Sawyer Szews heading to UW-Stevens Point

In a signing ceremony last week at Three Lakes High School, a crowded commons area was filled with friends, family, teammates, and coaches of senior athlete Sawyer Szews as he signed a commitment letter to play football later this year for the Pointers of the University of Wisconsin at Stevens Point.

UW-Stevens Point is an NCAA Division III school in the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, with a football program spanning more than 100 years. And while the team has recently struggled, they have accumulated 14 conference titles through the decades. The Pointers went 4-6 last season and will likely be counting on Szews to shore up the defensive side of the ball, where he was very effective for the hometown Bluejays.

In his senior year with the Jays, Szews was a team captain and earned all-conference spots on defense as a linebacker and on offense in his tight end capacity. He was also honored as Defensive Player of the Year in voting conducted by coaches in the Northeast Conference. His team-leading 132 total tackles and 61 solo tackles also helped earn 8-player all-region and all-state recognition by the Wisconsin Football Coaches Association.

Szews not only played four seasons of high-level football for Three Lakes High School, but he also played four years of baseball, and was a member of the varsity basketball team this season. Academically, he is a long-standing honor student and intends to study fisheries and aquatic sciences at UW-Stevens Point. He has a love for fishing, and says he wanted to study subjects of personal interest and ultimately contribute to the management of natural resources in Wisconsin.

The choice of UW-Stevens Point is also practical, according to Szews.

Szews will also be joining former Three Lakes teammates Peyton Pitlik and Charlie Liebscher as friends and classmates on campus.

Szews sat at the signing table with his parents, Justin and Tara, both part of the staff in the Three Lakes school district. Justin is the high school principal and current head coach of the varsity football team. He spoke fondly about his son as a football player, and of his growth as a young adult, and said that part of Sawyer’s athletic success is attributed to his year-round dedication to strength training.

Assistant varsity football coaches Rich Martin, Scott LeBuis, and Jim Moore were on hand for the signing, as was Tyler Maney, who was the head coach during the freshman and sophomore years of Szews. Also in attendance was Brad Bisnette, the 10-year head baseball coach for the Bluejays. Szews said that he appreciated the influence of each coach and will use their collective words of wisdom moving forward.

Szews says that his top influences, however, have come from his parents, who have guided and supported him through all of his athletic pursuits.

“My parents have been super supportive to me,” he said. “They not only were willing to travel far distances for many of my games, but they also fostered a desire in me to want to be successful. This really helped me stay motivated through the years.”

Ironically, both parents attended UW-Stevens Point, and Justin had his Pointers football helmet displayed at the signing table last week, next to his son’s Bluejays helmet. The parents have been through the college commitment process before, as daughters Mari and Kaya have enjoyed collegiate success at St. Norbert College and Northern Michigan University. Their youngest daughter, Malia, is on deck, already earning multiple all-conference sports honors as a high school sophomore.

As for Sawyer, he is looking forward to a year ahead of major changes, especially suiting up for the UW-Stevens Point football team in September. As he prepares for the move, he will be packing up a lot of Three Lakes High School memories and achievements for what will likely be a successful road ahead.