Two alumni from our league, Senior Katie Dries (Catholic Memorial) and Freshman Cassie Schultz (Knightmares - formerly Kettle Moraine) are playing leading roles for Winona State Women's Rugby, the #2 ranked team in Division 2 (Goff Rugby Report). What's impressive about this feat is Winona has accomplished this while being a club sport and not a Varsity program.
Katie is one of the best flyhalfs our league has ever produced and was a 4 year starter for Nationally ranked Catholic Memorial HS as well as for the Black Katts. Like many CMH backs she is small of stature but a ferocious and technically sound tackler.
Her High School Coach, John Waliszewski (Wally) stated, "Katie was such a joy to coach; always positive, thoughtful, and caring for her teammates. More than her skills, her composure on and off the field was a part of her greatness . She never got rattled and her expectations of greatness in herself and her teammates was contagious. She's 3rd all-time in points scored for CMHS with 272. She is the all-time leader in all CMH kicking categories with 123 conversions, 1 drop goal, and 6 penalty conversions. One of my favorite memories was playing in the High School Sevens Challenge at the CRC in Philadelphia, Her first drop kick kickoff was so incredible that it went out the back of the try-zone. The ref was so surprised he incorrectly assumed she must have punted it instead of drop kicked it, so he gave the other team a free kick at the halfway line."
Her High School Position Coach (and WI U19 Backs Coachs), Alex Glorioso stated, "Simply put, she is the kid with the golden boot. Best kicker I've ever seen play and one of the easiest kids to coach. She never played for the all star team since she spends her Summer's up north on a ski team where she was the skier on top of the pyramid and did a bunch of other strange water skiing tricks."
The accolades do not stop there as Winona State Head Coach Josh Krzewinski stated. "When Katie came out her second semester of her freshman year, I was thrilled. With her at the helm, we could develop one of the best back lines in the country. Katie brings a calmness to the game, and sees the field extremely well. Her talent has elevated our backline tremendously. Katie is one of the best kickers I have seen at the women’s college level, hands down. Her ability to bring the kicking game to our offense has opened up so many avenues for the team. Having a mobile flyhalf with a solid pass and skillful foot such as Katie creates problems for defenses
Her High School Coach, John Waliszewski (Wally) stated, "Katie was such a joy to coach; always positive, thoughtful, and caring for her teammates. More than her skills, her composure on and off the field was a part of her greatness . She never got rattled and her expectations of greatness in herself and her teammates was contagious. She's 3rd all-time in points scored for CMHS with 272. She is the all-time leader in all CMH kicking categories with 123 conversions, 1 drop goal, and 6 penalty conversions. One of my favorite memories was playing in the High School Sevens Challenge at the CRC in Philadelphia, Her first drop kick kickoff was so incredible that it went out the back of the try-zone. The ref was so surprised he incorrectly assumed she must have punted it instead of drop kicked it, so he gave the other team a free kick at the halfway line."
Her High School Position Coach (and WI U19 Backs Coachs), Alex Glorioso stated, "Simply put, she is the kid with the golden boot. Best kicker I've ever seen play and one of the easiest kids to coach. She never played for the all star team since she spends her Summer's up north on a ski team where she was the skier on top of the pyramid and did a bunch of other strange water skiing tricks."
The accolades do not stop there as Winona State Head Coach Josh Krzewinski stated. "When Katie came out her second semester of her freshman year, I was thrilled. With her at the helm, we could develop one of the best back lines in the country. Katie brings a calmness to the game, and sees the field extremely well. Her talent has elevated our backline tremendously. Katie is one of the best kickers I have seen at the women’s college level, hands down. Her ability to bring the kicking game to our offense has opened up so many avenues for the team. Having a mobile flyhalf with a solid pass and skillful foot such as Katie creates problems for defenses
Another alumni who is having a major impact in her first year at Winona State is Freshman Cassie Schultz from the Knightmares (formerly Kettle Moraine). Cassie started playing for Kettle Moraine in 8th grade and was a starter her entire career in high school. She played 4 years for the U19 All-Stars and was invited to the USA U20 camp in May, 2014 after after her Junior year. After attending the camp she tore her ACL while playing for the WI U19 All-Stars in the MW tournament. She worked very hard to rehab her knee and started at Outside Center for the WI U24 team and was invited to and participated in the Midwest U24 camp in April, She finished her High School career playing for the WI U19 All-Stars again last summer. She loves to intercept passes and usually has several she returns for tries each season.
She started as soon as she set foot on the Winona State campus, currently playing Outside Center for the Black Katts. Former Kettle Moraine Coach, current Winona State Men's coach and WI U19 girls coach Jeff Noe had this to say about Cassie, "Cassie started her spring semester of eighth grade. Ironically she started as a sub at Hooker however her speed, ball handling skills and vision for the game keep getting her moved out into the back line. She is a dedicated player and is always looking to have fun at practice and compete.
Winona State head coach Josh stated, "Cassie finds herself in the right places at the right time. Her support play is second to none, and that has created so many try’s for her this season. When I saw Cassie play at the high school championships a few years back, I knew I wanted to have her be part of our backline. Winona is known for its fast, strong centers and she has already been a huge impact player for us. One of the great things Cassie brings to us is her ability to play multiple spots. She is most comfortable at the center role, but she has filled in at flyhalf, and I am confident I could use her at flanker, hook, or 8, should we need to. Cassie is a strong powerful runner. But she displays a great ability to exploit gaps and either draw defenders into her or spin the ball wide to a teammate. She is an exciting player to watch on the pitch.
We wish Winona State, Cassie and Katie the best of luck this year. It's looking like a D2 Championship game against Varsity club Davenport of Grand Rapids, MI.
Winona State head coach Josh stated, "Cassie finds herself in the right places at the right time. Her support play is second to none, and that has created so many try’s for her this season. When I saw Cassie play at the high school championships a few years back, I knew I wanted to have her be part of our backline. Winona is known for its fast, strong centers and she has already been a huge impact player for us. One of the great things Cassie brings to us is her ability to play multiple spots. She is most comfortable at the center role, but she has filled in at flyhalf, and I am confident I could use her at flanker, hook, or 8, should we need to. Cassie is a strong powerful runner. But she displays a great ability to exploit gaps and either draw defenders into her or spin the ball wide to a teammate. She is an exciting player to watch on the pitch.
We wish Winona State, Cassie and Katie the best of luck this year. It's looking like a D2 Championship game against Varsity club Davenport of Grand Rapids, MI.