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Goodman-Armstrong ice fishing team nets success in first outing

THE GOODMAN-ARMSTRONG Creek School District’s ice fishing team, from left, includes Stan Maruszczak Jr., Colby Nelson, Jared Knutson, Rachel Ziolkowski holding her winning fish “Lil’ Wally,” Trevor Kalkofen, DevIn Kowalkowski and Caleb Nelson

GOODMAN — Students from the Goodman-Armstrong Creek School District, under the volunteer direction and guidance of their athletic director/physical education teacher Brian Esqueda, recently formed their first-ever ice fishing team.

Esqueda gathered the team long before daylight Saturday morning, followed close behind by Jody Kalkofen towing a trailer load of team equipment. The team headed west to the Dairyland Flowage near Ladysmith, Wis., for its first team event.

They assembled on the ice, meeting teams and students from across Wisconsin.

“Our crew fished with great enthusiasm,” Esqueda said, “despite a slow, relatively unproductive day of fishing.”

Rachel Ziolkowski’s walleye was the lone fish landed by the team for the day, but later that afternoon, that walleye proved to be quite important for the team. At final registration, Ziolkowski learned she had caught the only walleye of the day, beating out about 150 other students.

Her fish, dubbed “Lil’ Wally,” earned her top honors in the walleye division, winning her several nice prizes.

“Well, he wasn’t very big and he wasn’t very pretty,” Ziolkowski later said, “but he was just enough to whup those boys!”

The team was sponsored by a generous donation by the GACHS Varsity Club, along with contributions by local businesses to cover all transportation costs and entry fees.

Future donations would be appreciated and can be dropped off at the school district office.

The team’s next adventure will be a journey to Ashland, Wis., to join the Wisconsin Army National Guard-sponsored “Battle of the Bay” on the Chequamegon Bay.

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