WSAW Hilight Zone Podcast

Wausau's Matt Thums pick up a gold medal for team USA in the Wheelchair Curling- B World Championships last week. More importantly, they qualified for the World Championships in the fall. Noah Manderfeld speaks with the skip of the team, Thums,  about the journey, how the moment felt and what his team's last two goals are on the road to the Paralympics in 2022.

Legendary Mosinee softball head coach Todd Felch was a legend. He won 11 straight conference titles to end his tenure, guided the team to two state tournaments and won one in 2014. But after he stepped down last May, his assistant Kelly Remondini takes the reigns. Noah Manderfeld talks with Coach Remondini as well as senior player Zoe Gburek about the adjustment to a new head coach, how the team i...

The title was years in the making. With Katelyn Ramthun's goal in overtime, the Central Wisconsin Storm were state champions for the third time in program history. Noah Manderfeld talks with Ramthun, who walks us through the championship game, a tight one that ended 2-1. She also talks about the moments she remembers after she scored the game-winning goal.

Former Wausau West standout Brooke Jaworski is in her second year running track at the University of Texas. On this episode, Reece Van Haaften talks through her record-setting career with the Warriors. He also talks to her about her time at Texas, and how she's handled dealing with injuries. If you have an idea for "The Hilight Zone Podcast" feel free to email us at sports@wsaw.com.

Sam Hauser is going pro. The former SPASH star made the announcement after his 2020-2021 season at Virginia ended in a first-round exit at the NCAA tournament. Matt Infield spoke with Hauser about his decision and recaps his time at Virginia and Marquette. If you have any episode ideas, email sports@wsaw.com .

The UW-Stevens Point men's hockey program is known for its illustrious history, but the 2019 national champions were unique. Reece Van Haaften and Matt Infield sit down with three players from that squad (Tanner Karty, Colin Raver and Steven Quagliata) and head coach Tyler Krueger to discuss the run to the title. If you have an idea for "The Hilight Zone Podcast" feel free to email us at sports@ws...

The Wisconsin Rapids Rafters are breaking barriers. Their front office is the first female-majority front office in Northwoods League history.  Chloe de Vries and Hannah Jurgens talk with Matt Infield about how they feel it's important. As Hannah put it, they want "to have people stop thinking that's cool that we work in baseball. And instead just thinking of that as a normal thing." If you have a...

Paul Jesperson led the Merrill Bluejays to its lone win at state in boys basketball, but he is most well known for his buzzer-beating shot against Texas in the NCAA Tournament.   Reece Van Haaften sits down with the Merrill native to discuss the shot he made with Northern Iowa five years ago and what the Northcentral Wisconsin community means to him.   If you have an idea for “The Hilight Zone Pod...

Julie Giese was born and raised on a Colby dairy farm. She went to college for animal science. Now, she's president of Pheonix Raceway. Matt Infield talks with Giese about her wild journey through NASCAR to the position she is in now; one of two female presidents of NASCAR tracks. If you have any episode ideas, email sports@wsaw.com.

Two years ago today, the incredible happened. In the Division 5 state semifinals, Tom Nystrom fired up a heave from half-court with a chance to send his team to the championship. It went in. On the anniversary, Matt Infield and Noah Manderfeld talk with Nystrom, Bryce Fuerlinger and Jarred Mandel, as well as head coach Joseph Konieczny about the moment. They walk through the season, the morning be...

Normally, the high school volleyball season is in the fall. For SPASH, their season was upended. They moved their season to the alternate schedule in the spring. That means their season just started one week ago. I speak with head coach Molly Williams along with seniors Amahra Matthai, Andrea Zwicker and Dylan Wall about what the process has been like. We talk about the workouts they went through...

Three Lakes girls basketball is coming off of what some consider to be the greatest upset in WIAA girls basketball state tournament history. They took down the top seed Black Hawk and ended their 75-game winning streak in a game no one coming. Matt Infield runs back the podcasts with Sydney Lurver, Kara Sowinski and coach George Lurvey to go into detail about how they stopped Black Hawk. They walk...

Edgar boys basketball is heading to state for the first time since 1997, and it couldn't feel sweeter. Noah Manderfeld talks with Brayden Baumgartner, Drew Guden and Kyle Brewster about the road to state and how much sweeter this feels after their football season was cut short before state. Head coach David Huss also talks about the group and discusses their matchup with Lourdes Acadamy on Friday....

