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

Nora Jillson, Sr., Boscobel girls cross country
MUSCODA — Boscobel won a pair of conference titles at last Thursday’s SWAL Cross Country Championships at Riverdale Elementary School.

Senior Nora Jillson began the Bulldogs’ day of championships by cruising to her second individual conference title in the girls’ race with a winning time of 18:44.0.

Jillson beat runner-up Adalee Berget of Darlington (19:15.9) to the finish line by more than 30 seconds. Fennimore’s Natalie Horsfall (19:49.3) and Kylee Mumm (20:02.0) finished well behind Jillson for third and fourth place.

Jillson (19:30.8) finished second to Berget (19:26.8) at last year’s conference meet, after beating Berget (19:27.7) to win the individual SWAL title two years ago as a sophomore (18:54.8) at Fennimore. Jillson finished second at conference behind former Southwestern/Cuba City/Benton standout Kayci Martensen three years ago as a freshman.

“Nora was dominant in the girls race from start to finish,” said Fritz. “She ran with a special confidence that allowed to her be strong throughout the race and never waver. Winning the conference meet by 31 seconds in a very competitive field is very impressive.”   

Junior Aubrey Seep finished ninth at 21:25.9 to join Jillson on the girls’ all-conference team. Freshman Payten Sander (22:08.7) finished 16th for the Bulldogs (68), who placed third as a team behind Darlington (40) and Fennimore (63) in the girls’ team standings.

Boscobel will now split up this weekend for the WIAA Sectionals. Jillson and the Boscobel girls — who were bumped up to Division 2 by the WIAA’s new success factor competitive balance rule after winning the D3 2021 state title, finishing sixth at state in D3 in 2022 and third at sectionals last fall — will race Friday afternoon at the 16-team WIAA Division 2 Black River Falls Sectional. 

Meanwhile, the Boscobel boys will compete in the 23-team Division 3 Prairie du Chien Sectional Saturday morning. The top two teams, and top five runners not on a qualifying team, will advance to next week’s WIAA State Championships in Wisconsin Rapids. 

Jillson, a three-time state qualifier, finished 11th in D3 at last year's state meet after placing second overall two years ago as a sophomore. She placed fourth as a freshman to led the Lady Bulldogs to the 2011 Division 3 girls state title.

HONORABLE MENTION (in alphabetical order)
Ty Adrian, Sr., RB/DB, River Ridge football
Adrian rushed for a team-high 127 yards and 2 touchdowns, caught a 92-yard TD pass from Brandon Davis and recorded three tackles and an interception on defense to lead the Timberwolves (6–3, 5–2) to a dominating 56–8 Six Rivers Conference victory over visiting Pec/Argyle (3–6) last Friday night.

Hayden Aultman, Fr., QB/DB, Iowa–Grant football
Aultman stepped in for injured sophomore Brock Hinderman and completed 10 of 21 passes for 131 yards and a touchdown, and rushed for 62 yards and 3 TDs on 11 carries to lead the Panthers (4–5, 4–3 Six Rivers) to a playoff-clinching 36–7 conference victory at Riverdale last Friday night. Aultman also recorded seven tackles, including a team-high five solo stops, on defense. 

Layne Aurit, Sr., Johnny Robinson, So., and Cody Yoder, Sr., Dodgeville boys cross country
Aurit (16:46.8), Robinson (17:11.8) and Yoder (17:16.0) finished 1–2–3 at last Thursday's SWC Cross Country Championship Meet at the Lancaster Country Club to lead the Dodgeville/Mineral Point boys (24) to a the team title ahead of runner-up Richland Center/Ithaca (63). It was Aurit's second-straight individual SWC title, and the Dodgers' sixth consecutive team championship.

Adalee Berget, Jr., Darlington girls cross country
Led by junior Adalee Berget, the Darlington girls (40) placed five runners in the top 13 to win the girls SWAL title rather easily ahead of Fennimore (63) and Boscobel (68). Berget (19:15.9), the 2023 individual SWAL champion, finished second behind Boscobel senior Nora Jillson (18:44.0) to lead the Redbirds to a second-straight conference title. 

Bodey Bright, So., Boscobel boys cross country
Bright led the Bulldogs to the finish line, placing a team-best seventh 17:33.6 at last Thursday's SWAL Championship. Bright's splendid run led the Bulldogs (61) to their first conference team since 2021, finishing ahead fo Iowa–Grant (80) and Fennimore (92). Bright and the Boscobel boys will now attempt to qualify for this year's WIAA Division 3 State Meet when they race at Saturday's D3 Prairie du Chien Sectional. The top two teams, and top five runners not on a qualifying team, will advance to next week’s WIAA State Championships in Wisconsin Rapids. 

Maddie Driscoll, Fr., and Kylie Olmstead, Jr., Lancaster girls cross country
Lancaster's freshman pheonom Maddie Driscoll burst on the high school scene this fall as one of the top runners in this part of the state, while Olmstead continues her steady leadership for the Flying Arrows. Driscoll raced to a second-place finish with a time of 19:26.0, while Olmstead finished fourth at 20:50.3 to lead the Flying Arrows (30) to this year's conference title ahead of perennial powerhouse Dodgeville/Mineral Point (34). Lancaster's win ends the Dodgers' three-year reign as SWC champion. Driscoll finished behind only Dodgeville/Mineral Point senior standout Ellie Robinson (18:50.0), while beating senior Annie Robinson (19:46.8), the other half of the Dodgers' twin tandem, to the finish line.

Isaiah Groom, Sr., RB/LB, Potosi/Cassville football
Groom led a spirited defensive effort to lead the Division 7 #1-ranked Chieftains (9–0, 7–0 Six Rivers) to a 27–18 conference-title clinching victory over #3 Black Hawk/Warren (8–1, 6–1) last Friday night. Groom posted a whopping 30 tackles, including 11 solo stops. He also rushed for 65 yards on 12 carries. 

Lynell Miller, Jr., Lancaster girls golf
Miller competed at the WIAA Girls Golf State Championships Oct. 14–15 at University Ridge in Madison, shooting an 18-hole score of 100 last Monday and a 98 last Tuesday in her third trip to the state tournament. Miller finished 22nd out of 39 golfers in the Division 2 field.

Blake Thiry, Sr., RB/LB, Prairie du Chien football
Prairie du Chien's senior standout piled up 254 yards and 4 touchdowns on just 12 touches as the Southwest Wisconsin Conference champion Blackhawks (8–1, 7–0 SWC) drubbed host Lancaster 42–7 last Friday night. Thiry, a Division 1 Indiana recruit, rushed for 1,175 yards and 23 TDs, and caught 28 passes for 725 yards and 12 TDs in nine regular season games.