HIGH SCHOOL

10 local athletes among state's best in preps

Tim Johnson
USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin
Mariah Whalen wins the girls volleyball player of the Year during the second annual Wisconsin High School Sports Awards, hosted by Wisconsin's USA TODAY NETWORK publications Friday, May 12, 2017, at the Lambeau Field Atrium in Green Bay, Wis. The show featured various awards, entertainment and a special appearance from Green Bay Packers linebacker Clay Matthews.
Dan Powers/USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin

GREEN BAY - Dozens of central Wisconsin's student-athletes stood out among the state's best this past year when the competition spotlight was the brightest.

Newman Catholic's Mariah Whalen, for example, set a state record in hitting percentage in the final game of her prep volleyball career in November as the Cardinals won a fourth straight WIAA state title. Stratford's Kam Bornbach won a state individual and team championship over the final two weekends of his prep wrestling career. Wausau West's Brooke Jaworski set a pair of state records last spring in her first appearance in the state track meet.

The three were back in the spotlight again this month, although on a different type of stage.

RELATED: Clay Matthews, prep stars share spotlight

The three were among 10 athletes from Portage, Marathon and Wood counties who were named Players of the Year in their respective sports during the Wisconsin High School Sports Awards at Lambeau Field. The group was chosen after six nominees for each sport were paired down to three finalists. Sports journalists from the 10 USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin markets made the final selections ahead of the May 12 ceremony, which featured a guest appearance by Green Bay Packers linebacker Clay Matthews.

Kam Bornbach wins the wrestling Wrestler of the Year during the second annual Wisconsin High School Sports Awards, hosted by Wisconsin's USA TODAY NETWORK publications Friday, May 12, 2017, at the Lambeau Field Atrium in Green Bay, Wis. The show featured various awards, entertainment and a special appearance from Green Bay Packers linebacker Clay Matthews.
Dan Powers/USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin

In addition to Whalen, Bornbach and Jaworski, the top local award winners were D.C. Everest's Jack Mittelsteadt in boys soccer, Wisconsin Rapids Lincoln's Tia Dorshorst  in gymnastics, Wausau East's Matt Tuman in boys golf, and four students from Stevens Point Area Senior High: Emily Luetschwager in girls tennis, Joey Hauser in boys basketball, Gus Turner-Zick in baseball and Audrey Drohner in softball.

The event honored winners in 30 categories for top student-athletes, coaches and teams from coverage areas around Wausau, Stevens Point, Wisconsin Rapids, Marshfield, Green Bay, Appleton, Sheboygan, Oshkosh, Fond du Lac and Manitowoc.

Following is a closer look at the athletes from central and north central Wisconsin who won top honors as a player of the year in their respective sports:

BOYS SOCCER

Jack Mittelsteadt. D.C. Everest: The Evergreens senior forward capped his prep career with 55 goals and seven assists this past fall as Everest reached a WIAA Division 1 sectional championship game. Mittelsteadt was named the Wisconsin Valley Conference boys soccer player of the year for a second straight season and was a first team All-State selection by the Wisconsin Soccer Coaches Association.

GIRLS VOLLEYBALL

Mariah Whalen, Newman Catholic: The senior outside hitter helped the Cardinals to a fourth straight WIAA Division 4 state championship and set a state record with a .632 hitting percentage during a championship match sweep of Clayton. Whalen, who will play for the University of Wisconsin, had 682 kills and a .440 hitting percentage in her senior season and was named MaxPreps.com national small school player of the year.

GIRLS TENNIS

Emily Luetschwager, SPASH: The Panthers senior capped her high school career with a second-straight WIAA Division 1 individual state tennis championship. Luetschwager, who is headed to Colorado State Unviersity, leaves SPASH with a 130-5 career record and closed with a 70-match winning streak. Only one of her matches in her junior and senior years combined went to a third set.

BOYS BASKETBALL

Joey Hauser, SPASH: The Panthers 6-foot-8 junior forward averaged 23.6 points and 11.5 rebounds per game and helped SPASH win a third straight WIAA Division 1 state championship. Hauser had 33 points and 21 rebounds in the state title game against Arrowhead, and was named first team All-State by the Associated Press the following week. He enters his senior season with 1,126 career points.

