Wauzeka-Steuben welcomes second Hall of Fame class

By Derick Kelly

Wauzeka-Steuben High School welcomed the second ever class to the Wauzeka-Steuben Athletic Hall of Fame this past February. Inducted as part of the class of 2025 was Cerise Giddings, Doug Krachey, Jeremy Krachey, Walter Lathrop Jr., Dave Petrowitz, Arnold Pitzenberger, the 1993 Girls Softball Team, and contributors Carol DuCharme and Gerald and Mary Krachey.

Giddings became the first and only (to this date) Hornet girl to win a state track championship when she won the 1991 D3 State Championship in discus with a throw of 121 feet and 5 inches. She set school records in both the discus (121-5) and shot put (38’2”) and was a two-year varsity letter winner in both track and girls basketball.

Doug Krachey was an 11-time varsity letter winner for the Hornets from 1983 to 1987 in football, boys basketball and baseball. On the gridiron, Krachey was a first team all-conference selection at both running back and defensive back as a senior along with being co-team MVP. On the basketball court Krachey was a member of the Hornets 1986-87 conference championship team. A four-year starter in baseball, Krachey was an all-conference shortstop in both 1986 and 1987 and finished his career with a .392 batting average.

Younger brother Jeremy Krachey was a two-sport letter winner in football and baseball, including all four years in football, where he was the Hornets team MVP in 1988 and 1989. Jeremy was honored by the Ridge & Valley Conference as the league’s MVP in 1989 as well as first team selections at running back (1987 through 1989), defensive line (1988) and linebacker (1989). Krachey was also named to the Wisconsin Football Coaches Association’s All-Region team as a senior. On the baseball diamond, Krachey was a three-year first team all-conference selection at catcher (1988 through 1990) and the team MVP in both 1989 and 1990. Jeremy was also named the Hornets’ Male Senior Athlete of the Year in 1990. After high school, Krachey attended UW-Platteville where he was a three-year letter winner in football from 1992 to 1994. He was also the MVP of the George Chryst Memorial Game in both 1993 and 1994.

Contributors Gerald and Mary Krachey have been supporters of W-S Athletics for a long time. They have quietly worked behind the scenes for many years, oftentimes helping out financially with extracurricular activities, equipment purchases and facility improvements. They were pivotal in helping out with the construction of the Hornets new gymnasium during the 1990s. In recent years, they have been gracious enough to lend their land for use with cross country practices and meets, including the 2024 Ridge & Valley Conference Meet.

Carol DuCharme is another long-time contributor to Hornet Athletics. As a life-long resident of the Wauzeka community and an alumna of Wauzeka-Steuben High School, DuCharme has continued her support of Hornet athletes and teams as “spirit-master” long after graduation. During her career as a local business owner, she often provided team lunches or dinners before “The Big Game”. Carol continues to be an active supporter of Hornet Athletics in retirement.

The 1993 Softball team advanced to the state tournament for the second time in program history with a 17-4 overall record and 7-0 in the Ridge & Valley Conference before falling to eventual runner-up Loyal in the D3 state semifinals. Members of this team included Head Coach Don Bauer, Assistant Coach Lisa Wallin-Kapinus, Tonia Atkinson, Shawna Bedward, Lesley Bunders, Amy Cooley, Michelle Curtis, Angie Huber, Jessie Hurda, Kaylee Hurda, Cathy Kapinus, Sherri Kramer, Joni McCarthy, Kathleen McGuire, Linda Mezera, Miranda Miller, Robin Morovits, Amy Mullikin, Jill Nagel, Marianne Pfister, Janine Pitzer, Sally Pomerening, Jill Ray, Raeann Rice, Rhonda Scheckel, Jaime Steinbach, Trudi Swatek, Kathy Tesar and Anna Walz.

Dave Petrowitz was the Hornets varsity football head coach from 1989 to 1997, girls basketball head coach from 1989 to 1992 and the boys & girls track head coach from 2008 to 2016. Petrowitz was also head coach of the Hornets junior varsity boys basketball, girls volleyball and middle school boys basketball teams over the years. According to Petrowitz himself, his largest reward from coaching was “watching the effort individuals made to improve themselves and the team.”

In 1931, Walter Lathrop, Jr. became the second Wauzeka athlete in school history to win three individual state championships in the same season when he won the Broad Jump (21.25 feet), 120 Yard Hurdles (16.4 seconds) and 220 Yard Hurdles (26.7 seconds). Along with teammate Clifford Mills, who won the 440 Yard Dash in 52.3 seconds, the pair of teammates led the Hornets to the 1931 WIAA Class C State Runner-Up Trophy with 20.25 points. Wauzeka finished 10.08 points behind first place Prairie du Sac. Last year saw Lucius Cooley become the first Hornet in 93 years to win a state championship in a hurdles event.

The first Hornet in school history to claim three state championships in one season is the final member of the class of 2025 - Arnold Pitzenberger. 

The official number of boys in Wisconsin history to win five or more individual state championships in track is currently not tracked, but according to the WIAA’s website, only seven boys in state history have won seven or more state titles in track. Pitzenberger won two titles at the 1927 state meet at UW-Madison when he won the Broad Jump (20’10”) and 100 Yard Dash (10.2 seconds) as he and teammate Bryan Keating (who tied with five other competitors for first place in the Pole Vault at 10-0 feet) helped the Hornets claim the Class C State Championship with 17.70 points, just holding off runner-up Whitewater (17 points). This state title remains the only team state championship in school history.

Pitzenberger was even better the following season as a senior as he claimed three state championships. He repeated as the champion in the Broad Jump (21’10”) and 100 Yard Dash (10.4 seconds) before finishing first in 220 Yard Dash (23.0 seconds). However, those three titles plus an additional one by John Richleff (as spelled on the WIAA’s website) in the High Jump (at 5-8.75 feet) were not enough for Wauzeka to repeat as the 1928 WIAA Class C State Champions as conference rival La Farge held off the Hornets by 3.5 points (28.5 to 25). Pitzenberger would go on to hold the school record in the Broad Jump for 44 years.

In 2024, Wauzeka-Steuben inducted its first athletic hall of fame class, which consisted of Todd Krachey, Mike Foley, Ben McCullick, Kim Wagner, Jim Hazen, Gary McCullick, Don Bauer, Bruce Arnold, the 1968 Football Team and the 1986 Girls Softball Team.