Teri Tune
Sports Scene
The Fowler boys and girls cross country teams have been working on lowering their times as the regional meet approaches.
The boys have been led by junior Grant Feldpausch this season. Feldpausch, who turned in a season-best time of 16:55 this season, will be looking to qualify for the state meet.
Sophomore Brice Thelen has been running a strong number two all season. He turned in a top time of 17:56 this season at the Spartan Invitational.
Sophomore Joe Wolfert and freshman Drew Bierstetel have also been working on dropping their times. Wolfert has a best time of 18:36.9 this season, while Bierstetel has posted a low time of 18:49.3.
On the girls’ team, junior Kieren Becker has been leading the way. Becker has set a low time of 19:40.3 this season and will also be looking to qualify for the state meet.
A number of Fowler girls set personal bests at the Pewamo-Westphalia meet. Senior Liz Thelen turned in a time of 22:12.6, senior Rebecca Thelen turned in a time of 22:25.4, sophomore Brooke VanElls turned in a time of 22:54.4, and senior Camie Wieber turned in a time of 22:54.6.
FOOTBALL
Thanks to a productive ground game, the Fowler football team is back in a familiar spot this fall.
Led by the one-two running punch of Mitch Thelen and Tyler Koenigsknecht, the Eagles turned in a 7-2 record and qualified for the state playoffs for the fourth consecutive season.
Thelen and Koenigsknecht have proven to be a difficult tandem for opposing defenses to stop. Thelen rushed for over 800 yards and scored 10 touchdowns during the regular season, while Koenigsknecht rushed for over 750 yards and added seven touchdowns.
The Eagles overcame a slow and frustrating 1-2 start to the season. Both losses came by a single point. Fowler fell 7-6 to Saranac in the season opener and then dropped a 15-14 decision to rival Pewamo-Westphalia in week three.
Since those losses, the Eagles reeled off six consecutive wins to finish at 6-3 and set up a first-round playoff showdown with rival Fulton.
Last year, Fulton ended Fowler’s unbeaten season with an upset win in the first round of the playoffs. Fowler defeated Fulton in the regular season again this year but must defeat them a second time to advance to the district title game.