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O'Leary joins AP All-State five

Photo

Photo by Dan Lassiter

Parker's Catie O'Leary drives by Verona's Aly Bucierka on Saturday night in the WIAA sectional final game in Wilmot.

Catie O’Leary didn’t get the opportunity to showcase her basketball skills at the WIAA state tournament.

But the Janesville Parker High School junior sensation did more than enough during the season to warrant all-state recognition.

The 5-foot-11 O’Leary has been named first-team all-state by The Associated Press. She is joined on the first team by Oostburg senior Megan Van Tatenhove, Milwaukee Vincent senior Destinee Blue, Grafton senior Rachael Hencke and Ripon junior Taylor Wurtz.

Van Tatenhove, who will play Division I basketball St. Bonaventure, is the Player of the Year after leading Oostburg to an undefeated season and the Division 3 state title. Oostburg’s Tom DePagter is the Coach of the Year.

Delavan-Darien senior Kelly Supernaw is a third-team selection after leading the Comets to Division 2 sectional finals.

O’Leary, a two-time Player of the Year in the Big Eight Conference, put together another impressive season. She led state Division 1 schools in scoring with a 19.4 average and helped Parker’s 20-3 team win a fourth straight conference title.

O’Leary saved her best basketball for the end of the season, putting together back-to-back 28-point games in regional and sectional wins.

Parker coach Tom Klawitter said he was glad The Associated Press voters, a panel of statewide sports writers, didn’t penalize or forget about O’Leary because the Vikings didn’t reach the state tournament.

“You never know about picking all-state teams because sometimes that’s the only chance people get to see kids play,” Klawitter said. “But I think anyone who followed basketball in the state knew who Catie O’Leary was.”

O’Leary is the fourth Parker player to earn AP first-team all-state recognition. Mistie Bass (Williams) was a three-time state Player of the Year in 2000-2002, Nya Geschke was first team in 2000, and Jennah Burkholder was two-time first-team selection (1992-93) and the Player of the Year in 1993.

“Anytime you get all-state recognition, it’s a pretty good accomplishment,” Klawitter said. “The thing that sticks out about all of ours is that each one of them worked hard on their games in order to get to that level.

“Catie, with the solid cast of characters we lose this year, will work even harder this off-season. She knows what she needs to improve on, and she will really work at that.”

The 5-10 Supernaw helped Delavan-Darien win the school’s first Southern Lakes Conference championship since 1985. The Comets finished 22-2 and lost 49-46 on a last-second three-point basket to eventual Division 2 state champion Monroe in the sectional finals.

Supernaw averaged 16.9 points a game, including an area-high 35 against Beloit Memorial in a nonconference win.

Delavan-Darien coach Keiya Square said it’s going to be impossible to replace the three-starter.

“Kelly helped bring respectability back to our program,” Square said. “We won more games this year than the program’s won in probably the last 10 years (combined).

“What people don’t understand about Kelly is that when she played as a freshman, she was a post player because she had to be. Not many kids can go from the post to a guard and be good at it, but Kelly did.

“She could knock down the mid-range jumper, drive to the basket or shoot the three. She’s a complete player.”