By Andrew Harrington
Football
Spring Valley and Elmwood/Plum City picked up the county’s first football wins of 2026. The Cardinals forced four turnovers defensively to beat Chetek-Weyerhaeuser 34-12. After a scoreless first half for both teams, the Wolves won an electric second half 26-22 on the road against Augusta.
Ellsworth and Prescott struggled in road non-conference tests. The Panthers lost 42-6 to La Crosse Central, and Prescott lost 43-12 to Prairie Du Chien.
River Falls lost 37-19 to Marshfield. Junior quarterback Colton Nesbitt threw for 206 yards and three touchdowns, and junior running back Trevor Bartlett ran for 191 yards, but the Tigers were too much to handle.
Volleyball
EPC won its home meet and ended a difficult Menomonie Spawl tournament 33rd of 40. The Wolves got some early reps in against significantly larger schools than they will face down the road. River Falls lost in the Sprawl in the semi-finals 2-1 to Hudson after a dominant run to get there. Ellsworth struggled in pool play at the event, but improved on the final day to finish 36th.
Prescott went 1-2 at the Osceola quad, beatng Grantsburg 2-0 and losing 2-0 to River Falls and Turtle Lake. The Wildcats went 3-0 in matches and 6-0 in sets to sweep through the event.
Spring Valley started the year 5-1, with the lone loss being 2-0 against New Richmond. The Cardinals have some notable wins, including a 2-0 win over Amery and a 2-1 win over Boyceville.
Cross County
Prescott and Ellsworth were at the Cardinals’ home meet during the week. Prescott’s girls finished fourth and the boys landed in sixth. Kyra Dix finished second place and Dawson Langer finished 10th place for Prescott. Ellsworth’s Adolfo Mendez finished third and Mackenzie Hince sixth.
The Spring Valley boys took third and girls fourth at St. Croix Falls. Sophomore Dexter Arco finished fifth individually.
River Falls is prepping for the 61st annual AppleJack Invite on Sept. 10 at Lakeville North, taking on some top teams. EPC is slated for the Somerset Invite on Sept. 3, joining Prescott and Spring Valley from the county.
Girls Golf
Prescott picked up a conference win in Osceola with a score of 186. The Panthers had a solid outing themselves, taking fourth with a 210. Prescott seniors Layla Salay and Macy Reiter finished first and second with scores of 41 and 44. Ellsworth senior Emma Helgeson tied for fifth with a 46.
River Falls took second in a conference meet at New Richmond with a 178, behind only Hudson’s 165. Senior Elsie Schmid won the event by three strokes with a 35.
Girls Tennis
Ellsworth had some success during a busy week of tennis. They first picked up a clean sweep with a 6-1 win over Unity, 4-3 win over Ashland and 5-2 win over Altoona. Later in the week, the Panthers beat Osceola 5-2 and lost to West Salem 4-3 and Eau Claire North 7-0.
River Falls beat Baldwin-Woodville 4-3, losing 7-0 to Hudson, 5-2 to Chippewa Falls and 6-1 to Menomonie.
Boys Soccer
River Falls got its season started with a 4-0 road loss to Wausau West and 2-0 at home against Altoona. The Wildcats begin conference play Sept. 1 at Menomonie, and then have home games against Superior on Sept. 3 and Chippewa Falls on Sept. 8.
Girls Swim and Dive
River Falls gets back underway at Hastings on Sept. 3 and then home against Eau Claire Memorial on Sept. 10.
Keywords
Ellsworth Panthers,
EPC Wolves,
Prescott Cardinals,
River Falls Wildcats,
Spring Valley Cardinals,
football,
volleyball,
cross country,
girls golf,
girls tennis,
boys soccer,
girls swim and dive