Cameron Weiland, Lakeside Lutheran senior and son of Dan and Laurie Weiland, Fall River, signed his national letter of intent to run cross country for the University of Wisconsin–Green Bay, a Division 1 school.
A four-year state championship qualifier, Weiland participated as an individual in the modified format of the fall of 2020 and then led his teams to the state championship meet in his sophomore, junior, and senior seasons. In all three seasons where the conference meet was held, Weiland was a first team all-conference athlete and won the Capitol North individual title both his junior and senior seasons. He also won the individual sectional title for three straight seasons between 2021 and 2023. At the state championship, Weiland set a new program best for individual placing in 2021 with his thirteenth place finish. He improved to twelfth in 2022 and then fifth place this past fall where he was recognized as a second team all-state runner—a first in program history. He also served as a team captain his senior year and set a new program best time over the 5,000 meter distance with a time of 15:19.
Weiland was also part of the Lakeside Lutheran 2023 D2 State Championship Track and Field team, running in the 2-mile and placing 2nd as part of the 4×800 relay team.
“Cameron completed his cross country career as one of the most decorated runners in Lakeside cross country history, says coach Cameron Ausen. “Throughout his time, Cameron helped change the face of Warrior cross country with his effort, determination, and servant leadership. This inspired the team to achieve new heights over the past several seasons that culminated in the pinnacle of this past season at the state championships. Cameron has always put his faith first in what he does as a student-athlete and set a fantastic example for his teammates over his four years as a Warrior.”
Cameron Weiland, son of Dan and Laurie, Fall River, signed his national letter of intent to run cross country for the University of Wisconsin–Green Bay, a Division 1 school. He is also pictured with his twin sister Caitlin.
Faith Retzlaff ‘22 — Equestrian – Jumping Seat Team at University of Minnesota-Crookston
For Faith, riding lessons at age 9 turned into a college opportunity. Later, she worked at a horse stable in exchange for riding lessons, and now she rides most days at college. At the Novice Level (middle of the pack) to start last year, she earned 36 points during the season to advance to Limit Level for her sophomore year, allowing her to compete both On the Flat and Over Fences for the 23-24 season. UM-Crookston is D2, but competes with D1 colleges such as South Carolina and Baylor in the National Collegiate Equestrian Association. Faith competed in regionals and zone competition as a freshman—one level away from Nationals.
Finding time to study can be a challenge because of travel and three-hour practice sessions. While tutors are available, Faith credits LLHS with preparing her better for college than some of the other students. “College is more challenging, but with my habits of study and time management, that has helped me a lot!” she says.
Finding time to come home is also a challenge because the school is a nine-hour car drive or a 12-hour train ride back to Columbus for Faith, who participated in band, marching band, choir, and was an active member of Teens for Christ during her Lakeside years. Another difference is talking about her faith. “In my philosophy course, I had people of different religions in my discussions. I used what I learned in Apologetics class in the ‘real’ world.” While riding and competitions took her away from weekly church attendance, Faith gives a hint for staying close to God. “I got a new Bible when I went to college and make it a habit to read from it every day,” she says.
Evelyn Schauer ’21 — Women’s Rowing Team at University of Wisconsin-Madison
Paying for college was a top priority for Evelyn. She wanted to attend a big D1 engineering school because she felt there would be better class options and a career connections. She founds some academic scholarships but also considered athletics. Her best HS sport was track, but her times weren’t fast enough.
Enter rowing. UW has a long history in women’s rowing—national champs in 1975, 15 NCAA appearances, 16 Olympians. Evelyn tried out and made the team, also known for developing walk-ons. She raced in the Novice 8 boat (8 rowers, 1 coxswain) and did well enough to earn a 15% scholarship for room and board. The coach constantly juggles line ups to see which girls match up technically and on boat speed, and Evelyn moved up to the 2Varsity 4s boat (4 rowers). One of Coach Bebe Bryans’ mantras has been, “We have to get a week better every day!” due to the cold climate and a frozen Lake Mendota for five months of the year.
