When he was 4 years old, Jay Williams introduced his son, Zack, to motocross racing. By the time he was 18, he won an amateur national championship. A year later, he turned professional and began racing for prize money.
He was initially attracted by the speed, the grit and determination of motocross racing. Later, Williams grew to appreciate the individual nature of the sport.
“You put the helmet on and it’s just you and the bike,” he said.

The WEM Girls Track and Field Team had three athletes be named to an All-Gopher Conference team for the second straight season.
Junior Josie Volkmann, sophomore Ashlyn Pelant, and freshman Addison Condon were named Honorable Mention All-Conference. All three were named to the First Team in 2022. Sophomore Maddie Heuss received the Conference Sportsmanship Award.
Volkmann placed fifth in the conference 800-meter run and ninth in the triple jump.
Pelant placed third in the shot put and fifth in the discus.

Three straight wins in the 13-60 League has vaulted the Waterville Indians amateur baseball team into a commanding lead in the 13- 60 League American Division Standings.
The Indians defeated Wells, 9-4, Blue Earth, 7-2, and Morristown, 12-2 in seven innings Sunday, July 2.
The wins improve their record to 9-2 in the division, two full games in front of the North Mankato Gators and 4 1/2 games in front of Morristown.
In the win over the Morries, Bladyn Bartelt pitched a complete game, allowing one earned run, struck out 15, and did not walk a batter.

The WEM softball team received a number of post-season awards.
They also presented team awards and named their 2023 letterwinners.
The Bucs finished with an 8-8 overall record and were 5-6 in the Gopher Conference, tied for sixth out of 12 teams. As a team they received the Minnesota High School Fastpitch Softball Coaches Association Academic Gold Award. As a team, the Bucs carried an impressive 3.859 grade point average.
Receiving Academic AllState honors were Jenessa Baumgarten, Hannah Bruns, Jordan Green, and Emma Woratschka.

Eight WEM girls track and field athletes have advanced to compete in the Section 2A Track and Field Meet Saturday, June 3 at Mankato West High School.
Juniors Ella Duenes and Josie Volkmann, sophomores Ashlyn Pelant, Jaiden Williams, Tatum Richards, Loryn Caldwell, and McKenna Schuster, and freshman Addison Condon advanced after placing in the top eight in individual events or top four in relay events at the North Sub-Section meet Thursday, May 25 at Sibley East.

A total of 14 wrestlers from the WEM Grizzly Youth Wrestling Club competed in the NYWA Minnesota State Wrestling Tournament Thursday, March 30 through Sunday, April 2 at the Rochester Civic Center.
The junior high team competed and won one of their five dual matches, placing third in the Pool 8 Bracket. Each of the following wrestlers got five matches:

Four WEM/JWP wrestlers combined for a 22-0 record in conference matches this last season and they were all honored by Gopher Conference coaches.
Sophomores Keegan Kuball and Carson Petry were honored for the second time while freshman Brady Murphy, sophomore Avery Fall, and senior Jack Cahill were honored for the first time.
Kuball, Petry, and Murphy were named to the 15-member All-Gopher Conference Wrestling First Team. Fall was named to the 8-member Honorable Mention Team. Cahill was one of seven wrestlers to receive the Sportsmanship Award.

Class A No. 9 rated Lake Crystal-Wellcome Memorial outscored the WEM girls basketball team 34-25 in the second half, helping them defeat the Bucs, 60-48 in the Section 2AA, South Sub-Section Semifinals Thursday, March 2 at Mankato East.
The Knights, 27-1 overall and winners of 20 straight games, had defeated WEM 64-45 February 13.
The contest Thursday was much closer than the 12-point victory margin. One little scoring spurt was enough to push the Knights into the Sub-Section Championship against NRHEG, a winner over Waseca in the other Sub-Section Semifinal.

The Section 2A Quarterfinal wrestling match between No. 4 seed WEM/ JWP and No. 5 seed Westfield came down to the final bout of the evening Thursday, Feb. 16.
Heavyweight Max Davis pinned Vincent Hernandez in 4:33 to give the Grizzlies a 40-38 win over Westfield and move them into the Section Semifinals Saturday, Feb. 18 at St. Clair.
No. 1 seed Medford ended the Grizzly season with a 59-24 win. They went on to claim the Section 2A Championship with a 33-30 win over Lake Crystal-Wellcome Memorial.

The final regular season WEM/JWP wrestling match of the 2022-2023 season was held Thursday, Feb. 9 in Waterville.
The Grizzlies won two of the three matches in this quadrangular which featured 19-win Cannon Falls, and two opponents from Section 2A, NRHEG and Blue Earth Area.
Cannon Falls defeated WEM/JWP, 44-32. The Grizzlies defeated Blue Earth Area, 39-36 and Gopher Conference rival NRHEG, 38-29.

The WEM girls basketball team took one step forward and one step back in the Gopher Conference standings last week.
The Bucs defeated Maple River, 61-52, Tuesday, Jan. 17, avenging an earlier loss to the second place Eagles. With that win WEM moved into a tie with Maple River in the West Division. Three nights later, Kenyon-Wanamingo (K-W) used some outstanding outside shooting to knock off the Bucs, 55-49. The Knights made 6-of-13 three-pointers while the Bucs made only four in 31 attempts.

Second half scoring woes were the key to a pair of losses for the WEM boys basketball team Thursday, and Friday last week in the Tri City United Holiday Tournament.
The Bucs trailed TCU 29-28 at halftime Thursday, Dec. 29 but managed only 21 second half points in a 68-49 loss. Kenyon-Wanamingo (KW) limited the Bucs to 12 points in the second half of their 67-34 win.

The WEM boys basketball team suffered a pair of close Gopher Conference losses last week.
Two players combined for 54 points for Medford in a 68-62 win Monday, Dec. 19. Two players combined for 35 points for USC in a 45-42 Rebels win.
In the loss to Medford, the two teams were tied at 62-all with less than one minute to play. The Tigers made four straight free throws and a basket in that final minute to pull out the victory. The Bucs had their best scoring half of the season, putting up 41 points in the second half.

The WEM/JWP Grizzly wrestling team had a very busy week competing in five dual matches.
Despite only winning one of those five matches, the team won four or more individual bouts in four of the five matches.
The Grizzlies were edged 40-35 by Lake Crystal-Wellcome Memorial and lost 51-30 to Blue Earth Area Tuesday, Dec. 13. The team then traveled to Glencoe-Silver Lake/Lester Prairie for three matches. They dropped a 70-9 decision to Class AA No. 12 rated Watertown-Mayer, lost 57-23 to Glencoe-Silver Lake, and defeated Blaine, 42-38.

WEM senior Gabe Androli has been named the Buccaneer Football Most Valuable Player following his 2022 season.
In addition to this honor, Androli was also named to the All-District First Team and the Academic All-District Team.
Androli led the Bucs in solo tackles (41) and 21 receptions. He also added 12 assisted tackles, averaged more than 10 yards per catch, and scored a pair of twopoint conversions.

Excellence on the court and in the classroom have WEM senior Jordan Green recognized by the Minnesota State High School Volleyball Coaches Association.
Green, a senior and daughter of Kyle and Kristina Green of Morristown, has been named to the Academic AllState Team. She currently has a 3.897 grade point average.
Academic All-State awards are for seniors on the Section playoff roster that have a 3.8 cumulative grade point average or higher over the course of their high school career.