St. Croix Casino Danbury - Danbury Hosts Siren Sports Banquet

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“You Made History”
St. Croix Chippewa of Wisconsin Sponsor Siren Fall Sports Banquet November 1

November 1 was a special night for Siren Dragon athletics: The Siren girls’ volleyball team and the boys’ football team and their parents, relatives and friends were honored guests at the Siren Fall Sports Banquet. Sponsored by the St. Croix Chippewa of Wisconsin and hosted by St. Croix Casino Danbury, the banquet program honored both teams and their individual team members for their achievements.

The evening began with a welcome from St. Croix Casino Danbury General Manager Leva “Dino” Oustigoff. “You made history this year,” Mr. Oustigoff said, referring to the football team’s playoff appearance. “The St. Croix tribe has always been honored to support Siren athletics,” Mr. Oustigoff added. “I personally have also worked with most of you in this room at some time or other. Congratulations to all of you.”

After a buffet dinner, volleyball coach Caryn Stanford thanked the volleyball team for a great season. “Although we didn’t win a lot of games, we competed hard and made a lot of progress,” she said. “I’m proud of all of the girls who participated.” Coach Stanford also praised the volleyball program’s training program. “We have an excellent training program,” she said. “Without it, we wouldn’t be able to play as hard as we do.” She thanked the parents of the members of the volleyball team for giving the girls support at home. She also thanked the St. Croix tribe for its ongoing support of Siren High School’s athletic programs.

She then introduced the team’s award winners and letter recipients. Winner of the Determination Award was Liz Brown, Kyaisha Kettula received the Hustle Till You Drop Award, Carly Good took home the Mental Toughness Award and Brittany Coulter was honored as team MVP.

Letter recipients were Elizabeth Brown, Brittany Coulter, Raven Emery, Carly Good, Amber Hall, Emily Howe, Kyaisha Kettula, Abigail Mitchell, Amber Moore, Mackenzie Smith, Jessica Strabel and Whitney Yambreck

“You made history” resonated in the hall again as head football coach Bill Hoefler took the podium. “You went to the playoffs. This is the first year that a Siren High School football team has made the playoffs since 1983.” Coach Hoefler added that the football team had received a plaque recognizing its achievement in making the playoffs. “The plaque will be prominently displayed at the school,” he said. “We have room at the school for a lot more plaques like this. I know this won’t be the last one we earn.”

Coach Hoefler thanked the St. Croix tribe for its longtime support for the athletic programs at Siren. He also thanked Coaches Dorn, Taylor and Anton; the athletic trainers, Stacy and Megan; the families of the players; and the community of Siren and the entire faculty of Siren Schools for their support of the football program.

Following a detailed recap of the team’s history-making season, Coach Hoefler and Coach Dorn handed out certificates of participation to all team members and varsity letters to players who had earned them. Letter winners were Corey Bauer, Andrew Brown, Jared Emery, Will Haines, Elijah Hinze, Daine Jewell, Shay Johnson, Josh Lemieux, Nathan Martin, Jade Merrill, Reuben Mixsooke, Caleb Mulroy, Evan Oachs, Devan Pavlicek, Kody Pettis, Zach Powers, Murdock Smith, Lucas Stiemann and Isaac Wegner.

Coach Hoefler also presented trophies to four award-winners chosen by their teammates. Sophomore Ethan Java was voted Most Improved Player, junior Reuben Mixsooke was chosen the Biggest Hitter and senior Evan Oachs took home two honors, the Most Valuable Offensive Player award and the Most Valuable Defensive Player award.

Evan Oachs wasn’t finished collecting hardware. For the second year in a row, Evan won the Coaches’ Award, presented by the coaches to the player who best displays leadership and commitment. “Evan truly exemplifies what a student athlete is,” Coach Hoefler said. “He’s just an all-around good kid, both athletically and academically.”

Coach Hoefler concluded by saying that the season had been dedicated to Coach Bill Sargent. “All of the team members signed a game ball for every win this year. We’ll be presenting Coach Sargent these game balls as soon as we can,” he said.

Everyone deserved a game ball on November 1. The players, the coaches, the faculty members at Siren High School, the families and community and the St. Croix Chippewa of Wisconsin all work together to help ensure the ongoing success of the Siren athletic program. The successful 2011 football and volleyball seasons at Siren High School are proof of that.