This win’s for Peanut

Burlington unites to raise money for injured Catholic Central student

By Mike Ramczyk

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On a day when Catholic Central High School junior Austin Neuhaus underwent a second surgery and couldn’t have visitors to his room at Children’s Hospital, Burlington showed up for him in a different way.

A sea of white “Team Peanut” T-shirts flooded the Catholic Central gymnasium Jan. 8, and Catholic Central and Burlington students along with community members united to support Neuhaus, who was involved in a Jan. 1 vehicle accident and remains in the hospital with severe injuries.

On the court, Neuhaus’ teammates scored a 52-35 victory over Racine Lutheran in which the Toppers allowed only four points in the second half.

The players seemed to run a bit faster and jump a bit higher for a full 36 minutes. Catholic Central coach Kyle Scott said prior to the game he’d be sending the game tape to Neuhaus’ hospital room.

Off the court, the Catholic Central student section was animated and loud the entire game, with most students wearing the “Team Peanut” T-shirts in honor of Austin’s nickname.

Across the court where parents and fans normally sit, more than 20 Burlington High School basketball players were in attendance, and even the opposing fans showed their support.

The girls varsity basketball team opened the night at 5:45 p.m., and the boys’ game followed. During each game, there was a “Miracle Minute” where people combed the stands with buckets looking for donations from the crowd.

In two minutes, more than $2,000 was raised for Neuhaus. Along with T-shirt sales, a grand total of $3,523 was raised.

Taking care of their own

Neuhaus has already had two surgeries, as his injuries included a broken vertebra, broken leg and bleeding in the brain. His recovery is far from over.

But for one night, Burlington showed that it takes care of its own.

“It’s phenomenal,” said Catholic Central boys assistant coach Dan Meddaugh, who gave a speech during Friday night’s festivities. “It was a great opportunity to rally around Austin for a real cause. The community is backing him. The Burlington basketball team was here, which is phenomenal. Even the Racine Lutheran teams bought shirts and donated to the cause.”

“As a coach and teacher of Austin, he works hard in everything that he does. If there’s anything we can do to alleviate any worries that his family has, we’ll do our best.”

Meddaugh said Racine Lutheran families and fans were taking pictures with the Catholic Central families before the game, as everyone wore their “Team Peanut” shirts.

In his speech, Meddaugh said it isn’t about a school helping a family, but an entire community.

“We want to help Austin, but we need everyone to help Austin,” he said. “This is a community, not just a basketball team. We need to pick up one of our own. You never think it’s going to happen to you.”

Meddaugh said he’s received texts daily from the Neuhauses reporting that doctors think Austin is going to be OK, but it will take time.

Meddaugh said he couldn’t remember the last time a Catholic Central team has held a team to four points in one half.

The Toppers improved to 5-4 overall and 3-2 in the Metro Classic Conference. Ben Heiligenthal led the way with 17 points, Brandon Vandehei added 15 and Frank Koehnke had 11.

“They’re a very good offensive team,” Meddaugh said of Lutheran. “This game was completely for Austin. It was all emotion. They were screaming on the court at every timeout.”

“I can’t put in words how great the support for Austin was. This school is part of my family, and it shows.”

A family, not just a school

Catholic Central Assistant Athletic Director Bailey Racky stood near the scorer’s table in the stands and read off the total amount of money raised near the end of the game.

She said she could hardly believe the overwhelming community support.

“I was nervous,” Racky said about reading off the grand total. “It’s such a great cause, and the Neuhaus family is awesome and they deserve everything we’re doing for them. It wasn’t just me talking, it was the CC family.”

Racky also teaches at Catholic Central, and she said all week they’ve been preaching to the kids to be normal and do their thing. She said the staff tried to be strong for the students.

The support began immediately after school Friday.

“There was a line almost out the door with students buying their T-shirts and bracelets,” she said. “We wanted to make as much for the Neuhauses as we could. It was awesome we were able to raise so much money in only two minutes.”

“We want to be there for them every step of the way.”

After only three days, Austin’s GoFundMe page met its goal of $10,000.

As of Tuesday night, more than $13,000 had been raised.

Based on reports from the Neuhaus family to Catholic Central throughout last week, Austin underwent neck and jaw surgery last Thursday and foot surgery the next day.

The doctors didn’t allow visitors for a few days to give Austin some rest.

“There’s a long road ahead for Austin, but we can’t wait to have him back,” Racky said.

Racky said Catholic Central junior Brooke Bleser asked the principal to have a dress-down day every Friday in the month of January.

Since students have a dress code, on dress-down days they pay $2.50 to wear jeans.

Bleser’s idea is to have proceeds from each Friday in January to go to support Austin.

Also, Bryce’s Bracelets, an idea from the Hocking family, was a success and sold out Friday night.

Racky added she’s in charge of Operation Click, a safe-driving club at school. She said they’re looking into donating some scholarship funds, and the National Honor Society donated all the money it made from concessions Friday night.

“This is a family, it’s not a school,” Racky said. “The first day after the car accident, there were 30 students at the hospital at one time. There’s a student going to Milwaukee to visit him each day.”

“Austin has an amazing presence in the classroom, and when he’s not there, the kids notice. He’s amazing. He’s a fun, bubbly person, and is super-competitive. He’s so nice and always willing to help out. He’s not Austin, everybody calls him Peanut.”