The WEM volleyball team ended the three-year reign of Mayer Lutheran as the top team in Class A Section 2 after downing the Crusaders in five sets Saturday, Nov. 2 at Mankato East High School. The Bucs downed Mayer Lutheran by scores of 20-25, 25-17, 20-25, 25-19, and 15-13 in the championship match. The Class A State Tournament starts Thursday, Nov. 7 at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul. This will be the second State appearance for the Bucs. In 2015 they claimed the Class A State Championship. The Bucs (32-2) received the No. 2 seed and will plat at 3 p.m.

For the fifth straight season, WEM will face Mayer Lutheran for the Section 2A Volleyball Championship. The two teams each won their respective Sub-Section title Thursday, Oct. 31. WEM defeated Alden-Conger 25-20, 25-11, and 25-14. Mayer Lutheran defeated BOLD 25-20, 25-15, and 25-20.The Bucs and Crusaders will face off Saturday, Nov. 2 at 6 p.m. at Mankato East High School in the Section 2A Championship match. In 2015, WEM defeated the Crusaders on their way to a Class A State Championship. The next three years Mayer Lutheran defeated the Bucs for the Section Championship.

The WEM volleyball team is within two games of their second Class A State Tournament appearance. The Bucs defeated St. Clair 25-4, 25-5, and 25-11 in the South Sub-Section semifinal Tuesday, Oct. 29 at St. Peter. The Bucs (30-2 overall) will play Alden-Conger (19-5) in the Sub-Section Championship Thursday, Oct. 31 at Mankato East High School, starting at 6 p.m. The winner will face either Mayer Lutheran or BOLD for the Section 2A Championship Saturday, Nov. 2 at Mankato East at 6 p.m.

The WEM football team ended its season Saturday, Oct. 26 with a 46-44 loss to Gibbon-Fairfax-Winthrop. The Bucs scored a season-high in the loss and had two 100-yard rushers. Senior Jayden taylor rushed for 184 yards and two scores and senior Brant Melchert gained 153 yards and scored three times. GFW will face United South Central Friday, Nov. 1 at New Prague for the Section 2A Championship. The Bucs end their season with a 6-4 overall record.

The WEM volleyball team swept Martin Count West, 25-8, 25-9, 25-7 in the South Sub-Section Quarterfinals Thursday, Oct. 24 in Waterville. The win moves the Bucs into the South Sub-Section semifinal Tuesday, Oct. 29 when they will play St. Clair at 6 p.m. in St. Peter. The winner will advance to the South Sub-Section Championship Thursday, Oct. 31 at 6 p.m. at Mankato East. The Section 2A Championship is scheduled for Saturday, Nov. 2 at Mankato East, starting at 6 p.m.

The WEM volleyball team will enter Section 2A Post Season Play Thursday, Oct. 24 after finishing the regular season with a 28-2 overall record and a 7-0 record in the Gopher Conference. The Bucs won the conference title for the second straight year with a sweep of Faribault BA Tuesday, Oct. 15. WEM (28-2) will face Martin County West (8-16) Thursday, Oct. 24 in Waterville at 7 p.m. in the South Sub-Section, Section 2A Quarterfinals. A win and they would play Tuesday, Oct. 29 at St. Peter at 6 p.m. against the winner of Springfield (14-14) and St. Clair (12-18).

The WEM/JWP Grizzly girls' cross country team won their second straight Gopher Conference Tuesday, Oct. 15 at Hayfield. The Grizzlies scored a perfect 15 points, with the top five finishers in the race all from WEM/JWP. Freshman Addison Peed was a repeat Conference Runner of the Year, winning the race. She was followed across the finish line by Lauren Dimler, Madison Zimbrich, Ashlin Keyes, and Emma Johnson. Landon Dimler led the boys' team with a fourth place finish. The Grizzly boys placed third with 58 points. Both teams will compete Thursday, Oct.

The WEM football team improved to 6-3 overall after a 34-8 win over Minnesota Valley Lutheran Tuesday, Oct. 22 in the Section 2A Quarterfinals in Waterville. Nolan Wetzel, Jaden Taylor, and Brant Melchert each scored rushing touchdowns. Matthew Van Houdt scored a touchdown on an interception return. GFW is 7-2 overall, with losses this season to Martin County West (31-20) and Maple River (32-20). The seven teams they defeated have a combined 11-52 record. WEM has lost three times. The losses are to undefeated USC, undefeated Lewiston-Altura, and one-loss Mayer Lutheran.

