Green Bay Press-Gazette from Green Bay, Wisconsin • Page 17

Sports section CHRIS HAVEL Commentary Business C-8 Contact Sports Editor Mike Vandermause at (920) 431 -8222 or mvandermausegreenbaypressgazette.com Green Bay Press-Gazette Wednesday, March 23, 2005 Bennett lives dream atUWSP Packers take another chance at guard 2005 Packers' free Free agents added Pos. Guard Guard weights. He returned late in the year and played in the final four games for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. "He's completely healthy now," said Mark Bartel-stein, O'Dwyer's agent. "The torn pectoral muscle was not serious, but it took a while to heal." O'Dwyer, 32, will come to Green Bay for the veterans' minimum of $765,000, but only $455,000 will count against the salary cap.

Bar-telstein said the contract BY DYLAN B. TOMLINSON Gannett Wisconsin Newspapers In looking for replacements for departed guards Mike Wahle and Marco Rivera, Green Bay Packers General Manager Ted Thompson either has found two great bargains or taken two huge risks. Last week, the Packers signed oft-injured guard Adrian Klemm to replace Wahle. This week, the Packers agreed to terms with guard Matt O'Dwyer, who will compete for the chance to replace Rivera. O'Dwyer was a starter with the New York Jets and Cincinnati Bengals from 1996 to 2002, but he has been dogged by injuries for the last two seasons.

In 2003, O'Dwyer missed 12 games with plantar fasciitis, a foot injury Last season, he missed 12 games after tearing a pectoral muscle while lifting would be finalized today. O'Dwyer is expected to compete with Grey Ruegamer, Steve Morley and possibly Kevin Barry for the chance to replace Rivera in the starting lineup. "Matt wanted to go to a place where he would have a chance to start," Bartel-stein said. "This was a good fit for him." See Packers, C-3 Adrian Klemm Matt O'Dwyer Free agents lost Marco Rivera Mike Wahle Darren Sharper Pos. Guard Guard Safety ii i i in i i i mi i i tvuw i ii i mi ii ii iMium in 1 1 iiiipwi i in ii in 1 1 .1.1 i 'I ii 1 1 ii i i iiiuiiiniiii i-1 For more online, go to WEEK Check out the Press- Gazette's expanded Thursday high school sports coverage, which will include a behind-the-scenes look in words and photos of the Ashwaubenon girls basketball team.

Also, Scott Venci's commentary on the questionable all-state selection process, a with an area athlete and a notebook. Wrightstown's Chris Klister and Luxemburg's Eric Metzler are the Green Bay Press-Gazette's co-wrestlers of the year. Klister and Metzler both were state champions and members of state championship teams. Full all-area wrestling team, C-5. Corey WilsonPress-Gazette agency moves Old team New England Tampa Bay New team Dallas Carolina Minnesota www.packersnews.com UW in the Sweet 16 Friday: UW vs.

N.C. State at Syracuse, N.Y., 6:27 p.m. More NCAA coverage, C-2 Wilkinson hopes it'll be a long goodbye The Associated Press MADISON Mike Wilkinson's ride is just about over. The University of Wisconsin's do-it-all senior forward has four games at most left in Badgers red. But he's not thinking about that.

All that's on his mind is North Carolina State. "I really haven't thought of it too much being the end. Just being a competitor, you Wilkinson want to keep playing. I still want to play basketball, and we've still got some teams to play, hopefully," Wilkinson said. Wilkinson has been a constant in the paint for Wisconsin for the past four years.

He's averaging 14.3 points and 7.4 rebounds per game this year, and the Sweet 16-bound Badgers will need every one of them against the Wolfpack Friday night. N.C. State (21-13) knocked off defending national champion Connecticut 65-62 Sunday. Wisconsin (24-8), meanwhile, beat No. 14 Bucknell 71-62.

The Wolfpack has big man Julius Hodge, who's averaging 17.1 points and 6.7 rebounds per game. "He is the guy for them who really is a go-to guy. He seems to be the guy who makes the statement," UW coach Bo Ryan said. N.C. State also has five players who shoot better than 35 percent from 3-point range.

Offensively, UW still goes through Wilkinson and sophomore forward Alan-do Tucker, who leads the team with a 14.7 points-per-game scoring average. The Badgers will have to become more than a two-man team if they want to stay alive. "You need more than just two or three people scoring," Tucker said. "We need everybody to score." Then Wilkinson can stick around a little longer. was the tight end on the school's state championship football team last year.

"(Losing has) been the toughest thing to deal with," said Wheeler, a Golden Valley, native. "Everything personal takes a huge back seat to the team. There's been a lot of highs and lows. The big thing is to not get too high or too low." It sounds like Wheeler is taking Gretzky's advice to heart. He also has been listening to Gamblers coach Mark Mazzoleni.

See Wheeler, C-3 While the University of Wisconsin and UW-Mil-waukee rightfully bask in the Sweet 16 limelight, the UW-Stevens Point men's basketball program proudly savors its own sweet success. On Saturday, Jack Bennett's Pointers became just the third team in NCAA Division III history to win back-to-back national championships. UWSProUedover Rochester, N.Y., 73-49, in Salem, Va to give Bennett his 200th win and the state's college basketball fans another reason to smile. Bennett, 56, might be tempted to send a script to Hollywood. The characters are as interesting as any in "Hoosiers" and equally entertaining.

