(WNFL/WIAC) – While no area athletes earned the top honors, a few were nominated in their sport of choice.
MEN’S CROSS COUNTRY
Grant Matthai, Junior (Wauwatosa, Wis./East), of UW-La Crosse
Matthai placed second overall at the Indiana State University John McNichols Invitational on Sept. 21. He was leading the race, which featured several NCAA Division I teams, with 450-meters to go, fell, but recovered to finish second with a time of 24:13.3 on the 8,000-meter course. A total of 466 runners completed the race. Matthai helped lead UW-La Crosse to the title in the 27-team non-NCAA Division I standings.
Also nominated:
UW-Eau Claire, Mason Shea, Senior, River Falls, Wis. (River Falls)
UW-Platteville, Caden Schneider, Junior, Reedsburg, Wis. (Reedsburg)
UW-Stevens Point, Logan Murphy, Sophomore, Sheboygan Falls, Wis. (Sheboygan Falls)
UW-Whitewater, Gunner Schlender, Senior, Brillion, Wis. (Brillion)
WOMEN’S CROSS COUNTRY
Hannah Fliss, Senior (Mosinee, Wis./Mosinee), of UW-Platteville
Fliss was UW-Platteville’s top finisher at the Wheaton College (Ill.) Gil Dodds Invitational on Sept. 21, taking sixth overall with a time of 22:46.10. She helped the Pioneers place third out of 19 teams at the meet.
Also nominated:
UW-Eau Claire, Keeley Behr, Junior, Aurora, Ill. (Aurora)
UW-La Crosse, Madison Twarling, Freshman, Lake Villa, Ill. (Lakes Community)
UW-Whitewater, Ari De La Cerda, Senior, Pewaukee, Wis. (Pewaukee)
FOOTBALL
Offense
Zackary Bothun, Sophomore (Janesville, Wis./Milton), Running Back of UW-Platteville
Bothun ran for a season-high 158 yards and four touchdowns as the Pioneers improved to 3-0 with a 42-21 win over Wabash College (Ind.) on Sept. 21. He averaged 6.6 yards per carry and added another 34 yards on five receptions. Bothun scored the Pioneers first touchdown of the game on a 29-yard run in the second quarter, and then scored from eight-yards out early in the third quarter to give UW-Platteville its first lead. His longest run of the day came in the closing seconds of the third quarter on a 54-yard touchdown run that put the Pioneers up by two scores, and he added an 11-yard score late in the fourth quarter.
Also nominated:
UW-Eau Claire, Isaac Garside, Senior, Wide Receiver, Bonduel, Wis. (Bonduel)
UW-La Crosse, Jack Studer, Senior, Wide Receiver, Eyota, Minn. (Dover-Eyota)
UW-Oshkosh, Trae Tetzlaff, Senior, Wide Receiver, Waukesha, Wis. (West)
UW-River Falls, Cade Fitzgerald, Junior, Quarterback, Brooklyn Park, Minn. (Osseo)
UW-Stevens Point, Miles Gallagher, Junior, Wide Receiver, Racine, Wis. (William Horlick)
UW-Stout, Bennett Lecher, Senior, Wide Receiver, Litchfield, Minn. (Litchfield)
Defense
Tanner Newlin, Senior (Savage, Minn./Prior Lake), Linebacker of UW-La Crosse
Newlin recorded a team-high 12 tackles, including four solo, in UW-La Crosse’s 20-13 loss at NCAA Division II and No. 2-ranked Grand Valley State University (Mich.) on Sept. 21. He finished with one quarterback sack and an interception, which came in UW-La Crosse’s end-zone to stop a Lakers drive. UW-La Crosse cut the lead to 17-10 on the ensuing possession.
Also nominated:
UW-Oshkosh, Kyle Dietzen, Junior, Linebacker, Omro, Wis. (Omro)
UW-Platteville, Elijah Krantz, Sophomore, Linebacker, Cross Plains, Wis. (Mount Horeb)
UW-River Falls, Cade Schmidt, Senior, Linebacker, Motley, Minn. (Staples-Motley)
UW-Stevens Point, Jack Luedtke, Senior, Defensive Back, Plymouth, Wis. (Two Rivers)
UW-Stout, Brooks Brewer, Sophomore, Defensive Back, Colfax, Wis. (Menomonie)
Special Teams
Karsten Libby, Sophomore (Wheaton, Ill./North), Linebacker of UW-Whitewater
In the second quarter against University of Mary Hardin-Baylor (Texas) on Sept. 21, Libby got the Warhawks on the board, blocking a punt that was recovered by UW-Whitewater in the endzone for the score. In the third quarter, he got to the punter once again for his second block of the game to give the Warhawks’ great field position at the UMHB 42. In addition to two blocked punts, Libby recorded a tackle for a loss in the game.
