EDITOR'S NOTE: The Swnews4u.com Athlete of the Week is a web-only feature that will publish each Friday morning throughout the calendar year.
Raine Voigts, Sr., Belmont boys basketball
Belmont senior Raine Voigts is this week's Mast Water Technology Athlete of the Week after posting back-to-back 30-point games to lead the Braves to a pair of victories over Juda and Highland.
Voigts poured in a career-high 30 points to go along with three rebounds and two assists in a 69–42 non-conference victory over Juda last Thursday night. The senior forward made 11 of 19 field goal attempts, including 3 of 6 from behind the arc, and converted all seven of his free throw attempts.
Tuesday night, Voigts was even better, scoring a new career-best 33 points on 13 of 16 shooting from the field in a 72–66 win over Highland in the Six Rivers West opener for both teams. He posted a double–double with 10 rebounds and also passed out three assists.
“Going in to the season I knew we were going to run much of our offense through Raine,” said first-year Glenn Gaulke, who spent 15 years as the Braves' JV coach. “He is an excellent shooter and really knows how to position his body for gaining an advantage offensively. The recent streak of big games is not surprising to me because I know his potential, but when you think about it, it is really unbelievable. He is a wonderful team player and most importantly a really good person. He means so much to our team and is a big part of who we are as a team.
Voigts, a first-team all-league selection as a junior, is averaging 21.3 points and more than eight rebounds a game while leading the Braves to a 3–1 start this winter.
With eight seniors returning from last year's 15–8 team that finished third in the conference, Belmont is hoping to jump Potosi and challenge defending champion Shullsburg for this year's conference title.
Voigts and the Braves will get their first shot at the Miners this Friday at 7:30 p.m. in the McDonald's Swnews4u.com Game of the Week.
HONORABLE MENTION:
Sierra Brecke, Sr., Platteville girls basketball
The three-year varsity player is off to incredible start leading the Hillmen to a 4–0 record. Brecke is averaging 27.0 points and more than five rebounds per game through four contests. She opened the season with a 28-point game in a four-point win over Dubuque Hempstead, then poured in a career-high 33 points in a 63–59 victory over Benton on Tuesday, Dec. 1. Last Thursday, she scored a game-high 22 points in a 37–30 win over River Valley to open Southwest Wisconsin Conference play, then Tuesday she scored a game-high 25 points in a win 66-–51 non-conference win over Darlington.
Isaac Wiegel, So., Belmont/Platteville wrestling
The sophomore went 2–1 to finish second at 113 pounds at Saturday's Darlington/Black Hawk Invitational in South Wayne. Wiegel's, a 2015 individual state qualifier, only loss was a 4–0 overtime decision to Orfordville Parkview's Jackson Hauri in the championship match.
Hattie Rennert, Sr., Shullsburg girls basketball
Rennert scored all 18 of her points in the second half as Shullsburg (2–0) pulled away for a 67–44 win over visiting Juda last Friday.
Haley Yelinek, Sr., Iowa–Grant girls basketball
The senior sharp-shooter canned seven 3-pointers in a 59–54 SWAL victory over host Boscobel last Friday night.
Drew Hennessey, Fr., Iowa–Grant/Highland wrestling
The Highland freshman went 3–0 with a pair of first-period wins to win the 170-pound title at Saturday's Dubuque Invitational in his first high school tournament. Hennessey pinned Hempstead's Brandon Haas in 1:29 in the championship match.
Blake Robson, So., Cuba City boys basketball
The sophomore guard made four 3-pointers and 10 of 12 free attempts to score a game-high 22 points in Cuba City's 55–48 victory over preseason SWAL favorite Darlington last Thursday.
Jayson Jones, Sr., Lancaster boys basketball
Jones posted a double–double of 24 points and 10 rebounds to lead the Arrows to a 49–35 season-opening victory over River Ridge last Thursday. He then scored 16 points in a non-conference win over Southwestern on Tuesday night.
