No Metro, No Problem - Small Town Athletes Rising Up

No metro, no problem. Going to college, getting a job in a setting outside of what you grew up in, I found it interesting to hear what people thought of as a “small town” or a “small school”. When I would hear people say, “I went to a dinky high school and a small town” and then they would go on to say they went to a high school where they “only” graduated with 200 kids in their class and they “only” had one Starbucks. Ha! Here are some athletes who are coming from “Non-Metro” areas where they come from small towns, small high schools, and are making the time and sacrifices to make the trips to clubs from a distance. Here are some small town names to know!

Waterloo

Town Population – 3,348

Enrollment – 254

[player_tooltip player_id="21869" first="Brooke" last="Mosher"]

Waterloo, Wisconsin I knew initially from Trek Bikes, which is headquarters. They also happen to be a top small school powerhouse in volleyball (high school right around 250 kids). They have Brooke Mosher, the top athlete in her Class of 2021 where she will head to Illinois as a setter, but she can also swing away with the best from the pin. The top all around player in the state. Her counterpart from the Class of 2021 is Joslynn Wolff who is a terminal outside with a cannon for an arm. She has set, she can defend, she is a really solid all around three sport athlete who has a lot of intangibles greatly valuable to any team (currently plays on FC Elite 17 Navy).

The Class of 2022 and 2023 is extremely strong as well with Michaela Riege Michaela Riege 5'7" | DS/L Waterloo | 2022 State WI as a libero who was one of the top leaders in digs for the state of Wisconsin and then there are the Freshmen. Rylee Duessler is a pin hitter who made big contributions as a Freshman on their state tournament team. I can see a big breakout coming for 2023 setter and pin hitter Sophia Schneider – such a promising all around ability.

Howards Grove

Town – 3,188

School Enrollment – 272

Howards Grove vs. Fall Creek

Howards Grove has always been a school extremely strong in all sports, but volleyball has been “Their” sport. The Tigers are coming off a state title where they will return a strong nucleus of athletes that include two commits in 2023 libero Saige Damrow Saige Damrow 5'8" | DS/L Howards Grove | 2023 State #17 Nation WI (Wisconsin) and 2022 libero Karissa Kaminksi (Dayton). Really, Howards Grove has multiple athletes who could play libero at the next level, they train to be all around athletes. For Damrow and Kaminski, they may be some of the top liberos in their class, but they were All State outside hitters. One athlete to really keep tabs on would be Emma Baierl Emma Baierl 5'8" | S Howards Grove | 2022 State WI , a setter who is extremely high IQ from the Class of 2022. She has great hands, quick feet, and her game has really evolved over the past year with how she can take command of the court. Howards Grove and Waterloo will be the standard in Division 3 for Wisconsin for the 2020 season. Myka Roethel Myka Roethel OH Howards Grove | 2022 State WI has always been playing up for FC Elite as a Class of 2022 outside hitter who is extremely versatile with her ability to score points from the pin as well as the service line.

Brodhead

Town Population – 3,203

School Enrollment – 333

Brodhead is going to be a team to really take a look at in 2020, but they might be ones to keep tabs on the next few years after. After going 31-12 in 2019, the Cardinals are returning a large bulk of of points which includes Abbie Dix who had 343 kills to lead the team as well as Sabrina Siegel who had over 250 kills. There is a top setter in this class in Alexis Kammerer who had nearly 1,000 assists as a Freshman.

Oconto

Town Population – 4,517

School Enrollment – 390

Gorgeous small town right, with the Oconto River flowing right through into the Bay, just 30 minutes North of Green Bay, these athletes had quite a run in 2019 leading them to the Sectional Final. Cora Behnke Cora Behnke 6'0" | OH Oconto | 2021 State WI is a major point scorer on the outside who has committed to Green Bay while they had a really strong setter in Kate Bahrke who had over 700 assists as a Freshman. Another hidden gem with Oconto would be their middle blocker in Hannah Moe who is extremely strong and physical, bound to really be a key point scorer for the Blue Devils in 2020.

Fall Creek

Town Population – 1,308

School Enrollment – 269

Home of the Crickets. Might be one of the top mascots out there. Fall Creek broke through to the state tournament to run into a serving buzzsaw of Howards Grove. That doesn’t take away from all the accomplished as one of the top programs across all of Western Wisconsin. Going 40-4 is no joke. They will be coming back to 2020 with a taste of success as well as incoming Junior Gianna Vollrath Gianna Vollrath 6'1" | MB Fall Creek | 2022 State WI who had over 400 kills as a Sophomore.