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

Adriana Jelle, Sr., G, Iowa–Grant girs basketball
BOSCOBEL — Senior Adriana Jelle made five 3-pointers and scored a new career-high 30 points to lead Iowa–Grant to a 69–58 SWAL victory at Boscobel in the regular season finale for both teams Thursday night.

After scoring eight points in first half, Jelle exploded for 22 points in the final 18 minutes to counter a 39-point outburst from the SWAL’s leading scorer Erin Knowles, a DIII Cornell (Iowa) commit and lead IG to the 11-point win. The Panthers closed the first-half on a 9–2 run to trim a 20–12 deficit to a one-point Boscobel lead at the half.

Jelle hit back-to-back threes early in the second half, then gave the Panthers a 46–44 lead with 8:25 left on a 3-pointer — her fifth of the night — from the top of the key. A few minutes later she scored on a putback, then scored on a postup from the right block with 5:35 left to make it 53–46. Adrienne Biddick’s putback with 3:43 left extended the lead to 57–50.

After Boscobel trimmed the lead to four, Jelle (5 of 6), BreAnn Kohlenberg (6 of 8) and Presley Lehman (1 of 2) combined to go 12 of 16 from the free throw line in the final three minutes to close out the win. Jelle finished 9 of 19 from the field and 7 of 8 from the free throw line and had six rebounds and three steals to go with her 30 points. Biddick finished with 17 points and 10 rebounds. Kohlenberg added 10 points and five boards, and senior Alaina Schultz chipped in five points and team-high 14 rebounds.

The Panthers improved to 10–14 overall and finished 6–8 in the SWAL. IG won five of its last eight regular season games going into the playoffs, including conference wins over Southwestern, Darlington, and two over Boscobel.

“When we played Fall River (Jan. 30), we started a different lineup mostly to compete better with Fall River’s size and it just clicked,” said first-year IG head coach Jessica Schultz. “The girls are really flowing and working well with each other. We have a core group of seniors that have really stepped up these last few games and taken control of their team. It’s nice to see Iowa Grant girls basketball having this success because the girls deserve it.”

Iowa–Grant opened the WIAA Division 4 playoffs Tuesday night against No. 9 seed Lancaster (9–14). The winner advances to face No. 1 seed and #8-ranked New Glarus (21–2) in a D4 regional semifinal Friday night.

Aksel Schuldes, Sr., Platteville High School, Alpine Skiing
LA CROSSE — Platteville High School senior Aksel Schuldes, qualified for the Wisconsin State Alpine High School Championships Feb. 18–19 in La Crosse. Schuldes’ ski team was one of four teams from the Southern Conference to qualify to compete at the State Championship meet. This is the third year Schuldes has been a member of a ski team that qualified for State, where they will compete for the title against 25 other schools. 

Information about the competition can be found on the following site, and if anyone would like to see the event. It was also live streamed at https://explorelacrosse.com/wialpinechamps. 

Schuldes is a member of a seven-person co-op team representing five different southwest Wisconsin school districts. He will be competing in all three events in alpine skiing: slalom, giant slalom, and super G (also known as downhill). 

As one of two seniors on the team, Schuldes stepped into a leadership position and acted as an exemplary role model for the rest of the team, including voluntarily conducting team motivational meetings in which he motivated and encouraged his teammates by urging them to do their best and never quit, even under adverse conditions. 

“It is an amazing accomplishment for a high school student to be the leader of a team of seven ski racers, who helped them to bond and form a successful team in a six week season of competition on one night per week,” said Schuldes’ ski team coach Blair Birkett. “Aksel deserves special recognition for his leadership skills and strength of character, as well as his athletic performance.” 

HONORABLE MENTION (in alphabetical order):
Madilyn Fisher, Sr., Prairie du Chien/Fennimore gymnastics
Senior Madilyn Fisher was the conference champion on the vault (9.25) and the all-around (35.575), and finished second on the bars (8.5) and floor (9.075). She also tied for second on the uneven bars (8.5) and floor exercise (9.075) to lead the Blackhawks to a fourth place finish at last Thursday's six-team SWC Championships.  

Zach McClain, Sr., C, Platteville boys basketball
McClain dominated visiting Lancaster with 15 points, 17 rebounds, six blocks and four assists to lead the SWC champion Hillmen (21–3, 10–0 SWC) to a 90–48 SWC victory over the Flying Arrows last Thursday night. McClain then posted another monster double–double of 16 points, 17 boards with four blocks in a #9 Platteville's intense 64–54 non-conference victory over Wisconsin Dells (18–6) Monday night.

Jack MacEachern, Jr., 190 pounds, Prairie du Chien wrestling
MacEachern took a 21–26 record into his match at 190 pounds against Gale–Ettrick–Trempeleau/Melrose–Mindoro's Aaron Dunigan during the sectional championship match of the River Valley Team Sectional meet. Dunigan, a 35–15 freshman, led MacEachern 8–7 with 1:18 left in the 3rd period when MacEachern reversed Dunigan, putting the freshman to his back before getting the pinfall victory in 4:54. The win cemented the Hawk sectional championship victory over the Titans, sending the team to the state tournament for the fifth time in program history, all since 2020.

Elle Pierce, Jr., F, Potosi/Cassville girls basketball
Junior Elle Pierce led all scorers with 26 points on 8-of-17 shooting from the floor and 12-of-14 from the free throw line, and pulled down 10 rebounds to lead the Chieftains to a 72–58 non-conference victory at River Valley last Friday night. The win snapped Potosi/Cassville's 15-game losing streak.

Titus Wunderlin, Sr., Platteville/Lancaster boys swimming
WAUKESHA — Platteville senior Titus Wunderlin capped his stellar prep swimming career by winning a pair of medals at Friday’s WIAA Division 2 State Championships Friday night at the Waukesha South Natatorium. Wunderlin opened his night with a fourth-place finish in the 50-yard freestyle (the fifth event of the night) with a new personal-best time of 21.60, finishing behind McFarland’s Cale TaBeest (20.94) and Shane TeBeest (20.96) and River Falls junior Daniel Carns (21.37). Wunderlin returned two events later and posted another lifetime best time of 47.61 to place third in the 100-yard freestyle, behind Nicolet senior Jack Sullivan — who won the event with a new state record time of 44.57 — and McFarland senior Lyon Hall (45.34).