PREP SALUTES
BOYS BASKETBALL Justin Brookens, Milwaukee Vincent:
The Vikings rebounded from their first in-state loss of the season with the help of a 36-point performance from Brookens in a 95-81 victory at Milwaukee Hamilton on Tuesday. The 5-foot-9 guard hit 5 threepointers on the way to his career high. The performance raised his season average to 19.7 points per game.
GIRLS BASKETBALL Tara Stauffacher, Beaver Dam:
The 5-11 sophomore forward has been the No. 2 scorer for the undefeated Golden Beavers. In a matchup of the top two ranked teams in the wissports.net Division 2 state poll, Stauffacher hit 6 of 10 shots and scored a team-high 17 points in a 66-50 victory over No. 2 Eisenhower on Jan. 7. She followed that with another 17-point effort to lead the team to a 96-45 victory over Hartford on Friday that raised her average to 10.9 points per game.
GYMNASTICS Ellen Liang, Nicolet:
The senior won the all-around title at the West Bend West Invitational on Jan. 7. Her score of 36.075 was more than a quarter of a point better than the second-place finisher, Brynn Tackett of Manitowoc. Liang took second in the vault, balance beam and uneven bars. She was 10th on the floor exercise. The closest she came to winning an event was the vault, where she finished behind teammate Cailin Mahoney (9.250-9.200).
HOCKEY Elijah Tormala, Arrowhead:
The senior entered play Saturday as the Warhawks’ third-leading scorer with 29 points. Five of those points came in the last two games, including three in a 3-2 comeback victory over Fond du Lac St. Mary’s Springs on Jan. 7. The Warhawks trailed, 2-0, in that contest, before the 5-11, 160-pound defenseman assisted Caleb Beversdorf for a goal late in the second period and then scored twice in the third. Thursday he recorded three assists in a 9-1 triumph over Whitefish Bay that extended the team’s winning streak to 13 games and left him with eight goals and 21 assists.
BOYS SWIMMING John Acevedo, Waukesha South/Catholic Memorial:
The junior scored three first-place finishes and a second at the Marquette Invitational on Jan. 7 at the Schroeder Aquatic Center. His best showing came in the 500-yard freestyle as he broke a five-year-old record with a time of 4 minutes 37.50 seconds, which ranks first in the area and third in the state, according to the state coaches association top times list. Acevedo also helped the team’s 200 and 400 freestyle relays win in 1:28.77 and 3:12.45, respectively, and took second in the 200 free in 1:43.26.
WRESTLING Jorin McGuire, Muskego:
The senior heavyweight scored a team-high 24 points as the Warriors won the Bauer Brawl at West Allis Hale on Jan. 7. He won his first two matches by pin before scoring a 2-1 upset over Milwaukee King’s Liam Arnold in the final. McGuire’s record for the season at the end of the day was 15-4.
Mark Stewart