Five players add their names to rich Laconia history this year

Laconia basketball holds as proud a history as any.

Both the girls and boys programs have rich tradition featuring dozens of players that have set records and gone on to play at the next level.

This year, five players etched their names into those prestigious history books.

Seniors Payton Morgan, Aubrey Leonard and Ethan Pinno, along with junior Cash Farrell, hit the 1,000-point mark for their careers. They joined senior Tierney Madigan, who scored her 1,000th point last year.

Madigan hit two big marks this year as well. She became the leading scorer and rebounder in school history on Feb. 11 against Mayville. She finished her career with the top marks of any boys or girls player with 1,682 points and 756 rebounds. Madigan also had 321 assists and 297 steals.

"It's just super special," Madigan said. "I came in here just trying to make an impact on the program and I ended up doing a lot more than I was expecting, but I think it's just great what all of us [did]."

Earlier that week, Leonard crossed a pair of significant marks. She scored her 1,000th point against Lomira on Feb. 6 and also passed the 400-assist mark during their Feb. 3 win against Beaver Dam.

"It's very special to me," Leonard said. "Basketball is a big part of all of our lives. It's a really cool thing to be a part of."

Morgan became the third Spartans girls basketball player in the storied senior class to hit the 1,000-point mark when she scored 17 points against D2 No. 1 Edgewood. Morgan reflected on how special that stretch of games was.

"It means a whole bunch," Morgan said. "This kind of shows how special our class is. We're all super competitive and it really shows on the court."

Leonard finished her career with 1,090 points, 459 assists and 295 steals. Morgan scored 1,101 points and was a career 34.5 percent 3-point shooter.

The trio, along with classmates Eva Engel and Molly Duel, accumulated a career Flyway record of 55-1 and four conference titles along with two state titles and four state appearances.

"I think as we kind of set new goals over the years, the way we persevered to achieve them always stayed the same," Morgan said. "There was never a time where we changed what we were doing just because we wanted to reach something.

"It was kind of like, if it happens, great; if it doesn't, we knew we worked hard towards it."

Pinno and Farrell both scored their 1,000th career points on the same night, a road win against Randolph on Jan. 27.

Pinno finished his career with 1,142 points, which puts him 10th on Laconia's all-time list. Farrell currently has 1,190 points and sits eighth all time with one season left.

Pinno joins his uncles Derek and Tyler Semenas on the top-10 scoring list. Derek is fourth with 1,250 and Tyler is seventh with 1,210. Pinno said both were always willing to help him put in extra work.

"I'd text Derek [and say], 'Hey, can we get in the gym?'" Pinno said. "Right away he'd respond, 'yeah, let's go get work in.'

"We'd play one-on-one, and he'd beat me, he's super competitive, so with he and Tyler growing up, it's been fun."

Farrell passed his father Cody this season. Both are on the 1,000-point banner, for Cody scored 1,005 points in his career. Even though he isn't classmates with the other four, Farrell said is proud to be a part of a group of players that achieved at such a high level this year.

"I've known these guys since I was a little kid," Farrell said. "I've been playing with them for a long time. It's just been my biggest dream to be a 1,000-point scorer and just be the best I can be and leave a legacy."

All five players grew up in the Rosendale-Brandon school district and they each credited the impressive youth programs for the success that Laconia has had.

Leonard said she remembers watching the high school players, which inspired her and she hopes she's had that impact on the next generation of Spartans.

"It's really cool how when I was younger, I would look up to those who were in high school," Leonard said. "Now I am in high school and to think that younger kids could be looking up to our teams like I did is cool."

Pinno also said the current senior class and the classes around it were extremely competitive with one another growing up and the boys would compete with the girls, which led to the entire class striving to be better.

"We were always a super competitive class growing up," Pinno said. "We always wanted to outcompete each other, so I think that was cool."

Several of the parents of the players played together in high school. Cody Farrell, Nick Leonard and Chris Morgan were all on the 1997 state runner up team.

Leonard said that many of the parents of the players have continued to form close relationships over the years as they've supported their children.

"We're such good friends with each other and our parents are such good friends, it creates a bond," Leonard said. "I'm also really close with my friends' parents and it just creates a sort of community within us."