Since we missed last week, we will feature three area standouts as this week's Suppz.com Tri-Athletes of the Week.

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

Aidan Gage, Jr., River Ridge boys track and field
PLATTEVILLE — River Ridge junior Aidan Gage won the boy's 100-meter dash in 11.18 seconds, the 200 (23.13) and the long jump (20'4") and placed third in the triple jump (40'1") to score 38 team points, and his team needed every single one of them to win the boys' title at Monday's Six Rivers Conference Meet at UW–Platteville. Gage and the Timberwolves tallied 177 points to capture the Six Rivers title by finishing five points ahead of second place Benton/Scales Mound/Shullsburg (172). Other first place finishers for the River Ridge boys were Seth Breuer in the pole vault (12’0”) and Elliot Thornton in the discus (115’8”). Gage also finished second in the 100 and 4x100 relay at last Thursday's 25-team Sparky Reynolds Memorial Invitational in Boscobel.

Noah Kirsch, Sr., Lancaster boys golf
PRAIRIE DU SAC — Lancaster senior Noah Kirsch is nearly unbeatable. The sensational senior fired a 4-under-par 67 Wednesday at the Lake Wisconsin Country Club to blow away the competition at this year's Southwest Wisconsin Conference Championships. Kirsch's sparkling round, which featured a sizzling 3-under 31 on the back nine, was eight strokes better than runner-up Tyler Bradley of Dodgeville (75), clinched a second-straight SWC Player of the award and led the Flying Arrows to the win Wednesday and clinched Lancaster the 2022 SWC title. Kirsch, who is the reigning WIAA D3 individual state champion and a three-time first-team All-SWC golfer (there was no season in 2020 due to COVID) won five other meets in the past week, including nine-hole SWC meets at Platteville (last Tuesday), River Valley and Richland Center (both last Thursday), Friday's 18-hole Reedsburg Invitational and Monday's Battle at the Rock at Wisconsin Dells with a 3-under par 68 to defend his title at the event. Kirsch also had time in his busy schedule to compete in the local qualifier for the USGA Open at Wild Rock Golf Course in Wisconsin Dells last Wednesday. With the top individuals five qualifying for the open, Kirsch tied for 13th overall with a one-over-par round of 73.

Beau Kopp, Sr., Cuba City boys track and field
CUBA CITY — Cuba City senior Beau Kopp had a good week for the Cubans capped by shattering the SWAL Conference Meet record in the discus with a throw of 173'8" at Monday's SWAL Meet at CCHS. He also repeated as conference champion in the shot put (49'9.5"), and teamed senior Chayse Barth and junior Devon Hill to finish first the 400-meter relay in 45.6 seconds. He also placed fourth-place finish in the 100 (11.97) to help lead the Cubans to their second straight SWAL boys' title. Kopp swept both the shot put and discus at the Redbird Invitational at Darlington and the SWAL Mid-Season Meet at Riverdale, while placing second in the shot and first in the discus at Boscobel's Sparky Reynolds Invitational, which was also won by the Cuba City boys' team. Kopp and the 4x100-remay team was also second at the Sparky Invite and first at the Redbird Invite. 

HONORABLE MENTION (in alphabetical order):
Blake Bussan, Sr., P, Cuba City baseball
Bussan picked up a pair of wins on the mound and led the first-place Cubans (15–3, 11–2 SWAL) to three wins in four games last week. Bussan struck out seven, walked one and allowed just one hit in four shutout innings to lead the Division 4 #9-ranked Cubans to an 11–0 win over Boscobel last Tuesday. He earned a second win last week pitching six strong innings (4 hits, 3 runs, 1 BB) in a 14–5 win at Darlington on Friday. Including a 4–3 non-conference loss to Lancaster and a 8–2 win last Wednesday at Southwestern, Bussan also went 8-for-14 with three doubles, a homer and eight RBIs in four games last week.

Maddox Cejka, P/SS, Prairie du Chien baseball
Cejka tossed a no-hitter, striking out six and allowing just one walk to blank SWC-champion Dodgeville 2–0 last Thursday afternoon. The win moved the Blackhawks (11–6, 8–2 SWC) into a momentary first-place tie with the Dodgers (16–3, 9–1), but PdC suffered a stunning 5–4 conference loss at Richland Center Monday on a two-out, three-run walk-off homer by Brock Louis and finished the conference season a game back of Dodgeville. Cejka also picked up a save, pitching a scoreless seventh inning, in a 5–3 non-conference win over Viroqua on Tuesday, May 10.

