GAME OF THE WEEK (Feb. 25–March 2)
WRESTLING: WIAA Individual State Tournament, Thursday, Feb. 25–27, WGLR (97.7 FM) (evening), WPVL (1590 AM) daytime
The pinnacle of the Wisconsin prep wrestling season for begins tonight for area grapplers at the Kohl Center in Madison when wrestlers in Division 2 and 3 take to the mats for the first time at the 73rd Annual WIAA Individual Wrestling Tournament with preliminary round matches beginning at 7:15 p.m. Thursday night’s winners will advance to Friday morning’s quarterfinal round, that will begin at 11:15 a.m. Last week’s sectional champions received a first-round bye and will begin their quest for a state title Friday morning.This week’s swnews4u.com McDonald’s Game of the Week continues Friday afternoon with consolation matches at 2:45 p.m.
The semifinal round for all divisions will begin at 7 p.m. Friday. Consolation wrestle backs begin Saturday morning at 11 a.m. with fifth-place and third-place matches to follow immediately. Championship matches for all divisions start at 6 p.m. Saturday.
Below is a list of this year’s area state qualifiers.
*= indicates sectional champion (first-round bye)
Division 2 area state qualifiers
106: *Isaac Wiegel (38–8), Belmont/Platteville, so.
113: Caleb Radtke (36–14), River Valley, so.
120: Clayton Beers (36–5), Prairie du Chien/Wauzeka-Steuben, sr.
126: *Dustin Hatfield (41–5), River Valley, jr.
145: Gavin Wipperfurth (35-8), River Valley, jr.
152: Shane Liegel (35–9), River Valley, fr.
160: *Elijah Alt (43–3), River Valley, jr.
195: *Peyton Hall (34–6), Prairie du Chien/Wauzeka-Steuben, sr.
220: *Brady Wetter (26–0), Dodgeville, sr.
Division 3 area state qualifiers
106: Danny Pittz (34–8), Mineral Point, fr.; Trevor Wanek (24–12), Fennimore, fr.
113: *Riley Lull (40–5), Fennimore, sr.; Sawyer Sarbacker (39–8), Iowa-Grant/Highland, jr.; Hunter Bredeson (25–14), Darlington/Black Hawk.
120: *Riley Blair (23–4), Fennimore, so.; Kolbe Ubersox (34–10), Darlington/Black Hawk, fr.
126: *Alston Nutter (39–5), Fennimore, so.; Logan Schmitz (31–11), Mineral Point, fr.
132: *Hunter Dischler (43–1), Ithaca/New Lisbon, sr.; Max Maylor (40–7), Iowa-Grant/Highland, so.
138: *Justin Tollefson (33–10), Fennimore, jr.; Brandon Forseth (35–9), Mineral Point, sr.
145: Boone Schmitz (35–9), Mineral Point, jr.
152: *Bradon Roen (27–2), Riverdale, jr.; Dustin Reynolds (38–7), Lancaster, sr.; Colton Clary (33–9), Ithaca/Weston, fr.
160: *Stetson Clary (26–6), Ithaca/Weston, sr.; Brady Peat (36–8), Iowa-Grant/Highland, so.; Riley Workman (27–18), Mineral Point, so.
170: *Scott Pittz (41–1), Mineral Point, sr.; Drew Hennessey (29–10), Iowa-Grant/Highland, fr.
195: Kyle Juedes (29–13), Mineral Point, jr.
220: Cody McCollough, Fennimore (32–14), jr.
285: Carson McCauley (29–11), Ithaca/Weston, so.; Deven O’Brien (33–14), Fennimore, jr.
OTHER AREA GAMES OF NOTE THIS WEEK
BOYS BASKETBALL: Cassville (9–12, 6–5 SRW) at Shullsburg (17–4, 9–2 SRW), Thursday, Feb. 25, 7:30 p.m.
All eyes in the Six Rivers West will be focused on this game. Coach Mark Liedman’s Miners, who have already earned a share of a second-straight conference title, can clinch the outright crown with a win Thursday night, but nothing will be easy against coach Jacob Bernetzke’s upset-minded Comets. Cassville knocked Belmont (14–7, 8–3) out of first-place with a 58–56 win over the Braves last Friday and the Miners are still smarting from a 56–50 loss at Cassville on Jan. 14. Senior guard Colton Reynolds scored a game-high 24 points and grabbed seven rebounds in the Comets win over Shullsburg in January. Junior Hunter Matye finished with 18 points and 16 boards in the loss to lead the Miners. Fellow junior Joey Meyer scored a game-high 19 points in Shullsburg’s 32–24 title-clinching win over Highland last Friday.
BOYS BASKETBALL: River Ridge (6–15, 4–7 SRW) at Belmont (14–7, 8–3 SRW), Thursday, Feb. 25, 7:30 p.m.
