COLUMBUS NEWS
Success doesn’t always come from having a clear path, a perfect college experience, and the perfect career. A rocky start and a college/career path with many twists and turns can absolutely lead to success. Class of 2001 alum Ben Fredrick’s path wasn’t always linear, but today with a thriving small business you can definitely call him an achiever!
These days Ben and his wife Ashley live in Marshfield and are co-owners of Fredrick Construction, LLC, which specializes in remodeling and new home construction. “Fredrick Construction is a one-stop shop,” said Ben. “We build custom homes and offer modern remodeling including kitchen, bathrooms, additions, windows and siding.”
Ben's wife, Ashley, is the Owner/Broker for NextHome Hub City in Marshfield. When she's not busy selling homes, she enjoys helping Ben's clients with design work and decision-making. “I wouldn’t be able to do this business without Ashley,” said Ben. “She pushed me to start the business and is a great partner. My wife and me… we make a such a great team! We took our strengths and put them together. We are a Brains and Brawn team and she’s definitely the Brains!” The couple also owns several rental properties within Marshfield including downtown, within the city limits and in the country; so different locations but each has a different vibe. “We take pride in our rentals as well,” said Ben. “We try to fix them up so I would want to live in it.” Finally, Ashley also owns NextHome Hub City and works as a realtor.
Also living in Marshfield includes Ben’s dad and mom, Hans and Mary Fredrick, his older brother Chris (who graduated from Columbus Catholic High School in 1998), and his younger brother Erik. In his spare time, Ben enjoys hunting and fishing, though it probably doesn’t happen as much as he’d like. “I try to go ice fishing with my brothers a few times every winter,” said Ben, “and I do enjoy bow hunting. There’s just something about nature that’s calming. It’s my ‘reset button’ so it’s important to me.”
Ben and Ashley spend their time volunteering, couple’s golfing at River Edge Golf Course and travelling a couple times a year.
“I’ve had an interesting college career,” Ben added. “I’ve always been a hands-on learner. I like making decisions in the moment, and never really was into computers. I played football at Columbus and I was actually recruited to play football for several colleges but I was paying for my education myself so I opted not to play football and attended ‘The Wood’ for 1.5 years, while working as a carpenter.”
“I transferred my credits to Western Technical College in La Crosse, WI and started working on a degree in Police Science,” continued Ben. “But that was too easy and I was getting bored so I also took firefighting and EMT classes as well. I had to get permission from the Dean to take 24 credits, which is more than the recommended amount.”
Ben transferred again to Winona State University to work on a nursing degree, but then broke his back in a hunting accident. He was forced to drop out of WSU and return to WTC to finish his degree in Fire & Police Science, where he graduated from with honors.
Ben met Ashley while attending Winona State. They relocated to Marshfield where Ben worked as a police officer in Pittsville in the evenings and construction during the day. “I was actually making more money in construction and decided to put my focus there,” said Ben.
If you think that’s enough twists in turns in this story, you are wrong. In 2011 Ben was laid off from his job. But as they say, “when God closes one door he opens another.” So the couple took a small business class offered from UWSP, which helped them lay the foundation for starting their own business.
“I’ve been doing construction the whole time and never left it,” said Ben. “I’ve been in construction since 1999. It’s weird… everything led us back to Marshfield and something always led me back to construction. Just because you take a certain path, it doesn’t mean you’ll be in that path forever… and it might go into a different direction.”
As far as advice for our next generation of students, Ben says this: “There’s a lot of careers out there – if you don’t like the path your taking, change it. Don’t settle! Don’t be afraid to try a couple of different things. And most of all, believe in yourself and adjust to the changes around you. That’s what’ll make you successful.”
Thanks to Lyle Lang ‘82, several old reel-to-reel film footage of football and basketball games have been converted to digital, and are ready to be watched again! Lyle is working with WDLB to post the videos on YouTube... but until all are available, please contact Lyle directly to view: 715-305-9296 or Lyle.Lang@langfurniture.net
Thanks to everyone who contributed information, our 2022 Alumni Directory has been completed and delivered to everyone who ordered one!
The directory is updated every ten years, so the next opportunity to order one is in 2032 (which seems like a long time but we think most of you will agree... it goes fast!).
We thank everyone who responded to PCI with their updated contact information. Thank you also to PCI (Publishing Concepts, Inc.) for everything they did at no cost to Columbus Catholic.
Finally, we thank Todd Weber ‘92 for sharing his design talent to create the cover and memory pages and Tina (Treglowne ’97) Becker for assisting with production. This project has truly been a blast from the past!
What did you think of the 2022 Alumni Directory? Please send your feedback to: loucks.angela@columbusdons.org
By Krisann (Altmann ‘91) Mauritz, Director of Giving & Events, Columbus Catholic Schools
Did you know that Dons Athletic activities (home AND away) are broadcast live by Zaleski Sports and can be viewed in real-time from anywhere in the world?
It’s true! We encourage all Dons fans everywhere to tune in to their favorite sport and cheer on our students. Schedules can be found on our website at columbuscatholicschools.org - click on “Athletics.” Past games can be viewed from our YouTube Page.