Evelyn loves competing and working six days a week while studying engineering. She credits Lakeside for “feeling I was a step ahead of many other students at UW in academics.” It’s helpful that D1 athletes get first pick of scheduling classes because it helps her classes during the practice hours of 6-8 a.m. and 4-5 p.m.
Training and not having a car on campus makes church attendance difficult. “I watch a lot of Time of Grace,” she notes. “I thought it would be harder to talk about my faith, but there are many students who grew up with similar backgrounds. I’ve found a lot more Christians and Lutherans than I thought I would,” she says, adding that one of her trainers attends Holy Cross, Madison.
Though the team finished 6th in the Big Ten, which means they didn’t qualify for the NCAA tournament, Evelyn is excited to improve in rowing to earn more money, and grow and learn in a culturally diverse student body.
Have you noticed how much time and effort it takes for you to get ready for a holiday event? Yet the event itself goes by so quickly!
That Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner—it takes a great deal of time and effort for you to plan, to shop, to gather and to organize your ingredients. And then you need time to cook, to set the table—to get everything ready. Finally, it’s time to eat! But within 15 minutes (especially if you’re eating with teenagers), you’re looking at leftovers. The joy of that gathering is over so quickly!
That moment of opening gifts—you spend a great deal of time and effort thinking about, looking for, and buying those gifts. You wrap and arrange those gifts. You also decorate the room where those gifts are on display. Finally, it’s time to open those presents. But within 20 minutes you’re looking at a pile of used wrapping paper. The joy of that gathering is over so quickly!
Does your salvation work that way? For a long time (the entire Old Testament!) God was preparing to send his Son. And then, “when the time had fully come, God sent this Son, born of a woman, born under law, to redeem us under the law, that we might receive the full rights of sons” (Galatians 4:4-5). Jesus is born, and he lives and dies and rises from the dead—all for your salvation!
And that joy doesn’t end 15 minutes later. The holidays might come and go. But you are forgiven every day, you are loved by God every day, and you have eternal life every day. You have hope every day! Even after the leftovers and the wrapping paper are put away.
Enjoy the holidays! Enjoy the preparation and the gatherings as fleeting as they are. But most of all, enjoy the salvation that Jesus brings into your life. May God bless you during this joyful time of the year! ❧DS
In July, Fort Wayne, Indiana, CBS affiliate, WANE 15, shared a story about the Trail Buddies program at the Jorgensen Family YMCA, where volunteer bicyclists are paired with individuals unable to pedal on their own.
Forever Warrior Todd Eigenschink (‘90) has pedaled everyone from children to people in their 90s, people who might rarely get outside, let alone take a bike ride. “We are SO blessed to have him as a volunteer!” says Rebekah Coffey, Director of Adaptive Services at the YMCA.
“While Trail Buddies is ostensibly about giving bike rides to people who can’t pedal a bike—and of course it actually does that—a possibly-better part is the relationships it builds with the riders,” Todd shares.
“While some riders are non-verbal, you can usually tell that they’re looking forward to the ride or that they enjoyed the ride. You get to know their parents or caregivers and you build a bond with the family. The hour you spend pedaling the person might be the only break the caregiver gets during that day!”
Trail Buddies isn’t the only way Todd serves his community. In addition to his work as a system administrator at Ferguson Advertising in Fort Wayne, he volunteers with multiple charities and in his church, Beautiful Savior Lutheran n Fort Wayne, plus finds time to participate in triathlons.
He and wife, Darla, have been married for 26 years. “Her older sister named her for the Little Rascals character,” he says. “She’s a classroom aide at a local elementary school by day, an avid crafter at night, and a Jeep Girl all the time. She and my sister Amy (Eigenschink ‘88 Slattery) are cut from similar-but-different pieces of cloth. If we lived near each other the two of them would always be together.” Todd and Darla have a 17-year-old son, Zachary.
He gives so much of his time to encourage others, and when asked about a Lakeside teacher that encouraged him, he shares, “I had several, but since you asked for one . . . that would be Pastor Martin Stuebs. Among other things, he challenged what I thought I knew and believed, and helped me figure out how to be confident in it and articulate it.”
