WAUKESHA – Arrowhead senior football player Tristen Seidl will miss his second football game in as many weeks amid an ongoing legal battle with the Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association in Waukesha County Circuit Court.
A temporary injunction request filed by Tristen’s parents, Blayne and Jenell Seidl, on behalf of their son was set to be ruled upon Aug. 29, but a decision on the matter was postponed until another hearing set for the morning of Sept. 5.
Circuit Court judge Paul Bugenhagen Jr. indicated reservations on granting a ruling without a third party with potential stake in the matter, Arrowhead High School, present with representation. Attorneys for the WIAA pointed to the extent of precedent offered by the recently resolved case of Halter v. WIAA, which ultimately forced Halter to vacate wins, points and a WIAA state individual wrestling title after he was found to have been ineligible.
Unlike that case, the WIAA argued it could be within its rights with a court ruling or later appeal in its favor to levy punishments upon Arrowhead in general, such as the forfeiting of any games in which Seidl should participate. The Seidls in their filings had sought to get ahead of this potential ramification by asking the court to prohibit the WIAA from levying any punishment against Arrowhead, a matter which the court also expressed reservations about ruling on given its potential to later be overturned on appeal.
Arrowhead head coach Matt Harris was present at the hearing along with nine players and said the district had not had any discussions about joining the case as an interested party.
“We didn’t think that that was necessary in this,” Harris said. “Obviously they (the WIAA) brought that up.”
The WIAA also filed a motion Aug. 26 to dismiss the case, which was not ruled upon. While the matter remained in legal limbo, Tristen was on the sideline but did not play in Arrowhead’s season opener Aug. 22 against Marquette University High School. Arrowhead hosts Neenah on Aug. 29 at 7 p.m., and with the status quo still intact, he will not play in that game. The soonest he could return with a ruling in his favor would be Sept. 5, when Arrowhead hosts Waukesha West in its Classic 8 Conference opener.
Blayne and Jenell Seidl filed for the injunction Aug. 19 on behalf of Tristen, a senior, whom they enrolled at Arrowhead this summer. Tristen had been enrolled at Kettle Moraine High School for his first three years of high school, but the suit filed by the Seidls claimed the transfer was related to a 2023 housefire.
The Seidls were living in Dousman in the Kettle Moraine School District in 2023 when a fire rendered their home unlivable. The family has had four temporary living situations since, with the understanding from their insurance company that the Dousman home could be returned to a livable state. That changed in March 2025, when the insurance company indicated the home would have to be demolished. The latest of the four temporary living situations for the Seidls was in the Arrowhead Union School District, which the Seidl family made their permanent residence by renewing their lease through June 1, 2026. Tristen was then enrolled at Arrowhead and the family submitted transfer paperwork to the WIAA.
The transfer request was denied by the WIAA due to the family not transferring Tristen at the time of their original move to the district in 2024. A subsequent attempt to seek a waiver allowing Tristen to play varsity football at Arrowhead was also denied, as WIAA associate director Mel Dow said the family’s situation did not rise to the level of extenuating circumstances required. The Seidls also claimed in their suit that the interactions with the WIAA were hindered by the inclusion of false comments on a transfer form submitted by Kettle Moraine athletic director Ryan Tomczyk, who initially suggested the move was related to coaching changes.
A final appeal to the WIAA Board of Control was also denied Aug. 15, which led to the Seidls filing suit four days later.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Arrowhead football player will miss second game amid ongoing legal battle with WIAA after judge postpones decision
Reporting by Zac Bellman, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
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