This year we are also offering special sponsorship opportunities. For a $500 donation, any individual or business can give a student athlete a “Good Luck” or other encouraging message! With this package, your donation gives you the opportunity to say one full sentence or two phrases plus your name during the season of your choice (fall, winter or spring).
For a $1,000 donation, any individual or business can have their name on screen for ALL CCHS home and away games - approximately 120 games per year. All messages appear before the game begins.
All Columbus Varsity Sports will be live streamed on YouTube with the exception of Tennis, Cross Country, Golf and Track. Video highlights will be made available for these sports.
There are other sponsorship opportunities available as well. For more information, give me a call at 715-387-1177 ext. 3314 or send an email to mauritz.krisann@columbusdons.org
Musical performances are back at Columbus! Please join us for “Snoopy! The Musical” in May!
May 5, 2023 at 7:30pm
May 6, 2023 at 7:30pm
May 7, 2023 at 2:00pm
Location: Columbus Catholic High School Father Hugh J. Deeny Memorial Auditorium
By Joe Konieczny, Athletic Director, Columbus Catholic Schools
The 2022-2023 School year began in early August for Columbus Dons fall sport athletes. Expectations were high and our Dons turned in many memorable performances.
SOCCER
The Columbus Soccer Team won its sixth Mid-State Soccer Conference Championship in the past seven seasons. In the process, they placed nine players on the all-conference team. Senior Grant Olson was joined by juniors Alex Edwards, Cy Becker and Charlie Moore as first team selections. Senior Brandon Lang and junior Lucas Kreklau were second team selections. Senior Mira Torbey and freshmen Cade Jansen and Mason Edwards received honorable mention recognition. Alex Edwards was also a WIAA all-state honorable mention selection. The Dons season ended with a loss to Aquinas in the regional championship game.
GIRLS TENNIS
It was a history-making season for some members of the Columbus Dons Girls Tennis Team. The Dons had three players advance to the WIAA Individual State Tournament. The #1 doubles team of Declyn Tracy (senior) and Maria Elizabeth Garcia-Moya (sophomore) qualified at the #1 doubles position and were defeated in their first match at State. In singles play, #1 singles player Maria Laura Garcia-Moya (senior) won her first match at the State Tournament before being defeated in the second round. #2 singles player Akosua Yeboah (sophomore) was the conference champion at #2 singles and was a match away from
advancing to the State Tournament.
VOLLEYBALL
The Columbus Dons Volleyball Team continued its historic run, winning its sixth consecutive Conference Championship. The Dons had six players receive all-conference recognition. Senior Jenna Kibbel and juniors Courtney Sommer and Aaliyah Krenn were first team selections. Sommer was also selected as the Conference Player of the Year and received all-state honorable mention recognition for the second consecutive season. Senior Lily Stratman and sophomore Izzy Hoglund were second team
selections, while sophomore Gracie Wilczek received honorable mention recognition. The Dons season ended in a 5-set thriller vs. Assumption in the regional finals.
CROSS COUNTRY
The Dons were again represented at the state Cross Country Meet, this year by sophomore Isaac Scheer. Isaac qualified by finishing in third place at the WIAA sectional meet. Isaac’s brother Andrew (senior), after missing extended time due to injury, just missed qualifying for state as he finished in 14th place at sectionals. Isaac Scheer finished in 21st place at the WIAA State Meet with a time of 17:11.
FOOTBALL
The Spencer-Columbus Football Team struggled through an unprecedented string of injuries and failed to qualify for the WIAA playoffs. It was only the second time in the past 12 seasons the team did not reach post season play. Columbus Senior Cole Hanson was an all-conference selection on both sides of the football. Cole was selected as a first-team defensive lineman and as a second-team offensive lineman.
GIRLS BASKETBALL
The Dons Girls Basketball Team finished 15-11 and finished in second place in the Eastern Cloverbelt Conference. It was the team’s best finish since joining the conference in 2008. Three Dons received all-conference recognition: Senior Jenna Kibbel was a first team selection. Senior Hailey Zimmermann was a second team selection. Freshman Hailey Klumb received honorable mention recognition.
The Dons’ season ended in the second round of the WIAA playoffs against a very good Athens team.
BOYS BASKETBALL
The Dons Boys Basketball Team finished with a 19-8 record and earned second place in the Eastern Cloverbelt Conference. Their season ended in the Regional Championship game with a tough loss to (eventual) state champion Newman. Five Dons received all-conference honors. Juniors Emmitt Konieczny and Blake Jakobi were first team selections, while junior Lucas Kreklau earned second team honors. Senior Grant Olson and junior Charlie Moore were honorable mention selections. Konieczny was also an honorable mention all-state selection as he became the eighth boys basketball player in school history to eclipse the 1,000-point mark for a Dons career.
BOYS HOCKEY
For the first time in school history, Columbus joined the Marshfield Boys Hockey Cooperative Team. Freshman Tanner Shortt was a key contributor for the Marshfield Tigers varsity team. The team finished with a record of 13-11 before ending their season with a loss to Superior in the WIAA tournament.
WRESTLING
Columbus students were once again part of the Spencer-Columbus cooperative wrestling team. Three wrestlers from Columbus competed on the mat as the program continued to grow. Cole Hanson (senior), Jaden Garneau (sophomore), and Drew Lang (sophomore) all represented Columbus as part of the SC Wrestling Team.
