EDITOR'S NOTE: The SWNews4u.com Athlete of the Week is a web-only feature that will publish each Thursday throughout the calendar year.

Will Schaefer, Sr., 195, Belmont/Platteville wrestling

     SOUTH WAYNE — Belmont/Platteville senior Will Schaefer repeated as champion in the 195-pound class with three first period pins at the 33rd annual Black Hawk Wrestling Invitational held at Black Hawk High School on Saturday, Dec. 7.

     Schaefer defended his 195-pound title from a year ago by going 4–0 with three pinfalls on Saturday. Following an opening round bye, the Platteville senior pinned Mt. Horeb’s Dylan Brandemuehl (0:40), Western Dubuque’s Mitchell Ashline (1:20) and WD’s Emerso Lux Morales in 1:27 to lock down his second career Black Hawk Invite crown.

     Schaefer's championship helped the Braves placed seven of their 10 wrestlers in the top five to finish sixth overall with 124 points. Western Dubuque crowned five champions and five runner-ups to roll to the team title with 279.5 points. Schaefer was a WIAA state qualifier a year ago, placing fifth in Division 2 at 195 pounds.

     Belmont/Platteville has a non-conference triple dual against Boscobel and Pecatonica/Argyle at Pecatonica High School on Thursday, Dec. 12, starting at 6 p.m. Then, on Saturday, Dec. 14, the Braves will participate in the annual Bob Downing Scramble at Sun Prairie High School, starting at 9 a.m. 

HONORABLE MENTION (in alphabetical order)

Dawson Bowen, Sr., G, Lancaster boys basketball

     Bowen scored a game-high 25 points on 9 of 16 shooting, including 5 of 7 on 3-pointers, pulled down a team-high six rebounds and had two assists and two steals to lead Lancaster to a 55–47 non-conference victory over visiting River Ridge in last Tuesday's season opener at LHS.

Dominic Cummins, Jr., G, Benton boys basketball

     Cummins scored nine of his career-high 28 points in the the three overtime periods as Benton outlasted host River Ridge (Ill.) 61–55 last Tuesday night. Cummins made one of his four 3-pointers in the extra sessions and went 6-for-8 at the free throw line to help the Zephyrs seal the win.

Brayden Dailey, Jr., F, Cuba City boys basketball

     Dailey scored a game-high 21 points against his former team in his former high school to lead #2-ranked Cuba City to a 71–55 victory at #5 Mineral Point last Friday night in the SWAL opener for both teams. Dailey, who transferred Cuba City after leaving Mineral Point midway through last year, drew a bulk of the ire in his return to Mineral Point, but managed to shut out all the noise. He scored 16 of his points in the second half, including a pair of breakaway dunks to punctuate the Cubans' victory.

Maddy Huschitt, Sr., G, Black Hawk girls basketball

     Huschitt hit seven 3-pointers en rout to a career-high 23 points to lead top-ranked Black Hawk (2–0) to a dominating 86–41 victory at Barneveld last Friday night.

Kellen Kenney, Sr., Fennimore boys basketball

     Kenney posted a triple–double of 16 points, 11 rebounds and a season-high 12 assists in Friday's 64–43 victory over visiting Southwestern in last Friday night's SWAL opener for both teams. Kenney scored 10 of his 16 points in the first half, all on offensive rebounds putbacks after missed Fennimore shots. Kenney had 19 points, seven rebounds and seven assists in last Monday's 55–4 win at Prairie du Chien and is averaging an amazing 19.8 points, 9.3 assists, 8.3 rebounds per game and 2.0 steals per game.

Adam Larson, Jr., Fennimore boys basketball

     Larson poured in a career-high 31 points, which included three 3-pointers and a pair of dunks, and added nine rebounds and four blocks to lead Fennimore to a 64–43 victory over visiting Southwestern in last Friday night's SWAL opener for both teams. Larson also had a game-high 24 points, five rebounds and five blocks in Fennimore's 55–42 win at Prairie du Chien last Monday. The 6'9" junior is averaging a league-best 25.5 points per game for the undefeated and fifth-ranked (D4) Golden Eagles, who are off to a 4–0 start to the season.  

Ayden Nolan, So., 106, Cuba City/Southwestern/Benton wrestling

     Nolan claimed the lone title for the Cubans at the 2019 Creek Classic at Johnson Creek after posting a 5–0 record in the 106-pound weight class. He opened with identical 1:15 pins over Johnson Creek’s Matthew Gruss and Kettle Moraine’s Chris Biondo, and then added a 9-2 decision over Markesan’s Edgar Hernandez and an 8-1 decision over Brodhead/Juda’s Jacob Lohmar to advance to the championship match. In the finals, Nolan pinned Marquette’s Abdullah Noor in 1:56 to take the title.

Braxton Wilson, Sr., 285, Fennimore wrestling

     Wilson went battled back after an opening round loss in Friday's group round to finished third out of 32 wrestlers at 285 pounds at last weekend's two-day 33-team Cliff Keene Independence Invitational, the toughest tournament in Iowa. Wilson needed to win both his other group round matches in overtime Friday night to earn a spot in the eight-man gold bracket. Wilson wrestled mostly JV a year ago for the Golden Eagles, who went on to win the WIAA Division 3 team state title.