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Iola-Scandinavia

How they got here...   After winning the Central Wisconsin-Small conference with a spotless 16-0 record, the Thunderbirds edged Weyauwega-Fremont in the regional final 60-59.  Then after defeating Crivitz, they won a shootout with Roncalli 67-64, ending the Jets three year streak of state tournament appearances.  They come into the state tournament with a 23-2 record.



Notables...  Making their third appearance at state, their first since 1985…. also made the state football championships this season in division 6…  Michael Griffin is a 6-3 wing player who is one of the top 50 seniors in the state as rated by Mark Miller of WisSports.net…  Both losses on the season came during the Sentry Classic at UW-Stevens Point, including an overtime thriller to fellow state tournament participant Suring…. Griffin scored 54 points in the loss against Suring including 10 three-pointers….  Coach Sam Bertsch is in his sixth year and has a cumulative record of 112-29, including a 83-13 mark over the past four seasons… Hope to become the first public school to win the Division 3 title since Ladysmith captured the crown in 2003…



La Crosse Aquinas

How they got here...  Took second place to La Crosse Logan in the Mississippi Valley conference with a 10-2 record.  The Blugolds, who come into the tournament at 22-3, lost to Logan twice, with their other loss coming to Winona Cotter from Minnesota.  They absolutely blew through their sectional with an average margin of victory of 34.2 points, including a 64-35 victory over Cuba City in the sectional final.



Notables...  lost in the D3 state championship game last season to Racine St. Catherine's… won the D2 state championship in 2002…  Lucas Morrissey is the only returning starter from last season's team…  Won the state football title this season in division 5…  guard Jimmy Whitehead is one of the fastest rising prospects in the class of 2009…  smallest enrollment in the Mississippi Valley Conference, 1000 students smaller than the biggest enrollment…  won a total of nine WISAA state championships and were runners-up 11 times…  Coach Rick Schneider comes in with a 72-24 record for his career…



Whitefish Bay Dominican

How they got here...  Come in with a record of 24-1, with their only defeat coming at the hands of D1 Racine Horlick at the WBBY shootout.  In addition to winning the Midwest-Classic conference with an unblemished record, the Knights logged impressive victories on the year over larger schools Catholic Memorial, Milwaukee Pius, Whitefish Bay and Minneapolis DeLaSalle. In the tournament, they squeaked by a pair of tough games against Milwaukee Northwest (81-79 in OT) and Oostburg (51-50) before defeating defending state champ Racine St. Cat's in the sectional final by a 59-37 count.



Notables...  Senior Kwamain Mitchell is ranked as the second best senior prospect by Mark Miller of WisSports.net and will play college basketball for Rick Majerus and Saint Louis University….  JD Wise (2008), Jerrel Harris (2009) and Mikael Luter (2010) are all ranked highly in their respective classes…  Won back-to-back D3 state titles in 2004 & 2005….  During the 2004-05 season, they registered an unblemished 26-0 record in a year in which they also defeated eventual D1 state champ Madison Memorial during the regular season…  Coach Paul Wollersheim has a 267-48 career record in his 13 seasons of coaching…



Eau Claire Regis

How they got here...  Won the Cloverbelt-West title with a 14-0 record and went 21-3 overall on the season.  Only losses on the season came to D2 Reedsburg and Black River Falls and D4 state-qualifier Eleva-Strum.  Won a nail-biter in the first round over Colby (58-57) and then went on to rattle off four more victories including  52-46 decision over Webster in the sectional final.



Notables...  Returning to the WIAA State Tournament for the second consecutive season, and the second time overall… sophomore Adam Ganske was the Player of the Year in the Cloverbelt-West… Coach Bill Uelmen is in his 25th season at Regis and has compiled a record of 363-18 at Regis and has over 400 varsity wins in his career…  The Ramblers made seven WISAA state tournament appearances…