Dodgeville School District

The Dodgeville School District is headquartered in the city of Dodgeville, Wisconsin. It serves students from Dodgeville and Ridgeway and consists of four schools: two elementary schools, one middle school, and one high school.

One elementary school is located in Dodgeville, the other in Ridgeway. The Dodgeville school serves students in pre-K through 4th grade, while the Ridgeway school serves those in pre-K through 5th grade. The middle school serves grades 6 through 8, while the high school serves grades 9 through 12.

History

The first settlements in Dodgeville began around 1827. By 1833, the first teacher, Robert Beyer, had arrived, and "before a year passed (he) had convinced the parents of Dodgeville to pay for a teacher for their children."^[1] The first school house was named the "Old Rock School", and the first teacher, Mary Carrier, arrived in 1834. She later married, becoming Mary Carrier Ranger. The school district grew and in 1850, split into two districts, the Grove School, and the Old Rock School. They formed a fierce rivalry in education and sports. A new "grammar hall" was established in 1864 that combined the two districts.^[2] Classes for the new district were held in the old town hall.^[2] Merril Fellows became the very first principal of the Dodgeville School District in 1863.

Professor J.W. Livingston, a well-known teacher in southwestern Wisconsin, taught at Dodgeville between 1877 and 1890. A new high school that "ranked with the best in the state" was built in 1881.^[2] Four students received their diplomas in 1883, were the first to be awarded in Dodgeville.^[2] $7000 was spent on improvements in 1891, providing a kindergarten, better equipment, and furnishings for the school.^[2] A new high school was built next to the old one in 1906. This building eventually became the middle school and was demolished in 2004. A new high school was built in 1939 to provide more space for students. The current high school building was built in 1962, and the current middle school building in 1994. Ridgeway High School and Dodgeville High School combined into a single entity in Dodgeville in 1963.

A special education program was started in 1965 to provide on the job training for students.

Sports

The Dodgeville School District sports teams are known as the Dodgeville Dodgers, with the letter "D" used for the team symbol. Previously, the district had used the icon, "Dodger Dan". Because the figure was controversial in that it represented only the male population, it was dropped.

Conference membership

Dodgeville High School athletics have belonged to the following conferences:

• Southwest Wisconsin League: 1924/1925 - 1970/71
• Southern 8: 1970/71 - 1986/1987
• Southwest Wisconsin Athletic League I: 1987/1988 - 2004/2005
• Southwest Wisconsin Conference: 2005/2006–present

Football

Scott Tolzman is the head coach of the Dodgeville Dodgers football team, succeeding Mike Beranek in 2008. Beranek had coached the team from 1999 to 2007, leading the team to two conference championships and four playoff appearances.

Rivalry

The Dodgeville and Mineral Point football rivalry is one of the oldest in Wisconsin,^{[citation needed]} with games between the two teams traced back to 1898. This rivalry holds the record for most games played between the two schools in Wisconsin, although it is not the oldest rivalry in Wisconsin high school football. This rivalry has lost some of its edge over recent years because Dodgeville and Mineral Point cooperate in many sports, such as soccer, cross country, and gymnastics.

Conference championships

• Southwest Wisconsin Athletic League:
  • 2002 (co-champions), 2003
• Southern 8:
  • 1986
• Southwest Wisconsin League (SWL)
  • 1951 (co-champions), 1958 (co-champions), 1963

• Play Off Appearances:
  • 2002, 2003, 2007, 2008

Boys' basketball

Boys' basketball was the first sport the school district adopted as an extra-curricular activity, beginning in the late 1890s. Because of its longevity and popularity, boys' basketball is the most decorated of the school's sports teams. The current Head Coach is Ryan Bohnsack. Coach Bohnsack took over from retiring Coach Tank for the 2008-2009 season.

Chuck Tank coached the Dodgeville Dodgers until 2008, for 18 consecutive seasons, compiling an overall record of 284-141. The team has won seven regional championships, three sectional championships, and has made three state appearances under his leadership.

The 1964 state championship, the only in Dodger basketball history, was a huge victory for small schools in Wisconsin, as there was only one athletic division at the time. Dodgeville, a small school, beat out the larger school, Milwaukee North, 59-45 for the victory.

