Cinderella Wildcats pull rarest of upsets by knocking off number one seed Eau Claire Memorial

The luck ‘o the Irish popped up a bit early at the WIAA D1 Basketball Regionals, as the Wildcats rose to the challenge and knocked out number one seed Eau Claire Memorial, 78-71. The Wildcats were a proverbial longshot as the 16th seed and pulled off an upset rarer than a double rainbow--having only happened once in WIAA history. 

Head Coach Dan Weisse was proud, but not surprised. 

“The goal never changed the whole year, and that goal was to get better every day,” he said. “I think we showed that we did that.”

The boys came up short in the regional game, falling to Superior 41-47. Instead of seeing the loss as a setback, Weisee feels it provides a foundation. 

“I think there was significant improvement, and our guys got a taste of some great success,” he said. “Hopefully, it makes us hungry for the future.”

For senior Zachary Chastek, his future without basketball starts now. The team sat at the bottom of the conference this year, but that doesn't tell the full story. 

“Our record doesn't reflect how well our team played,” Chastek said. “I think we have an amazing group of guys, and I think everything that we accomplished in the playoffs really shows how hard we worked and how good of a team we really can be.”

A losing record often doesn’t motivate fans to provide athletes with a plethora of support. The athletes knew this before the playoffs and decided immediately they wouldn't let it affect them. 

“We really had to lock in the two weeks before we played them,” Chastek said. “We knew everyone was going to doubt us, so we expected a hostile environment. We didn't really anticipate everyone to believe in us, so we knew going into the game that we could win, and we believed in ourselves.”

Sophomore Noah Gelhar will follow this mantra for the rest of his career. He concurs with Chastek that a lot of self-confidence was needed to do the unprecedented. 

“We were underdogs the entire season,” he said. “We have a lot of work to do if we want to be competitive in the upcoming seasons, but I have high hopes.”

The feeling of winning against all odds is worth more than a pot of gold. 

“It was a great experience and I’m proud of the team,” Weisse said. “That was a wonderful team victory for us, our program, and the school.” 

Gelhar wasn't opposed to the publicity that came with the win.

“It was nice to be able to see ourselves on the news and how big of an upset it really was,” he said.

Of course, popularity never comes without its challenges.

“Our team stayed relentless through all the adversity we had to face, like getting the 16 seed and being ranked so low,” Chastek said. “We didn't focus on how low we were ranked; we focused on what we had to do to beat the best teams in our region.”

There are many factors that played into the win, but the one that stood out the most to Coach Weisse was the leadership shown by the upperclassmen.

“Our seniors set the tone and were the foundation here,” he said. “They started something that we’re building, and I'm hoping that our younger players saw what our seniors brought, and we can find success doing that.”

 The next wave of athletes will be rolling in as eight seniors ship out. Weisse already has the next season dancing in his head. 

 “I think the bones will be the same as far as our offensive scheme,” he said. “But I think we might run the ball a little more and maybe we get out and push the ball.”

Walking away as a senior is never the easiest thing to do. Chastek knows that his time here has taught him valuable lessons which he seeks to pass onto the next generation. 

“Trust the process,” he said. “No matter what the record is, anything can happen, and if you believe in what your coach says and do everything, you'll see why the process is so important.”

by: Sophie Carlin

Published on March 17, 2023

Oshkosh West Index volume 119 issue VI