Although it may seem difficult to move on to the collegiate level to play sports, the New Berlin West graduating class of 2018 is a prime example of how well hard-work pays off, with 11 seniors moving on to play at the collegiate level.
Dailey Albino
Dailey Albino, a household name at New Berlin West, is a well-rounded athlete, who has made a trip to state all four years for both track and dive. Although Albino exceeded in both sports throughout her high school career, she has decided to stick with track and will be attending University of Wisconsin-Madison next year for pole vault.
Throughout the duration of high school, Albino has always been at the top of the pole vault program, which really shined through at state in La Crosse last season. She received first place for division one with a personal best of 12-06. It is considered quite an accomplishment to PR, personal record, at the most important meet of the year.
Being a state title holder, Albino had multiple schools vying for her attention, but according to her, what put Madison above the rest was, “My sister also pole vaults [at Madison],” she said. “It was also a great opportunity to compete for such a good school in terms of both academics and athletics.”
She is excited to not only attend UW-Madison for track, but also to pursue a career in nursing.
Will Bush
Will Bush is yet another prominent name in West sports, considering he is a four-year varsity athlete in both baseball and track. Although Bush is quite talented in track, he decided to choose the baseball route and will be attending University of Wisconsin-Whitewater in the fall, with the possibility of majoring in biology.
When looking back on his high school baseball career, Bush says his favorite memory is pitching against Eisenhower in the regional playoff his junior year. “I pitched with a broken finger on my throwing hand and still had 14 strikeouts and a win.”
This achievement does not necessarily come as a surprise, considering Bush’s high school ERA, earned run average, which is the mean of earned runs given up by a pitcher per nine innings pitched, was under 2.00.
What put UW-W above Bush’s other choices is the fact that it is, “a good school with a great reputation,” and,“it is close to home and has great opportunities for baseball as well.”
Paige Pelikan
Moving on to the water aspect of sports, Paige Pelikan is yet another athlete who has gone to state all four years. As a four year varsity athlete, Pelikan has accomplished many things throughout her time competing for for the New Berlin West swim program. From holding a record in a relay from freshman year, to breaking the varsity record for the 100 backstroke and now holding her own record, Pelikan is talented in multiple events. Not only did she break a record last year, but she also placed 6th at state in the 200 free, earning herself a medal.
After a successful swim career at New Berlin West, Pelikan has decided to further her education and swim career at University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire, majoring in either actuarial science or business.
What put UW-Eau Claire above other colleges for Pelikan is, “The swim program is doing really well and there are some swimmers better than me that I would be able to push myself to train off of.”
Pelikan’s goal is to eventually qualify for D3 Nationals within the next four years.
Dominic DeLuca
Dominic Deluca is another example of a well-rounded athlete, competing in soccer, track, and basketball throughout his time at West. Although he is a multi-sport athlete, Deluca has decided to continue his soccer career in college, attending Carroll in the fall to major in physical therapy. “First team all conference senior year, 2nd most votes in the conference for MVP, and [having] a monster long ball,” are just a few of Deluca’s highlights from his high school career.
All of these accomplishments have helped him make his way to the top of West’s soccer program, which will further pave a path to success in college.
What put Carroll above other schools vying for Deluca’s attention is the fact that, “it was the most affordable one due to scholarships and also has a good physical therapy program.”
On top of that, Deluca is excited to, “meet new people and to one day be[come] a legend of Carroll’s soccer program.”
Alyssa Nelson
Shoot and swish. That is all four year varsity member Alyssa (Chubbs) Nelson knows how to do. Averaging 15.9 points a game, Nelson is one of the leading scorers for New Berlin West girls basketball. This past season she was also added into the 1000 points club, which is a large accomplishment to have in high school.
Being on varsity for four years, Nelson has created many memories, but she says her most memorable one is, “beating Ike my freshman year to win the regional title.” Whenever a team beats their cross town rival, it is definitely a memory a player will never forget.
Along with a regional title under her belt, Nelson was also named first team all conference her sophomore and junior year.
Although Nelson had a few options to pick from for colleges, she decided to continue her basketball career at University of Wisconsin-Parkside while majoring in Criminal Justice. Nelson chose UW-Parkside because they offered a scholarship and it’s close enough for her family and friends to see her play. “I also chose it because it had my major, criminal justice, and is one of the top schools in Wisconsin for criminal justice.”
DJ Nennig
Three year varsity athlete, DJ Nening, has been a large asset to the New Berlin West football program during his time on varsity and has proven he deserves to be on top. Throughout the duration of his senior year, Nenning started to play nose tackle and had 20 tackles this year alone. On top of that accomplishment, he was also awarded All-Conference Nose Tackle.