Also nominated:
UW-Oshkosh, Walleye Ratliff, Sophomore, Punter, Cincinnati, Ohio (Archbishop Moeller)
UW-Platteville, Benjamin Younker, Sophomore, Punter, Genoa, Ill. (Genoa-Kingston)
UW-River Falls, Gage Timm, Junior, Linebacker, Shawano, Wis. (Shawano)
WOMEN’S GOLF
Julia Imai, Freshman (Brookline, Mass./Brookline), of UW-Stout
Imai tied for sixth overall at the UW-Whitewater Fall Invitational held at TPC Wisconsin Sept. 22-23. She was the top WIAC individual in a deep field with a 73-80-153 (11 over). Imai recorded five birdies and 16 pars over 36 holes. She helped lead the Blue Devils to a seventh-place team finish, topping the next closest WIAC school by 7 strokes.
Also nominated:
UW-La Crosse, Allison Balduzzi, Junior, Onalaska, Wis. (Onalaska)
UW-Oshkosh, Taryn Endres, Junior, DeForest, Wis. (DeForest)
UW-Stevens Point, Kate Downie, Junior, Hortonville, Wis. (Hortonville)
UW-Whitewater, Payton Schmidt, Freshman, Jefferson, Wis. (Jefferson)
MEN’S SOCCER
Offense
Devin Wilkerson, Freshman (La Crosse, Wis./Central), Forward of UW-Stevens Point
Wilkerson notched his second multi-goal match of the season with two goals in a win at Lawrence University (Wis.) on Sept. 18. He leads the team with six goals, second-most in the WIAC.
Also nominated:
UW-Eau Claire, Carter Thiesfeld, Senior, Midfielder, Forest Lake, Minn. (Forest Lake)
UW-Whitewater, Hayden Saul, Sophomore, Defender, Iowa City, Iowa (Liberty)
Defense
Carson Kowalski, Junior (Mundelein, Ill./Mundelein), Midfielder/Defender of UW-Eau Claire
Kowalski scored the only goal in the 11th minute during a corner kick, making a back post run to help UW-Eau Claire secure a 1-0 victory over previously undefeated #8 University of Chicago (Ill.). Throughout the game, Kowalski also made crucial contributions on defense, holding the Maroons to just two shots on goal and posting the Blugolds’ third clean sheet of the season.
Also nominated:
UW-Stevens Point, Jaco Havlik, Freshman, Goalkeeper, Onalaska, Wis. (Onalaska)
UW-Whitewater, Matthew Vollmer, Senior, Goalkeeper, Lake Zurich, Ill. (Lake Zurich)
WOMEN’S SOCCER
Offense
Jess Morawski, Sophomore (Tinley Park, Ill./Victor J. Andrew), Forward of UW-Platteville
Morawski scored two goals and added an assist to help the Pioneers go 1-0-1 during the week. She assisted on the game-tying goal in the 89th minute in a 2-2 draw with Carroll University (Wis.) on Sept. 18, before scoring her ninth and 10th goals of the year in a 3-1 win over Wartburg College (Iowa) on Sept. 21. Morawski has tallied either a goal or an assist in all nine games for the Pioneers this season.
Also nominated:
UW-Eau Claire, Haley Von Rentzell, Junior, Midfielder, Chanhassen, Minn. (Chanhassen)
UW-La Crosse, Lindsey Szymanski, Junior, Midfielder, River Falls, Wis. (River Falls)
UW-Stevens Point, Jessica Camarato, Senior, Midfielder, DeForest, Wis. (DeForest)
Defense
Shannon Walsh, Sophomore (Des Plains, Ill./Maine West), Defender of UW-Oshkosh
Walsh played 175 minutes across the Titans’ two home matches during the week and played an important role in a 1-0 win over St. Norbert College (Wis.) on Sept. 16, and a no-goal tie with the University of Dubuque (Iowa) on Sept. 21. She scored the first goal of her career in the 70th minute against the Green Knights.
Also nominated:
UW-Eau Claire, Grace Prairie, Junior, Junior, Defender, Blaine, Minn. (Blaine)
UW-La Crosse, Addie Pauling, Senior, Defender, Appleton, Wis. (West)
UW-Platteville, Bryanne Pinkowski, Senior, Defender, Prior Lake, Minn. (Prior Lake)
UW-Stevens Point, Mara Gustafson, Senior, Defender, Green Bay, Wis. (Bay Port)
WOMEN’S TENNIS
Singles
Cassie Lee, Senior (Downers Grove, Ill./Timothy Christian), of UW-Whitewater
Lee went 4-1 in the ITA Midwest Regional, advancing to the semifinal round of the tournament in St. Peter, Minn. She had an exciting comeback in the quarterfinal match against Piper Brown of Carleton College (Minn.). After dropping the first set 5-7, she responded in a big way by taking set two, 6-1, and sweeping set three, 6-0.
