Top 10: The All-Walworth County Basketball Team

By Dan Plutchak/The Week

Both led their teams to the brink of a state tournament birth, and now they've been named Walworth County's prep basketball players of the year.

Alex Bondar, a senior at East Troy High School, and Kelly Supernaw, a senior at Delavan-Darien High School, top the list of the '07-'08 All-Walworth County Basketball Teams. The teams are selected annually by Walworth County coaches and members of the media.

They join first-team members:

-- Jimmy Merrit, senior, Badger

-- Eric Bryson, junior, Elkhorn

-- Kyle Jones, senior, East Troy

-- Miles Hookstead, junior, Whitewater

-- Megan Theune, senior, Whitewater

-- Ashlyn Anderson, junior, Elkhorn

-- Leah Harms, senior, Whitewater

-- Megan Hovestol, senior, Williams Bay

Click HERE for a list of previous players of the year

Bondar led his Trojans to the WIAA Division 2 Sectional Final, where they lost a heartbreaker to defending state champion Monroe 54-53.

Bondar shared player of the year honors in the Southern Lakes Conference with teammate Kyle Jones, and was selected to his all-conference first team for the second year in a row.

The 6-foot-8-inch center was the dominant force for the Trojan team that finished the season ranked No. 1 on the Associated Press Division 2 poll.

"It's an honor because there's so many good players on the team," Bondar said of being named player of the year.

Bondar, who had a reputation as the best big man in the county, is modest about his accomplishments.

He says he spent nearly every day in the weight room, then onto the court practicing his shot.

"Being 6-foot-8-inch doesn't hurt either," Bondar said.

But with as much success as he's had on the court as a four-year varsity starter, Bondar has made his impression off the court as well.

"As good as he was this year as a basketball player, he's an even better person," said coach Darin Lottig. "He's a great young man with a bright future in basketball."

He'll take his game to UW-Platteville next year, where he plans to study mechanical engineering.

That means Walworth County fans haven't seen the last of Bondar.

Platteville competes in the WIAC, which will include road games to UW-Whitewater.

Although he's ready for the next challenge, it will be hard to leave East Troy High School. "It's been a lot of fun," he says.

Kelly Supernaw's dream of a trip to the WIAA Division 2 state tournament came to an end at the hands of Monroe as well.

The Comets fell to the eventual state champion Cheesemakers 49-46.

Despite the disappointment of the season-ending loss, Supernaw was excited to be named player of the year.

She said she's kept track over the years and watched players that she's looked up to win the award. Now she's joined them.

Supernaw says lots of hard work and dedication went into her development as a player. "I gave up a lot," she said, about spending nearly all of her free time in the gym working on her game.

Keiya Square, her coach, says that competitiveness rubbed off on her teammates.

"At the beginning of the season, Kelly would still be in the gym by herself after practice," Square said.

Supernaw's teammates noticed. By the end of the season, Square said the gym was full with other girls on the team putting in time after practice.

The extra work paid off, with the Comets finishing the season ranked No. 5 in the Associated Press Division 2 poll.

Supernaw says she already misses the routine of basketball, but is looking ahead to life after Delavan-Darien High School.

Supernaw says she has her list of schools for next year whittled down to four: Concordia University in St. Paul, Michigan Tech, UW-Milwaukee and the University of Maine.

Even though Supernaw has finished her high school career, Square says the example she set should be with the team for a long time.

The rest of the first-teamers had productive seasons as well.

Bondar's Trojan team mate Kyle Jones, a 6-foot-4-inch senior guard, finished his high school career with an even 1,000 points and was a first team All-Southern Lakes Conference selection.

Badger High's Jimmy Merrit, a 5-foot-9-inch senior guard, led his team to their first WIAA state tournament appearance since 1999. Merrit, the Lakeshore Conference player of the year, finished the season with 382 points.

Eric Bryson, a 6-foot-2-inch junior guard at Elkhorn Area High School, was ranked the 40th best player in his class by the prep basketball Web site www.wishoops.net. He was also a first team All-Southern Lakes Conference selection.

Whitewater junior Miles Hookstead, a 6-foot-4-inch junior center, has been a three-year starter for the Whippets. He was a first team All-Southern Lakes Conference selection.

The Whitewater girls team that finished second to Delavan-Darien in the Southern Lakes Conference placed two on the all-county team.

Megan Theune, a 5-foot-10-inch senior guard, led her team in points, free throws, rebounds, blocks and three-point baskets.

Her teammate, 5-foot-6-inch senior guard Leah Harms was the team co-MVP with Theune. She also broke the 1984 record for most assists in a season as well as setting a record for most career assists.

Elkhorn's Ashlyn Anderson, a 6-foot junior forward finished the season with 310 points and was a first team All-Southern Lakes Conference selection.

Megan Hovestol, a 5-foot-6-inch senior guard for Williams Bay, was a first team All-Trailways South Conference selection. She was second in the conference in steals, and was selected to the Wisconsin Basketball Coaches Association Division 4 All-Star game.

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