Hononegah co-ops with Beloit on high school hockey
Students at Hononegah will now be able to compete for spots on the Beloit High School hockey teams.
On Tuesday, April 25, 2023, the Board of Control for the Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association voted to approve Beloit Memorial High School, the Rock County Fury and Hononegah High School to create cooperative hockey teams for the 2023-24 school year. This means Hononegah students will have the chance to be a part of both the boys and girls hockey teams.
This process has taken about a year and a half. It started with a group of athletes and the parents talking with Hononegah about the options and then the school and parents working together to get approval from the IHSA, Hononegah School Board, the Beloit School District and WIAA.
Speaking with Assistant Athletic Director Andrew Walters earlier today, he stated “This gives the students an opportunity to compete at the high school level”. This cooperative does not guarantee any spots or number of spots within the Beloit Memorial or Rock County Fury hockey programs. What it does is gives the students an opportunity to try out and compete on the high school level.
In March, Michael Dugan, Hononegah School District Superintendent, told us, “The district is always open to giving students opportunities.”
This chance for Hononegah students does not stop them from still competing for the club teams that many players already compete on.
Beloit was open to the idea as they are looking to grow their program by having more players come into their program.
The Wisconsin high school hockey season ends for both the Boys and Girls at the Bob Suter Capitol Ice Arena – Middleton, Wisconsin
Boys Hockey February 29, March 1-2
Girls Hockey February 29 & March 2
The pre-season begins November 6th and the earliest game is November 17th
The Beloit Memorial Boys hockey program competes in the Big Eight Conference with Janesville, Madison La Follete/Madison East, Madison Memorial, Madison West, Middleton, Sun Prairie and Verona. Last season the Purple Knights were 8-14 overall and 1-11 in conference play. They are coached by James Hoey and his assistants are Mark Katalin and David Wandell.
The Rock County hockey program is made up of schools and kids mostly in the Rock County Wisconsin area. The Fury compete in the Badger Conference and are coached by Luke Stuerer and his assistant is Samantha Corrigan.
Thank you to the IHSA, WIAA, Hononegah School District, Beloit School District, Andrew Walters, Michael Dugan, Jonathan Dupuis and Michael McGinnis for the information for the story.