State championships

• 1964: 59-45 over Milwaukee North
  • Record: 26-0
  • Coach: John "Weenie" Wilson

State tournament records

• Most 3-point field goal attempts in a game:
  • Division 2 - 29 attempts in 2004

Conference championships

• Southwest Wisconsin League
  • 1925-1926, 1939–1940, 1946–1947, 1951–1952, 1957–1958, 1958–1959, 1962–1963, 1963–1964, 1967–1968, 1968–1969, 1969–1970, 1970–1971
• Southern 8
  • 1972-1973, 1977–1978
• Southwest Wisconsin Athletic League
  • 1992-1993, 1993-1994 (co-champions), 2002–2003, 2003–2004, 2004–2005
• Southwest Wisconsin Conference (SWC)
  • 2006-2007 (co-champions)

Girls' basketball

Dodgeville High School had a girls' basketball team during the early 1900s, but it was dropped because of lack of participation. During the 1940s, the Girls Athletic Association, or G.A.A., offered girls a chance to participate in intramural athletics. The sport of choice for Dodgeville in GAA was basketball. Each class formed a team, competing against the others, with a champion determined at the end of the season. The Dodgeville School District brought girls' basketball back for the 1974-1975 season. The 2006-2007 basketball team "made history for the Dodgeville girls basketball program [as] no other Dodger squad [had] ever advanced as far as the sectional finals."^[3] Josh Busch is the head coach.

Conference championships

• Southwest Wisconsin Athletic League:
  • 1990-1991

Baseball

Baseball was one of the original three sports at Dodgeville High School. Over the years, the baseball team has played at times in the fall, spring, and summer. Baseball returned to spring play in 1982 for the first time since the 1960s. The 2004 Dodger baseball team outscored its regular season opponents 184-61. Including post-season play, the Dodgers outscored their opponents for a combined score of 203-70.

Currently, the Head coaching position is available.

Conference championships

• Southwest Wisconsin League:
  • 1949, 1962
• Southwest Wisconsin Athletic League I
  • 1992

State records

Steve Vivian, in 1988, connected with 13 consecutive pitches to set a state record. He was also ranked fifth all-time in the nation for hits.

Softball

The Dodgeville softball program began in 1983. The team has made the state playoffs twice, including a second place finish in 1994 and 2000. Gene Van Dyke is the softball head coach.

State appearances

• 2000: Victory over New Berlin/Eisenhower 4-0 / Loss to Hortonville 8-4
• 1994: State runner-ups: round 1 win; round 2 loss to Southern Door 0-8

Conference championships

• Southwest Wisconsin Athletic League I
  • 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1999, 2000, 2002 (co-champions), 2003, 2004

Volleyball

The Dodgeville volleyball program began in 1973. The volleyball team has earned state championships three times, in 1995, 1996, and 1999, and were conference champions in 2001.

Boys' cross country

Dodgeville and Mineral Point have a joint cross country team, which began in 1992. Dennis McGraw is the coach.

Conference championships

• Southwest Wisconsin League
  • 1966, 1967, 1969
• Southern 8:
  • 1972, 1973, 1974
• Southwest Wisconsin Athletic League I:
  • 2004
• Southwest Wisconsin Conference
  • 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008

Girls' cross country

The Dodgeville girls' cross country team has made the state race for 15 straight seasons (1996–2010), earning three championships and two runner-up victories. The program is one of the most successful in Southwestern Wisconsin.

The team was formed in the early 1980s when Michelle Price joined the cross country team. As the only girl on the team, she brought popularity to the sport. The team's numbers began to grow and by 1982 there were three members on the team. By 1985, Dodgeville fielded a full varsity girls' cross country team. Denny McGraw and Joe Hanson are the coaches for the team. Denny McGraw was named the District 5 Coach of the Year in 2002.

Conference championships

• Southwest Wisconsin Athletic League I
  • 1989, 1990, 1991, 1996, 1997, 1998, 2000 (co-champions), 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004
• Southwest Wisconsin Conference
  • 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010

Boys' soccer

The Dodgeville High School soccer program was established in 1998 in response to student demand. The head coach is Bill Faltz. Mineral Point currently co-ops with Dodgeville for boys' soccer. The team made its first appearance in the state playoffs on November 7, 2008 against Catholic Memorial High School.

