General

Kwik Trip Athletes of the Week - November 6

MADISON, Wis.--Following are the WIAC Kwik Trip Athletes of the Week for the week of October 30 - November 5.

FOOTBALL
Offense
Mitch Waechter, Senior (Campbellsport, Wis./Fond du Lac St. Mary’s Springs), Quarterback of UW-Stout
Waechter threw for a career-high 343 yards on 28-of-37 passing (75.7 percent) and four touchdowns in a 38-13 win at UW-Eau Claire on Nov. 4. His 28 completions were a career high.
 
Also nominated:
UW-Eau Claire, Isaac Garside, Junior, Wide Receiver, Bonduel, Wis. (Bonduel)
UW-La Crosse, Keyser Helterbrand, Senior, Quarterback, Hudson, Wis. (Hudson)
UW-Platteville, Brandt Stare, Junior, Wide Receiver, Naperville, Ill. (Neuqua Valley)
 
Defense
Justin Blazek, Senior (Naperville, Ill./Neuqua Valley), Defensive Line of UW-Platteville
Blazek and the UW-Platteville defense dominated in a 22-7 win over UW-Oshkosh on Nov. 4. He finished with eight total tackles, including 1.5 sacks and three tackles for loss. Blazek added two more quarterback hurries and broke up a pass. His biggest play of the day came early in the fourth quarter as he forced and recovered a fumble as the Titans were inside the UW-Platteville five-yard line.
 
Also nominated:
UW-Eau Claire, Caden Tonsager, Freshman, Cornerback, Eagan, Minn. (Eagan)
UW-La Crosse, Jack Kelly, Senior, Defensive Line, Plover, Wis. (SPASH)
UW-Oshkosh, Kyle Dietzen, Sophomore, Linebacker, Omro, Wis.
UW-River Falls, Carson Steen, Junior, Defensive Line, Big Lake, Minn. (Big Lake)
UW-Stout, Mason Priebe, Senior, Linebacker, Menasha, Wis. (Appleton East)
UW-Whitewater, Mason Stepanski, Sophomore, Linebacker, Appleton, Wis. (Kimberly)
 
Special Teams
Michael Stack, Sophomore (Oshkosh, Wis./West), Kicker of UW-La Crosse
Stack went four-of-four in extra-point attempts and converted a 27-yard field goal in UW-La Crosse's 31-28 win at No. 7-ranked UW-River Falls on Nov. 4. His 27-yard field goal gave the Eagles a 24-7 lead with 6:10 remaining in the second quarter. The victory clinched at least a share of the WIAC title for UW-La Crosse and secured the conference’s automatic NCAA bid.
 
Also nominated:
UW-Oshkosh, Walleye Ratliff, Freshman, Punter, Cincinnati, Ohio (Archbishop Moeller)
UW-Platteville, Will Straka, Sophomore, Linebacker, Mineral Point, Wis. (Mineral Point)
UW-Stout, Ben Karls, Sophomore, Punter, Hudson, Wis. (Hudson)
UW-Whitewater, Jeff Isotalo-McGuire, Sophomore, Kicker, Phoenix, Ariz. (Pinnacle)


MEN’S ICE HOCKEY
Maksis Brimanis, Sophomore (Anchorage, Alaska/Culver Military Academy), Forward of UW-Stout
Brimanis scored two goals and added an assist on eight shots in two road games against ranked opponents during the week. He had a goal and assist against College of St. Scholastica (Minn.) and scored again the next night at No. 12-ranked Augsburg College (Minn.). 
 
Also nominated:
UW-Eau Claire, Max Gutjahr, Sophomore, Goalie, Appleton, Wis. (Kimberly)
UW-River Falls, Brock Weimer, Sophomore, Forward, West Chester, Pa.
 
 
WOMEN’S ICE HOCKEY
Jordan O’Connor, Senior (Prairie du Sac, Wis./Sauk Prairie), Goalie of UW-River Falls
O’Connor led the Falcons to a pair of wins during the week over the College of Saint Benedict (Minn.) on Nov. 2, and Saint Mary’s University (Minn.) on Nov. 4. In the two games, she totaled 43 saves with a .977 save percentage. O’Connor picked up her seventh career shutout against the Bennies on the road with 20 saves, and then made 23 saves against the Cardinals during a 3-1 victory.
 
Also nominated:
Northland College, Corrin Hanson, Senior, Goalie, Rochester, Minn. (Lourdes)
UW-Eau Claire, Sydney Johnson, Senior, Defense, Apple Valley, Minn. (Apple Valley)
UW-Stevens Point, Emily Griege, Freshman, Goalie, Chesterfield, Mo. (Westminster Christian Academy)
 
 
MEN’S SWIMMING & DIVING
Swimming
Matt Warweg, Freshman (Rosemount, Minn./Rosemount), of UW-Stevens Point
Warweg led the Pointers to a victory against Gustavus Adolphus College (Minn.) on Nov. 4. He registered two first-place finishes - in the 100-yard backstroke with a time of 52.69 seconds and the 200-yard backstroke with a time of 1:54.63. He also kick-started the Pointers win in the 200-yard medley relay with a time of 1:33.88 as the lead swimmer.
 
Also nominated:
UW-Eau Claire, Kadin Denner, Junior, Aurora, Colo. (Aurora)
UW-La Crosse, Will Quackenbush, Senior, North Oaks, Minn. (North Oaks)
UW-Whitewater, Ethan Bergman, Sophomore, Racine, Wis. (Kenosha Bradford)
 
Diving
Blake Wallen, Freshman (Savage, Minn./Prior Lake), of UW-Eau Claire
Wallen helped the Blugolds defeat UW-La Crosse 188.50-111.50 in a dual on Nov. 4, with a strong showing on the diving boards. He achieved an NCAA zone cut on the one-meter board with a score of 282.30 to win the event, and made it a sweep with a first-place score of 268.25 on the three-meter board.
 
