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GAME OF THE WEEK: prep wrestling
75th annual WIAA Individual Wrestling State Touranment
wiegel
Belmont senior Isaac Wiegel will be competing in his fourth straight WIAA Individual Wrestling State Tournament at the Kohl Center in Madison this weekend.

GAME OF THE WEEK (Feb. 22–28)

PREP WRESTLING: WIAA Individual Wrestling State Tournament, Thursday–Saturday, Feb. 22–24, at Kohl Center (Madison)

     The 75th Annual Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association Individual Wrestling Tournament will be held Thursday–Saturday, Feb. 22-24, at the Kohl Center on the campus of the University of Wisconsin in Madison.

     Ticket prices per tournament session are $8. Tickets are available on-line on the WIAA website with a $2 service fee until two hours prior to any respective session with the printing of the ticket by the purchaser. Tickets are also available at the Kohl Center during the tournament. 

     FINALS ON FS WISCONSIN:  The championship finals will be aired live on FS Wisconsin. Please check local cable listings for the FS Wisconsin channel in your area.

     ALL MATCHES STREAMED LIVE:  All three mats of the championship finals will be streamed on FoxSportsGo.com without authentication. The live programming aired on FS Wisconsin will also be streamed on FoxSportsGo.com with cable provider authentication. In addition, all six mats of the pre-finals matches will be streamed live and viewed with a subscription to the NFHS Network. To purchase a subscription to the live programming for only $9.95 per month, log-on to www.wiaa.tv or www.nfhsnetwork.com and click on the subscription image in the middle of the page. Archived streams of the sessions will be available on demand on www.nfhsnetwork.com 72 hours after the tournament without requirement of a subscription. 

     THE SCHEDULE:  Below is the schedule of competition for the individual tournament. All weight classes will be wrestled in consecutive order through the classes on a “next available mat” basis within the mat assignments. 

Thursday, Feb. 22 
Session 1:
 Divisions 2 & 3 Preliminaries - approximately 7:15 p.m. 

Friday, Feb. 23
Session 2:
 Divisions 2 & 3 Quarterfinals - approximately 11:15 a.m. 

Divisions 2 & 3 Consolation Semifinals - approx. 2:45 p.m. 

Session 3: Division 2 Semifinals at 7 p.m. on mats 3 & 4 

Division 3 Semifinals at 7 p.m. on mats 5 & 6 

Saturday, Feb. 24
Session 4:
 Division 2 Consolation Wrestlebacks at 10 a.m. on mats 3 & 4 

Division 3 Consolation Wrestlebacks at 10 a.m. on mats 5 & 6 

Session 5: Division 1 Championships at 5 p.m. on mat 1 

Division 2 Championships at 5 p.m. on mat 2 

Division 3 Championships at 5 p.m. on mat 3 

 

Area Division 2 state qualifiers

Belmont/Platteville (1): Isaac Wiegel, sr. (43–4, 120 pounds)

Prairie du Chien (6): Matt Rogge, fr., (41–11, 106), Treason Saint, so., (48–4, 138), Blake Garcia, sr., (33–12, 145), Nick Rogge, sr. (45–5, 160), Stephen Ronnfeldt, sr. (39–9, 195), Colten Wall, so., (42–9, 220).

Richland Center (2): Max Schmidt, so. (13–1, 113), Alex Peters, jr. (30–7, 220).

River Valley (3): Caleb Radtke, sr. (36–11, 120), Zach Licht, sr., (43–2, 126), Shane Liegel, jr., (45–0, 170).

 

Area Division 3 state qualifiers

Boscobel (2): Dakota Frazier, jr. (24–14, 138), Chase Beinborn, jr. (38–10, 170)

Darlington/Black Hawk (2): Paul King, sr. (33–7, 120), Kolbe Ubersox, jr. (33–3, 132).

Fennimore (8): Brody Lee, fr. (36–12, 106), Mason Lull, so. (15–2, 113), Alex Birchman, so. (16–5, 120), Aidan Nutter, so. (37–8, 126), Trevor Wanek, jr. (43–6, 132), Riley Blair, sr. (28–2, 145), Maguire Fitzgerald, jr. (28–9, 152), Will Ahnen, so. (34–16, 160).

Iowa–Grant/Highland (3): Clayton Kite, sr. (15–3, 152), Max Maylor, sr., (42–1, 160), Brady Peat, sr. (41–3).

