Wisconsin
Luke Combs’ bandmates host clinic for aspiring Northeast Wisconsin musicians
ASHWAUBENON (WLUK) — Luke Combs may be the leading man, but he can’t put on a show alone.
Mat Maxwell plays bass and Jake Sommers plays drums for Combs on tour.
Mat Maxwell plays bass and Jake Sommers plays drums for Combs on tour. They spent Saturday morning hosting a clinic at Heid Music in Ashwaubenon. (WLUK)
They spent Saturday morning hosting a clinic at Heid Music in Ashwaubenon.
The clinic focused on giving insight to aspiring musicians about how to have a successful music career and improve their playing.
Mat Maxwell plays bass and Jake Sommers plays drums for Combs on tour. They spent Saturday morning hosting a clinic at Heid Music in Ashwaubenon, May 16th, 2026. (WLUK/Austin Roth)
Sommers says at the end of the day musicians need to be their own best advocates.
“Hopefully with a little timing and a little luck, y’know you meet that right person,” he said. “And either y’know you want to do the band thing, cool. Or like what we do, we’re side men and obviously our careers depend on said artist and it’s just a belief thing.”
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Combs’ backing band is known as The Wild Cards. The band played an early concert at Green Bay Distillery Thursday.
Luke Fickell just landed a massive 2027 commitment that should have Wisconsin stoked for. Yahzeen Zion, a 6-foot-4, 265-pound defensive lineman from Arizona, pledged to the Badgers, and the punch line isn’t just his size. It’s who Wisconsin beat to get him.
Zion’s offer list immediately separated this from a routine early-cycle win. He held offers from LSU, Oklahoma, Penn State, Miami and USC, with Georgia interest floating around as well. Wisconsin has lived for decades on developing three-star linemen into NFL players, but that model gets harder when opponents stockpile blue-chip disruptors up front. Pulling a national-recruitment defensive lineman out of Arizona signaled Wisconsin’s recruiting footprint has expanded under Fickell in a real way.
On the field, Zion fits the modern profile Wisconsin has needed more of on the defensive front. He arrived at football as a converted basketball player, and that background showed up in the movement skills on his film. Zion shows versatility at multiple spots on the defensive line, winning both on the edge and inside with speed-to-power and an active motor that didn’t shut off snap to snap. Wisconsin has leaned on scheme and development to generate pressure, but Big Ten games usually swing when a defender can win one-on-one without help.
Zion projects as that kind of disruptor.
The bigger point for Wisconsin is what this kind of pledge can do inside a class. Recruiting builds on itself, and momentum is real right now for Wisconsin. Next up, watch whether Wisconsin can stack more out-of-state wins off Zion’s momentum and turn a splashy 2027 start into a true foundation class.
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LA CROSSE — Several athletes from Central Wisconsin left La Crosse as state champions, and several more snatched podium finishes after a dominant two days at the WIAA state track and field championships at Veteran’s Memorial Stadium on Friday, June 5 and Saturday, June 6.
From state champions to repeat champions, here is a look at every local track athlete who either won a state medal or notched a top-6 podium finish, separated each day and each of the three divisions.
Day 2, Saturday, June 6
Division 1:
Stevens Point’s Zachariah Zillman took home the silver medal in the long jump event and Salyssa Kellerman took sixth-place in the triple jump event. SPASH’s team of Tessa Bruckhart, Lorena Hill, Emersyn Wavrunek and Taylor Cejka notched a podium finish, taking fourth place in the 4×800 meter relay race.
SPASH’s relay team of Seubert, Hill, Mueller and Wavrunek captured a gold medal in the 4×400 relay.
Wausau West’s Maci Heise took the silver medal in the 300-meter hurdles. Warriors teammate Cullin Quance took home the bronze medal in the long jump.
Marshfield’s team of Adeline Lonsdale, Hailey Klumb, Leann Ledtke and Natalie Scharenbroch took fifth place in the 4×800 relay.
Wausau East’s Mckaea Taylor took fourth place in the pole vault and teammate Elsa Oestreich was right behind, placing fifth.
Marshfield’s Derek Ongna took the silver medal in the boys high jump event.
Division 2:
Colby’s Daelyn Rieck won a gold medal in the discus throw.
Division 3:
Marathon’s Garrett Bracewell brought home a gold medal in the boys 300-meter hurdles and a silver medal in the 110 meter hurdles. Teammates Fred Tylinski, Luke Hoenish, Brady Annis and Bracewell also snagged a gold medal in the 4×200 race. Marathon’s Emma Schult took third place in the discus throw.
Marathon’s Chris Marcell broke the shot put meet record, snagging his second consecutive gold medal. While Berta Bota Palma added to Marathon’s dominance, snagging a sixth-place finish in the triple jump.
Pacelli’s Luke Eiden notched two podium finishes, taking home a bronze medal in the 1600-meter and a sixth place in the 3200-meter.
Assumption’s Michael Dolan brought home a gold medal in the boys 3200-meter and a silver medal in the 1,600-meter. Teammate Bella Thomas took home a gold medal in the 400-meter and a silver in the girls 100-meter and a fourth place finish in the 200-meter. Teammate Reed Hartjes notched a sixth-place finish in the boys 1600-meter.
The Royals relay team of Cullen Thomas, Aiden Daliege, Calen Ott and Trey France finished in fifth place in the 4×400 relay race.
