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.

The WEM volleyball team defeated NRHEG 17-25, 25-10, 28-26, and 25-20 to claim their seventh straight Sub-Section Championship Thursday, Nov. 3 at New Prague High School. The Bucs will face Belle Plaine Saturday, Nov. 5 at approximately 7:45 p.m. at St. Peter High School for the Section 2AA Championship.

Three WEM volleyball players had a dozen or more good serves in leading the Buccaneers to a three-set sweep of St. Clair Thursday, Oct. 27 in Waterville in the South Sub-Section opener.
Junior Grace Baker was 12-of-12 serving with an ace. Freshman Addison Condon was 19-of-20 with an ace. Sophomore Ashlyn Pelant was 18-of-20 serving with two aces.
WEM, 16-13 overall, defeated the Cyclones 25-15, 25-19, and 25-7. All 10 players in uniform played for the Bucs.

The Medford football team limited the WEM gridders to 33 yards rushing in a 42-8 Tiger win Friday, Sept. 30 in Medford.
The Tigers allowed only 17 positive carries by the Bucs. Junior Dylan Holicky was the leading rusher with 20 yards on eight carries. Blake Quick added 14 yards on three carries.
While the rushing game was stymied, the Buccaneer passing game had a good night. Sophomore Preston Grams completed 7-of-12 passes for 133 yards and a touchdown. Four of his completions covered more than 10 yards.

The WEM/JWP girls cross country team put together their top performance of the season, tying for the top spot in the Grizzly Pie Run held Thursday, Sept. 29 at Prairie Ridge Golf Course in Janesville.
The Grizzlies and Maple River tied for championship scoring 53 points each. The Eagles won the tie breaker which is determined by the sixth runner to finish the race. Maple River’s runner was 21st and WEM/JWP’s was 25th.
The other team scores included Blooming Prairie (81), Blue Earth Area (93), United South Central (100), and Medford (103).

Two Gopher Conference victories last week have lifted the WEM volleyball team into the top spots in the league.
The Bucs defeated Hayfield (25-20, 22-25, 25-20, 25-18) Tuesday, Sept. 13 and came-from-behind to defeat Randolph (17-15, 25-27, 25-21, 25-15, and 15-12) Thursday, Sept. 15.
WEM is now 5-4 overall and 3-0 in the conference one of only three undefeated conference teams. Medford and Faribault BA each have a 2-0 record.

The WEM/JWP boys and girls cross country teams competed Friday, Aug. 26 in the Fairmont Early Bird Meet.
The girls team placed sixth overall with a score of 127. Marshall nearly had a perfect score, finishing with a score of 20 to easily win the meet. Fairmont placed second (85), JCC third (92), St. Peter fourth (115), and Mountain Lake Area- Comfrey (127). Fairmont had the top individual runner and Marshall runners placed second through seventh.

With their backs against the wall and needing two wins to advance, the Waterville Indians amateur baseball team did just that Saturday, Aug. 13 in Region 6C Playoff action in Belle Plaine.
The Indians defeated Belle Plaine, 5-4, scoring two runs in the bottom of the eighth. They also avenged a loss to St. Peter, shutting out the Saints, 4-0, in the third place game, the game which advanced the team into the Class C State Tournament.

The Waterville Indians will make another trip to the Region 6C Amateur Baseball Tourney. Morristown will need to win one more game to advance.
These two teams met Sunday, July 24 in Waterville in the 13-60 League Semifinals, with the Indians picking up an 11-4 victory.
Waterville, ranked No. 5 in the latest Class C State Poll, will now host Wells Sunday, July 31 for the 13-60 League Tournament Championship and the No. 2 Seed in the Region 6C Tourney, which starts Saturday, August 6 in Waterville. Game time has not yet been determined.