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Two Braves earn titles at own Invite
Bel Plat Gilbertson vs Updike
BELMONT/PLATTEVILLES Tristen Gilbertson (top) won the 106-pound championship title after posting a 5-0 record at the annual Belmont/Platteville Scramble held at Belmont High School on Saturday, Jan. 13.
Jason Nihles
Updated: Jan 19, 2018, 3:04 PM
Published: Jan 19, 2018, 3:07 PM

    BELMONT — The Braves crowned two champions and placed seven wrestlers in the top 3 to finish third out of eight teams at Saturday’s Belmont/Platteville Scramble.
    The Belmont co-op finished third with 178 team points, 10.5 back of runner-up Reedsburg (188.5). Dodgeville scored 216 points to win the team title. The Braves filled 12 of the 14 weight classes for the first time this year, but did lose freshman heavyweight Michael Douglas to an injury on Saturday.
    “Most of our guys are getting healthy again,” said Belmont/Platteville head coach Andrew Campbell. “We had a rough spot right before Christmas where we had a lot of injuries but most of us are healthy now.  We are waiting to see how serious Michael’s injury was.”
    Sophomore Tristen Gilbertson (106 pounds) and Will Schaefer (195) won individual titles Saturday to lead the Braves, while junior Christopher Gillen (120), senior Isaac Wiegel (126), sophomore Brady Johnston (132) and senior Joshua Taber (160) each finished second. Freshman Riley Christenson placed third at 182 pounds.
    “We had a lot of guys wrestle well Saturday,” said Campbell. “Tristen and Will both looked good and won there brackets.  Isaac, Chris, Brady and Josh all looked good during the day, but ran into tough kids in the finals. Riley took third, he lost a tough match on a questionable call in the semifinals. Michael looked good in his first match, beating the person who ended up taking second place, but ended up injury defaulting the rest of the tournament due to an injury that happened during the match.
    Had Douglas not gotten injured, he would have placed higher than seventh and the Braves would have finished second as a team.
    “I was happy with the way we wrestled this weekend,” added said Campbell. “I was happy with our third-place finish.  It was great seeing most of the guys on the team have success Saturday.
    Gilbertson (20-6) used a bye, three pins in less than a minute and a 7-4 decision over Fennimore’s Macoy Fitzgerald to win the five-man round robin at 106 pounds.
    Schaefer (20-5) pinned his way to the six-man 195-pound round robin weight class. His only match out of five that went into the second round was a 2:45 pin over Holmen’s Caleb Butler.
    Wiegel (23-3), a three-year state qualifier, jumped up to 126 pounds to challenge himself. He pinned four straight wrestlers before a 6-4 double overtime loss to Reedsburg’s Mason McMillen (30-2), who is ranked third at 126 in Division 1, for the title.
    Gillen (9-6) also pinned four straight wrestlers to set up a championship showdown, but was pinned by Holmen’s Carter Vetsch (14-9).
    Johnston (10-10) also went 4-1 on the day– with a major decision and three straight commanding decisions– to reach the finals at 132, where he lost to Reedsburg’s Caden Fey (26-6).
    Taber (11-6) won his first four matches at 160 to reach the championship, but was pinned by Dodgeville’s John Phelan (28-5) late in the second period.
    The Braves’ Southwest Wisconsin Conference dual meet against River Valley was postponed on Thursday, Jan. 11, due to the weather. It has been rescheduled for Tuesday, Jan. 23, at Belmont High School, starting at 7 p.m.
    Belmont/Platteville has a Southwest Wisconsin Conference dual meet at Richland Center on Thursday, Jan. 18, at 7 p.m., and the Braves will participate in the Monroe Invitational on Saturday, Jan. 20, starting at 9:30 a.m.
   
BELMONT/PLATTEVILLE INVITATIONAL
Team Standings: Dodgeville 216, Reedsburg 188.5, Belmont/Platteville 178, Holmen Reserves 153, Sun Prairie 113.5, Fennimore Reserves 108, Lake Mills 60.5, Cambria-Friesland/Fall River/Pardeeville/Randolph/Rio 44.

