Colfax girls look to defend D-SC conference championship in 2022-03
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by Marlys Kruger
Sports Correspondent
COLFAX — Sixteen girls reported to practice for the Colfax basketball team November 7, including a pair of seniors, five juniors, three sophomores and five freshmen.
The Vikings are the defending Dunn-St. Croix Conference champions and have won or tied for the conference title four years running. The team finished last year 23-3 overall and 13-1 in conference play, ending their season with a 39-36 regional final loss against Neillsville, who eventually went on to the state tournament.
Courtney Sarauer begins her third season leading the Vikings, bringing a 36-7 record with her, and her team has set a goal of winning another conference title. But they will have to replace several players from last year’s team to accomplish that goal.
Gone via graduation are Madison Barstad, Emilee Burcham-Scofield, Jasmine Best and Jillian Bowe. All were starters last year for the team, with Barstad the second leading scorer with a 10.2 points per game average, and the second leading rebounder with 5.8 rebounds per game. Burcham-Scofield was the third leading scorer for the Vikings with a 9.2 average and has taken her talents to Luther College in Iowa while Bowe led the team in assists and Best was second in assists and a defensive specialist.
Returning letter winners are seniors Molly Heidorn and Aynsley Olson along with juniors McKenna Shipman and Jeanette Hydukovich. Shipman was the leading scorer for the Vikings last season with a 14.7 point per game average and Olson averaged 4.1 points per game while Hydukovich average 4.2 points per game.
Newcomers expected to help out are Jada Anderson, Jaycey Bowe, Meadow Keltner, Kaysen Goodell and Autumn Niggeman.
Sarauer believes the team’s strength will be their size and endurance, but shooting and scoring droughts could be a weakness this season. She expects Elk Mound and Durand to be the top competition in the conference.
The Vikings open the season with some tough non-conference games, starting at home against Division 1 Hudson November 15 and at Bloomer November 22.
2022-23 Roster
Seniors: Molly Heidorn and Aynsley Olson.
Juniors: Jada Anderson, McKenna Shipman, Jeanette Hydukovich, Meadow Keltner and Jaycey Bowe.
Sophomores: Kaysen Goodell, Autumn Niggeman and Lydia Polkowski.
Freshmen: Jordyn Bowe, Sierra Shipman, Brynn Sikora, Leila Hurlburt, Clara Hydukovich and Jenny Maves.
THE COLFAX GIRLS look to defend their Dunn-St. Croix Basetball crown this season. The team has 167 players out for the high school teams. Front row (L to R): Kaysen Goodell, Sierra Shipman, Jordyn Bowe, and Jenny Maves. Middle row (L to R): McKenna Shipman, Molly Heidorn, Meadow Keltner, Jaycey Bowe, Brynn Sikora, and Jada Anderson. Back row (L to R): Autumn Niggeman, Aynsley Olson, Jeanette Hydukovich, Lydia Polkoski, Leila Hurlburt, and Clara Hydukovich. —photo by Shawn DeWitt