Owen-Withee’s Wendler, Loyal’s Rueth share Co-Player of the Year honors

By Paul Lecker

Sports Reporter

Spencer junior Lexi Baehr was among the six players to earn first-team honors on the 2016-2017 All-Cloverbelt Conference East Division Girls Basketball Team.

Baehr averaged 17.7 points per game in conference play for the Rockets, who finished 5-11 and in sixth place in the Cloverbelt East standings and 8-15 overall.

Conference co-champions Loyal and Neillsville had a combined three named to the first team.

Loyal seniors Karsyn Rueth and Morgan Reinwand and Neillsville senior Kayla Lis joined Baehr, Owen-Withee sophomore Jennifer Wendler, and Colby sophomore Ashley Streveler on the first team.

Rueth, a three-time first-team Cloverbelt East selection, and Wendler shared the Cloverbelt East Player of the Year honor.

“Lexi was our leading scorer and continually went against the other team’s best defender and continued to find a way to score,” Spencer coach Brian Abel said. “On the defensive end, she has a knack for finding the ball and was one of our leaders in steals. She has a very high basketball IQ and continues to be a student of the game.”

Marshfield Columbus Catholic junior Morgan Albrecht was among the six second-team selections.

Albrecht led the Dons in scoring at 10.4 points per game and in 3-pointers made with 32 this season.

Seniors Natalie Pospyhalla and Kendra Baierl were honorable mention picks for Columbus Catholic, and senior Liz Endreas earned the same accolades for Spencer.

Pospyhalla averaged 8 points and 4.2 rebounds, and Baierl averaged 6.7 points and a team-best 8.1 rebounds per game for the Dons.

Endreas scored at 6.6 points per game clip for Spencer.

“Liz was always tasked with guarding the other team’s post,” Abel said. “Though she was normally outsized, she always battled to defend them and make it difficult for them to score.”

(Hub City Times Sports Reporter Paul Lecker is also the publisher of MarshfieldAreaSports.com.)

2016-2017 All-Cloverbelt Conference East Division Girls Basketball Team

First team: Ashley Streveler, so., Colby; Karsyn Rueth, sr., Loyal; Morgan Reinwand, sr., Loyal; Kayla Lis, sr., Neillsville; Jennifer Wendler, so., Owen-Withee; Lexi Baehr, jr., Spencer.

Second team: Vanessa Lopez, so., Colby; Morgan Albrecht, jr., Marshfield Columbus Catholic; Kassidy Lamovec, sr., Greenwood; Remi Geiger, fr., Loyal; Mindy Schoengarth, sr., Neillsville; Brianna Simington, fr., Owen-Withee.

Honorable mention: Carly Elmhorst, jr., Colby; Natalie Pospyhalla, sr., Marshfield Columbus Catholic; Kendra Baierl, sr., Marshfield Columbus Catholic; Cooper Sherfield, jr., Gilman; Grace Gurnseth, fr., Gilman; Taylor Hendricks, sr., Gilman; Hailey Rueth, so., Loyal; Morgan Hauge, sr., Neillsville; Lauren Mesar, jr., Neillsville; Samantha Cappadora, so., Neillsville; Brittany Schwark, sr., Owen-Withee; Liz Endreas, sr., Spencer.

Co-Players of the Year: Jennifer Wendler, Owen-Withee, and Karsyn Rueth, Loyal.