Belmont/Platteville Individual Results: 106-pounds- 1- Tristen Gilbertson, 5-0; 120- 2- Chris Gillen, 4-1; 126- 2- Isaac Wiegel, 4-1; 132- 2- Brady Johnston, 4-1; Autumn Chapman, 0-5; 138- 6- Trevor Heim, 2-3; 145- Shannon Gill-Mast, 0-5; 152- 7- Geoffrey Erickson, 2-3; 160- 2- Joshua Taber, 4-1; 182- 3- Riley Christenson, 4-1; 195- 1- Will Schaefer, 5-0; 220- 4- Chris Spoor, 2-3; 285- 7- Michael Douglas, 2-3.
At Belmont, on Saturday, Jan. 13
Belmont's Kaleen McGettigan notches career win No. 200
Braves blowout Potosi/Cassville in coach's milestone victory
Kaleen McGettigan 200
Belmont girls head coach Kaleen McGettigan earned her 200th career win last Tuesday night with a 56–25 win over Potosi/Cassville.
Casey Lindecrantz
Published: Dec 13, 2024, 7:23 PM

POTOSI — Belmont girls basketball coach Kaleen McGettigan collected her 200th career win last Tuesday night with a 56–25 victory over Potosi/Cassville.

The Braves shot out to and maintained an early lead in Six Rivers West win over the host Chieftains (3–2, 0–2 SRW).

Potosi/Cassville claimed the opening point on a free throw, but a basket under the hoop by Morgan Freeman earned the only lead change of the night. The result was a Braves lead where the traveling team earned nearly 30 points before Potosi/Cassville tasted double figures.

“Any time we play a conference team, we know it is going to be a battle,” McGettigan said. “The Chieftains lost one of their starters the night before, but credit tot he team and their staff, they came out ready to play. Coach Nebel has done a nice job in her first month as a head coach.”

The Braves clung to a 37–16 lead at the break, nurturing it as they pushed to double Potosi/Cassville’s output over the final 18 minutes.

“I was pleased with the girls’ offensive attacks,” McGettigan said. “We are a tough team to guard because we are so interchangeable, and we need to take more advantage of that.”

The Belmont front was led by a three-headed monster of Lexi Riechers (18 points, 3 rebounds, 4 steals), Freeman (14 pts, 6 reb), and Kaci Riechers (12 pts, 5 reb, 5 ast, 5 stl). 

Carsyn Ramaker also took on an supporting role — her six rebounds and five assists were each tied for the team high.

“Lexi Riechers was a spark for us, and she got a couple things going on both ends of the floor,” McGettigan said. “Carsyn continues to see the floor well, and Hailey Bahr played the best game of her career.”

With just three opponents left ahead of the new year, the Braves’ next opportunity on the court comes at Benton on Dec. 12.

Junior Lillie Cooley scored a team-high five points in the loss for Potosi/Cassville (3–2, 0–2) which suffered its first loss.

Despite the win, McGettigan believes her team needs improvements in a few areas.

“We need to do a better job of consistently finishing around the rim,” she said. “We also need to be more comfortable  in our half-court sets.”

The Zephyrs (0–6, 0–2) most recently lost to Stockton (Ill.) on Dec. 9, 68–18, and haven’t scored more than 20 points in each of their last three games.

“We need to continue working on limiting other teams’ offensive boards, and getting to our outlet spots,” McGettigan said. “December is a slow month for us, so we need to stay focused in the gym and need to get better.”

Belmont 56, Potosi/Cassville 25
(from Tuesday, Dec. 3 @ Potosi)
Belmont 37 19 — 56
Potosi/Cassville 16 9 — 25
Belmont (2–1, 1–0) — Hailey Bahr 2, Courtney Fritz 5, Kaci Riechers 12, Morgan Freeman 14, Jaelyn Leitzinger 2, Lexi Riechers 18, Brittany Taylor 3. Totals — 25-71 2-7 56.  
Potosi/Cassville (3–1, 0–1) — Matty Udelhofen 4, Madi Weber 2, Lillie Cooley 5, Brielle Fishnick 4, Ruby Roe 3, Miranda Kieler 4, Delany McKillip 3. Totals — 8-43 8-11 25. 
3-pointers — B: 4-19 (Fritz 1, K. Riechers 2, L. Riechers 1); PC: 1-11 (Roe 1). Team fouls — B: 14; PC: 14. Foul out — none.