Konieczny, Dons hope experience pays off this season

MARSHFIELD – In March of 2024, the Columbus Dons boys’ basketball team won the WIAA Div. 5 state championship, then watched as nine seniors from that team walked out the doors of Columbus Catholic High School two months later.

Going into last season, Columbus Head Coach Joe Konieczny’s roster included just one player who had gotten any considerable playing time during the Dons’ championship run.

This year, Konieczny is hoping his Columbus squad can capitalize on the experience of a season ago, when his roster was made up almost entirely of underclassmen.

“Really the only guy coming back last year that had gotten any minutes was Mac (Konieczny), and he had come off the bench the year before,” Coach Konieczny told Hub City Times during our Dec. 1 conversation. “Sam Dums was a really good leader for us last year. He was the one senior that got a lot of minutes. And then the sophomores and juniors last year – this year’s juniors and seniors – all got some experience, so we’re hopeful that this year we’re a little bit better at the start of the season. There are some players, like Ray Becker and Elijah Wolf and Devlin Timmler, Cade Jansen, guys that didn’t get a ton of minutes last year, they’re going to see a growth process, but Mac, Ben Weiland, Carter Sommer, those guys all played a lot last year and hopefully their leadership and experience is something that kind of rubs off on the other players.”

Konieczny, Jansen, Timmler, Mason Edwards, Jack Kohlbeck, Kaleb Hilgemann and Davis Vinnedge are the seniors on this year’s Columbus team.

The junior class includes Sommer, Weiland, Becker, Wolf and Cole Wallace.

The sophomore class is represented by Kayleb Pankratz, Rocco Maher and Elijah Drury.

“I think we’re more physically mature this year,” Coach Konieczny said of this year’s team, versus last year’s squad. “I hope we continue to be a good defensive team. We really took a step in the right direction last year defensively. This year, the concern will be rebounding. Kaleb Hilgemann is out with an injury from football. He’s going to miss some time and Sam Dums graduated, and those were probably our two strongest rebounders last year, so somebody’s going to have to help Carter (Sommer) down there. Carter’s an unbelievable rebounder, but our guards have to become better rebounding the basketball if we’re going to hold teams to one shot. I think if we can limit teams to one shot this year, it’s going to be a fun season for us. If we don’t, then it’s going to be something we have to work through. I’m hopeful that we just kind of continue where we left off. It’ll be a little less of a rebuild, but at the same, we understand that there’s four or five players that are going to go through a growth process, some growing pains. Our goal is always to be really good at the end of the season. You know, try to be a really tough out come playoff time.”

The Dons were a tough out come playoff time last season — even when facing eventual Div. 5 state champion Cochrane-Fountain City in a Sectional Semifinal March 13 at Osseo-Fairchild High School.

Columbus lost, 60-51, but gave the Pirates their closest postseason call until the state championship contest, where C-FC held off Sheboygan Lutheran, 60-54.

The Dons finished the season 18-9 overall, winning thirteen of their last sixteen games during the final two months of the 2024-2025 campaign.

They also tied Owen-Withee for the Eastern Cloverbelt Conference championship — something Coach Konieczny says is a toss-up this season.

“I think the Cloverbelt East is probably as deep as it’s been in my time here,” Konieczny said. “I think there’s probably five, six teams that think they can win it. Loyal is very good. Neillsville is very good. They might be the most talented team in the conference. Colby has athletes. I think Owen-Withee’s always really solid. And then Spencer probably has as good a team as they’ve had in about nine or ten years. I don’t think it’s a year where somebody’s going undefeated. If you have an off night, you will get beat, so I honestly think it’s wide open.”

Following a game at Greenwood on Dec. 9, the Dons host Neillsville and Gilman at Columbus Catholic High School in Marshfield on Dec. 12 and Dec. 18, respectively.

Going into those games, Konieczny was three wins shy of 400 career victories at Columbus High School, where he is now in his 21st season as the boys’ head basketball coach. He picked up two victories at the Cranberry Classic in Wisconsin Rapids Nov. 28-29.

At the end of last season, Konieczny’s Columbus coaching record stood at 395-124, according to our records. Joe also coached for two seasons (2001-2003) at Stratford High School, where he went 24-20.

Konieczny has led the Dons to seven Sectional Finals, three State Tournament appearances, two State Finals and one WIAA State championship.

And even with his youngest son now in his senior season and another already playing college basketball, any speculation that this might be Konieczny’s final season of coaching is just that.

“You get that question a lot because I think you see that a lot when a son graduates, but I tell people I started doing this before they were born and I’m going to do it long after they graduate, so as long as Columbus will have me, I don’t plan on going anywhere any time soon,” Konieczny told us. “And I really enjoy just coming to the gym every day. And this year we have another group of young men that’s incredibly coachable and respectful and they make it very enjoyable, so as long as I’m enjoying it like I do now, I hope to do it for a long time.”