Visit Memorial High School Athletics:
http://www.ecasd.us/Memorial-High-School/Athletics
Updates:
2014 Girls Basketball from Coach Brandon Fanning:
The 2014-2015 Girls Basketball team had another successful season finishing 16-7. With collegiate basketball players Lauren Novak and Allie Biermeier as well as collegiate athlete Katelyn Fladten graduating, there were a variety of roles to fill. We dealt with an assortment of injuries and never had all 11 varsity players available but were still able to compile a 15-6 regular season record. The girls took 3rdin conference and compiled a 7-2 non-conference record.
The highlight of the season was our road playoff win vs. Hudson. We lost to eventual state runner-up DC Everest the next night. Both juniors Anna Graaskamp (1st Team All-Conf, 3rdTeam All-NW) and Charlotte Dial (2nd Team All-Conf, 5thTeam All-NW) were recognized by conference and area coaches for their accomplishments. The program would like to thank its 5 seniors (Sarah Becker, Kaci Gorres, Kameron Gorres, Ali Gruhlke, and Bridget Hujik) for their contributions this season and high school careers.
2014 Boys Soccer from Coach David Kite:
The Men’s Soccer Program had a wonderful season during the fall. The Varsity team won the Big Rivers Conference outright for the 6th straight season and then qualified for the State Tournament. It is the 5th time they have qualified for state in 7 years. The team played exceptionally down in Milwaukee and lost 3-1 in the state semi-final against Marquette.
The JV team also had a wonderful year. They also won their respected conference title and improved thoroughly during the season. Many individuals were recognized for their efforts within the All Conference and All State teams.
Congratulations to the 42 young men that represented their high school and the sport of soccer.
2014 Boys Cross Country from Coach Dennis McGraw:
The 2014 Memorial boys cross country, with 69 runners, was the largest team in school history. Five seniors graduated from last year’s team that was 3rd at State, so it was a rebuilding year. It took a while to gel, but the varsity finished 2nd at the BRC meet, and the JV team won with a perfect score. The JV’s had 16 of the first 20 finishers. Senior Patrick Treacy had a tremendous year individually. He was the conference and Sectional champion. He finished 3rd at State (out of 190 in the DI race) in a school record time. He broke the school record 3 times. He was 1st team All-State, after being 2nd team last year. He finished with 6 of the top 8 all-time times in school history. His finish at Sate was the best by a Memorial boy, and was the fastest ever by any Eau Claire area runner in history.
2014 Girls Cross Country from Coach Mark Johnson:
This year’s version of Old Abe girls’ cross-country is very similar to teams we have had in recent years – large in numbers, filled with spirit, hard-working, team-oriented, very talented, impeccable character, and great ambassadors for our school not only in our community but in those that surround us, as well. The team contained 13 seniors, 17 juniors, 13 sophomores, and 16 freshmen for a total of 59 members.
We’ve had a very successful season on the course. At the varsity level, we defended our city title and won that crown for the 7th year in a row and 13th time in the last 15 years. We also won the Big Rivers Conference championship for the second time in the last three years and were sectional champions for the third year in a row. Our season culminated with the first ever girls’ team state championship in school history – a feat made even more special by the fact that ALL 59 girls played a role in earning the team title.
Our tremendous depth was apparent as we suffered only one defeat at the junior varsity level this season. This is the fourth year in a row that has happened, and this was the first year of those four that we suffered a defeat to a junior varsity team from Wisconsin. All other defeats have come at the hands (or legs) of teams from out-of-state. In the girls’ junior varsity race at the conference meet, 16 of the top 18 finishers were Old Abes. The girls’ junior varsity conference championship was our 14th in the last 15 years.
Hard work both in the classroom and on the cross-country course have earned the following girls Academic All-State recognition: seniors Kaitlyn Gynnild and Elena Smith, juniors Kari Bertrang and Aubrey Roberts, and sophomores Hannah Roeske, Sophia Smith, and Zoe Smith. Aubrey Roberts earned 1st Team All-State honors for the third year in a row, and Kaitlyn Gynnild earned 2nd Team All-State honors, as well.
2014 Girls Volleyball from Coach Kris Chapman:
The Memorial Volleyball program had a very successful season. All four teams had an undefeated regular season, which is quite an accomplishment.
The varsity team was 29-7-1 overall. 6-0 Conference Champions, Regional Champions, Sectional Finalist (losing to Merrill in a very exciting 5 set championship match). Took 2nd out of 30 teams at the UW-Stout Sprawl Tournament. Kaci Gorres was nominated to the All-Tournament team.
Took 3rd out of 8 teams at the EC North Invite
Took 1st out of 8 teams at the Altoona Invite
Kaci Gorres was named 1st Team All-Conference
Kameron Gorres was named 1st Team All-Conference
Kaia Bien was named 2nd Team All-Conference
Morgan Thesing-Ritter was named 2nd Team All-Conference
Kayla Sluis was named Honorable Mention All-Conference
On September 25th we beat Eau Claire North in a conference match. That was an extremely important win for us as it proved that our “serve strong, play defense stronger, and that will lead to strong offense” philosophy was something that everyone on the team believed. We also played in front of a huge crowd at North. I feel that night the girls really gained the confidence that they needed to finish this extremely successful season. They played hard and never quit until the last point was scored all season long.
The season seemed to vanish in the blink of an eye – a testament to how wonderful this group of girls was to coach. Our ability to overcome adversity, maintain a positive frame of mind, support and encourage one another, and never give up hope played a key role in our success on and off the course.
