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SUPPZ.COM ATHLETE OF THE WEEK: Jesse Martin
Platteville senior scored a career-high 39 points on just 18 shots in blowout win over Wisconsin Heights
Jesse Martin
Platteville senior Jesse Martin scored a career-high 39 points on 14 of 18 shooting in blowout win over Wisconsin Heights last Thursday night.
Published: Dec 29, 2021, 4:50 PM

EDITOR'S NOTE: The Swnews4u.com Athlete of the Week is a web-only feature that will publish each Thursday throughout the calendar year.

Jesse Martin, Sr., G, Platteville boys basketball
PLATTEVILLE — Platteville has been winning games with defense and grit early this year. Last Thursday night Jesse Martin and the offense carried the Hillmen to their sixth victory of the season. Martin scored a career-high 39 points on 14 of 18 shooting from the field to lead the Hillmen to a commanding 80–60 non-conference victory over visiting Wisconsin Heights in the nightcap of a girls–boys doubleheader.

“When a young man finds his rhythm like Jesse did on Thursday and is making shot after shot, it is just a joy to watch,” said Platteville head coach Mike Huser. “What really impressed me is everything he did was within the context of our offensive scheme and he took what was available to him, which is a credit to his growth as a basketball player.”

Martin had it going from the opening tip, scoring 23 of his points in the first half as the Hillmen (6–3) build a 46–24 halftime advantage. Martin made 10 field goals and two free throws in the first half, and kept attacking the basket in the second half, going 8 of 9 from the line while making four field goals in the second half. He also added eight rebounds, two steals and one assist. 

“I think everyone was excited for Jesse and the night he had offensively,” said Huser. “He was 14 of 18 from the floor and 10 of 11 from the line, so his efficiency was just incredible. We knew after missing all of last year, that it might take a bit for him to find his stride and he seems to be finding that right now.  Jesse and Devin Digman had outstanding nights offensively and they are a tough combination to stop when they get rolling like they did on Thursday evening.”


HONORABLE MENTION (in alphabetical order:
Braden Crubel, Jr., G, River Ridge boys basketball
Crubel went off for a career-high 30 points, making 8 of 10 3-pointers, and grabbed five rebounds in a 84–45 win over Barneveld Tuesday morning at the River Ridge Holiday Classic. Crubel then scored a team-high 14 points and had three assists in a 57–26 victory over Iowa–Grant in the championship game later Tuesday afternoon. River Ridge improved to 8–1 overall with the pair of wins.

Sarah Knowles, Sr., F, Boscobel girls basketball
Knowles scored 14 points, grabbed a career-high 26 rebounds, blocked three shots and had four steals to power the Bulldogs comeback from a 15-point first half deficit to defeat previously undefeated Kickapoo 55–54 last Tuesday night.

Matthew Hughey, Sr., F, Lancaster boys basketball
Hughey scored a career-high 16 points on 8 of 10 from the field and grabbed four rebounds to led Lancaster to an emotional 65–32 victory over visiting Boscobel last Thursday night just one day after the Flying Arrows buried teammate Braeden Bausch.

Tatianna Place, Sr., F, Lancaster girls basketball
Place scored a career-high 19 points to lead the Flying Arrows to  49–43 non-conference victory over visiting Belleville last Thursday night.

Tyler Rizner, Sr., G, Richland Center boys basketball
Rizner scored a game-high 25 points to lead Richland Center (5–3) to a 65–56 non-conference victory over host Gale–Ettrick–Trempeleau Monday night. Rizner also made three 3-pointers and finished with 21 points in the Hornets' 57–47 win at Viroqua last Tuesday night.

Hailey Weigel, Sr., F, Platteville girls basketball
Weigel posted a double–double with a career-high 19 points, a career-high 10 assists, five steals and four rebounds in Platteville's 70–22 SWC victory over River Valley last Thursday night.
SUPPZ.COM SWNEWS4U CO-ATHLETES OF THE WEEK: Tri-State Homeschool's Ruah Franzmann-Simmert and Isaac Harkness
TSHS athletes compete at Houston Junior Olympics
Ruah Franzmann-Simmert Houston
Ruah Franzmann-Simmert finished fourth in the 1,500 and eighth in the 800 at the recent AAU Junior Olympics in Houston.
Updated: Aug 8, 2025, 3:15 PM
Published: Aug 8, 2025, 3:02 PM

EDITOR'S NOTE: The Swnews4u.com Athlete of the Week is a web-only feature that will publish each Thursday or Friday throughout the calendar year.

By Jason Nihles, The Platteville Journal

Ruah Franzmann-Simmert and Isaac Harkness, Tri-State Homeschool track and field
HOUSTON — A pair of Tri-State Homeschool track and field athletes recently returned from the AAU Junior Olympics in Houston.  

Ruah Franzmann-Simmert medaled in both of her 17–18-year-old age division events.

Franzmann-Simmert, who has been a standout for the Falcons in both cross country and track and field the past two years, finished fourth in the 17–18U 1,500-meter run with a time of 4:41.55. She also placed eight in the the 800-meter run with a time of 2:14.50.

TSHS teammate Isaac Harkness also qualified for this year’s Junior Olympics and finished 38th in the boys 15-16-year-old 3,000-meter run with a time of 10:26.49.

The AAU Junior Olympics, the largest youth sporting event in the country, welcomed nearly 16,000 athletes to Texas this year. 

Athletes this year faced temperatures approaching 100 degrees, with very competitive track and field events from July 26–Aug. 2.

Several Tri-State Homeschool athletes also competed at AAU District and Regional competitions earlier this summer, with Franzmann-Simmert and Harkness advancing to Houston for the championships. 


HONORABLE MENTION 
Brock Henkel, Sr., OF, Fennimore U19 American Legion baseball
WESTBY — Brock Henkel hit a clutch two-out, three-run homer in the bottom of the sixth to give Fennimore a 4–2 lead in an elimination game last Sunday at the eight-team double-elimination American Legion 19U Class A State Tournament.But Viroqua tied the game on a wild pitch and a bases loaded walk in the top of the seventh, then scored three in the top of the eighth to end Fennimore’s summer season.

Henkel finished 2-for-4 with three RBI and a run scored, and earned a spot on the 18-player All-Tournament Team after batting .600 (6-for-10) with a double, two homers, eight RBI and four runs scored. He also homered and drove in five runs in Fennimore's 14–4 victory over Lomira (16–3) on Saturday. Henkel finished the summer batting .300 (12-for-40) with one double, a team-high three home runs, 11 RBI, nine runs scored and posted a team-best .550 slugging percentage and a .954 OPS in 14 games.

Henkel and the Railers finished the summer season 11–8 overall after going 1–2 to finish tied for fifth at the state tournament.

Tyson Starkey, Sr., SS/P, Fennimore U19 American Legion baseball
Starkey also earned a spot on the 18-player American Legion Class A State Tournament team after batting . 400 (4-for-10) with two RBI, four runs scored and two stolen bases. He also struck out six and allowed just one unearned run over six innings in Fennimore's 1–0 opening round loss to St. Mary Springs last Friday. Starkey finished third on the summer club batting .312 (19-for-61) with three doubles, one triple, five RBI, 14 runs, five walks and a team-high 10 stolen bases, and played all 19 games this summer. Starkey was also the ace of the staff, posting a 5–3 record on the mound with a 2.48 ERA and a team-high 44 strikeouts in 36 1/3 innings of work.