Lancaster (4): Remington Bontreger, fr. (39–5), Collin Lull, jr. (20–13, 145), Troy Klein, jr. (37–7, 182), Tyler Hale, sr. (37–9, 285).

Mineral Point (4): Danny Pittz, jr. (38–6, 126), Caden Carey jr. (33–12, 132), Logan Schmitz, jr. (34–9, 138), Riley Workman, sr. (38–6, 170).

River Ridge/Cassville (1): Ben Wheeler, sr. (30–9, 285).

Riverdale (2): Caleb Johnson, sr. (45–2, 195), Garret Wilmot, sr. (30–14).

GIRLS BASKETBALL: WIAA Regional Semifinals, Friday, Feb. 23, 7 p.m.

     The road to state continues Friday night when the WIAA Girls Basketball regional semifinal games. The winners advances to Saturday regional final round.

DIVISION 3:

#7 Prairie du Chien (12–10) at #2 Dodgeville (20–2)

#11 Edgerton (8–15) at #3 Platteville (18–4)

 

DIVISION 4

#8 Lancaster (8–14) at #1 La Crosse Aquinas (22–0)

#5 Brookwood (19–3) at #4 Cuba City (16–6)

#6 Boscobel (17–6) at #3 Mineral Point (16–6)

#7 Wisconsin Heights (9-–4) at #2 Darlington (17–4)

 

DIVISION 5

#8 Belmont (10–13) at #1 Shullsburg (18–5)

#5 Seneca (18–5) at #4 Benton (5–17)

#6 Riverdale (11–10) at #3 River Ridge (19–4)

#7 Kickapoo (15–7) at#2 Potosi (17–4)

 

#8 Albany (10–13) at #1 Black Hawk (23–0)

#5 Randolph (15–8) at #4 Argyle (16–5)

 

 

BOYS BASKETBALL: WIAA regional quarterfinals, Tuesday, Feb. 27, 7 p.m.

        The road to state begins Tuesday night when the WIAA Boys Basketball regional playoffs tip-off. Here is a look at the first round match-ups in our coverage area. Winners of Tuesday’s regional quarterfinals will play in the regional semifinal round next Friday night. Regional finals are scheduled for next Saturday night at the home of the highest remaining seed.

This Week’s Other Area Conference Games

Division 3

#1 Platteville (16–5) has a first-round bye

#9 Evansville (9–12) at #8 Richland Center (10–11)

#12 Poynette (6–14) at #5 River Valley (9–11)

#4 Prairie du Chien (10–10) has a first-round bye

#10 Brodhead (7–14) at #7 Dodgeville (9–12)

 

Division 4

#1 Mineral Point (17–4) has a bye

#9 Brookwood (14–6) at #8 Necedah (15–6)

#12 Boscobel (2–18) at #5 Cuba City (14–7)

#4 Darlington (14–7) has a bye

#3 Wisconsin Heights (17–4) has a bye

#11 Coulee Christian/Providence Academy at #6 Aquinas (10–11)

#10 Lancaster (11–9) at #7 Onalaska Luther (11–10)

#2 Fennimore (18–3) has a bye

 

Division 5

#16 Riverdale (1–18) at #1 Seneca (18–2)

#9 Benton (13–9) at #8 Shullsburg (10–11)

#12 Highland (5–16) at #5 River Ridge (12–9)

#13 Ithaca (7–14) at #4 Wauzeka–Steuben (17–4)

#14 North Crawford (5–16) at #3 De Soto (16–4)

#11 Iowa–Grant (6–15) at #6 Kickapoo (14–7)

#10 Cassville (10–11) at #7 Southwestern (10–11)

#15 Belmont (2–18) at #2 Potosi (16–5)

MCDONALD'S SWNEWS4U GAME OF THE WEEK (Six Rivers Baseball): #10 River Ridge 5, #5 Belmont 2
#11 Timberwolves upset #4 Braves to win a share of first baseball conference title
Blake Reynolds
Sophomore Blake Reynolds collected the win on the mound, limiting #4 Belmont to two runs, one earned, on four hits, while striking out five batters and walking four over six innings to lead River Ridge to a 5–2 win over the Braves last Thursday. - photo by A.J. Gates

MCDONALD'S SWNEWS4U.COM GAME OF THE WEEK (May 20–27)
SIX RIVERS BASEBALL: #10 River Ridge 5, #5 Belmont 2

By A.J. Gates, Herald Independent

#10 Timberwolves upset #5 Braves to win a share of first baseball conference title
PATCH GROVE — Coming into the 2025 prep baseball season, coach Andrew Redman had a hunch his Timberwolves would be a strong contender for this year’s Six Rivers Conference baseball title.

