File photo by Ari Selvey New Ulm Cathedrals Shay Wilfahrt positions for a rebound during a nonconference girls basketball game on Feb. 13 against Madelia at Cathedral High School.

NEW ULM — On Feb. 7, New Ulm Cathedral’s Shay Wilfahrt grabbed her 1,116th career rebound during a Tomahawk Division girls basketball game against Buffalo Lake-Hector-Stewart.

With that rebound, Wilfahrt became the career rebounding leader at Cathedral.

“That one definitely meant a lot,” Wilfahrt said. “That was on my whole family. I kind of focused on that right away, rebounds over points. I was obviously hoping that the points would come, but rebounds were a big thing for me. My brother pushed me really hard, my parents, they were always there for me. Even my teammates just during practice were always pushing each other to be better. That one was definitely exciting. I know you don’t stop and recognize it, but you have to keep working hard the whole time.”

Wilfahrt passed 1995 Cathedral grad Stephanie Klaviter by a single rebound on that day to take the record.

Wilfahrt currently sits at 1,147 career rebounds at the end of the regular season. Wilfahrt said playing in the paint her whole career helped her reach the achievement.

“Mostly playing low in the zone all my years,” she said. “Just every single time crashing the boards, you never really know what will happen. You’ve just got to go down every single time, the mentality of it. Wanting to go get it every time even if you think you’re going to make it or if you don’t think it’s going to go to you. It’s just the mental side of it.”

Not only is Wilfahrt the rebounding leader at Cathedral, but she holds the record for career rebounds in the entire city of New Ulm.

“That’s pretty cool,” Wilfahrt said. “I didn’t really know that, but it’s cool to think about. Just all the years of working at it, it kind of pays off and leads to this moment. It’s cool.”

As one of just four players in the city of New Ulm to have reached both 1,000 rebounds and 1,000 points in her career, Wilfahrt jokes that she has just one more milestone to reach.

“Maybe fouls,” she said. “That’s the only thing I can think of.”

Twelfth-seeded Cathedral plays at fifth-seeded Mountain Lake Area/Comfrey in the first round of the Section 2A Girls Basketball Tournament on Monday.