The month of February started off on a positive note Monday, Feb. 2 for the WEM boys basketball tam.

After losing their last four games, three last week, the Buccaneers scored 54 points in the first half of their 86-53 win over Medford on Senior Night.

Four players scored in double figures, led by sophomore post Cole Bartz who made 13-of-20 from the field, finishing with 26 points and grabbing a game-high 16 rebounds, nine of those were offensive rebounds.

Senior Talen Taylor finished with 19 points, nine rebounds, and six assists.

Approximately one month ago, the JWP girls basketball team handed the WEM girls a 70-29 defeat December 16, 2025.

Thirty-four days later the Buccaneers held the Bulldogs to 57 points in a 57-52 win for JWP in Gopher Conference action.

WEM took a 28-21 halftime lead only to see the Bulldogs outscore them 36- 24 in the second half.

WEM limited the Bulldogs to one of their lowest scoring games of the season. They held a 44-35 rebounding advantage and a 16-9 offensive rebounding advantage.

The WEM/JWP wrestling team opened up a 48-0 lead on their way to a 57-15 win over Medford Thursday, January 22 in Waterville.

Medford forfeited six of their first seven matches allowing the Grizzlies to open up an insurmountable lead.

Seventh grader Otto Root improved to 16-7 this season with a pin of eighth grader Kyle Witter in 3:54 at 114 pounds.

Junior Parker James improved to 11-13 with a 36 second pin of sophomore Grayson Burr at 152 pounds.

Junior Trenton Huber decisioned junior Chase Baler, 10-3, to improve to 17-9 at 189 pounds.

Five of the seven WEM/ JWP girls wrestlers made their way onto the podium at the Saturday, Jan. 17 St. Croix Lutheran Invitational.

The Grizzlies placed fourth in the 17-team invitational. scoring 96 points. Apple Valley won the event with 187.5 points. Roseville Area placed second with 128 points, Placing third was St. Paul Como Park with 96 points.

Junior Bre’Ana Masso led the team with a...

To see more on this story pick up the January 22, 2026 print edition of the LifeEnterprise.

Last season, the WEM/ JWP wrestling team squeezed out a 1.5 point advantage over Ogilivie to win the St. Croix Lutheran Invitational.

The Grizzlies repeated as team champions, winning the title Saturday, Jan. 17 by more than 40 points over runner-up Cannon Falls. WEM/ JWP scored 215 team points in finishing ahead of Cannon Falls (172.5), Ogilvie (135), Chisago Lakes (126), and Robbinsdale Armstrong (106.5).

The WEM boys basketball team split a pair of Gopher Conference games last week.

They defeated Medford, 86-67, Tuesday, January 6 and were defeated by United South Central, 67-64, Thursday, January 8.

The squad is now 2-3 in the Gopher Conference West Division and 4-7 overall. They will host Randolph Friday, January 16, play at JWP Tuesday, January 13, and at Faribault BA Thursday, January 22.

In the win over the tigers, senior Talen Taylor scored 30+ points for the third straight game. He finished with 31 points, 14 rebounds, and five assists.

Ron and Laura Romnes decided to take a chance on starting an archery business.

So far, the customers have flocked in as quickly as the arrows have flown throughout their building in Elysian.

“It’s been awesome seeing people in here shooting their bows and arrows and socializing with each other,” Laura mentioned. “We’re building a community here.”

With how many have welcomed the Romneses and Elysian Archery, you would have thought they had been here for a while. Although they haven’t lived in Elysian for many years, they’ve been in the area.

The WEM girls basketball team scored more than 70 points in a game for only the second and third times this season during a split of two games last week.

The high-water mark for the Bucs was set earlier this year when they scored 74 points in a win over Kenyon-Wanamingo.

The Bucs scored a season-high 77 points Tuesday, Dec. 30 in a 91-77 loss to Tri-City United (TCU). Four days later they set a new season-high when they defeated Cleveland, 79-39, Saturday, Jan. 3.

Three players scored 20 or more points in leading the WEM boys basketball team to a 92-72 win over Tri-City United (TCU) in a nonconference basketball game Tuesday, Dec. 30.

In what is believed to be the first time in school history three players scored in excess of 20 points in one game, the Bucs scored a season-high behind 37 points from Talen Taylor, 28 points from Cole Bartz, and 20 points from Jacob Androli.

WEM never trailed in the game against winless TCU, building a modest 36-23 halftime lead.

Buccaneers have shown steady improvement

Starting his fourth year as head coach, David Schuster has seen his teams improve from four wins his first year to 13 wins the last two years.

This season Schuster is looking for his team to continue to improve with one of the conference’s top players and five seniors set to lead this team.

“I do believe we can compete with any team in the conference had finish with a better record than last year,”Schuster said. “We have the athletes.”

WEM senior Brady Murphy became the 13th Grizzly wrestler to reach 100 career wins when he pinned Ben Scheffler of Kenyon-Wanamingo in 80 seconds Thursday, Dec. 17 in Waterville.

Murphy joins 11 other WEM student/athletes and one from JWP who have achieved this milestone. His record through Thursday evening is 101-33.

Four WEM/JWP wrestlers picked up two wins during the Grizzly Triangular Thursday, Dec. 18 in Waterville.

Otto Root (114), Brady Murphy (145), Charles Adams (172), and Kavan Sheehy (215/285) each won both of their bouts while the Grizzlies split the two duals.

Class A 4th ranked Kenyon-Wanamingo averted an upset with a 46-23 win. The Knights trailed to two matches late in third period and turned the tables and picked up falls. This was an 18-point swing in the dual.

WEM/JWP recorded six, six-point victories on their way to a 39-35 win over Cannon Falls/Randolph.

WEM senior Addison Condon has her name etched on Buccaneer School records in two sports.

She holds volleyball and track and field records and has been an All-State performer in both sports.

She is now adding her name to another WEM sports milestone after scoring her 1,000 career point in the Tuesday night girls basketball game against Mayer Lutheran.

Condon becomes only the seventh WEM player to score 1,000 points. Through her four-year varsity career, Condon has amassed 1,066 which is fifth all-time.

The WEM/JWP wrestling team competed in five different duals last week, winning one of the five.

The Grizzlies hosted a triangular Thursday, Dec. 11 in Janesville and dropped a 49-22 decision to Class A state-rated Le Sueur-Henderson and were defeated by Waseca, 40-27.

The week ended with three duals at the Dave Sharberg Duals at Byron Saturday, Dec. 13. WEM/JWP defeated Dover-Eyota, 46-29, lost 34-33 on a tiebreaker to Rochester Mayo, and lost to Plainview-Elgin-Millville (PEM), 53-11.

WEM/JWP junior BreAna Masso won four straight matches to claim the 112-pound championship in the Buffalo Wild Wings Hutchinson Girls Wrestling Tournament Saturday, Nov. 29.

Masso finished with a technical fall and three pins in less than a minute, including a 59 fall in the championship bout.

Senior Kayle Langford placed 3rd at 142 pounds, winning five of six matches. She had...

To see more on this story pick up the December 4, 2025 print edition of the LifeEnterprise. 

WEM senior Talen Taylor was named the WEM football Most Valuable Player during the end-of-the-season awards recognition Tuesday, Nov. 25.

Taylor, a three-time All-District Player and the 2025 District Player of the Year, had a fantastic all-around season for the team which advanced to State.

On defense he finished with a team-high six interceptions, scored a defensive touchdown, had a fumble recovery, numerous pass break-ups, and 10.5 tackles.