Should Cassville upset Shullsburg for a second time this year, Belmont can earn a three-way share of the conference title with a win over Nate Copsey’s River Ridge Timberwolves. Potosi (12–10, 9–3), which has already concluded the regular season, would also earn a share of the crown with a Shullsburg loss. Belmont senior Raine Voigts surpassed the 1,000-point mark for his career with 17 points in Friday’s 58–56 loss at Cassville. Monday night, he scored a game-high 29 points in an 87–66 non-conference victory over Argyle on Parents’ Night.
GIRLS BASKETBALL: WIAA Regional Semifinals, Friday, Feb. 26, 7 p.m.
The second round of the WIAA girls basketball playoffs tip off Friday night at 7 p.m. with at 7 p.m. A number of area teams are still alive in their pursuit of a regional title. Friday night’s winners will meet in the regional finals Saturday at 7 p.m. at the home of the highest seed.
DIVISION 3:
#6 Dodgeville (13–9) at #3 Richland Center (13–9)
The Hornets and Dodgers split their regular season series with Dodgeville dominating the first meeting 62–41 on Dec. 3, before Richland Center won the rematch 53–50 on Jan. 22. Dodgeville is coming off a 48–35 regional quarterfinal victory over 11th-seed Lodi. Richland Center, which finished second in the Southwest Wisconsin Conference at 7–3, had a first-round bye.
#7 River Valley (10–13) at #2 Platteville (15–7)
Platteville dominated Richland Center 60–37 in last Thursday’s regular season final to win just the second conference title in program history. The Hillmen received a first-round bye Tuesday, but shouldn’t have much trouble with River Valley on Friday night after sweeping the season series by a combined 22 points. The Hillmen won at Valley 37–30 on Dec. 3, then beat the Blackhawks in their return trip to PHS Jan. 22, 48–33. River Valley slipped past 10th-seeded Wautoma 70–57 to win Tuesday’s regional opener.
DIVISION 4:
#8 Waterloo (8–15) at #1 Mineral Point (20–2, ranked 3rd in D4)
Mineral Point claimed the outright SWAL title with a 57–53 victory at Cuba City last Thursday night, also earning coaching Mitch Wainwright’s 400th career victory. The third-ranked Pointers had a first-round bye when the regional playoffs began on Tuesday. Waterloo knocked off Darlington 51–34 to advance.
#5 Cambridge (10–13) at #4 Lancaster (14–8)
The Flying Arrows finished tied for third in the Southwest Wisconsin Conference under first-year head coach Rob Wagner and received a first-round bye Tuesday night. Lancaster will now host the fifth-seeded Blue Jays, who dominated Palmyra–Eagle 53–22 in the opening round.
#7 Deerfield (14–9) at #2 Cuba City (20–2, ranked 5th D4)
The Cubans finished second in the SWAL after last Thursday’s 57–53 Senior Night loss to Mineral Point, but the playoffs are a new start for the two-time defending Division 4 state champions. Senior Jessi Marti suffered a concussion in the loss to Mineral Point, but Cuba City had a first-round bye Tuesday and the school’s all-time leading scorer is hopeful to return this weekend.
#11 Parkview (6–17) at #3 New Glarus (17–5)
DIVISION 5:
#9 Cassville (11–11) at #1 Barneveld (23–0, ranked 1st in D5)
Nebraska recruit Hannah Whitish topped the 2,000-point mark for her career with a game-high 36 points in the Eagles’ 67–27 regional quarterfinal victory over Pecatonica. The Comets advanced with a 47–37 win at eighth-seeded Seneca.
#5 Benton (15–8) at #4 Riverdale (17–6)
The Zephyrs, who finished third in the Six Rivers West, hammered Ithaca 73–54 on Tuesday night. The Chieftains, who finished third in the SWAL, advanced with a 66–30 win over Highland.
#6 Potosi (16–7) at #3 River Ridge (18–4), WPVL (107.1 FM)
Despite losing senior Calie Gibson to a torn ACL last week in practice, the Chieftains closed the regular season with a 20-point win at Highland last Thursday, then hammered 11th-seed De Soto, 78–45 in Tuesday’s opening round. River Ridge, which suffered a season-ending knee injury of its own to senior Darion Brooks, defeated Southwestern 36–22 to begin regional play on Tuesday. The teams split their regular season series with Potosi taking the first game 63–43 on Dec. 18, before the Timberwolves returned the favor on Feb. 4, 51–38 in Patch Grove.
#7 Belmont (13–10) at #2 Shullsburg (20–3, ranked 7th in D5), WPVL (1590 AM)
The Six Rivers West champion Miners smashed 15th-seed North Crawford 77–22 to in the regional quarterfinal round Tuesday, while the Braves got past 10th-seeded Wauzeka–Steuben 45–36. Shullsburg swept the season series with Belmont winning 54–40 on Jan. 15 and 40–22 on Feb. 18.