Also nominated:
UW-Eau Claire, Samantha Fuchs, Senior, DeForest, Wis. (DeForest)
UW-La Crosse, Izabelle Brinkman, Sophomore, New Richmond, Wis. (New Richmond)
UW-Oshkosh, Mana Usui, Freshman, Franklin, Wis. (Franklin)
UW-Stevens Point, Brooklynn Steier, Junior, West De Pere, Wis. (West De Pere)
Doubles
Tasha Bailey, Senior (Wausau, Wis./West) & Shelby Roth, Sophomore (Neenah, Wis./Neenah), of UW-La Crosse
Bailey and Roth advanced to the quarterfinals at the ITA Midwest Regional Sept. 20-21, finishing 3-1. The duo earned an 8-1 victory over Julie Moreno/Allie Christensen of Luther College (Iowa) in the first round, followed by an 8-3 win over Sarah Ferguson/Crystina Lee of UW-Whitewater in the second round. Bailey/Roth earned an 8-4 victory over Maya Brakhage/Lanie Davis of Gustavus Adolphus College (Minn.) in the third round. They fell 8-1 to No. 2-seed Allison Szalay/Molly Austin of Gustavus Adolphus in the quarterfinals.
Also nominated:
UW-Eau Claire, Samantha Fuchs, Senior, DeForest, Wis. (DeForest) & Anna Lee, Senior, Buffalo, Minn. (Buffalo)
UW-Oshkosh, Olivia Pethan, Sophomore, Oshkosh, Wis. (Fox Valley Lutheran) & Alysa Pattee, Senior, Waupun, Wis. (Waupun)
UW-Whitewater, Ashley Adkisson, Sophomore, Lincolnshire, Ill. (Stevenson) & Priyanka Bhogaraju, Freshman, Barrington, Ill. (Elgin Academy)
WOMEN’S VOLLEYBALL
Offense
Ashley Kopp, Senior (Muskego, Wis./Muskego), Outside Hitter of UW-Stevens Point
Kopp set the UW-Stevens Point career record for kills on Sept. 21. She recorded her fourth double-double of the week, while leading the Pointers to a 4-0 week. She posted 21 kills and 15 digs in the conference opener against UW-Eau Claire on Sept. 18. On Sept. 20, Kopp posted double-doubles in wins over Concordia College-Moorhead (Minn.) and Carthage College (Wis.). On the record-breaking day, she was the only double-figure player in kills (16) and digs (10). Kopp was named to the Pointers Invitational All-Tournament Team.
Also nominated:
UW-La Crosse, Gabby Johnson, Senior, Outside Hitter/Opposite, Stevens Point, Wis. (SPASH)
UW-Oshkosh, Sami Perlberg, Sophomore, Outside Hitter, Chippewa Falls, Wis. (Chi-Hi)
UW-River Falls, Amanda Baumann, Freshman, Middle Blocker, Oak Creek, Wis. (Oak Creek)
UW-Stout, Sloan Horgan, Sophomore, Rightside Hitter, Balsam Lake, Wis. (Unity)
UW-Whitewater, Chloe Werner, Junior, Rightside Hitter, Waterford, Wis. (Waterford Union)
Defense
Jaedynn Evans, Grad. Student (Kalona, Iowa/Iowa City Regina), Libero of UW-Whitewater
Evans led the Warhawks to a 2-1 record against top 25 teams during the week. In a five-setter at No. 5-ranked UW-Oshkosh, Evans recorded 26 digs. She tallied 13 digs in a three-set sweep of No. 7-ranked University of La Verne (Calif.) before capping the week with 26 digs in a three-set win over No. 15-ranked Gustavus Adolphus College (Minn.). Additionally, Evans did not commit a single receiving error in 39 attempts. For the week, she averaged 5.91 digs per set in 11 sets played.
Also nominated:
UW-La Crosse, Taylor Larson, Junior, Defensive Specialist/Libero, Hartland, Wis. (Menomonee Falls)
UW-Oshkosh, Abby Fregien, Senior, Libero, Waukesha, Wis. (West)
UW-River Falls, Audrey Petersen, Freshman, Defensive Specialist/Libero, Glencoe, Minn. (Glencoe-Silver Lake)
UW-Stevens Point, Tessa Erlandson, Sophomore, Defensive Specialist/Libero, Kenyon, Minn. (Kenyon Wanamingo)
UW-Stout, Emma Barton, Sophomore, Middle Hitter, Stevens Point, Wis. (SPASH)
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