“We have big goals to compete for our first-ever conference title,” coach Redman said this past April in the Grant County Herald Independent’s Spring Sports Preview.” We expect to finish high in the conference standings and rely on our experience from last season to lead us to a successful season.”

After finishing fourth in the conference standings a year ago with a league record of 4-8, the Timberwolves did in fact secure a share of this year’s conference baseball title with a victory in their final regular-season game of the year played last Thursday night.

With a 5–2 victory over visiting Belmont last Thursday night, coach Redman’s Timberwolves (16–7) team concluded the regular season with a league record of 14–2, claiming a share of this year’s conference title along with the Braves (17–5, 14–2).

Belmont, who entered the contest with a league mark of 14–1, could have taken sole possession of the conference crown for themselves with a win Thursday night, but the Timberwolves had other ideas.

“Coming out on top is a great feeling, knowing how much work our players and coaches have put into this,” said third-year head coach Andrew Redman. “My first two years as a head coach we won a total of seven conference games combined. This season alone we doubled that total with 14 conference wins, which was good enough to tie for the top spot.”

“The Six Rivers conference is loaded with great teams, and for us to claim one of the top spots is truly remarkable,” Redman added.

Aside from winning the first conference baseball title since the school’s inception in 1995, this year’s baseball team has also won the most games in a single season, and currently holds an overall record of 16-6 heading into the WIAA postseason tournament.

As they have done all season long, the trio of Blake Reynolds, Carter Copsey and Cael Koenig were at the forefront of last Thursday night’s win over Belmont, doing with their bats, their fielding and their arms.

Reynolds, who pitched the first six innings and collected the win on the mound, limited the Braves to two runs, one earned, on four hits, while striking out five batters and walking four.

Copsey came in to finish the game, pitching a scoreless seventh, striking out one batter and walking one.

At the plate, it was Koenig who led the Timberwolves, going a perfect 4-for-4 with two runs scored and one RBI. The team’s other four hits were scattered among Carter Copsey, Andre Nies, Noah Copsey and Brandon Davis.

After a scoreless tie for two and a half innings, the Timberwolves got on the board in the bottom of the third when Koenig’s one-run single scored Carter Copsey, who led off the inning with a double. Noah Copsey then followed with a one-run single of his own to score Koenig.

The Braves plated a run in the top of the fifth to make it a 2–1 River Ridge lead, but the Timberwolves responded with three runs in the bottom of the fifth.

Following back-to-back singles by Nies and Koenig, and an intention walk to Reynolds, Brandon Davis came up big with a bases-loaded two-run single to right field, scoring Nies and Koenig. Reynolds later scored on a wild pitch to give River Ridge a 5–1 lead.

The Braves added one run to their total in the top of the sixth, but couldn’t put anything together in the seventh with Copsey on the mound and the River Ridge defense behind him.

The Timberwolves are no strangers to close games this season, and have won a total of five conference games this season by one-run. They have also proven that, while Reynolds, Copsey and Koenig are undoubtedly the leaders of this team, they also have a stable of other role players that have come up big throughout the season.

“What makes this team special is that everybody takes their turn coming through in big moments,” said coach Redman. “We rely heavily on Blake, Carter and Cael, but three players alone doesn’t make a team. We’ve had several players who took on new or bigger roles this year and they contributed in big time spots.”

“This year our guys really focused on doing their jobs and accepting their roles on the team, which led us to having a successful season,” Redman added. “I’m proud of all our players and this program.”

Heading into the WIAA postseason tournament, the Timberwolves (16–7) hold the No. 2 seed in their division 4 sectional bracket. Following a first-round bye, coach Redman’s squad will host the winner between No. 7 seed North Crawford (10–9) and No. 10 seed Hillsboro (10–7) next Tuesday, June 3. The No. 1 seed in the bracket belongs to Seneca (20–2).

River Ridge 5, Belmont 2
(from Thursday, May 22, at Patch Grove)
Belmont..........000 011  0 — 2 4 2
River Ridge....002 030  x —  5 8 1
Leading hitters - RR: Cael Koenig 4x4. 2B — Carter Copsey (RR). W — Blake Reynolds (6IN,4H,1ER,5K,4BB). L — Austin (4IN,7H,5ER,4K,3BB). Other pitchers - RR: Carter Copsey (1IN,0H,0ER,1K,1BB).