For a small school like Three Lakes, making the state tournament is a big deal. But they don't want to just make it, they want to make some noise. Matt Infield talks with Sydney Lurvey, Kara Sowinski and head coach George Lurvey with the state-bound team about their road to this point, and how this journey started in elementary school. If you have any episode ideas, email sports@wsaw.com .  

Assumption is going to state for the first time since 2016. They've done it behind a speedy point guard and two tall forwards. Emily Bohn and Jessie Grundhoffer each stand at six feet tall. Emily is six-foot-two, while Jessie is six-foot. That creates a scary two-headed monster in the paint. Noah Manderfeld talks with both of them about the offensive strategy behind them, plus what makes this team...

SPASH boys basketball won the Wisconsin Valley Conference for six straight years from 2013-2018. The Panthers took back what they believe is rightfully theirs in 2021. This is SPASH's first WVC crown with John Krull as its head coach. Sports director Reece Van Haaften talks to the head coach plus junior Nate Streveler and senior Gavin Hyer.   If you have a story you'd like featured on "The Hilight...

Philip Flory was a basketball star in Wisconsin Rapids. After transferring to Oshkosh late in his career and graduating, he was a preferred walk-on at Seton Hall. After a transfer and injuries, he was out of basketball altogether. Now he's back on the court with the UWSP Pointers. Matt Infield talks with the star along with head coach Bob Semling about Flory's journey back to central Wisconsin and...

1950 is the last time the Athens boys basketball team won a conference title. With their Marawood North title locked up, that changed in 2021. Sports director Reece Van Haaften and Noah Manderfeld talk with co-coaches Jeramie Penny and Aaron Ellenbecker, along with players Cooper Diedrich, Dayne Diethelm and Cobie Ellenbecker about the title.  If you have any episode ideas, email sports@wsaw.com.

This year's Mosinee girls basketball team won the Great Northern Conference for the first time since 2016. Mosinee's defense was suffocating all year long. NewsChannel 7's sports director, Reece Van Haaften, chatted with junior Adalyn Lehman and senior Aly Gonzalez about the team's defense.   If you have an idea for "The Hilight Zone Podcast" feel free to send it to us via email at sports@wsaw.com...

Natalie Decker is a staple in the Central Wisconsin racing community. The Eagle River native has climbed up the ranks of the racing community. In 2020, she raced full time in the Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series. Now, she'll be the only female racer in the Xfinity Series. Reece Van Haaften talks with Decker along with Jay DeMarcus, the sponsor of Decker's racing team Reamu, along with Grammy winn...

Fresh off of his 1,000th point, Wisconsin Rapids star Dylan Lisitza had time to process the moment and what it means to him. Noah Manderfeld talks with Lisitza about what was going through his head when he scored the special point. He also talks about what got Lisitza into basketball and the journey he took to where he is today. If you have any episode ideas, you can email sports@wsaw.com  

In 2017, Maggie Plaza was celebrating a state title with the Central Wisconsin Storm. Little did she know, her future had much more in store. In May, Plaza will be commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant in the U.S. Army. In this podcast, Noah Manderfeld talks with Plaza about her journey from wanting to play hockey at the college level to joining the ROTC program at Marquette. Lieutenant Colonel Ioannis...

Phillips is currently 14-1, and they have just one senior on the roster. Jada Eggebrecht is a junior, and she's currently dropping 24.1 points per game. That's tied for 6th in the state. Noah Manderfeld talks with Jada about the season she's having, how her mentality of shooting has had to adjust with her playing in the post more and about her experience on the AAU circuit. If you have any episode...

Bella Opelt is the school record holder in almost every category at Neillsville besides total points. Just two weeks ago, she hit the 1,000 mark for points in her career. However, when you ask Bella what her favorite part of basketball is, she says it's the defense. Noah Manderfeld talks with the Neillsville senior and her coach John Gaier about her success in a defensive oriented program. Along t...

Reece Van Haaften chats with Mosinee's Caden Schmirler on how scoring comes so easy to him. Schmirler has potted 22 goals as of Monday afternoon. That's good enough for 10th best in the state of Wisconsin.   If you have any ideas for "The Hilight Zone Podcast", feel free to email them to sports@wsaw.com . We'd love to hear them.