Division 5, Sectional 1: First Look

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Some premier teams from the Cloverbelt, Lakeland, Marawood and Northern Lights conferences headline the grouping of 32 teams in Sectional 1 of Division 5. Columbus Catholic and Loyal of the Eastern Cloverbelt are title contenders, while Drummond, Mellen and Washburn are expected to contend for the Northern Lights crown as each school welcomes back all-conference performers. Over in the Marawood, Prentice and Rib Lake have very good squads in the Northern Division of the league while Flambeau and New Auburn could very well slug it out for the Lakeland East title. <br><br>Here is a look at the top players and top teams in Sectional 1:</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Top Five Players in Sectional 1</strong><br>[player_tooltip player_id='2406762' first='Brandon' last='Wagner'], 6-6, Sr., F, Turtle Lake<br>[player_tooltip player_id='2547238' first='Xander' last='Beeksma'], 6-3, Sr., F, Mellen<br>[player_tooltip player_id='2500034' first='Mac' last='Konieczny'], 5-11, Sr., G, Columbus Catholic<br>[player_tooltip player_id='2629220' first='Jed' last='Henderson'], 6-4, Sr., F, Rib Lake<br>[player_tooltip player_id='2750092' first='Quinn' last='Widiker'], 6-6, Sr., F, Webster<br><br><strong>Five Breakout Performers in Sectional 1</strong><br>[player_tooltip player_id='2630832' first='Aaron' last='Christenson'], 6-2, Jr., G/F, Drummond<br>[player_tooltip player_id='2509449' first='Carter' last='Sommer'], 6-5, Jr., F, Columbus Catholic<br>[player_tooltip player_id='2827556' first='Dominic' last='Kopacz'], 5-11, Sr., G, Flambeau<br>[player_tooltip player_id='2622846' first='Reed' last='Stieglitz'], 6-0, Sr., G, Loyal<br>[player_tooltip player_id='2827465' first='Colten' last='Lotts'], 6-2, Sr., G/F, New Auburn<br><br><strong>Top Five Teams in Sectional 1<br><br>1. Columbus Catholic </strong>-- After winning the Division 5 state title in 2024, the Dons finished 18-9 a year ago and bring back five players earned who substantial playing time. Konieczny, the son of long-time Columbus Catholic coach Joe Konieczny, was chosen as the Player of the Year in the Eastern Cloverbelt after averaging 16.8 ppg. His backcourt sidekicks -- juniors [player_tooltip player_id='2509448' first='Ben' last='Weiland'] (13.7 ppg) and [player_tooltip player_id='2926555' first='Cole' last='Wallace'] (5.4 ppg) -- are experienced and skilled while the Dons' frontline trio of [player_tooltip player_id='2509449' first='Carter' last='Sommer'] (6-5), [player_tooltip player_id='2933062' first='Kaleb' last='Hilgemann'] (6-4) and [player_tooltip player_id='2418691' first='Jack' last='Kohlbeck'] (6-6) gives Columbus Catholic more size than its had in the past. A strong and deep senior class figures to provide strong leadership as the Dons take on a difficult schedule that includes outings against Assumption, Living Word Lutheran, Iola-Scandinavia, Auburndale, Rice Lake, Marathon and Rib Lake in non-league contests.<br><br><strong>2. Mellen </strong>-- Mellen won the Northern Lights crown a year ago and brings back four starters, led by the all-around ability of Beeksma, the co-Player of the Year in the conference along with the graduated Quintin Bresette of Bayfield. Don Moreland starts his 30th year as head coach of the Granite Diggers need 16 wins to reach 400. In addition to Beeksma, Moreland will count heavily on returning senior starters [player_tooltip player_id='2634498' first='Ryan' last='Henri'] (12.5 ppg), [player_tooltip player_id='2930712' first='Hayden' last='Lawver'] (9.4 ppg) and [player_tooltip player_id='2930713' first='Bryce' last='Maier'] (7.7 ppg). Depth is a plus as newcomers from a 16-0 JV1 squad work their way into the varsity playing rotation. <br><br><strong>3.</strong> <strong>Rib Lake </strong>-- The defending Marawood North champions have a difference maker in Henderson, a long, agile and extremely active 6-foot-5 forward who averaged 16.1 points and 10.3 rebounds as a junior. His father/coach Todd Henderson also has another son on the squad in promising sophomore [player_tooltip player_id='2840377' first='Blake' last='Henderson'] (6-4), who contributed 7.2 ppg and 5.2 as a freshman. Other key returning players include seniors Seth Borchradt (5-11), [player_tooltip player_id='2629230' first='Talon' last='Scheithauer'] (5-10) and Ethan Cook (5-11).<br><br><strong>4. Loyal </strong>-- Five returning starters make up the core of coach Brandon DeSmet's squad at Loyal. Those five players, along with reserves Carson Prien (5-10), [player_tooltip player_id='2933140' first='Carson' last='Bremmer'] (6-3) and Joe Teffinger (6-3) -- helped Loyal to a 19-8 record last winter. Stieglitz is a returning first-team all-Eastern Cloverbelt pick who nearly averaged a double/double at 12.5 ppg and 9.4 rpg. Deegan (10 ppg) and [player_tooltip player_id='2622838' first='Cain' last='Toufar'] (11 ppg) each earned second-team all-league recognition while senior [player_tooltip player_id='2933138' first='Hunter' last='Walter'] (6-4) and junior [player_tooltip player_id='2933139' first='Rhett' last='Lamovec'] (6-4) give the Greyhounds very good overall size. <br><br><strong>5. Prentice</strong> -- Four players who received all-league laurels in the Marawood North are back for coach Adam Blomberg. Prentice won 16 of 25 games behind the strong play of senior [player_tooltip player_id='2629213' first='Aidan' last='Hause'] (6-3), senior [player_tooltip player_id='2412829' first='Evan' last='Lord'] (6-2), junior [player_tooltip player_id='2629234' first='Hagan' last='Isaacson'] (6-1) and senior Eliah Harding (6-0). Those four players form the nucleus for Prentice, which figures to be plenty of strong competition from Athens and Rib Lake in league play. <br><br><strong>Sleeper Team</strong><br><br><strong>Flambeau </strong>-- Three double-figure scorers are back at Flambeau, which went 18-7 in 2024-25. Kopacz led the team in scoring (18 ppg) and earned first-team all-league honors. Seniors [player_tooltip player_id='2952205' first='Chanse' last='Ludescher'] (6-4) and [player_tooltip player_id='2952211' first='Oliver' last='Taylor'] (6-0) were regulars a year ago along with Kopacz and junior [player_tooltip player_id='2952218' first='Isaac' last='Brown'] (6-2). Five additional players return for coach Jeff Podgornik so depth is going to be an asset for the Falcons. <br><br><strong><br><br></strong><br><br></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->