With one Gopher Conference match to play, the WEM volleyball team has already clinched at least a tie for the title.
WEM was the 2018 conference champions. After a sweep of United South Central Thursday, Oct. 10, the Bucs improved to 6-0 in league play and earned at least a share of the 2019 championship.
Medford is 5-1 and their lone loss is to WEM. Faribault BA, WEM’s final regular season opponent Tuesday, Oct. 15, has two conference losses.
WEM has now won 11 straight matches and has not lost a set since Sept. 21.

The WEM football defense has been outstanding over the course of their current four-game win streak.
Friday, Oct. 11 was no exception.
The Bucs limited JWP to 136 total yards in a 20-8 District win over the Bulldogs.
JWP senior running back Jagger Ignaszewski gained 126 yards rushing on 31 carries and caught a pass for six yards.
Throw out his performance and the Bulldogs gained four total yards.
There were a number of top-notch performances from the WEM defense. Seniors Theo Miska, Dylan Androli, Nolan Wetzel, and Brant Melchert combined for 35 tackles.

The WEM volleyball team is currently 25-2 this season after sweeping five opponents at the Cannon Falls Tournament Saturday, Oct. 5. The Bucs defeated Hastings, Immanuel Lutheran, Lake City, Tartan, and downed Medford in the Championship. This was the third time WEM has defeated Medford, the 2018 Class A runners-up. The Bucs will end their regular season scheduled Thursday, Oct. 10 at home against USC and Tuesday, Oct. 15 at Faribault BA.

For the first time this season the WEM/JWP boys and girls cross country teams each finished first in an invitational.
Both Grizzly teams won their respective races in the Grizzly Pie Run Invitational held Thursday, Sept. 26 at Prairie Ridge Golf Course in Janesville.
The girls just missed a perfect score of 15, winning the race with a very impressive score of 18. NRHEG placed second (68), United South Central third (77), and Maple River fourth (81). Blue Earth Area and Blooming Prairie had runners, but did not field a complete team.

A strong second half by Lewiston-Altura proved to be too much for the WEM football team Friday, Aug. 30 in their season opener.
The Cardinals scored four second half touchdowns and limited the Bucs to one in picking up a 27-20 non-district victory in Waterville.
Cardinal senior running back Cole Mundt rushed for 129 yards on 14 carries and scored on runs of 1, 22, 30, and 45 yards.
WEM senior Nick LeMieux gave the Bucs a lead when he caught a tipped pass and scored from 20 yards out less than two minutes into the second quarter. The extra point failed.

The Prior Lake Mudcats were the only one of three Dakota-Rice-Scott League teams to win their first-round game at the Minnesota Class C Amateur Baseball Tournament over opening weekend.
The Mudcats claimed a 4-1 win over Foley to advance to the tournament’s second round.
Meanwhile, St. Patrick’s bats were silenced in a 4-0 loss to Cold Spring and St. Benedict lost a heart-breaker on a walk-off home run in a 3-2 loss to Waterville.

The Waterville Indians Amateur Baseball team improved its record to 32-2 with a 3-2 come from behind win over St. Benedict Sunday, Aug. 18 in the first round of the Class C State Tournament. Nolan Grose hit a solo home run and Riley Schultz hit a two-run home run in the bottom of the 9th inning for the game-winner. The Indians will play Saturday, aug. 24 at 4:30 p.m. in Maple Lake against Bluffton. Check out the Aug. 22 edition of the Life/Enterprise for more on the win.

For the ninth time, the Waterville Indians amateur baseball team has reached the State Tournament.
The Indians defeated Belle Plaine, 4-0 Sunday, August 4 in the game which clinched their second straight State appearance.
The other years the Indians advanced to State were in 1933, 1994, 1999, 2000 (placing 5th), 2001, 2007, 2012, and 2018.
Waterville will play Jordan for the Region 6C Championship at 6:30 p.m. Saturday, August 10 at Jordan.
The winner will be the No. 1 seed and the loser the No. 2 seed from the Region in the Class C State Tourney.