WolfPack basketball players earn recognition

Clarion staff report

Three men’s basketball players, two women’s basketball players and one coach have all received post-season recognition for Madison College.

The men’s basketball team made it to the championship of the NJCAA Region IV tournament before losing to top-ranked Rock Valley College.

Jerrod Walton, Kristian Zimmerman and Kendale Nation helped lead the team in the tournament, and all three were named to the NJCAA Region IV all-tournament team. In addition, Walton was named to the North Central Community College Conference first team all-conference team.

Walton, a freshman, led the team in four statistical areas. He averaged 15.9 points a game and 7.3 rebounds a game, recording eight double-double games. He also led the team with 78 assists and 44 blocked shots.

Nation, a second-year transfer student, and Zimmerman, a freshman, both had strong performances in the two-game regional tournament. Nation scored 21 points and had seven rebounds, while Zimmerman scored 22 points and had seven rebounds.

The men’s basketball team ended the season 20-11 overall and 7-7 in conference play, good for a fourth-place finish. It was a big turnaround from the team’s 1-13 conference record in 2013-14, and earned coach Scot Vesterdahl conference co-coach of the year honors.

The honor is Vesterdahl’s first coaching accolade since winning coach of the year honors for the Wisconsin Junior College Athletic Association in 2008-09. In his 13 years of coaching, Vesterdahl has a 239-223 record.

Finally, two women’s basketball players earned all-conference honors for their efforts this season. Freshman Taylor Nelson was named first team all-conference, while sophomore Kelly Calhoun was named second team all-conference.

Nelson, who was also named the NJCAA Region IV Division III all-region team and all tournament team, led the WolfPack in scoring with 17. 4 points a game and in steals with 80.She was second on the team in rebounds with 5.6 a game and assists with 4.5 a game.

Calhoun was third in scoring at 11.2 points a game, led the team in assists with 4.8 a game and was second in steals with 63 for the season.

Madison College finished the season 22-7 overall and 11-3 in conference play.