The Week in Review SPASH Boys basketball: Merrill tried to slow the game down last Friday, but SPASH still ran past the Bluejays, 35-25. The Panthers opened a 14-3 first-quarter lead and then held on. Both teams scored only three points in the second quarter. Casey Taggatz scored 11 points and was the lone Panther in double figures. Girls basketball: A third quarter run helped SPASH top Wisconsin Rapids on the road Tuesday night, 60-52. The Panthers (11-4 overall, 9-2 in the WVC) outscored the Red Raiders 16-8 in the quarter to take a 45-36 advantage into the fourth quarter. Janel McCarville led SPASH with 18 points and Steph Karaliunas added 15. Offensive woes hurt the Panthers in their showdown with Merrill for first place in the WVC last Friday and SPASH fell 50-35. The visiting Bluejays jumped to a 22-8 halftime lead as SPASH connected on just four field goals through the first two quarters. The Panthers battled back in the second and actually got within five with just over three minutes to go. McCarville was the only SPASH player in double figures, scoring 10 points. Gymnastics: SPASH finished second out of eight teams at Saturday's Madison Memorial Invitational. The Panthers scored 137.925 points, behind only Middleton's 141.025. "We went up against some talented teams and are very proud to take second place," SPASH coach Mary Olszewski said. "In my opinion we keep getting better and I find myself in awe of the way these gymnasts perform." SPASH finished one-two in the beam with Nikki Cruz taking first and Kimberly Jo Barden finishing second. Barden was second in the floor exercise, followed by Raenee Bugarske (sixth), Kim Klosno (eighth) and Katie Meyer (ninth). Barden finished eighth in the all around, Jenna Weinbauer was eighth in beam, Anne Simonis took ninth in beam and Tracy Knippel was 10th in bars. The Panthers (4-1 in WVC duals) topped Rhinelander 135.5-110.850 in a dual last Thursday. Anne Simonis won the all around, while Barden (beam and vault), Klosno (floor exercise) and Knippel (bars) won their respective events. "We had a successful meet with our girls taking the top five places on the floor and bars and the top four places on beam and vault," Olszewski said. Hockey: An Eric Anderson overtime goal lifted SPASH to a 2-1 win Tuesday night over Wausau West. The Panthers (16-1-0 overall, 12-1-0 in the WVC) dodged three bullets in the extra session, as Shaun Kruzitski came up with a trio of big saves. Anderson's goal came on a dump pass, where he beat a West defender to the puck and then knocked it past goalie Andy Dustan from the left side. "My speed's my biggest advantage," Anderson said. "I didn't have much time at all (to think about the shot). I knew I had to go high on him." "It was just a simple dump," SPASH assistant coach Jeff Kreuger said, who was filling in for ill head coach Jack Stoskopf. "Most guys would give up on that. That extra effort was what got him his goal." West took a 1-0 lead and then Anderson scored to tie the game with under a minute remaining in the second period. Kruzitski finished with 21 saves. Four goals in the third period Saturday gave the Panthers a 4-1 win at Merrill. After falling behind 1-0, SPASH answered with goals from Josh Kujawa, Josh Pagel, Jake Swenson and Noah Johnson. SPASH broke a 3-3 tie late in the third period with a trio of goals in the final three minutes to beat Rhinelander 6-3 last Thursday. The host Hodags tied the game with 2:46 left but Pagel scored with 43 seconds left to give SPASH a 4-3 lead. Adam Kostichka and Joe Pavelski clinched the win with late goals. Anderson, Johnson and Justin Danielski also scored goals for SPASH. Boys swimming: SPASH finished fifth out of seven teams Saturday at the Brookfield East Invitational, scoring 214 points. West Bend East won the meet with 415-1/2 points. Jon Ronzani finished second in the 100-yard butterfly and third in the 50 freestyle. Grabbing fourth place finishes were Corey Prince (100 backstroke) and Jacob Nantell (50 freestyle). Six Panthers finished first as SPASH beat host Wausau East 96-97 last Thursday. Corey Prince was a double-winner, taking both the 100-yard backstroke and 500-yard freestyle. Ted Conachen (100 individual medley), Ronzani (100 butterfly) and Kyle Patoka (100 breaststroke) all won their respective events. The 200 freestyle relay of Matt Trautschold, Nantell, Ronzani and Conachen also took top honors. Wrestling: The Panthers cruised to a 57-15 dual meet win last Thursday against Rhinelander. SPASH (5-3 final record in the WVC) picked up pins from Tyler Salvinski (119), Kevin Duda (125), Ty Pope (140) and Jed Haas (171) won by pin. Jake Calhoun (103) won by technical fall, Rob King (135) was victorious by major decision, while Nate Kurszewski (112), Josh Zinda (160), Josh Beyerl (189) and Robb Kolodziej (275) all won by forfeit. Pacelli Boys basketball: The Cardinals let an eight-point fourth quarter lead slip away in a 43-40 home loss to Wisconsin Rapids Assumption last Friday. Pacelli (6-9 overall, 3-3 in the Central Wisconsin Catholic Conference) missed some key free throws and turned the ball over in the late goings, allowing the Royals to escape with the win. A 12-0 surge in the third quarter gave the Cardinals a seven-point, 33-26 lead heading into