Rosholt’s Alex Wierzba took home the gold medal in the boys 100-meter and a silver medal in the 200-meter while the Hornets team of Isabelle Trzebiatowski, Evelyn Bablitch, Kaitlyn Dombrowski and Liliana Losinski notched a podium finish, taking fourth place in the 4×800. Teammate Evelyn Bablitch notched a sixth-place finish in the 3,200.
Stratford’s Zander Zawislan snagged the gold medal in the boys 200-meter and 400-meter aces while teammate Brianna Sherden notched a sixth-place finish in both the 100 and 200-meter races. Teammate Connor Kreft took home a bronze medal in the triple jump.
Nekoosa’s team of Austin Czappa, Darion Boswell, Finlei Krcmar and Jarrett Wilcox took the silver medal in the 4×100.
Athens Ava Ford finished fifth in the pole vault.
Spencer’s Breckin Miller finished fifth in the 110-meter hurdles.
Trevor Trowbridge of Auburndale notched a podium finish, taking sixth place in the 110-meter hurdles. Teammates Logan Nagel finished in fourth in the shot put while Gracie Hasenohrl took sixth in the pole vault. The Eagles team of Marti Anderson, Alivia Wolf, Rose Hasenohrl and Iris Galetto placed fifth in the 4×400.
Tomahawk’s Elise Gibeault claimed the bronze medal in the 400.
Adams-Friendship’s Molly Johnson took fourth place in the 400.
Edgar’s team of Mav Butt, Graham Streit, Landon Lukasko and Dawson Bornheimer took fourth place in the 4×100 relay race. Then Edgar’s team of Lukasko, Tucker Streit, Streit and Isaiah Kraft notched a silver medal in the 4×400.
Day 1, Friday, June 5
Division 1:
Xavier Edwards of D.C. Everest returned to state but this time walked away with a silver medal, taking second place in Division 1’s triple jump. His teammate, Ethan Whitmore finished tied with Wisconsin Lutheran’s John Gehl for sixth place in the boys pole vault.
Stevens Point relay team of Dash Kvatek, John Jazdzewski, Ben Hopp and Cooper Erickson snatched fourth place in the boys 4×800. On the girls side for SPASH, Lorena Hill, Alivia Koback, Riley Mueller and Jada Seubert placed fifth in the first round of the 4×200. While the team of Hill, Seubert, Mueller and Wavrunek placed first in the first round of the 4×400.
Wausau East’s Parker Schmitt finished in third place in the first round of the boys 400-meter.
Crosstown-rival Wausau West’s Heise walked away with second place in the first round of the Division 1 girls 300 hurdles.
Division 2:
Colby’s Rieck finished first in the first round of the Division 3 shot put.
Division 3
Marathons’ Marcell went back-to-back taking gold in the shot put event. Teammates Bracewell took first place in the first round of Division 3’s boys 110 meter hurdles. Teammates, Tylinski, Hoenish, Annis and Bracewell finished second place in the second round of the boys 4 xv200 Division 3 race.
Spencer’s Breckin Miller took a gold medal in the pole vault and sixth place in the 110 meter hurdles
Athens’ Sy’Rih Hartwig brought home a gold medal in the shot put.
Edgars 4×800 relay team of Dillon Sondeleski, Emitt VanOrnum, Dom Contreras and Kraft took home a silver medal in Division 3’s race with Marathon’s team of Etan Huesbsch, Logan Peters, John Kahon and Annis finishing in fourth place. Kraft earned a bronze medal in the 800-meter race.
Assumption’s Lucy Dolan took home a silver medal in Division 3’s 1600 meter.
Thomas of Assumption finished first in the first round of the 400-meter race and third place in the first round of the girls Division 3 100-meter race. Teammate Lucy Dolan snagged a fourth-place finish in the 800-meter race.
Auburndale’s Trowbridge finished fourth in the first round of the boys 110-meter hurdles.
Abbotsford’s Carter Cihlar notched a podium finish, taking fourth place in the pole vault.
Wierzba of Rosholt finished in second place in the boys 100-meter race.
Stratford’s team of Wynn Schoenherr, Brye Shaw, Samantha Frick and Sherden finished in fifth place in the first round of the girls 4×200. Then the Tiger group of Carter Foster, Austin Niehaus, Mason Miller, Austin Foster took sixth place in the first round of the boys 4×100. Teammate Zawislan took second place in the first round of the boys 400-meter. Sherden also finished sixth in the first round of the girls 100-meter dash.
Nekoosa’s Czappa, Boswell, Krcmar, and Wilcox took fourth place in the first round of the 4×100.
Adams-Friendship’s Molly Johnson took third place in the Division 3 girls 400-meter race, followed by Gibeault of Tomahawk in fourth.
Contact or send game stats/info to Sports Reporter Alfred Smith III at alfred.smith@usatoday.com. Follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, @AlfredS_III.
MADISON, Wis. (WMTV) – On this day June 6, 1921, The Department of Wisconsin Veterans of Foreign Wars was established. You probably know it as the VFW.
The greater VFW traces its roots back to 1899, when veterans of the Spanish-American war and the Philippine Insurrection founded organizations to secure benefits and right for their service.
After the first chapters were formed, the movement quickly gained momentum across the United States, with over 200,000 members by 1936.
Here in Wisconsin, the oldest post is VFW Post 328 in Stoughton. The post stays busy by hosting fish fries, and several other events to raise money and engage with the community.
In 2026, Wisconsin has over 26,000 VFW members in over 250 local posts across the state.
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