With everything he has accomplished in his high school career, it does not come as a surprise that Nenning is moving on to play football in college. He will be attending Carroll University in the fall, majoring in Business.
Nenning’s reasoning for choosing Carroll is the fact that “It is close so my family and friends will be able to watch me play,” and since he will, “be able to play right away at Carroll and not get grey shirted.”
Andrea Stephens
At the end of the 2015-16 school year, the buzz revolved around girls varsity softball winning state, and three-year varsity athlete, Andrea Stephens, helped to make that happen. Throughout her high school career, Stephens has accomplished multiple things beyond winning state as a sophomore, including being named second team all conference utility or “at large” player as a junior. As of May 8th, her stats have been extremely impressive with a .511 on base percentage and a .361 batting average. Although one would believe these are impressive statistics, she thinks, “they are both good statistics, but I believe they can be alot better.”
With her determined and hard-working attitude to achieve greatness, it does not come as a surprise that she will be playing softball in college. Stephens will be attending Webster University in St. Louis, while majoring in Computer Science with an emphasis in cybersecurity.
After going through an extensive process to pick the correct college, Stephen’s decided to go with Webster University because, “Webster University was one that I saw myself being successful at academically and athletically.”
Austin Alexander
Leading defensive linemen, Austin Alexander, is another example of an excellent football player who will be playing along his high school teammate DJ Nenning at Carroll University. There is no question as to why Alexander was the leading defensive linemen this season in tackles, considering he made 34.
Reflecting back on his high school career, Alexander’s favorite memory has been, “swatting a pass on 4th down to win the game against Wisconsin Lutheran during my senior season.”
This is just another example, along with being named All Conference Honorable mention, to add to the list of accomplishments he has gathered.
According to Alexander, what put Carroll above other schools is that it is, “close enough to home for me that I would be able to commute,” and he really enjoyed the campus after a tour.
After finding a college that is the correct fit for him both athletically and academically, Alexander is excited to continue playing the sport he loves at a higher level, while also majoring in Information Technology/Computer Science in the fall.
Maddie Fritz
Three year varsity athlete, Maddie Fritz’s, contribution to the New Berlin West’s girls basketball team, has not gone unnoticed this past season. As the third leading scorer with 9.1 points per game, and the second leading rebounder with 6.2 rebounds per game, she has proven to be an important asset.
For both her junior and senior year, Fritz was named honorable mention all conference, which does not come as a surprise considering she had 546 career points and 287 career rebounds. After a remarkable three years, Fritz will be continuing her basketball career at Carroll University while majoring in health sciences as a direct admit to Carroll’s nursing program.
According to Fritz, what put Carroll above other schools is the fact that she, “really liked how the campus is so close to home,” and, “the girls on the basketball team are very nice and the program is good.”
With Fritz’s long list of accomplishments, including beating Pewaukee on their home court to become Regional Champs, it seems as though she will greatly excel at Carroll in the fall.
Evan Sadowski
Evan Sadowski has spent his time in high school focusing on tennis and baseball, excelling in both sports. Although Sadowski has always been very talented in tennis, he has decided to go with the baseball route, and will be attending Wisconsin Lutheran College in the fall.
Even though he has only been on varsity for one year, Sadowski has played travel ball for Prospect Training Academy throughout high school, where he has shown great success. Throughout the duration of his time on the team last season, he batted in the upper 400’s, leading his team in hits, RBI’s, and stolen bases.
As a well rounded athlete, Sadowski is likely to excel at WLC in the fall, and is excited to attend because it is a great fit academically and athletically for him. He is also excited for, “many things like hanging with the team, traveling all over, and just playing the games.”
Riley McLeod
When Riley McLeod began playing golf her junior year, she instantly fell in love, so in love that she has decided to continue her golf career at Carroll University in the fall, while double majoring in Sociology and Business Administration. Throughout the duration of McLeod’s high school golf career, her record was 49 on the front nine and 48 on the back nine, which she received at her Regional match. For only playing for two years that is an outstanding accomplishment, one that nearly brought her and her coach to tears due to being so thrilled. McLeod exclaimed, “it was so exciting to finish my season on a high note.”
Beyond personal accomplishments, with McLeod’s contribution, her team was named Conference Champs this past season after winning their match at Grant Park Golf Course. This is considered an extremely rewarding accomplishment, since all of the hard-work put in throughout the season had payed off.
According to McLeod, what put Carroll above other colleges is, “I have planned on attending Carroll since I was a freshman,” and she, “always knew it was the right college,” based on size and location.
The class of 2018’s hard work ethic and determination has led them to success, with more students moving on to play in college increasing over last year. It is evident that their hard work and talent has not gone unnoticed.
