NOTE: Each week, the sports editors of swews4u.com; A.J. Gates (Grant County Herald Independent), Jason Nihles (Platteville Journal), Tom "Gunner" Gunnell (Republican Journal) and Erik Olson (The Richland Observer) combine to nominate our "Prep Performers of the Week".
PERFORMERS OF THE WEEK (Dec. 14-21)
BOYS BASKETBALL - PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Tim Fritz, jr., G (Potosi) – knocked down four 3-pointers and scored 14 points in the third quarter alone sparking Potosi past visiting Benton in a battle of unbeatens last Thursday night. Fritz finished with a game-high 20 points, making five 3-pointers on the night. "He has that capability," said Potosi coach Mike Uppena of Fritz. "He's really worked hard on developing a jumper from behind the arc. When he was younger he was more of a set shooter. Now he really gets up and he has a fairly quick release."
HONORABLE MENTION
Dakota Poad, sr., G (Mineral Point) – nailed four 3-pointers and finished with a game-high 27 points in Mineral Point's 60-47 SWAL victory over Darlington. It was the Pointers first win over the Redbirds since Feb. 2008, and ended a nine-game losing streak to Darlington.
Corey Vaassen, sr., F (Cuba City) – buried four 3-pointers and had three breakaway dunks en route to a game-high 23 points in Cuba City’s 52-36 victory over Southwestern on Tuesday. Last Friday the 6-4 small forward scored a game-high 22 points in a 67-32 win last Thursday at Fennimore.
GIRLS BASKETBALL - PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Jen Wellnitz, so., PG (Black Hawk) – tallied 14 points, 11 rebounds, eight assists and four steals in Black Hawk's 49-31 victory over Monticello in their Six Rivers East opener on Friday, and she registered 23 points, 10 rebounds, seven assists and seven steals in the Lady Warriors' 48-47 non-conference win over Clinton on Monday. She scored 10 points in the fourth quarter and hit the go-ahead basket with 37 seconds to play to help Black Hawk rally from a 16-point halftime deficit to defeat the Cougars for their 47th straight regular season victory.
HONORABLE MENTION
Sarah Redfearn, so., F and Blaire Lutes, jr., G (Benton/Shullsburg) – These two underclassmen filled out the stat sheets while leading the Zephyr/Miners to the championship title at the 2011 East Dubuque Bi-State Tournament. Redfearn recorded 43 points, 14 rebounds, eight steals, three assists and a blocked shot in the team's two victories, and Lutes added 34 points, 15 assists, six steals and five rebounds for B/S. The co-op defeated Galena, 56-34, in their opening game and took down Southwestern, 60-45, in the championship game to claim the title.
Josi Olson, sr., C (Iowa-Grant) – scored a game-high 15 points and grabbed 10 rebounds in Iowa-Grant’s 36-30 victory at Riverdale last Tuesday. The win was the Panthers’ (1-4) first of the year and helped snapped the program’s six-game losing streak that dated back to last year.
Cassie McCarthy, jr., G (Belmont) – drained three 3-pointers and scored 18 points to help visiting Belmont defeat Potosi 62-51 last Thursday night. Belmont fell behind 12-7 in the first quarter, but rallied behind the sharp shooting of McCarthy and senior Kailee Kamps (21 points, 3 3-pointers, 7 rebounds) to outscored the Chieftains 55-39 over the final three quarters.
WRESTLER OF THE WEEK
Colin Novak, fr., 106 (Black Hawk) – went 6-0 during the week, including a 5-0 record for the Warriors at the Beloit Turner Duals on Saturday, Dec. 17, where they finished fourth overall with a 2-3 record. Novak is currently 14-3 on the season.
HONORABLE MENTION
Cole Martin, fr., 113 (Lancaster) – remained undefeated (13-0) this year by pinning Dodgeville junior Austin DeVoss, who was a sectional qualifier last season, in the third period of his match during Lancaster’s 70-5 dual meet victory at Dodgeville last Thursday night. Martin and the Arrows are 5-1 overall and 2-0 in SWC duals this year.
Cody Rider, so., 220 (Iowa-Grant) – scored a 5-2 win over Brenyn Schmitt in his first varsity match to begin I-G's 31-28 victory over Mineral Point last Friday night. “I think Cody did a great job stepping up and getting a big win,” said I-G head coach Ryan Allen. “It was his first varsity match and I’m sure he felt a lot of pressure.
SWIMMER OF THE WEEK
Brenden Polkinghorn, (Lancaster, so.) – continued his quick start to the season by winning both the 50-yard (:24.68) and 100-yard freestyle (:54.41) races. Polkinghorn also teamed with Ryan Heberlein, Ryan Murray and Nicholas Volkman to win the 200 freestyle relay in 1:40.07.
TEAM OF THE WEEK
Iowa-Grant Wrestling – scored a key 31-28 SWAL victory over Mineral Point that could propel the Panthers to their first SWAL duals conference title since 2005-06, the program's only regular season conference title since 1973. The Panthers trailed 25-18 with three matches remaining, but seniors Brandon Pierick (4-2 decision), Logan Bollant (14-1 major decision) and Blake Welu (forfeit winner) notched three-consecutive victories at 160, 170 and 182 to help the Panthers pull out the victory.
Honorable Mention
Black Hawk Girls Basketball – The Warriors (5-0), who are ranked #2 in Division 5 in the Wissports,Net Coaches' Poll, defeated Monticello, 49-31, on Friday for their 29 consecutive Six Rivers East victory, then Coach Mike Flanagan's squad came back from a 31-15 halftime deficit to defeat Clinton, 48-47, on Monday evening for their 47th straight regular season victory.
Potosi Boys Basketball – The Chieftains (5-0, 2-0 SRW) remain the only unbeaten team in the Six Rivers West after knocking off five-time defending league champion Benton 60-50 last Thursday night. The win snapped the Zephyrs’ 21-game conference winning streak that dated back to 2010. Junior Tim Fritz scored 14 points in the third quarter, and fellow junior Mitch Langkamp scored eight straight to open the fourth as the Chieftains rallied from a 26-22 third-quarter deficit.