Bentley Cutts, So., P, Iowa–Grant softball
Cutts has led the Panthers (14–10) to six straight wins with her bat and her arm. Cutts had an RBI double in IG's 8–3 game one victory over Darlington last Thursday, then went 4-for-5 with a double and two RBI in the 11–3 game two win. On Saturday, Cutts had another four-hit game, that included two RBI and three runs scored, in a 21–3 three-inning rout of Brookwood at the Ithaca Tournament, then struck out 13 batters in a five-inning no-hitter to lead IG to a 10–0 victory over Black River Falls in the championship game. She then opened this week with a 15-strikeout, two-hit performance in a 8–1 win at Southwestern Monday, and went 3-for-4 with a triple and an RBI in a Monday's 5–3 non-conference win over Wisconsin Heights. Cutts is batting .507 with three home runs and 18 RBI for the Panthers (14–10, 9–5 SWAL).

Alison Daughtery, Sr., Cuba City girls track and field
Daugherty, who was named the Female Athlete of the Meet at last Thursday's Sparky Reynolds Invitational in Boscobel, had another impressive showing for Cuba City on Monday, winning SWAL titles in the long jump (16’7”), triple jump (33’10”), 100 dash (13.49) and 400 relay (52.89) to lead the Lady Cubans to a second-straight SWAL title. Daugherty placed fourth at state a year ago in the triple jump and was also a state qualifier in the 4x100 and 4x200 relays.

Gretta Grassel, So., P, Boscobel softball
Grassel outdueled Riverdale's Carlie Jo Brownlee for the second time this year, posting a career-high 21 strikeouts in an incredible 2–1 11-inning victory over the Chieftains. Grassel also smacked a two-out double and scored Sarah Knowles' RBI single in the bottom of the seventh inning to send the game to extra innings. Grassel (14–0) struck out 18 hitters and allowed just two hits in a 6–0 shutout over Cuba City last Tuesday, and aided her own cause with a double, and a two-run home run in the fourth inning to lead the #1-ranked Bulldogs to the SWAL-clinching win. She also went a perfect 3-for-3 with a double, two RBI and two runs scored, and struck out 12 in last Thursday's 10–0 win at Fennimore.

Delanee Klaas, Sr., Fennimore girls track and field
Klaas  won the girls’ 100 hurdles (17.51) and 300 hurdles (48.50), also teamed with sophomores Izzy Bender, Braycee Nelson and Rosalie Griesel to finish second in the girls’ 4x400 relay (4:24.69) at Monday's SWAL Conference Meet at Cuba City. Klaas was a WIAA D3 state qualifier a year ago in the 110 hurdles and a two-time state champion the girls 4x400 relay.

Tunde Lippai, Jr., Cassvill/Potosi girls track and field
Lippai, and exchange student from Hungary, took top honors in the 100 hurdles (:16.94) and the triple jump (32’11”) at Monday's Six Rivers Conference meet at UW–Platteville. Lippoai competes on a club team (high schools don't offer sports in Europe) in her native country.

Brock Louis, Sr., OF, Richland Center baseball
Louis belted a walk-off three-run homer with two outs in the bottom of the seventh inning to lift the Hornets (7–11, 4–6) to a stunning 5–4 victory over co-SWC-leading Prairie du Chien (11–6, 8–2) Monday, May 16. The win was Richland Center's third in a row, and prevented the Blackhawks from winning a share of this year's SWC title. Dodgeville (16–3 overall) won the league crown with a 9–1 record in conference play. Louis also had two hits in a 8–2 win over Platteville last Thursday, May 12.

Kayci Martensen, Sr., Benton/Scales Mound/Shullsburg girls track and field
Martensen, a multi-time WIAA state champion, ran to repeat wins in the girls 800 (2:28.31), 1,600 (5:22.0) and 3,200 (12:41.02) to lead the Benton/Scales Mound/Shullsburg girls to the team title at Monday's Six Rivers Conference Meet at UW–Platteville. Martensen is the is the reigning D3 state champion in all three events and the SRC Meet record holder in the 1,600 and 3,200 as well.