SUPPZ.COM CO-ATHLETES OF THE WEEK: Mineral Point's AJ Rury and Darlington/Black Hawk Owen Huschitt

Mineral Point's AJ Rury pins Darlington/Black Hawk standout Owen Huschitt

During last Friday’s Darlington/Black Hawk versus Mineral Point SWAL wrestling match, Pointer senior AJ Rury pinned WarBirds’ senior Owen Huschitt in an exhibition match following the varsity competition.

Updated: Jan 21, 2022, 8:26 PM

Published: Jan 21, 2022, 7:58 PM

EDITOR'S NOTE: The Swnews4u.com Athlete of the Week is a web-only feature that will publish each Thursday throughout the calendar year.

by Tom Gunnell, Republican Journal

A.J. Rury, Sr., Mineral Point wrestling and Owen Huschitt, Sr., Darlington/Black Hawk
MINERAL POINT — During last Friday’s Darlington/Black Hawk versus Mineral Point SWAL wrestling match, Pointer senior AJ Rury pinned WarBirds’ senior Owen Huschitt in an exhibition match following the varsity competition.

Though the meet didn’t officially count, it will go down as a win for both wrestlers and both teams since it was glowing act of sportsmanship display for everyone involved with the match.

Huschitt, who is currently holds a 22-1 record on the season and is ranked fourth in the state in the Division 2 182-pound class, was asked by his coach Casey Horne to wrestle Rury, who has Downs Syndrome, in an exhibition match following the WarBirds’ 48-36 dual meet victory over the Pointers.

The Black Hawk senior not only agreed to wrestle Rury, but also let Rury get the best of him for a heartwarming pin that saw the crowd for both teams stand to loudly cheer both competitors.

Huschitt made Rury work for his takedown and also made Rury struggled to him on his back before ultimately being pinned by the Pointer. Following the ritual handshake between the wrestlers, Huschitt joined the referee to raise Rury’s hand in victory to a standing ovation.

"I just wanted to show AJ and the team that I was supportive of the situation and give him all of the credit for the win," Huschitt told WKOW sports reporter Pablo Iglesias.

Huschitt recorded a pin of his own over MP’s Jarvie Nafzger in 1:09 in their 182-pound varsity match to help the WarBirds earn just their second team victory over the Pointers in 31 years.

HONORABLE MENTION (in alphabetical order)
Braden Crubel, Jr., G, River Ridge boys basketball
Crubel finished the night with a game-high 30 points on 13-of-20 shooting from the floor, including 3-of-10 from 3-point range to lead short-handed River Ridge to a 59–45 victory over Benton (10–4, 3–2 SRW). Crubel also added four steals for the first-place Timberwolves (12–1, 5–0), who were playing without 6'5" senior big man David Nies (12.9 ppg, 6.1 rpg), who injured his knee in a recent game against Boscobel.

D.J. Kelley, Sr., G/F, Lancaster boys basketball
Kelley averaged 24.5 points over the Flying Arrows' last four game to lead Lancaster to a pair of victories. Kelley scored a game-high 28 points and had five rebounds in a 53–51 last-second win at Potosi, where classmate Ian Klaas banked in the game-winner with 2.5 seconds left. Kelley then posted 19 points, 13 rebounds, 3 steals and 2 blocks in a 69–66 overtime win at Richland Center last Thursday night. He finished with 15 points and six rebounds in a 56–47 loss to Southwestern Saturday at the Wendy's/Midwest One Bank Classic in Dubuque, before scoring a career-high 38 points on 16 of 25 shooting in a 99–74 loss at #3-ranked Cuba City Monday night.

Carter Olson, Sr., G, Cuba City boys basketball
Olson averaged 21.8 points per game over the last four game — all wins — for the #3-ranked Cubans (13–1, 5–1 SWAL). Olson finished with 23 points, five rebounds and three steals in a 74–59 win at Fennimore last Thursday night, then posted 15 points, five assists and four blocks in a 69–51 win over Dyersville-Beckman Saturday at the Wendy's/Midwest One Bank Classic in Dubuque. He also poured in a team-high 29 points on 11 of 15 shooting, to go with a game-high eight assists in Monday's 99–74 blowout of visiting Lancaster and finished with 20 points in a 91–64 SWAL win over Riverdale Tuesday night.

