Marquette and Arrowhead have big years in prep sports

Marquette offers 12 WIAA-sponsored sports, but Bob Herman’s message to the coaches of each of them is essentially the same.

“That the coaches provide a meaningful and valuable, challenging experience for the kids,” the HIlltoppers athletic director said. “That’s what it’s got to be. Winning is fun, but it’s got to be a meaningful, challenging and fun experience for the kids because if they don’t have fun, they’re not going to want to do it again.”

For the third straight year and for the eighth time in 10 years, Marquette has finished atop the boys standings for the Journal Sentinel’s school of the year honor.

During its current streak atop the standings, the all-boys school has managed to finish among the top five each year even though the standings figure in the boys and girls totals for each school. In the past two years, Marquette has posted a score that was more than the girls champion.

A lot of factors, contribute to that success, but one of the core factors is strong participation. At Marquette, many students come out for teams as freshmen and stick with it. About 70% of its student participate in athletics.

 “We had a lot of success and the wins, being in the finals and the championships, that all stands out to me, but I think more about the athletes who have overcome something or athletes that maybe weren’t big contributors as freshmen or sophomores but by junior year or senior year, they’ve grown into their bodies,” Herman said.

“Their bigger. They’re stronger. They’re faster. And then they become this big contributor on the varsity. I think those are cool things to watch.”

Schools earned points for the performances of their teams in WIAA tournaments. They received five points for a state championship and three for a second-place finish. Two points were given for reaching the state semifinals or for a third- or fourth-place finish. One point was given for reaching the state quarterfinals or a fifth- through eighth-place finish.

This year’s school of the year race came down to a handful of programs that have a tradition of strong participation numbers and a history of high finishes in the standings. 

Arrowhead won the overall title for the 16th straight year, as it edged Classic 8 rival Catholic Memorial by one point. That also was the final margin of victory for Arrowhead over Memorial in the girls standings.

The efforts of those schools highlighted a year that resulted in 26 state team titles for area schools (13 boys, 13 girls) plus a number of impressive individual efforts.

Marquette soccer, Catholic Memorial girls volleyball, Whitefish Bay boys soccer, Franklin Combined gymnastics, Whitefish Bay gymnastics, Milwaukee King girls track and field, Catholic Memorial girls soccer and Marquette tennis repeated as state champions. Brookfield East won its first state football title, while Catholic Memorial won its second championship in five years. The Destiny boys and Beaver Dam girls won state basketball titles. Arrowhead golf, Whitefish Bay soccer and Catholic Memorial volleyball were state champions for boys and girls.

Individually, Grafton swimmer Autumn Haebig closed her prep career with 14 state titles and set Division 2 records in the 100-yard backstroke and 500 freestyle in the fall. Whitefish Bay runner Cami Davre tied the all-time record by finishing her prep career with 10 state track titles, including three this year. Kenosha St. Joseph basketball player Sidney Cooks shared the state’s Miss Basketball Award with Madison Edgewood’s Estella Moschkau and was just the third girl in state history to be named a McDonald’s All-American.

Arrowhead’s state title sweep of golf titles accounted for the school’s state championships this year. The state medalist honors for Warhawks sophomore Emily Lauterbach and freshman Piercen Hunt marked just the third time a boy and girl from the same school were individual champions in the same year, and the first time it happened in Division 1.

 “There is a support (between teams),” Arrowhead boys coach Greg Budzien said. “We pay attention to them and they play attention to us. We’re happy for them and they’re happy for us. It’s a good relationship.”

Arrowhead also scored second-place finishes in girls cross country and boys basketball and third- and fourth-place showings, respectively, in girls swimming and gymnastics.

Marquette, meanwhile, came up big in a number of sports.

In addition to winning state titles in soccer, tennis, it won the wheelchair track and field title for the third straight year, though due to that sport’s limited participation statewide, it is not included in the Journal Sentinel’s tally.

Marquette’s soccer team climb as high as No. 2 in the nation in the National Soccer Coaches Association of America/USA Today poll before winning its third straight Division 1 title.

The Hilltoppers also had second-place finishes in volleyball, golf and baseball. It led Catholic Memorial, 2-0, in state volleyball final before falling in five, finished four strokes behind Arrowhead at state golf and lost, 2-0, to Menomonee Falls in the summer baseball final last summer.

That was five state finals appearance for Marquette in one year. When you add the playoff run of its football team, the school reached at least the state quarterfinal in six of its 12 WIAA sports.

 "The athletes are really dedicated and good to work with, smart kids, work hard," Herman said. "It’s a great place to work and they deserve the credit because they’re the ones that have won all these things.”

SCHOOL OF THE YEAR STANDINGS

OVERALL

1. Arrowhead 32

2. Catholic Memorial 31

3. Marquette 20

4. Whitefish Bay 19

5. Brookfield Central 16

6. Oak Creek 14

7. Racine Prairie 12

8 (tie). Homestead 11

Muskego 11

Waukesha West 11

BOYS

1. Marquette 20

2. Arrowhead 18

3. Catholic Memorial 18

4. Waukesha South 8

5 (tie). Brookfield East 7

  Brookfield Central 7

  Menomonee Falls 7

  Pewaukee 7

GIRLS

1. Arrowhead 14

2. Catholic Memorial 13

3. Whitefish Bay 13

4. Brookfield Central 9

5 (tie). Muskego 8

   Oak Creek 8