Zielke heading to Winona State Taking on a new football challenge

Greg Seubert

Kam Zielke had plenty of success in his four seasons with Weyauwega-Fremont High School’s football program. He’ll now have an opportunity for more success at the college level as the senior is committed to Winona State University.

Zielke signed his letter of intent on Feb. 7 to play for the Warriors, a Division 2 program in Winona, Minnesota. He accounted for over 2,000 yards of offense and helped lead the Warhawks to the WIAA state playoffs last year as a senior. He finished with 1,343 passing yards and another  912 on the ground.

He’s also a big reason for the Warhawks’ success the past few years, according to coach Colton Zimmerman.

“Weyauwega-Fremont Football has a deliberate focus on the development of young men,” he said. “We measure our success as a team on the character we have, the commitment to our team, school, and community; and our performance in the classroom and field of competition. Kam has shown high character in all his ventures, never missed an opportunity to help our community, is an academic all-state student, and was just selected for the all-state team.

“The opportunity to play at the next level is well deserved,” he said. “As a team and family, we are proud of him,”

Zielke claimed an opportunity to stay relatively close to home played a role in his decision. “Winona is close to home, and I won’t be traveling across the country just to come home over breaks,” he said. “They also have a bright future with a lot of promising athletes at every position, and I believe we will have a chance to make a run in the coming years.”

Winona State assistant coach Spencer Erickson, son of Iola-Scandinavia coach Scott Erickson, recruited Zielke. “This opportunity is everything I’ve been training my whole life for,” he said. “To finally be able to say my hard work paid off is a great feeling. My family is proud of me, and I’m happy I get a chance to prove myself at the next level.”

“Kam is only the second player to play at Division 2 in school history, and there is only one other person to ever do that,” Zimmerman said. “Kam did all this after tearing his ACL his junior year.”

“I am most excited to be around 100 like-minded guys who are all about getting better and pushing themselves to be the best version of themselves every single day,” said Zielke.

Although he is looking forward to the next challenge, Zielke said he will also miss playing football in Weyauwega.

“I’ve been playing with these guys for the last 12 years, so not playing with them is going to take some time to get used to,” he said. “I will also have to adjust to only playing one side of the ball, and I will not have the ball in my hands every single play like I used to.”

Zielke said he would head to Winona with personal goals.
“I want to earn my way onto the field as soon as humanly possible,” he said. “I want to be better than anyone believes I can be.”

He said his support system of coaches, teammates, and family helped get him to this point.

“I would not be here without my coaches or family,” Zielke said. “Their support is what has gotten me through the hardest times, and their love is what allowed me to shine.”

Zielke, offered some advice to younger athletes who want to follow in his footsteps.

“Life is hard,” he said. “You will get knocked down. Instead of running from challenges, take them on.”