Bennett, the younger brother of former UWSP, UWGB and UW coach Dick Bennett, stepped out of his brother's shadow years ago. It just took consecutive national championships for the casual fan to learn what coaches around the country knew: He is his own man, and he is one of the best in the business. Champions, twice over Finally, after 31 seasons, Bennett is an overnight sensation. "When I got into coaching, I wondered if we'd ever take a team to state," he said. "When I got here, I wondered if we'd ever get to play in the (national) tournament." The wondering has given way to wonder.

The Pointers (29-3) won their five games in this year's national tournament by an average of 21 points. In the title game, they held a slim 28-25 lead at halftime, but opened the second half by scoring on 14 straight possessions. All of this despite losing their senior point guard to a broken hand two weeks earlier. Bennett's son, Nick, was the catalyst. The senior followed a scoreless first half by pouring in 15 of his 18 points to cap a terrific father-son story "I'm thankful that it ended at the very pinnacle a national championship," Bennett said.

"If you love something and it means a lot and basketball means a lot to this family who better to share it with than your loved ones?" A second family That list of loved ones, in a sense, includes Eric Maus of Green Bay Southwest and Kyle Grusczynski of Seymour. The unassuming, lightly recruited Maus evolved into an intense, intelligent defensive anchor. "Eric Maus will go down as one of my all-time favorite kids I've ever coached. Not just because of what he's done, but how he's done it." Grusczynski overcame a brief and disappointing stint with the Badgers and a battle with depression to contribute in a big way "The thing I'm happiest with Kyle," Bennett said, "is that he became a happy student-athlete again. He was our sixth starter.

He played his absolute best basketball the second half of his senior year." Bennett dismissed rumors he may be courted by UWM if coach Bruce Pearl is hired away. He might even take this year off to reassess his goals. Whatever he decides, he will practice what he preached to his players on the eve of the national tournament. "I told them no matter what happens, there will be no hole in my soul, and there should be none in yours." A Hollywood screenwriter couldn't have been more eloquent. Chris Havel can be reached by voice mail at (920) 431 -8586 or by e-mail at chavelgreenbay.gannett.com Metzler, Klister are co-wrestlers of the year 2004-05 Press-Gazette all-area wrestling team it not once, but twice," he said.

"This year was different because the kids were definitely gunning for you." Metzler's record this year was 39-0, and his career record was 172-5. "Eric worked his butt off all year," L-C coach Bob Berceau said. "He probably would have had the most victories of any wrestler in the state if it weren't for injuries. Physically he was tough, and mentally he was tough." Metzler proudly notes his wrestling partner, freshman Zac Cibula, won the individual title at 130 pounds. "As a senior, you have to be an example for the rest of the team," Metzler said.

Klister said: "All season long, you know that the guys you're wrestling against are trying to take out the No. 1 seed. I hurt my knee and wore a knee brace for about three weeks, missing a lot of practice. But when it was time to get the job done, that's what you do, you get the job done." Ashwaubenon's Jody VanLaanen is coach of the year. The Jaguars swept the Bay Conference and advanced to the sectional finals before falling to Division 1 state champion Wisconsin Rapids.

BY TERRY ANDERSON tandersogreenbaypressgazette.com This was one of the best years ever for wrestling in Northeastern Wisconsin. Luxemburg-Casco and Wrightstown won state team championships and Coleman made it to the team championship in Madison. Seven wrestlers won gold medals. So when it came to choosing a wrestler of the year, one award wasn't enough. How could we choose between L-C's Eric Metzler and Wrightstown's Chris Klister? Each went unbeaten on the way to repeating as state individual champion Metzler at 125 pounds in Division 2 and Klister at 119 pounds in Division 3.

Each trailed just once in a match during the season and rallied for the victory. Each was a key performer on a squad that claimed a team championship. Each hopes to wrestle at the collegiate level. "This was my senior year, so this was the most important season of all," said Klister, who finished with a 49-0 record and a 173-13 mark over his career. "If you ask me which was the most fun, it was the team championship, to come back against Mineral Point (in the semis) when we were trailing big." Metzler is the Press-Gazette's wrestler of the year for the second straight season.

"This is definitely a terrific honor, to win An Ashwaubenon girls basketball warmup lies next to a bag in the Jaguars' locker room. More photos of the season in Thursday's paper. Corey Wilson Press-Gazette Venci Wheeler grows through highs, lows of Gamblers9 season to keep your head up and keep going," Wheeler said. What was it like receiving advice from perhaps the best hockey player ever? "You're hanging on every word, because of his experience and how he's dealt with those experiences has been second to none," Wheeler, 18, said. "I really value any advice he gives me, because it's like the Bible whenever he talks." Wheeler isn't used to losing.

He was the star on Breck (Minn.) High School's state championship hockey team and BY JASON LAUREN After the Green Bay Gamblers started the season 1-6, forward Blake Wheeler got a phone call. It wasn't just any phone call. The Great One, Wayne Gretzky, was on the other end. Gretzky, the managing partner of the NHL's Phoenix Coyotes, called Wheeler the No. 5 overall pick by the Coyotes in the 2004 NHL draft to give him a lift.

"We got off to a rough start, and he was just saying that he's been through it before, and you just have Green Bay Gamblers forward Blake Wheeler, the No. 5 overall pick in the 2004 NHL draft, has learned to use his size more effectively this season. Evan SieglePress-Gazette Visit our! Web www.grBenbaypreatgazatta.com.