(This story was updated to confirm Tristen Seidl will play in the Sept. 5 game against Waukesha West.)
WAUKESHA – After a three-week court battle, Tristen Seidl will be eligible to play and will suit up when the Arrowhead Warhawks take the field Sept. 5 in their Classic 8 Conference opener and Senior Night game against Waukesha West.
A Waukesha County Circuit Court judge on the morning of Sept. 5 ruled in favor of a temporary injunction filed by Blayne and Jenell Seidl on behalf of their son, Tristen, a senior enrolled at Arrowhead High School. Seidl attorney William Rettko, while acknowledging there are arguments yet to be made in the case, said the plaintiffs were pleased with the temporary injunction being approved.
“We’re happy that the temporary order has been answered, that Tristen can play this evening and that he will be able to play his senior year,” Rettko said.
“This has been a long road, everything that we’ve been through,” Blayne Seidl said. “We’re happy that Tristen can play and that the judge saw our circumstances in our way.”
The matter has been in court since the Seidls filed for a temporary restraining order Aug. 19 against a WIAA Board of Control ruling from Aug. 15. The Board of Control had ruled against an appeal made by the Seidls seeking a waiver for Tristen to play football at Arrowhead High School. Tristen enrolled this summer at Arrowhead after a family move necessitated by a 2023 housefire became a permanent move once it was determined the home had to be demolished.
The Seidls had four temporary living situations since the fire at the family’s home in Dousman, which was within the Kettle Moraine District. The last of those temporary living arrangements was located within the Arrowhead Union School District. Upon learning in March 2025 that the Dousman home would need to be demolished, the Seidls extended their lease at their latest residence through June 1, 2026.
A hearing on the injunction was held on the morning of Aug. 29, but a decision was postponed to allow Arrowhead a chance to have representation present. Arrowhead Union School District was subpoenaed Sept. 3 and was listed as an “involuntary plaintiff” in court records. In his ruling Sept. 5, Judge Paul Bugenhagen Jr. pointed to the fleeting high school football season, the plaintiff’s argument that the loss of scholarship opportunities for Tristen did constitute irreparable harm and a WIAA Board of Control appeal vote Aug. 15 that was not unanimous among his reasons for ruling for the plaintiff on the temporary injunction.
In response to a request for reaction from the WIAA’s perspective on the Sept. 5 ruling, WIAA director of communications Todd Clark offered the following statement:
“While we respect the court’s decision, the WIAA remains committed to upholding the integrity of the rules of education-based athletics as established by our member schools. We firmly believe in the importance of enforcing these rules with fairness, consistency, and uniformity.”
A WIAA motion to dismiss the injunction request remains before the court, and will be argued in the coming weeks.
Arrowhead could be subject to WIAA punishments upon later ruling
While Seidl will be eligible, Judge Bugenhagen Jr. sought to remove a portion of the Seidl’s injunction request asking Arrowhead to be granted relief from any WIAA punishment in the matter.
Present on behalf of the Arrowhead Union School District at the Sept. 5 hearing were Arrowhead activities director Ryan Mangan and high school principal Adam Kurth, neither of whom had legal representation. Mangan read a statement from district superintendent Conrad Farner expressing support for Tristen, while acknowledging the difficult situation the district was in given the possibility of WIAA discipline being levied against them should a subsequent ruling go in the WIAA’s favor.
WIAA attorney Brent W. Jacobson addressed the statement by saying three prerequisites would need to be met for the WIAA to levy such a punishment: Tristen would need to play in varsity contests, a court ruling would need to go in the WIAA’s favor and, even then, the wording of applicable WIAA handbook rules give the organization leeway in whether or not to discipline a school or program.
Asked whether the district had any reservations playing Tristen given the potential for future wins to be forfeited by a later ruling, Mangan provided no comment. Arrowhead head coach Matt Harris, reached by text after the hearing, said the decision to play Tristen was not his to make.
“(The) athletic department and school will make the decision,” Harris said.
Harris followed up to confirm that after meeting with district officials, it was determined Seidl will play under the temporary court order confirming his eligibility.
Asked whether the Seidls have any reservations playing Tristen while the ruling remains temporary and without any protections for Arrowhead, attorney Rettko said the matter will continue to be argued for by the Seidls.
“There is case law out there that would prohibit the WIAA from punishing Arrowhead going forward by abiding by this court order while the court order is in place, but we are trying to make that clear. So we will proceed ahead in making that argument going forward too. That’s more of a legal argument to make there,” Rettko said.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Tristen Seidl ruled eligible at Arrowhead after injunction granted by court against WIAA
Reporting by Zac Bellman, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
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