EDITOR'S NOTE: The Swnews4u.com Athlete of the Week is a web-only feature that will publish each Thursday throughout the calendar year.
By Jason Nihles, The Platteville Journal / Fennimore Times / Boscobel Dial
Isaac Henkel, Jr., Fennimore boys cross country
SPRING GREEN — The Fennimore boys cross country team continued its winning streak at Saturday’s River Valley Blackhawk Invitational.
Junior Isaac Henkel beat the field of 104 runners to win the boys small schools division title with a winning time of 16:55.7 to lead the Fennimore boys to the small schools division team title.
Seniors Riley Foreyt (3rd, 17:10.6) and Carter Bunn (4th, 17:19.3) finished in the top four, and junior Ben Varela (7th, 17:52.8) and senior Nick Needham (8th, 17:53.0) also raced to top 10 finished in the small schools division to lead the Golden Eagles (23) to a dominant team win over SWAL rivals Boscobel (95), Albany (111) and Iowa–Grant (120).
“It has been amazing to watch the boys race in their first few meets of the season,” said Fennimore head coach Ryanne Carl. “A few things are evident, they are strong, steady and confident. After the state meet last year, we spent a lot of time talking about how we got buried at the start of the race and then we just raced where we were. One of our focuses for the season is to get out to the front of the race and be in position and ready to respond.
“It was clear on Saturday that the boys feel like they belong at the front. The entire pack did a great job of keying off of each other and working together through the entire race. They were patient and made moves at appropriate times which led to them scoring one of the lowest team scores in River Valley history.”
“During the race, it was hard to tell who was going to pull away for the win, but Isaac made a move right after the two-mile and never looked back,” added Carl.
The last Fennimore Eagle to win the River Valley invite was Ben Stuckey in 2007.
HONORABLE MENTION (in alphabetical order):
Abe Amundson, Jr., QB, Prairie du Chein football
Amundson completed 12 of 16 passes for 222 yards and four touchdowns — three to fellow junior Blake Thiry — in the Blackhawks (3–1, 1–1 SWC) 43–7 bounce back victory over Richland Center.
Adele Berget, So., Darlington girls cross country
Berget beat the field of 100 runners to win the small schools individual title with a winning time of 19:15.0 to lead the D3 #1-ranked Lady Redbirds to the smalls schools team title five points ahead of runner-up and D3 #2-ranked Lancaster (66).
Potosi/Cassville football offensive line: Ryan Stoney, Heath Rauch, Ezra Groom, Isaiah Groom and Denny Espiritu
With offensive linemen like Ryan Stoney (#61), Heath Rauch (#55), Ezra Groom (#52), Isaiah Groom (#67) and Denny Espiritu (64) leading the way, Potosi/Cassville was able to amass 452 yards rushing and six touchdowns in last Friday night’s 50–21 victory over host Cuba City. The Chieftains averaged 7.8 yards per rushing attempt.They had three rushers over 120 yards; including Eli Adams rushed for 152 yards and one touchdown on 15 carries, Braden Fishnick rushed for 133 yards and two TDs on 11 attempts, and Roman Friederick rushed for 121 yards and three TDs on 21 carries.
Tyler Sasse, So., RB/DB, Platteville football
Saase rushed for 121 yards on 13 carries, including a go-ahead 78-yard touchdown in the third quarter of Platteville's 14–6 upset victory over #2 Brodhead/Juda last Friday. Sasse, also caught three passes for 42 yards, kicked a pair of extra points and made a handful of tackles on defense in the win.
