Division 5, Sectional 3: First Look

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Defending WIAA Division 5 state champion Cochrane-Fountain City undoubtedly will face some stiff competition at the regional and, possibly, sectional levels as Section 3 is loaded with solid teams in both the upper and lower half of the bracket. Cochrane-Fountain City figures to get plenty of competition from Assumption, Blair-Taylor, Hillsboro and Royall in the top half of the sectional. In the lower half, look for Belmont, Ithaca, Kickapoo, North Crawford, Potosi/Cassville and Southwestern to field strong units. <br><br>Following is a look at the top players and top teams in Sectional 3</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Top Five Players in Sectional 3</strong><br>[player_tooltip player_id='2501092' first='Brandon' last='Davis'], 6-0, Sr., G, River Ridge<br>[player_tooltip player_id='2423204' first='Miles' last='Ravenscroft'], 6-2, Sr., G, Hillsboro<br>[player_tooltip player_id='1561916' first='JT' last='Schlaefer'], 6-1, Sr., G, Assumption<br>[player_tooltip player_id='2424246' first='Cullen' last='Jacobus'], 5-10, Sr., G, North Crawford<br>[player_tooltip player_id='2551616' first='Aiden' last='Keleher'], 6-1, Sr., G, Southwestern<br><br><strong>Five Breakout Performers in Sectional 3</strong><br>[player_tooltip player_id='2802443' first='Thomas' last='Freeman'], 6-5, Soph., F, Belmont<br>[player_tooltip player_id='2636258' first='Ben' last='Infield'], 6-0, Jr., G, Potosi/Cassville<br>[player_tooltip player_id='2500891' first='Logan' last='Nystrom'], 5-10, Sr., G, Assumption<br>[player_tooltip player_id='2501110' first='Arlon' last='Walter'], 6-6, Sr., F, Kickapoo<br>[player_tooltip player_id='2634852' first='Devin' last='Ihm'], 6-4, Sr., F, Ithaca<br><br><strong>Top Five Teams in Sectional 3</strong><br><br><strong>1. Kickapoo</strong> -- Coach Mat Wood's squad will battle with North Crawford for the Ridge &amp; Valley Conference title, and, potentially, for a spot in the sectional finals. Kickapoo is coming off a 17-9 season and brings back its entire starting lineup. Walter (11 ppg), [player_tooltip player_id='2634917' first='Malachi' last='McCauley'] (12 ppg), [player_tooltip player_id='2914619' first='Breken' last='Miller'] (10 ppg), [player_tooltip player_id='2412774' first='Warren' last='Uhe'] (9 ppg) and Aidric Egge (8 ppg) provide outstanding experience, leadership and scoring balance for the Panthers. <br><br><strong>2. North Crawford</strong> -- The Trojans are two-time defending league champions, but lost two key players to graduation in Andrew Munson (15.0 ppg) and Carter Emler (9.5 ppg). Regardless, coach Chris Wettstein has yet another talented squad, paced by Jacobus, the returning Player of the Year in the Ridge &amp; Valley who averaged 18.2 ppg and 8.8 rpg to help North Crawford to a 25-3 mark. Senior [player_tooltip player_id='2634881' first='Landen' last='Blaha'] (6-0) and juniors [player_tooltip player_id='2914986' first='Zack' last='Bender'] (6-2) and Sawyer Stluka (5-10) also return. <br><br><strong>3. Assumption</strong> -- A summer injury to junior [player_tooltip player_id='2640282' first='Parker' last='Vruwink'] (6-6) will keep the improved forward on the sidelines until at least February. That's the bad news for Assumption fans. The good news is the return of a very talented backcourt that includes a four-year varsity performer in Schlaefer and one of the better shooters in the Marawood Conference in Nystrom. Seniors Chase Leberg (6-1), [player_tooltip player_id='2918489' first='Ron' last='Bord'] (6-1) and Braeden Peters (6-2) along with juniors Trey France (6-2), JJ Oswald (6-1) and Cyler Schill (6-3) also figure to play big roles for coach Josh Paltz. <br><br><strong>4. Potosi/Cassville</strong> -- In the first year of a co-op program between former rivals Potosi and Cassville, coach Mike Uppena has three juniors on his roster who started a year ago. Aaron Edge (6-2) averaged 9.3 ppg for a Potosi squad that went 22-5 while [player_tooltip player_id='2636258' first='Ben' last='Infield'] (6-0) netted 16.3 ppg and Sam Infield (5-10) contributed 5.2 ppg for a Cassville team that finished 8-17. Guard play and perimeter defense figure to be assets.<br><br><strong>5. Hillsboro</strong> -- Ravenscroft (15.8 ppg) picked up first-team all-Scenic Bluffs Conference honors as a junior and second-team laurels as a sophomore. He headlines the list of returning players for coach Jordan Polk. A playmaking guard who can score and distribute, Ravenscroft has some talented teammates also back from last year's 17-8 team in senior [player_tooltip player_id='2953585' first='David' last='Johnson'] (6-3) and sophomore [player_tooltip player_id='2950927' first='Braun' last='Jirschele'] (6-1).<strong><br><br>Sleeper Team</strong><br><br><strong>Cochrane-Fountain City </strong>-- After finished 28-2 and beating Pittsville, Loyal, Columbus Catholic, Royall, Turtle Lake and Sheboygan Lutheran in the playoffs, the Pirates look to contend for a repeat state championship under coach Jesse Cyrus in 2025-26. It will not come easy as four starters graduated last spring, leaving physical junior forward [player_tooltip player_id='2709983' first='Aidan' last='Lisowski'] (6-2) as the lone regular back. Seniors Tye Popp (6-0) and Tucker Bambenek (6-2) should take on bigger roles for the Pirates, who also welcome some talented young players off successful JV1 and JV2 squads.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->