WRESTLING

Kam Bornbach, Stratford: The Tigers standout capped a dominant senior season with a state championship in both individual and team competitions. Bornbach posted a 42-1 record and won the WIAA Division 3 title at 220 pounds, one of four individual titles that a Stratford wrestler captured this winter. It was the third straight year Bornbach won an individual title, and he followed it by helping Stratford win the Division 3 state team title the following weekend.

GIRLS GYMNASTICS

Tia Dorshorst, Wisconsin Rapids: The Raiders junior-year standout was the Great Northern Conference Large School gymnast of the year and showed that she ranked among the top individuals in the state as well. She placed third on the balance beam in Division 1 competition in the WIAA state gymnastics meet and was fourth on the uneven bars. Dorshorst completed the weekend with a fifth-place finish in all-around completion.

BASEBALL

Gus Turner-Zick, SPASH: The Panthers outfielder was the Wisconsin Valley Conference co-player of the year last spring as a junior as he helped SPASH to a conference title. Turner-Zick had a .488 batting average and was a first team All-State selection by the Wisconsin Baseball Coaches Association. Eleven of his 21 hits in conference play went for extra bases, including six doubles.

SOFTBALL

Aubrey Drohner, SPASH: The pitcher was the Wisconsin Valley Conference player of the year last year as a junior as she helped the Panthers to the WIAA Division 1 state championship as well. Drohner had a .471 batting average and posted a 1.32 earned run average as a pitcher. She capped the season by being named the Division 1 player of the year by the Wisconsin Softball Coaches Association.

GIRLS TRACK

Brooke Jaworski, Wausau West: The Warriors standout made a name for herself as a freshman as she won the Division 1 girls 200 and 400 meters in the WIAA state track meet last June in La Crosse, setting a state meet record in the latter event. Jaworski also anchored West’s 1,600-meter relay team, which set a state meet record as well. Jaworski was named the Wisconsin Track Coaches Association female athlete of the year for her performance.

BOYS GOLF

Matt Tuman, Wausau East: The Lumberjacks senior has won the Wisconsin Valley Conference individual title the past two years, and he has a shot at a third straight title heading into the final leg of this year’s conference tournament. Tuman capped his junior season in the WIAA state boys golf tournament as he tied for sixth place overall in the Division 1 competition.

Other nominees and finalists

Bornbach of Stratford and Medford's Osy Ekwueme also were finalists for the overall Wisconsin Boys Athlete of the Year, which ultimately went to Kimberly football standout Danny Vanden Boom. Little Chute's Tess Keyzers was the Girls Athlete of the Year, and Wittenberg-Birnamwood's Taylor Nier was a finalist. Jaworski was also a nominee for Girls Cross Country Athlete of the Year, which went to Pulaski's Annika Linzmeier.

Fourteen other local athletes also were nominees: Nekoosa/Port Edwards' Miguel Mathias (boys cross county), Amherst's Michael Singer (football), Newman Catholic's Laura Larrain (girls tennis), Loyal's Karsyn Rueth (girls basketball), Marshfield's Emma Haugen (gymnastics), Wausau West's Nick Techel (boys hockey) and Katelyn Ramthun (girls hockey), D.C. Everest's Dorene Sanchez (girls soccer), Iola-Scandinavia's Erika Kisting (girls track), and SPASH's Mary McDonald (girls golf), Jon Peck (boys tennis), Olivia Clemens (gymnastics), and Julia Stupar (girls swimming) and Cole Caufield (boys hockey).

SPASH boys basketball coach Scott Anderson and Loyal girls basketball coach Mike Rueth were both nominated for Coach of the Year, which went to Kimberly football coach Steve Jones.

SPASH basketball, Amherst football and Stratford wrestling were all nominees for Boys Team of the Year, which went to Kimberly football. Loyal basketball, Central Wisconsin girls hockey and Newman Catholic volleyball were nominees for Girls Team of the Year, which Appleton North basketball won.

Tim Johnson: 715-845-0731, or twjohnson@gannett.com; on Twitter @timmyjo11

More Central Wisconsin athletic honors

In addition to the statewide awards program held May 12, USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin has partnered with Marshfield Clinic to recognize the top female and male athletes of the year among graduating seniors in central Wisconsin.

Central Wisconsin High School Sports Honors

High school administrators throughout the region have each nominated two students, and Marshfield Clinic will award $1,000 scholarships to an overall Female Athlete of the Year and Male Athlete of the Year.

Stay tuned for announcements of each local school's nominees in our online and print editions, starting in June. Overall winners will be announced June 18.