GAME OF THE WEEK (Feb. 11–Feb. 17)

WRESTLING: WIAA Regionals, Saturday, Feb. 13, WGLR (97.7 FM)

     The WIAA postseason kicks off Saturday with 48 regional — all divisions — tournaments throughout the state. Two regional sites are of particular interest for local wrestling fans, the Division 2 River Valley regional that will be held at River Valley High School in Spring Green beginning at 11 a.m. and the D3 Riverdale regional that will be held at the Riverdale Elementary/Middle School beginning at 10 a.m. 

     The two two wrestlers in each weight class will advance to individual sectionals, which will be held Saturday, Feb. 20. The winning team at regional will advance to Tuesday’s team sectional round. 

WIAA Division 3 Riverdale regional (at Muscoda), Saturday, Feb. 13, 10 a.m.

     Participating teams: Boscobel, Fennimore, Iowa–Grant/Highland, Lancaster, Mineral Point, River Ridge/Cassville and Riverdale. 

     Team Favorite: Fennimore (SWAL duals champion, Clash tournament champion). The Golden Eagles are primed for another run at the team state tournament, but first they must take care of business on Saturday. Fennimore defeated Mineral Point, 32–26, on the final night of the regular season then won last week’s Clash team title in dominating fashion, crowning four individual champions and outscoring runner-up River Valley by 32 points, 282–250. If the Golden Eagles (ranked third in D3) can hold off challenges from fourth-ranked Mineral Point and Iowa–Grant/Highland (honorable mention), they will take the first step toward a return to team state.

     Individuals to watch: Senior Riley Lull (26–5) at 120, sophomore Alston Nutter (27–4) at 126, junior Justin Tollefson (24–4) at 138 and senior Louis Heberlein (25–8) at 182 all won individual titles for Fennimore at the Clash and all four will be considered favorites on Saturday. Mineral Point senior Scott Pittz (34–1) at 170, Iowa–Grant/Highland sophomores Max Maylor (32–6) at 132 and Brady Peat (29–7) at 160, Lancaster senior Dustin Reynolds (33–5) at 152, Riverdale senior Trevor Troxel (21–6) at 195 and Cuba City/Benton/Southwestern’s junior Aaron McCarthy (30–5) at 285 also won individual conference titles last weekend.

WIAA Division 2 River Valley regional (at Spring Green), Saturday, Feb. 13, 11 a.m.

     Participating teams: Belmont/Platteville, Cuba City/Benton/Southwestern, Dodgeville, Mount Horeb, Prairie du Chien/Wauzeka–Steuben, Richland Center and River Valley.

     Team Favorite: River Valley (SWC duals champion, Clash tournament runner-up). After a second-place finish at last weekend’s SWC/SWAL Clash the SWC regular season champion Blackhawks (ranked fifth in Division 2) will be the overwhelming favorite. The Prairie du Chien co-op, which finished second in the SWC regular season and sixth at the Clash, could push the host school.

      Individuals to watch: River Valley sophomore Zach Licht (29–4, ranked 2nd D2) won the 106-pound title at the Clash, while junior Gavin Wipperfurth (26–6, ranked 12th) claimed the 145-pound title. River Valley junior Dustin Hatfield (34–5, ranked 3rd) at 126 freshman Shane Liegel (27–8, ranked 3rd) at 152 and junior Elijah Alt (35–3) at 170 all finished second at conference. Alt, who is the top-ranked D2 wrestler at 160 pounds, moved up to 170 for the Clash. Prairie du Chien/Wauzeka–Steuben sr. Clayton Beers (30–4, ranked 11th at 126) won a conference title at 120 and Dodgeville senior Brady Wetter (19–0) won the 195-pound Clash title. Wetter is ranked second in Division 2 at 220 pounds. Belmont/Platteville sophomore Isaac Wiegel (33–7) is ranked 11th at 106. Mount Horeb senior Brad Jones is ranked second at 152 and senior teammate Matt Blome is ranked first at 182.

OTHER AREA GAMES OF NOTE THIS WEEK

BOYS BASKETBALL: Belmont (11–6, 6–2 SRW) at Potosi (9–8, 6–2 SRW), Monday, Feb. 15, 7:30 p.m.

     The Chieftains will host the Braves Monday night in a key Six Rivers West showdown between league-leaders. Monday’s game will break a three-way tie with Shullsburg (14–4, 6–2) provided there are no upsets between now and then. The winner will keep pace with Miners, while the loser will fall a game off the pace. 

     The Chieftains have lost four of their last six games, including a 63–60 overtime loss at Belmont on Tuesday, Jan. 19.  However, coach Mike Uppena’s team dealt Shullsburg a 47–38 defeat on Jan. 22 to force the three-way tie atop the conference standings. 

     The Braves are also in a bit of a lull, losing three of their past four games, but all three losses were to first-place team, SWAL-leading Iowa–Grant, 57–54, on Jan. 26, Shullsburg, 58–54, on Jan. 28 and Six Rivers East-leading Barneveld, 76–63, last Friday night in the Six Rivers Challenge. 

     Senior forward Raine Voigts, who is closing in on 1,000-point mark for his career, had 19 points and nine rebounds in Belmont’s win over Potosi on Jan. 19. Fellow went Quinn Cushman added 17 points and five boards, while senior Lane Kamps posted a double–double of 12 points and 10 rebounds. Potosi senior Nate Friederick led the Chieftains with 20 points and eight rebounds in the game.

GIRLS BASKETBALL: Prairie du Chien (9–9, 3–5 SWC) at Platteville (13–5, 7–1 SWC), Thursday, Feb. 11, 7:30 p.m., WPVL (1590 AM)

     Coach Brandon Temperly’s Hillmen can clinch at least a share of the SWC title with a win over the visiting Blackhawks tonight. Prairie du Chien made that possible with a 57–46 upset of Richland Center (12–8, 6–2 SWC) last Friday night. Senior Sierra Brecke scored 17 points, junior guard Sami Brookens made four 3-pointers and scored a career-high 14 points and sophomore Skye Digman posted a double–double of 13 points and 13 rebounds to lead Platteville to a 57–37 victory over Lancaster on Friday. The Hillmen will travel to Richland Center to close out the regular season next Thursday.

GIRLS BASKETBALL: Barneveld (19–0, 8–0 SRE) at Black Hawk (12–7, 8–1 SRW), Thursday, Feb. 11, 7:30 p.m., www.south78radio.com

     The Warriors could pull into a first-place tie with a win over the top-ranked and unbeaten, but the upset could be asking a lot. Barneveld and Nebraska recruit Hannah Whitish defeated Black Hawk 56–38 on Jan. 12. Whitish, who is averaging a league-best 20.9 points per game, scored 19 points in that January win. Black Hawk senior Aleisha Sigafus scored 19 points and grabbed 11 rebounds in the loss.

GIRLS BASKETBALL: Shullsburg (16–3, 8–2 SRW) at Cassville (9–9, 2-7 SRW), Friday, Feb. 12, 7 p.m.

     Shullsburg can clinch at least of the Six Rivers West title with a win over the Comets. The Miners took sole possession of first place with a 42–41 come-from-behind victory over second-place River Ridge (12–4, 7–3) on Tuesday night. Sophomore center Brianna Leahy (18 points) and junior guard Hattie Rennert (17) combined for 35 points as Shullsburg rallied from a 16–11 halftime deficit. Leahy leads the conference in both scoring (17.9 ppg) and rebounding (10.6 rpg).