SUPPZ.COM SWNEWS4U CO-ATHLETE OF THE WEEK: Cuba City's Ella Vosberg and Mineral Point's Jaxson Wendhausen

Vosberg leads Cubans to D4 state title; Wendhausen hits 10 3-pointers in sectional final win

Cuba City senior forward Ella Vosberg attempts a shot during the Cubans' 53–50 D4 state championship game victory over Neenah St. Mary Catholic. Vosberg finished the title game with 14 points and 10 steals, two days after posting a double–double of 28 points and 11 rebounds in an 68–63 upset win over No. 1 seed The Racine Prairie School in the D4 state semifinals. (photo by Brittany Lindecrantz)

Published: Mar 21, 2025, 3:02 AM

Mineral Point senior guard Jaxson Wendhausen made 10 of 15 3-point attempts and scored a career-high 42 points to lead the Pointers to a 80–44 win over Marshall in last Saturday's WIAA D4 Verona Sectional final.

Mineral Point senior guard Jaxson Wendhausen made 10 of 15 3-point attempts and scored a career-high 42 points to lead the Pointers to a 80–44 win over Marshall in last Saturday's WIAA D4 Verona Sectional final.

EDITOR'S NOTE: The Swnews4u.com Athlete of the Week is a web-only feature that will publish each Thursday or Friday throughout the calendar year.

By Jason Nihles, The Platteville Journal, Fennimore Times, Boscobel Dial

Ella Vosberg, Sr., F, Cuba City girls basketball
GREEN BAY — Cuba City senior Ella Vosberg saved one of her best games of her career for the perfect moment. Vosberg, who was recently named the SWAL Player of the Year, poured in a game-high 28 points on 10 of 20 from the field and 8 of 10 from the free throw line, and grabbed a game-high 11 rebounds to lead the No. 4 seed Cubans (25–5) to a 68–63 victory over No. 1 seed The Prairie School in the WIAA Division 4 state semifinals last Thursday afternoon at the Resch Center.

Vosberg gave the Cubans a 63–61 lead with on a putback with 1:32 left, then blocked a potential game-tying layup with 57 seconds left. Cuba City made 5 of 6 free throws in the final 34 seconds to close out the win.

Two days later, Vosberg posted a second straight double–double with 14 points and 10 steals in 53–50 victory over No. 2 seed St. Mary Catholic (26–4) in the WIAA D4 state championship game to help the Cubans win the program's state record 12 girls basketball title. Vosberg, who didn't even play basketball a year ago when the Cubans' lost the D4 state title game, finished this year's state tournament with 42 points, 14 rebounds and 10 steals in two games.

Vosberg was named this year's SWAL Player of the Year after averaging a league-high 17.3 points on 63.9 percent shooting (230 of 360) and 7.9 rebounds, 3.2 steals, 2.3 assists and 0.6 blocks per game for the Cubans who went 25–5 overall and 13–1 in the SWAL to win a share of a third straight conference title.

Jaxson Wendhausen, Sr., SG, Mineral Point boys basketball
VERONA — Mineral Point senior Jaxson Wendhausen caught fire and made 10 of 15 3-point attempts, erupting for a career-high 42 points to lead the Pointers to a dominating 80–44 victory over Marshall (21–7) in last Saturday's WIAA Division 4 Verona Sectional final. Wendhausen also added four rebounds, three steals and made all four of his free throw attempts in the run away win.

Two nights earlier, Wendhausen score a team-high 20 points and grabbed eight rebounds in a 64–60 D4 sectional semifinal win over SWAL rival Darlington (21–6) last Thursday night at Lancaster High School.

Wendhausen, who was recently named first-team All-SWAL for a second straight year, was averaging a team-high 18 points, 4.8 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 2.1 steals per game, while shooting 45.8 percent (179 of 391) from the field, 73.8 percent on free throws (59 of 80) and 36.5 percent on 3-pointers (77 of 211) for the SWAL champion Pointers (27–1, 13–1 SWAL) heading into Thursday night's WIAA D4 state semifinal game against No. 3 seed La Crosse Aquinas (25–3).