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McFarland athletics report: boys basketball reaches state semifinal for first time in 52 years; swim team wins small-school state title
Summary
Athletic director Paul Ackley told the school board that multiple McFarland teams posted deep postseason runs this year, including a boys basketball appearance in the state semifinals (first in 52 years), a boys swim team small-school state championship with multiple record marks, and a girls soccer squad seeded No. 1 in the WIAA state tournament.
Paul Ackley, McFarland’s athletic director, gave the board a season-by-season report that highlighted historic results and program growth across winter and spring sports.
Ackley said the boys basketball team finished 23-6, won the Badger Small Conference, and captured regional and sectional titles before advancing to the state semi-final at the Kohl Center, marking "the first time in 52 years" the program reached the state tournament. He reported that the boys swimming program won the small-school state championship, broke multiple state records and posted relay splits the presentation described as among the fastest in Wisconsin history. Ackley also said the district launched a dive program and qualified a diver—named in the report—for the state meet for the first time in program history.
Other spring highlights included a strong showing by boys golf (second in conference and individual qualifiers to state), a historic baseball performance (including a player who hit for the cycle), multiple school records in track and field, and a girls soccer team that clinched a conference share, won regional and sectional titles and earned the No. 1 seed for the state tournament.
Ackley noted growing participation in girls hockey through a multi-school co-op and said the district is adding boys volleyball next fall to expand student opportunities. Board members asked about participation trends; Ackley cited district data showing roughly 40% of male students and 32.3% of female students participated in a spring sport and said overall participation has been steady or improving despite modest enrollment shifts.
The board thanked Ackley and the coaches for high levels of student involvement and postseason success.