Conference championships

• Southwest Wisconsin Conference
  • 2005

Girls' soccer

The girls' soccer coach is Dave Bakker.

Conference championships

• SWC
  • 2006 (co-champions)

Wrestling

Wrestling was first offered at Dodgeville in 1963. The team had its first undefeated season in 1970-71. Tim Wunnicke is the wrestling coach (2007–present).

Conference championships

• Southwest Athletic League I:
  • 2004-2005 (Co)
• Southwest Wisconsin Conference:
  • 2006-2007

Team records

• Winn streaks
  • T.J. Wunnicke: 89 consecutive wins^[4]

State Placing Wrestlers: 1978 Terry Halverson 4th place 126 lbs, 1981 Paul McGraw 2nd place 138 lbs, 1984 Tom Gottschalk 3rd place 185 lbs, 1985 Ron Dentinger 4th place 155 lbs, 1988 Mike Edl 5th place 103 lbs, 1989 Mike Edl 2nd place 103 lbs, 1990 Mike Edl 2nd place 112 lbs, 1990 Kurt Rule 3rd place 125 lbs, 1991 Harry Hellen 5th place 135 lbs, 1992 Harry Hellen 3rd place 130 lbs, 2001 Jason Hughes State Champ 145 lbs, 2003 Jerad Meuer 6th place 140 lbs, 2005 Bobby Wunnicke State Champ 103 lbs, 2005 TJ Wunnicke 5th place 112 lbs, 2006 TJ Wunnicke State Champ 119 lbs, 2006 Bobby Wunnicke 2nd place 112 lbs, 2006 Grant Sutter 4th place 103 lbs, 2007 Grant Sutter State Champ 103 lbs, 2007 Bobby Wunnicke State Champ 119 lbs, 2007 Grant Miller 2nd place 160 lbs, TJ Wunnicke 3rd place 125 lbs 2008 Grant Sutter State Champ 112 lbs, 2008 Bobby Wunnicke State Champ 125 lbs, 2008 Grant Miller State Champ 171 lbs.

Gymnastics

Gymnastics was first made available to students at Dodgeville in the 1973-1974 season. The program was expanded in 1992-1993 when Dodgeville began a co-op with the Mineral Point gymnastics team in an effort to cope with declining participation.

Golf

Golf was first offered as a sport in 1962. Jeff Bradley is the head golf coach at Dodgeville High School (1998–present).

Conference championships

• Southwest Wisconsin League
  • 1970 (co-champions), 1976

• Southern 8
  • 1977
• Southwest Wisconsin Athletic League I
  • 1995, 2002

Boys' track

Dodgeville and Mineral Point began a co-op in 1992. Joe Hanson is the head track coach.

Conference championships

• Southern 8
  • 1974

State appearances

• 1954: Class C runner-ups
  • Dodgeville: Points ?
  • Coach Robert Dull

Girls' track

Joe Hanson is the head track coach.

Special Olympics

Bowling team

• 2000
  • Danny Berg and Ross Jones
    • Silver at state tournament
• 2001
  • Danny Berg, Hannah Thomas, Chad Colson, and Ross Jones
    • 7th at state tournament

References

1. ^ Dodger 1939, p. 2
2. ^ ^{a b c d e} Dodger 1939, p. 3
3. ^ Doye
4. ^ Kaebish. "On Feb. 23, 2007, T.J. Wunnicke's "89-match winning streak (came to an end) when he lost a 5-3 decision to Ellsworth's Jordan Foy in the semifinals of the 125-pound weight class at the WIAA Division 2 state tournament."

• "The Dodger": Yearbooks from multiple years ranging from 1909–2006
• "The Dodger 1939: Pages 2-3, History of the School District
• Dodgeville School District Athletic Director Records
• Doye, Joelle. "What a ride for Dodgers girls." The Dodgeville Chronicle March 8, 2007.
• Kaebish, Mike. "Dodgeville Trio Sticks Together." Wisconsin State Journal Sports. D7. February 24, 2007.
• WIAA: Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association: http://www.wiaawi.org
• Wisconsin Football Coaches Association: http://www.wifca.org
• Source of some standings and scores: Southwest Wisconsin Conference: http://www.swcwisconsin.com/
• Second source of records and standings: http://www.wissports.net

External links

• Dodgeville School District website