He couldn’t resist giving honorable mentions to other teachers, however, including “Mark Ricke (thinking big), and Ed Schutters and Craig Schwartz (science nerds).”
Check out the whole news story on Todd and Trail Buddies when you scan the QR with your phone camera.
Good Stewards, Inc., the managing board of the Lakeside-affiliated resale store in Jefferson, Wis., announced the hiring of a full-time store manager this year. When a place sells just shy of a million dollars in a calendar year, needs arise that even our unmatched, faithful volunteer corps cannot effectively manage.
That’s when Forever Warrior Megan Uttech stepped up. Megan manages a team of volunteer day managers along with 100+ other volunteers who work as cashiers, department managers, donation receivers, sorters, stockers & more. After 20 years as a retail manager, she is excited to work at the store that supports her alma mater, as well as her nieces and nephews. (Two nieces and two nephews have graduated [’15, ’17, ’22, ’23], one niece is currently a junior, and two nephews in 7th and 5th grades plan to attend.)
How did Lakeside prepare you?
As a student, I loved the Christian atmosphere and was grateful that my parents made the decision to send me there. Being able to grow and thrive in an environment like that helped me to be able to fearlessly speak about my faith for years after graduation.
What’s your favorite memory of Lakeside?
One of my favorites was of our bus driver, Willie Vick. One year our bus route riders took a collection to buy Willy a Starter Green Bay Packers jacket.
Any teacher especially impact your time at Lakeside?
Pastor Stuebs and his senior religion class—he called it “Senior Relations”—since it was more of a way to learn to relate the class to everyday life. It has been great to see so many retired LLHS teachers volunteering their time at TiN now!
What’s great about being the Twice is Nice store manager?
Many things! To come to work each day knowing that first and foremost, the mission is to support Christian education. Secondly, to see how we can make a positive impact within the community by selling donated items at a low cost and by being sustainable by recycling donated clothing that is not fit for sale in our store. Another is to see the fellowship between the volunteers and their dedication to our mission. Some volunteers come once or twice a month, and there are others there almost every day of the week!
I’ve been blessed to work closely with some of the original Day Managers who have been here since day one in 1993 (or soon after), and I have loved hearing the history of how Twice is Nice came to be. I am thrilled to be able to take my years of retail leadership experience to help take this store and organization into the future!
Live in the area and want to get involved? We’d LOVE to have more Forever Warriors on the team! » Donate your clean, saleable clothing & household goods, including furniture. Donations accepted Mon–Sat, 10a–3:30p » Shop regularly & save with our low prices Mon–Sat, 10a–4p » Refer your friends, family & neighbors. » Volunteer! Special one-time events, once a month, once a week—or more! Help sort clothes, work the cash register, process back door donations (Saturday help is especially important.) Contact Megan at manager@twiceisnice.shop
Appreciating 30 years of Twice is Nice: Among the 80+ volunteers at the September 2023 volunteer appreciation dinner at Turner Hall in Watertown were 23 Forever Warriors, including (back, L-R) Gary Mack ‘66, John Luedtke ‘72, Bob Kuykendall, ‘63, Mel Mertz ‘63, Leon Jaeger ‘70, Dean Jaeger ‘67, Joyce (Luedtke ‘79) Herro, Lisa (Brumm ‘88) Wilson, Lois (Luedtke ‘73) Schultz, Judy (Schwartz ‘78) Ulm, Megan Uttech ‘01. (Middle) Gerry Walta ‘72, April (Luetzow ‘71) Luedtke, Judy (Degner ‘64) Kuykendall, Diana (Schuhmacher ‘66) Michi, Jayne (Schoenfeld ‘82) Pfeifer, Rachel (Huebner ‘78) Steindorf. (Front) Ann (‘69) Weber, Linda (Jaeger ‘69) Redfield, Sharon (Pfeifer ‘69) Waldmann, Ione (Jaeger ‘64) Ibeling, Jim Buelow ‘64, Bev (Detert ‘64) Buelow.
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