Also nominated:
UW-La Crosse, Tyler Herder, Sophomore, Fridley, Minn. (Fridley)
UW-Stevens Point, Declan Trant, Freshman, Downers Grove, Ill. (South)
 
 
WOMEN’S SWIMMING & DIVING
Swimming
Francesca Schiro, Junior (New Glarus, Wis./New Glarus), of UW-Oshkosh
In the Titans’ first dual win over UW-Whitewater since 2004, Schiro posted two relay and two individual wins at Albee Hall on Nov. 4. Both the 200-yard medley relay and 200-yard freestyle relay teams paced the pool with finishes of 1:54.16 and 1:43.77, respectively. Schiro also won both the 100-yard freestyle (53.99 seconds) and 200-yard freestyle (1:59.45) events. UW-Oshkosh defeated the Warhawks 194-97.
 
Also nominated:
UW-Eau Claire, Elaina Plonis, Junior, Macomb, Mich. (Eisenhower)
UW-La Crosse, Autumn Seebach, Junior, Menomonee Falls, Wis. (Menomonee Falls)
UW-Stevens Point, Kasey Fris, Junior, New Lenox, Ill. (Lincoln Way West)
UW-Whitewater, Hannah Wenszell, Freshman, Milwaukee, Wis. (Wisconsin Virtual)
 
Diving
Abbi Priestley, Sophomore (Neenah, Wis./Neenah), of UW-Oshkosh
Priestley won the one-meter and three-meter diving events during the Titans’ first dual victory over UW-Whitewater since 2004 on Nov. 4 at Albee Hall. UW-Oshkosh outscored the Warhawks 194-97. Priestley scored 257.00 points in the one-meter diving and 232.65 points in the three-meter diving.
 
Also nominated:
UW-Eau Claire, Rachel Kachinsky, Senior, New Lenox, Ill. (Lincoln Way Central)
UW-La Crosse, Erika Hysalliu, Junior, Oak Creek, Wis. (Oak Creek)


WOMEN’S VOLLEYBALL
Offense
Emma Carlson, Junior (Dixon, Ill./Dixon), Outside Hitter of UW-Platteville
In a pair of wins during the week, Carlson led the Pioneers with 4.71 kills per set. She began the week with an 11-kill performance against Edgewood College (Wis.) before tallying 22 in a sweep over UW-Stout on Nov. 3. Carlson hit .306 between the two matches, including .450 in the win over the Blue Devils. She added 3.29 digs per set, including 15 against Edgewood.
 
Also nominated:
UW-Eau Claire, Charlie Nelson, Senior, Setter, Lakeville, Minn. (Farmington)
UW-La Crosse, Brianne Korducki, Senior, Outside Hitter, Watertown, Wis. (Watertown)
UW-Oshkosh, Sami Perlberg, Freshman, Outside Hitter, Chippewa Falls, Wis. (Chi-Hi)
UW-River Falls, Kameri Meredith, Senior, Outside Hitter, Elk Mound, Wis. (Colfax)
UW-Stevens Point, Carly Thomka, Freshman, Middle Blocker, Muskego, Wis. (Muskego)
UW-Whitewater, Kirsten Anderson, Senior, Middle Hitter, Sun Prairie, Wis. (Sun Prairie)
 
Defense
Abby Fregien, Junior (Waukesha, Wis./West), Libero of UW-Oshkosh
Fregien recorded 69 digs during the week, averaging 6.27 per set as the Titans’ swept all four opponents to break the previous WIAC win streak record. She registered at least 10 digs in each match, including 23 against Wheaton College (Ill.) on Nov. 4.
 
Also nominated:
UW-Eau Claire, Ella Kiebel, Sophomore, Setter, Maple Lake, Minn. (Maple Lake)
UW-La Crosse, Taylor Larson, Sophomore, Defensive Specialist/Libero, Hartland, Wis. (Menomonee Falls)
UW-Platteville, Kierney McDonald, Sophomore, Middle Blocker, Taylor Ridge, Ill. (Rockridge)
UW-Whitewater, Morgan Jensen, Graduate Student, Libero, Sun Prairie, Wis. (Sun Prairie)
 
 
WRESTLING
Tyler Dormanen, Freshman (Boyceville, Wis./Boyceville), 184 pounds of UW-La Crosse
Dormanen, competing in his first collegiate meet, captured the title in the Freshmen/Sophomore Division at the Rochester Community & Technical College (Minn.) Yellowjacket Open on Nov. 4. He went 4-0 with a pair of wins by fall. Dormanen opened with a fall (2:41) over Connor Lorden of Harper Community College (Ill.) followed by fall (4:07) over Terry Smith of UW-Eau Claire in the quarterfinals. Dormanen won by major decision (12-0) over Grant Cook of Minnesota State University Mankato in the semifinals and took the championship with a technical fall (17-1) over Brian Thilges of Minnesota State Mankato. 
 
Also nominated:
UW-Eau Claire, Landon Church, Freshman, 149 pounds, Jordan, Minn. (Scott West)
UW-Platteville, David Cushman, Junior, 157 pounds, Whitewater, Wis. (Whitewater)
UW-Stevens Point, Carson Trotzer, Sophomore, 174 pounds, Weston, Wis. (D.C. Everest)
UW-Whitewater, Dominik Mallinder, Sophomore, 133 pounds, Roselle, Ill. (Lake Park)
 
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