High school sports are entering an important stretch of the fall season, with football teams fighting for playoff positioning, girls golf moving into sectional competition, and cross-country runners beginning to make their postseason push. Thursday night featured several significant football results across the Chippewa Valley, while a busy weekend awaits local high school and college programs. Here’s a look at the latest local sports action and what’s coming up. High School Football: Lake Holcombe, McDonell Earn Important Victories Lake Holcombe Wins Battle for the Birch Tree Axe Lake Holcombe picked up a significant 38-24 victory over New Auburn in the Battle for the Birch Tree Axe on Thursday night. The win was particularly important for the eight-player playoff picture, as both teams entered the matchup looking to strengthen their postseason chances. Lake Holcombe improved to 4-3, while New Auburn fell to 2-5. Holcombe now has an opportunity to build additional momentum with a matchup against Siren next week. A win would move the team to 5-3 and potentially improve its playoff seeding. The game itself featured plenty of back-and-forth action. Lake Holcombe jumped out early before New Auburn rallied and took the lead. Holcombe responded with a fourth-quarter score before its defense came up with key stops to secure the victory. With the regular season nearing its conclusion, the win could prove significant for Lake Holcombe’s postseason outlook. McDonell Central Gets Back on Track McDonell Central also earned an important victory Thursday, defeating Cameron 38-14. The Macks entered the game following consecutive losses and needed a strong performance to regain momentum in the Division VII playoff race. Cameron entered the matchup with a 3-3 record, making the victory another potentially valuable addition to McDonell’s playoff résumé. McDonell already owns an early-season victory over Spooner, and the win over Cameron provides another opportunity to strengthen its postseason position. The Macks now turn their attention to a major matchup at Boyceville next week. Friday Night Football: Several Key Matchups Across the Area Week seven brings another busy slate of high school football, with several conference matchups carrying significant implications. In the Wisconsin Valley Conference, Eau Claire Memorial hosts Wausau West, while Eau Claire North travels to face state-ranked Marshfield. Menomonie hosts Wisconsin Rapids in a conference crossover matchup that also serves as the Mustangs’ homecoming game. Menomonie has started to build momentum with several recent wins. The Big Rivers Conference features one of the night’s biggest matchups, as River Falls travels to Hudson. Both teams have suffered recent losses to unbeaten New Richmond and will be looking to remain within striking distance of the conference leader. New Richmond also travels to Rice Lake, while Chippewa Falls hosts Superior. In the Clover Belt Conference, Mondovi and Regis meet in a matchup featuring two consistently ranked Division VI programs. The conference race remains crowded, with Durand-Arkansaw leading the way and Elk Mound and Fall Creek also in the mix. The eventual meeting between Durand-Arkansaw and Mondovi could have major implications. Other notable matchups include Glenwood City hosting Spring Valley, along with several Lakeland Conference games. In eight-player football, Gilman travels to Thorp in a rivalry matchup. Gilman continues to look like one of the area’s top teams following a dominant victory over Wisconsin Rapids Assumption last week. With the eight-player regular season concluding next week, playoff positioning is becoming increasingly important. Girls Golf: Regional Champions and Sectional Qualifiers The girls golf postseason is underway, with several area programs advancing out of regional competition. Division I Prescott captured the Division I regional championship, with Spooner finishing second. Both programs moved up to Division I following their success in Division II, but that transition did not slow either team down. Hudson-Superior also advanced as a team. Individually, New Richmond’s Samantha Halle and Hudson’s Anna Swavely shared medalist honors and qualified for the next round. Eau Claire North’s Brooklyn Krall also advanced as an individual qualifier, along with competitors from River Falls. Division II Colfax-Spring Valley continued its successful season by winning the Division II regional championship at Turtleback Golf Course in Rice Lake. The regional title came one week after the team captured the Clover-Croy Conference Championship. Bloomer finished second, while Osseo-Fairchild placed third. All three teams advance to sectionals. Colfax-Spring Valley’s Claire Kongshaug delivered one of the day’s standout performances, shooting a 71 and winning the individual title by 14 strokes over Bloomer’s Jordan Belrichard. Osseo-Fairchild’s Alexis Ness also finished among the top competitors. Additional individual qualifiers included Sidney Steffes and Arabella Lacey of Elk Mound, along with Caleb Ketterhagen of Stanley-Boyd. Sectional competition is scheduled for Monday. Girls Tennis: Eau Claire Memorial Captures Big Rivers Title Eau Claire Memorial’s girls tennis team has claimed the Big Rivers Conference Championship. The postseason now shifts to subsectional competition next week. Memorial will host its Division I subsectional Monday, with advancing competitors moving on to sectionals at Lakeland. Division II postseason competition will also begin next week, with local matches scheduled at the Menard Tennis Center. Cross-Country: Local Runners Continue to Post State-Level Times October is an important month for high school cross-country, as teams begin preparing for conference meets and the WIAA postseason. At the Chi-Hi Invitational at Lake Wissota earlier this week, Menomonie’s Madeline Schmidt captured the girls individual championship with a time of 17:41.9. That performance ranked as the fourth-fastest girls time in Wisconsin at the time of the roundup. Three of the state’s top four times belonged to runners from the local area, including Bloomer’s Ciara and Aaliyah Hartman, who held the top two marks. Menomonie also put together a strong team performance, placing seven runners in the top 12 to secure the girls team championship. On the boys side, Eau Claire Memorial’s Will Pongonis continued his impressive season, winning the race in 15:03 by more than a minute. Chippewa Falls runners Braxton Paul and Cole Gilles finished second and third, respectively. Chippewa Falls also captured the boys team championship, finishing ahead of Menomonie. The upcoming Old Abe Invitational at South Middle School will provide another important late-season test before conference meets and sectionals arrive later this month. UW-Eau Claire: Homecoming Weekend at Carson Park The UW-Eau Claire Blugolds have a busy weekend ahead, highlighted by football homecoming. The undefeated Blugold football team hosts UW-Stevens Point at Carson Park on Saturday, with kickoff scheduled for 1 p.m. Women’s volleyball also has a significant matchup Friday night, hosting nationally ranked UW-Whitewater in WIAC competition. Other Blugold programs in action include golf, cross-country, and swimming and diving, with an alumni meet scheduled for the swimming and diving program. UW-Stout: Blue Devils Open WIAC Football Play UW-Stout begins WIAC football competition this weekend with a challenging home matchup against fourth-ranked UW-Platteville. The Blue Devils will host the Pioneers Saturday, with kickoff scheduled for 1:05 p.m. Stout’s weekend schedule also includes women’s volleyball against Platteville, tennis against UW-Oshkosh, and cross-country competition. The WIAC women’s golf championship is also approaching, with competition scheduled for next week. Looking Ahead With high school football approaching the final weeks of the regular season, playoff positioning will become increasingly important across the area. Girls golf and tennis are entering postseason competition, while cross-country runners are preparing for the championship portion of their schedules. At the college level, UW-Eau Claire looks to maintain its undefeated football season during homecoming, while UW-Stout opens conference play against one of the WIAC’s top programs. It’s another busy weekend for sports across the Chippewa Valley. ...read more read less