the final quarter. Josh Owens paced Pacelli with 12 points and Jim Czlapinski added 11. Girls basketball: Pacelli dropped a non-conference road game against Tomahawk Tuesday night, 35-29. The Hatchets turned a 17-16 halftime lead into a 29-24 advantage entering the fourth quarter. Lindsey Radomski scored 12 points and had 11 rebounds while Laura McCorkell pulled down 12 boards for Pacelli (7-10 overall). Pacelli avoided a letdown from last week's win over Appleton Xavier, topping Wisconsin Rapids Assumption 36-27 Saturday. The Cardinals led 23-20 entering the final quarter and hit 9-of-11 free throws to seal the win. Kristin Mitchell led Pacelli with 14 points and Lindsey Radomski added 11. Wrestling: The Cardinals won two weight classes and finished second with 208 points at its own Pacelli Invite Saturday. Franz Klein (112) and Greg Snow (145) each took titles with 4-0 records in their respective weight classes. James Duncan-Zook (125), Tim Schwarz (130), Clint Piotrowski (135), Simon Hesch (140), Justin Anderson (152), Matt Schulist (171), John Sniadajewski (189) and Ben Kissel (275) all finished second. Amherst Boys basketball: Dylan Page scored 22 points to pace Amherst in a 64-28 drubbing of Manawa on the road last Thursday. The Falcons (14-0 overall, 9-0 in the Central Wisconsin Conference small division) led 40-19 at halftime and didn't look back. Eden Weller added 10 points for Amherst. Girls basketball: Meghan Simkins had 28 points and 18 rebounds as Amherst dismantled Manawa 76-20 last Friday at home. The first-place Falcons (13-2 overall, 8-2 in the CWC large division) had leads of 23-2 after one quarter, 46-10 at halftime and 67-12 after three quarters. Jenni Orsund had 15 points, eight steals and eight assists while Meghan's sophomore sister Molly grabbed 11 rebounds. Almond-Bancroft Boys basketball: Buzzer beaters at the end of regulation and overtime gave the Eagles (10-3 in the CWC small division, 10-5 overall) a 62-61 overtime win at Wild Rose Tuesday. A-B's Matt Cummings hit a 3-pointer with 9-tenths of a second left in overtime and Kent Dernbach beat the fourth quarter buzzer with a jumper. Dernbach had 22 points and Blake Schultz chipped in 12. Chris Leary had 10 points, seven boards and dished out five assists. The Eagles couldn't overcome a fast Iola-Scandinavia start and fell to the Thunderbirds at home last Friday, 61-53. I-S led 19-10 after one quarter before A-B got within eight, 30-22 at halftime. Both teams scored 11 points in the third quarter and 20 in the fourth. Kent Dernbach was the only A-B player in double figures, scoring 27 points. Girls basketball: A strong first half carried the Eagles to a 54-34 home win over Wild Rose Tuesday. A-B (10-7 overall, 9-5 in the CWC small) held a 31-17 halftime lead and didn't look back. Stephanie Jenz paced the Eagles with 26 points while Sarah Berry had 11 rebounds and nine points. Iola-Scandinavia jumped all over the Eagles last Thursday, and outscored A-B 26-4 in the first quarter in a 73-45 A-B loss. The Eagles bounced back in the second and got within 35-23 at halftime but the Thunderbirds used a 23-8 run in the fourth quarter to put the game well out of reach. Stephanie Jenz scored 13 points and Berry added 10. Rosholt Boys basketball: A fourth quarter surge carried the Hornets past Bowler at home Tuesday, 56-52. Rosholt (10-2 in the CWC small) erased a one-point deficit after three quarters by outscoring Bowler 16-11 in the fourth. Ryan Zdroik had 23 points and 10 rebounds to lead the Hornets. Zdroik had 17 points and Kevin Flick added 14 as Rosholt beat Gresham on the road last Friday, 62-45. The Hornets led 18-13 after one quarter and opened it to 12 points at halftime, 32-20. Girls basketball: A strong third quarter sewed up a 52-26 win at Bowler Tuesday night. The Hornets (12-3 overall, 11-2 in the CWC small) led 26-16 entering the quarter and then outscored Bowler 16-4 in the third. Jenna Eschenbauch scored 16 points while Amy Scott had 11 points and 11 rebounds. Rosholt doubled up on visiting Gresham last Friday, 52-26. The Hornets outscored Gresham 20-7 in the second quarter to take a 28-14 halftime lead. Eschenbauch had 17 points while Amy Scott chipped in with 11 points and 15 rebounds. Tami Scott added 10 points. Wrestling: Weyauwega-Fremont took an insurmountable lead and topped Rosholt 45-27 Tuesday. The Hornets dropped eight of the first nine matches before taking the last four. Willie VanDeYacht (119), Aaron Yenter (160), Jon Betker (171) and Senica Omernik (275) all won by pin while Dustin Wiza won by decision at 189. VanDeYacht (119), Geoff Yenter (125), Scott Walenski (135), Greg Firkus (140), Aaron Yenter (160), Betker (171), Wiza (189) and Omernik (275) finished 4-0 and won their respective weight classes as Rosholt cruised to the Pacelli Invite title Saturday. Omernik was named the most valuable wrestler as the Hornets went on to score 234 points. The Hornets received eight forfeit wins and won three of five contested matches in a 54-12 dual win at home over Shiocton. VanDeYacht (119) won by pin, while Geoff Yenter (130) and Omernik (275) won by decision. Receiving forfeits were Terry Fields (112), Walenski (135), Firkus (140), Mike Sarenpa (145), Aaron Yenter (160), Betker (171) and Wiza (189).