SUPPZ.COM SWNEWS4U ATHLETE OF THE WEEK: Potosi's Gavin Wunderlin

Wunderlin scores 20 of his game-high 25 points in the second half to propel Potosi past first place River Ridge

Potosi junior Gavin Wunderlin rises up for two of his game-high 25 points in last Tuesday's 61-38 victory over River Ridge in a battle for first-place Six Rivers West contest.

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

Gavin Wunderlin, Jr., F, Potosi boys basketball
POTOSI — Potosi's Gavin Wunderlin is having a standout season for the now first-place Chieftains. The lanky junior scored a game-high 25 points on 9-of-18 shooting from the floor and 7-of-8 from the free throw line to lead Potosi to a dominating 61–38 victory over first-place River Ridge last Tuesday night. Wunderlin was particularly big in the second half, where he scored 20 points and was a perfect 6-for-6 from the charity stripe. He also led Potosi in assists with four, and in steals with three.

With the win, the Chieftains (14–5, 8–1 SRW) moved a half game ahead off the Timberwolves (15–4, 7–1) in the Six Rivers West standings, with Potosi having to play league games against Belmont (Feb. 14), Shullsburg (Feb. 17) and Benton (Feb. 23), while River Ridge still has to play Shullsburg (Feb. 14), Belmont (Feb. 23) and Highland twice (Feb. 9 and 16).

Wunderlin also scored 21 points, four rebounds and two steals in a 78–57 win over Argyle last Friday night in a Six Rivers Challenge crossover game to help the West sweep the East in all seven games. He also had 19 points, six rebounds and four steals in an 82–71 non-conference win over Wauzeka–Steuben last Monday night. Wunderlin is averaging a team-high 20.4 points (second in the SRW) and 5.7 rebounds for the Chieftains.

HONORABLE MENTION (in alphabetical order):
Ian Crapp, Jr., 132 pounds, Wyatt Ahnen, Jr., 182, Wyatt Miles, Jr., 220, Fennimore wrestling
Juniors Ian Crapp (132 pounds), Wyatt Ahnen (182) and Wyatt Miles (220) each won individual titles to help the Division 3 #1-ranked Golden Eagles score 297 points to edge Division 2 #1-ranked Prairie du Chien (289.5) last Saturday to win this year’s SWC/SWAL Clash team title. It was the Eagles’ sixth Clash title in the past eight years. Crapp (31–8) won his 132-pound title with a 5–1 victory over Mineral Point’s Kade Rule (D3 #5) in the finals. Ahnen (16–4) beat Riverdale’s Kadin Rynes (D3 #5), 8–4, for the 182-pound title. Miles (19–8) defeated Mineral Point’s Mac Busser 5–1 to win the 220-pound title.

Gabe Davis, Jr., G, and Tucker Schmid-Cox, Jr., Boscobel boys basketball
Davis (15 points, 7 rebound, 4 steals) and Schmid-Cox (12 points, 3 rebounds) combined for 27 points to lead the Bulldogs to a 41–39 SWAL victory at Riverdale last Friday night. The win snapped Boscobel's 11-game losing streak. Four nights later, Schmid-Cox poured in a career-high 26 points (including five 3-pointers), to go along with four rebounds, three assists and three steals, and Davis posted a near-triple-double of 18 points, 16 rebounds, nine assists and five steals in a wild 84–83 triple overtime victory Shullsburg Tuesday night.

Rhett Koenig, Sr., 138 pounds, Jeremiah Avery, 160, Jr., Brogan Brewer, 170, Sr., and Blake Thiry, So., 195, Prairie du Chien wrestling
Koenig (40–2, 138 pounds), Avery (39–6, 160), Brewer (35–6, 170) and Thiry (39–2, 195) each won individual conference titles to lead the Division 2 #1-ranked Blackhawks (289.5) to a second-place finish at last Saturday's 13-team SWC/SWAL Clash behind champion Fennimore (297).

Porter Mandurano, Sr., 285 pounds Belmont/Platteville wrestling
Mandurano defeated Fennimore’s Evan Gratz (#1 ranked in D3) in the 285-pound championship match to lead the Braves to a seventh-place finish out of 13 teams with 123.5 points, just behind Dodgeville (125.5). Mineral Point (197) and Riverdale (140) finished fourth and fifth at the SWAL fill four of the top five placements spots at Saturday’s Clash.

Hunter Stevens, Fr., 126 pounds, Jaxon Busse, Fr. 152, Iowa–Grant/Highland wrestling
IGH's freshmen duo of Stevens and Busse won individual titles at last Saturday's SWC/SWAL Clash to lead the Panthers (232) to a third-place finish at the 13-team combined conference tournament behind Fennimore (297) and Prairie du Chien (289.5). Stevens (34–2) won the 126-pound title with a 15–2 major decision over Prairie du Chien's Drake Ingham, while Busse (28–7) won his title with a 4–1 win over PdC's Luke Kramer.

Brooke Von Glahn, Sr., Platteville/Belmont/Lancaster gymnastics
Von Glahn won the uneven bars (8.8), balance beam (season-best 9.5) and placed in the top-6 in both the floor (4th, 9.175) and vault (6th, 8.65) to claim all-around (36.125) title at last Saturday's Dodgeville Invitational. Von Glahn's performances helped the Platteville/Belmont/Lancater gymnastics team post a season-high team score of 136.95 to win the 10-team invitational.

Titus Wunderlin, Jr., Platteville/Lancaster boys swimming
Led by a pair of standout swims by junior Titus Wunderlin, the Platteville/Lancaster boys swim team finished fifth at Saturday’s Southern Lakes Conference Championships. Wunderlin won an individual conference title in the 100-yard freestyle with a winning-time of 50.84 seconds, and finished second in the 50 freestyle at 22.88 seconds two events earlier. He also swam the lead off leg of Platteville/Lancaster’s second-place 200 freestyle relay, teaming with Owen Fritz, Mazin Plumb and Rusty Wruck to post a runner-up time of 1:40.85. Wunderlin, Fritz, Plumb and Clem Duve opened the meet with a seventh-place finish in the 200 medley relay (1:58.12).