EDITOR'S NOTE: The Swnews4u.com Athlete of the Week is a web-only feature that will publish each Thursday throughout the calendar year.
Joey Clary, Sr., Ithaca baseball
Joey Clary belted out three hits, including a pair of doubles, drove in a run and scored three times as the Ithaca Bulldogs hammered the Rib Lake Redmen, 10–4, to win the WIAA Division 4 state championship last Wednesday at Fox Cities Stadium in Grand Chute last Wednesday morning. Clary also went 1-for-3 with an RBI in the Bulldogs’ 6–2 semifinal win over Green Bay N.E.W. Lutheran last Tuesday. Clary finished the state tournament 4-for-8 with two doubles, three runs scored and a pair of RBIs to earn this week’s Mast Water Technology Athlete of the Week honor.
It was Clary, who put Ithaca in the state tournament for a third straight year with a dramatic game-winning homer against Hillsboro in the D4 Weston sectional final a week earlier. The senior leftfielder smashed a two-run walk-off home run in the bottom of the seventh inning to lift the Bulldogs to a 9–8 victory over the Scenic Bluffs Conference champion Tigers.
Clary and the Bulldogs finished the year 23–3 overall after dominating the Ridge and Valley Conference to win a third straight league title with a 13–1 mark in conference play. Ithaca went 75–17 during Clary’s four-year varsity career, won three conference titles and reach the state tournament three straight seasons. Clary was a three-time first-team All-Ridge and Valley selection and an honorable mention choice as a freshman.
HONORABLE MENTION (in alphabetical order):
Maddie Hawes, Sr., Potosi girls basketball
Hawes scored 10 points and grabbed a team-high six rebounds for the South All-Stars in a 62–42 loss in the WBCA Division 5 girls All-Star basketball game Friday at JustAGame Fieldhouse in Wisconsin Dells.
Jacob Huebsch, Sr., Ithaca baseball
Huebsch struck out 12 and allowed just one earned run in a complete game three-hitter to lead Ithaca to a 6–2 victory over Green Bay N.E.W. Lutheran in the WIAA Division 4 state semifinals last Tuesday. Huebsch then went 2-for-4 with an RBI in the Bulldogs’ 10–4 win over Rib Lake a day later in the D4 title game. Huebsch was named the Wisconsin Baseball Coaches Association’s Division 4 Player of the Year following the state tournament. He finished the year 10–1 with a 0.77 ERA and 113 strikeouts in 70 innings pitched. He also batted .313 (25-for-80) with 13 RBIs.
Brooke Trautsch, Sr., Prairie du Chien girls basketball
The Prairie du Chien point guard made four 3-pointers and scored 12 points to lead the South to a 78–72 victory in the WBCA D3 girls All-Star game last Friday.
Ali Travis, Sr., Belmont softball
Travis belted a grand slam to lead the Division 4 Black all-star team to a 9–3 D4 Red All-Stars in last Tuesday’s Wisconsin Fastpitch Softball Coaches Association All-Star Classic at Woodside Sports Complex in Wisconsin Dells. She also had a hit in D4 Black’s 8–0 win over the D4 Gray all-stars later in the day.
Raine Voigts, Sr., Belmont boys basketball
The recent Belmont graduate scored 10 points to help lead the South All-Stars to an 80–64 victory over the North in the WBCA Division 5 boys’ All-Star game Saturday at JustAGame Fieldhouse in Wisconsin Dells. Voigts was one of five player in double figures for the South, scoring 10 points on 3-for-8 shooting from the field and 2-for-2 from the free throw line. He also grabbed a rebound and had an assist in 16 minutes of action.
