By Jared Schmeltzer
Reporter
Merrill boys basketball senior point guard and UW Oshkosh basketball commit Quinn Steckbauer, is the latest Bluejay to join the 1,000 point club.
Steckbauer scored his 1,000th point on Jan. 22 in a conference game against Wausau West, where he would total 14 points. Prior to the season ending Steckbauer added 252 more points to his total, making him second in Merrill’s All-Time leading scorers list with 1,259 points, behind only Paul Jesperson who scored 1,696.
“It’s a really cool accomplishment.” said Steckbauer, “Growing up I always looked up to guys like Paul and David (Jesperson) and basketball soon became my passion. To see that result at the end of my high school career is awesome.”
Steckbauer was recently selected to the Division 2 WBCA (Wisconsin Basketball Coaches Association) All-Star game, which will take place on June 15, at Just a Game fieldhouse in Wisconsin Dells. “It’s nice to be selected to participate in the All-Star game, but the main purpose of this game is to raise money for the MACC (Midwest Athletes against Childhood Cancer) fund,” Quinn adds. To play in the game Steckbauer must first raise $500 for the MACC fund. Anyone who wishes to donate on Quinn’s behalf may do so at www.wisbca.org/allstar-game/donation-banner/.
After three short years of varsity basketball Steckbauer will continue his playing days in college, however he won’t forget his high school experience, saying; “I’m going to miss playing with my teammates, especially my fellow seniors who I’ve played with my whole basketball career. I’ll also miss coach Schalow. He did such great things for this program and I loved playing for him.”
With college interest coming from schools such as UW LaCrosse, Wisconsin Lutheran, Ripen College, St. Norberts and Lakeland College, Steckbauer elected to attend UW Oshkosh. “It has a little bit to do with the major I want to pursue (pre-med).” adds Steckbauer, “I also really like the coach there and I feel like with the system they run it will be a great fit for my playing style.”
