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

Michael Douglas, Sr., 285 pounds, Belmont/Platteville wrestling
RICHLAND CENTER — Belmont/Platteville senior Michael Douglas pinned his way to the 285-pound title to highlight the fine day of wrestling for the Braves at the 2021 WIAA Division 2 Sectional Wrestling Meet held at Richland Center High School Saturday afternoon.

Douglas (12–0) needed just over four minutes of total mat time to lock down his second straight 285-pound sectional title and a third career state berth.

“After a close finals match at regionals, it was refreshing to see him go out there and open up more,” said Braves’ head coach Emeric Williams. “That is exactly what we want to see leading into the state tournament. Obviously, the state tournament is going to be very tough, but Michael is up for the challenge. If he keeps on wrestling like he did last weekend, I believe we will come home very happy.”

Douglas, who placed fifth at state as a junior, got right to work on Saturday pinning Monroe’s Isaac Bunker in 1:16 in the quarterfinals, Lake Mills’ Tyler Theder in 1:15 in the semifinals and Evansville’s Waylon Klitzman in 1:36 in the finals to secure the title at 285.

Douglas, who is ranked third in D2 at 285, is matched up against sixth-ranked Luxemburg-Casco senior Travis LeGrave (14–2) in the quarterfinal round at state

The 2021 WIAA D2 State Individual Wrestling Meet will be held at Adams–Friendship High School Saturday. 

The doors open at 9 a.m. with competition set to begin at 10 a.m. The championship round will begin at 5 p.m. with all first-, third- and fifth-place matches being wrestled in consecutive order from 106 through 285-pounds.

HONORABLE MENTION (in alphabetical order)
Isaac Hill, Sr., G, Iowa–Grant boys basketball
Hill scored 17 of his team-high 19 points in the first half of Monday's 89–43 to first-place Darlington and to become just the second boy — and fourth player overall — to score 1,000 career points. Hill reached the milestone on a pair of free throws with 2:49 left in the first half. The four-year varsity player now has 1,005 career points, trailing only 2016 IGHS graduate Isaac Anderson (1,418 points) on the Panthers’ all-time scoring list. Olivia Liddicoat (class of 2020) is the IG girls’ all-time leading scorer with 1,634 points. Mary Bunker (1996) also finished her career with 1,370 points. Hill is averaging a team-high 16.1 points, 4.8 rebounds, 4.2 assists and 1.2 steals per games in 14 games this year for the Panthers (3–11, 1–8 SWAL).

Anna Kartman, Sr., F, Potosi/Cassville girls basketball
Kartman joined the 1,000-point club with 11:16 left in the first half of Saturday afternoon’s Six Rivers West girls basketball game at Benton. The Cassville senior snagged an offensive rebound away from two Zephyrs, took one gather dribble near the right block and scored on a turnaround jumper over her left shoulder while being fouled to reach the 1,000-point career milestone. Kartman completed the three-point play and finished the game with nine points in the visiting Chieftains’ 61–23 victory over Benton and became the third girl in Cassville history to surpass 1,000 career points, joining Claire Faurote (CHS Class of 2002) and Andrea Okey (Class of 2016) and the first in the three-year history of the Potosi/Cassville co-op. Kartman, who now has 1,007 career points after scoring 267 during her freshman year at Cassville and 740 the past three years as part of the Potosi/Cassville co-op also became the second 1000-point scorer in her own family. She joined older brother Ty Kartman, a 2014 Cassville graduate, who finished his career with 1,617 points.

Kiley Kelly, Sr., G, Lancaster girls basketball
Kelly made history for the Arrows Monday night and joining a very elite club when she surpassed the 1,000-point career mark late in the first half. Going into Monday night’s contest, Kelly needed just nine points to reach the 1,000-point mark, and with 38.1 seconds to play in the first half, drained a 3-pointer from the right wing to give her 1,001 points. Kelly finished with 17 points. She also scored a game-high 17 points in Tuesday's 64–60 WIAA Division 3 regional semifinal win over Dodgeville as the Flying Arrows (17–6) advanced to face top-seeded Prairie du Chien (15–2) in a D3 regional semifinal Friday night. 

Adam Larson, Sr., F, Fennimore boys basketball
Larson and the Fennimore boys basketball team are on a tear. Larson, who posted a triple–double of 33 points, 15 rebounds and 10 blocks Monday night in a 61–45 non-conference win over visiting River Valley, has now scored 126 points in Fennimore’s last four games, the best four-game stretch in his magnificent four-year varsity career. During that stretch Larson has led the Golden Eagles to victories. Larson made 9 of 16 3-pointers and erupted for a career-high 41 points in Fennimore’s 72–59 win over Riverdale last Tuesday. Larson then posted a double–double of 23 points and 11 rebounds with four blocked shots in a 51–39 victory over visiting Mineral Point last Wednesday night. Adam finished with 10 points and Horn added nine. Larson posted another double–double of 29 points and 12 boards in Saturday morning’s 67–46 make-up game victory at Iowa–Grant.

With his 33 points Monday night, Adam Larson is now second on the Fennimore boys’ all-time scoring list with 1,585 points, just 85 behind older brother Reid Larson (1,640), a 2019 graduate of Fennimore High School, and 38 points ahead of uncle Kevin Larson, a 1987 FHS grad.  

Brody Lee, Sr., 132 pounds, Fennimore wrestling
Brody Lee is heading back to state. The Fennimore senior, who injured his shoulder at last year’s sectional tournament, won the 132-pound title Saturday at the WIAA Division 3 Mineral Point Sectional to become a three-time state qualifier. Lee (10–0, ranked #2 in D3) pinned his way to the sectional title with a 1:00 quarterfinal pin of Riverdale’s Nick Stitzer, a 0:55 semifinal pin over New Lisbon Devon Lee and a 5:17 pin over Pec/Argyle senior Noah Krahenbuhl (12–2, #6) in the 132-pound title match.

Ryan McCartney, Sr., 195 pounds, Lancaster wrestling
McCartney won the 195-pound title at last Saturday's WIAA Division 3 Mineral Point Sectional to earn his first trip to the WIAA Individual Wrestling State Tournament. McCartney improved to 16–1 on the season with a 1:15 pin of New Lisbon's Sam Duckworth in the quarterfinals, a dominating 13–0 major decision over Gavin Bragger of Independence/Gilman in the semifinals, and an 8–6 victory over De Soto senior Cezar Garcia in the finals. Garcia (13–1) was previously unbeaten and ranked #2 in the state at 195-pounds. McCartney, who is now ranked #2, will now face Stratford junior Raife Smart (12–1, #4) in the 195-pound quarterfinal round at the WIAA D3 State Tournament Saturday morning in Wausau.