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
Cole Herbst, Fr., Platteville golf
PLATTEVILLE — The Southwest Wisconsin Conference-leading Platteville golf team hosted the annual Dick McKichan Invitational Saturday at the Platteville Golf and Country Club.
Freshman Cole Herbst shot a 5-over par 76 to win medalist honors in the 13-team, 63-player field.
Herbst’s winning round of 1-over par 38 on the front 9 and a 4-over par 38 on the par 34 back 9 led the Hillmen to a tie for fourth place with Cuba City/Southwestern/Benton and Monona Grove with 371 combined strokes.
Led by individual runner-up Tate Eccles (41–38=79) McFarland won the team title with a combined team score of 341. Argyle/Pecatonica finished second with a 354.
“Cole is a very talented golfer,” said Platteville head coach Brandon Temperly. “He has worked hard to put himself in a great position as a high school golfer. His demeanor on the course is very good. He does not get too high when things go well and he does not get too low when things aren’t going his way.
“To win the McKichan Invite as a freshman is an incredible accomplishment. There were a lot of very good golfers at Platteville Golf and Country Club on Saturday and Cole was able to post a great score to take medalist honors. Cole comes to practice each day ready to work, have fun, and learn ways to improve his solid game already. He has been a wonderful addition to the team.”
Herbst is the younger brother of Grant Herbst, a three-time All-SWC golfer, who finished second in final individual SWC standings a year ago while leading Platteville to the SWC title.
Jenna James, Sr., C, Fennimore softball
HAZEL GREEN — The Fennimore softball team snapped a mini three-game losing streak with a pair of SWAL victories at Southwestern Monday afternoone
Senior catcher Jenna James went 7-for-8 with three homers and 11 RBI in the two-game sweep. The Division 2 Winona State (Minn.) recruit went 4-for-4 with a double, a homer and two RBI in a 10–4 win in the opener. She had an RBI single in the fourth to make it 6–0 and a solo homer in the sixth.
Alex Bausch had a two-run triple in the fifth to make it 8–0. Sophomore Kayahna Furrer it a two-run homer in the Fennimore’s three-run third inning. She also earned the win in the pitcher’s circle, striking out eight and walking two without allowing a run in 3 2/3 innings.
Jessa Braudt pitched the final 3 1/3 innings to collect the save. She struck out four and walked two. In game two, Jenna James was even more sensational, going 3-for-4 with a pair of long balls and a career-high nine RBI.
James belted a grand slam in the bottom of the second to give the Golden Eagles a 7–0 lead. She also crushed a three-run blast to centerfield in the fourth to extend Fennimore’s lead to 11–1. James added a two-run single in the fifth. James is now batting .500 (12-for-24) with four home runs, 13 RBI and seven runs scored through nine games this year.
Furrer (5–4) pitched three scoreless innings, striking out six while allowing one hit to earn the win. Freshman Brylie Zink pitched the final three innings for the save.
The Eagles (6–4, 5–3 SWAL) will now travel to first-place Boscobel (10–1, 8–0) Friday, Richland Center Saturday morning and Iowa–Grant Monday afternoon.
HONORABLE MENTION (in alphabetical order)
Izzy Bender, Sr., Fennimore girls track and field
Bender scored a team-high 26 teams points by winning the girls high jump (5'0"), placing second in the triple jump (32'11"), third in the 100-meter hurdles (16.93) and second in the 4x400 relay to help the Fennimore girls win the team title at Monday's 15-team Fennimore Invitational
Adele Berget, So., Darlington girls track and field
Berget broke the girls 3,200 meters school record and the meet record at last Thursday's Cuba City Christopher Becker Memorial Invitational with a winning time of 11:30.50. Berget's time eclipsed the former meet record of Benton/Scales Mound/Shullsburg's Hanna Martensen (11:36.12, set in 2021) by nearly six seconds, and broke Darlington's school record in the event, which stood strong since 2000 at 11:41.4 (Erin Goebel Donovan). Berget also teamed with Raquel Reuter, Brianna Vazquez and Clara Solverson to win the 4x800 relay in another meet record time of 10:00.75, breaking the old record set by Boscobel (10:07.06) just last year.
Rhiannon Nelson-Hahn, So., Fennimore girls track and field
Nelson-Hahn scored 23 teams points by winning the girls triple jump (33'1"), placing second in the 100-meter hurdles (16.62 seconds), fourth in the long jump (15'8.25") to help the Fennimore girls win the team title at Monday's 15-team Fennimore Invitational
Tannah Radloff, Jr., Prairie du Chien girls track and field
Radloff won the girls' 300-meter hurdles at last Thursday's Cuba City Christopher Becker Memorial Invitational in a new meet record of 47.67 seconds. She also placed second in the 4x100 relay and fourth in the long jump (15'11").
Gavin Vaassen, Jr., P, Cuba City baseball
Vaassen struck out eight and worked around five walks to toss a six-inning no-hitter in a 10–0 shutout of Fennimore in game two of a SWAL doubleheader last Thursday afternoon. Vaassen also went 1-for-3 with an RBI, a run and a stolen base out of the leadoff spot to aid the win, which capped the sweep of the struggling Golden Eagles (6–7, 2–5 SWAL). Tyson Richard threw a two-hit shutout in a 7–0 win in Game one.
