “They both had good years,” Ellenson said. “Both point guards, both ran the show, so it was fun watching them online. I was always tuned into their online streams.” Thankfully for his career, he’ll be spending most of his evenings the next five weeks with the Knicks and not streaming. Working on his 3-pointer is obviously a key, especially in today’s NBA and considering Ellenson’s talents have skewed toward the offensive side of the ball at this high a level. He shot 32 percent from deep with the Pistons, but has upped that total by 10 percent in seven games with the Knicks. He said he works on the deep ball more than any other aspect of his game. On Sunday he was practicing shooting beyond the arc well after most of his teammates ended their warmups and headed to the locker room. Ellenson isn’t out of the woods yet, since his latest contract doesn’t provide long-term stability. It’s a multiyear deal but includes an optout this summer if the Knicks need to cut salary to make room for big-name free agents like Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving. For now, he gets a bit more time to prove he belongs in the Association. “I’m getting an opportunity on the court here. Coach is putting me out there, so I’m just trying to make the most of it,” Ellenson said. “Finally, after two years I’m getting a chance to play.”
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Rice Lake’s Henry Ellenson reacts after dunking the ball in Onalaska’s basket during a WIAA Division 2 sectional semifinal on March 21, 2015 in Menomonie.
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LEAVING A LEGACY
Hoglund, Bleskachek join elite group of four-time state participants PHOTO BY ELENA DAWSON
McDonell’s Charlie Bleskachek protects the ball during their sectional final game against Luck High School on March 9.
By Spencer Flaten
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CHIPPEWA FALLS — The list includes former stars Wisconsin high school basketball fans remember well. NBA draft pick Diamond Stone of the unstoppable Dominican teams of recent years is on it, as is eventual NCAA Division I player Junior Lomomba of the Madison Memorial juggernaut in the early 2010s. This month, the list added two from the ranks of the Chippewa Falls McDonell boys basketball program. Cory Hoglund and Charlie Bleskachek joined the elite group of players who reached four career state tournaments when the Macks took the floor for their Division 5 semifinal against Sheboygan Area Lutheran on March 15. McDonell has made four consecutive trips to the state tournament, and Bleskachek and Hoglund have been part of every team. “I’ve had a day to kind of reflect on it,” Bleskachek said. “It’s an awesome
experience, it’s unheard of. So to be back there again is really exciting.” “On the past trips, I haven’t really taken time to think about it,” Hoglund said. “But definitely this past week I thought of the rare opportunity I’ve had throughout these four years. I definitely am very grateful for it.” The senior duo’s rise through the McDonell program has been palpable over the last four years, with each trip to state serving as a stepping stone to a larger role with the team. As freshmen, the two saw minimal game time at state. Hoglund played a couple of minutes in the Macks’ two games on the way to the state title, while Bleskachek got a handful of seconds of live action. “It was a little nerve-wracking,” Bleskachek said of his first steps onto the Kohl Center court. “It’s a big stage to be on, but it’s also really exciting at the same time to know that you can perform and play in front of that many people.”
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BUCKSHOT THE MAGAZINE | MARCH 2019
That excitement fueled a drive to get back, and to have a more direct hand in what happened in the game. The two both appeared in 20 games or more as sophomores, although their effect on the scorebook remained largely the same. As juniors, their impact really took flight. Both earned starting roles for the Macks, as Hoglund was named second team All-Western Cloverbelt and Bleskachek was received an honorable mention on the all-conference team. They both helped lift McDonell into last year’s Division 5 state championship game, with Bleskachek recording a double-double and Hoglund scoring 11 points in a semifinal win over Deerfield. As that game showed, the Kohl Center isn’t really nerve-wracking for the Macks’ been-there-done-that duo anymore. “The stage — I don’t feel it really bothers me or affects me,” Hoglund said. “Just helping my teammates prepare for it and get ready for it is my main concern.” Such a concern speaks to where Hoglund and Bleskachek are now compared to four years ago. Not only are they the team’s top two scorers, but as seniors they have filled the same role as the leaders they looked up to as underclassmen.
“I’d say as an upperclassman I definitely have a bigger role — verbally, (or) non-verbally — as an example on the floor,” Bleskachek said. “Whatever it takes to help the team moving forward, I’ll take on that role.” Hoglund sees things similarly. “Just helping everybody get better on the team, not just thinking about what I can do individually,” he said. Hoglund played in all four state tournaments during his career, while Bleskachek played in three. Bleskachek didn’t appear in the Macks’ 2017 semifinal loss to Shullsburg. “(Hoglund) has been a good example to younger kids, and the kids he plays with all look up to him a little bit,” McDonell coach Adam Schilling said. “He leads by example, and if he has to get vocal he will. Everybody sees how hard he’s working, and it makes everybody else want to work hard also.” Heading into their final state tournament, Bleskachek and Hoglund knew what it takes to get the job done in Madison. “(We know) that any game can be your last. If you aren’t focused and ready to go, any team can beat anybody, especially in March,” Hoglund said.
FILE PHOTO
McDonell’s Cory Hoglund skirts the outside of the lane before attempting a shot during the WIAA Division 5 state championship game on March 17, 2018, at the Kohl Center in Madison.
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MARCH 2019 | BUCKSHOT THE MAGAZINE
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