Whitehead, Zilbar receive WIAC honors
Junior football players Trevor Whitehead and Jacob Zilbar were named WIAC Offensive and Defensive Athletes of the Week, respectively, on Tuesday for their performances against University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point Oct. 19.
Whitehead, a wide receiver from Elgin, Ill., caught 11 passes for 161 yards and two touchdowns, one of which was a 32-yard screen pass in the final minute of the game to seal the Pioneers’ 24-23 win.
Zilbar, a linebacker from Tampa, Fla., had 13 total tackles, including seven solo tackles, an interception, a pass breakup and a quarterback hurry.
The University of Wisconsin-Platteville’s football team takes the field next on Saturday for a home tilt against University of Wisconsin-Stout.
Kickoff is set for 2:30 and will be broadcasted live on Fox Sports Wisconsin.
Cross country has off day
The University of Wisconsin-Platteville men’s and women’s cross country teams were off their usual high-placing way Oct. 19 at the Drews/Neubauer Invite, as the men finished 13th and the women placed 20th of 30 teams.
The meet featured a collection of top cross country teams in the Midwest, such as the hosts of the invite, University of Wisconsin-La Crosse and St. Olaf.
Individually, junior Sam Poser had the best day for the Pioneers, finishing 29th overall in the race with a time of 25:44.
Junior Joel Walden (26:00) finished second on the team.
For the women, standout senior Danielle Kunkel did not race, but sophomore Kiera Depies finished 41st overall in 23:13.
UW-Platteville’s next competition is the Oshkosh Open in Winneconne on Saturday.
Racing will begin at 2 p.m.
Pioneers to begin season at Badgers
The University of Wisconsin-Platteville men’s basketball team will begin their season with an exhibition game against University of Wisconsin-Madison Badgers on Wednesday, Oct. 30.
The game, which will not count against either team’s overall record, pits UW-Madison head coach against the Pioneers, a team which he led to four national championships in the 1990s.
UW-Platteville returns with an experienced line-up, as four of five starters from last year’s squad will be back.
Tip-off is set for 7:00 p.m. Oct. 30 at the Kohl Center in Madison.
