Vote now: Who should be SBLive’s Illinois High School Athlete of the Week (Jan. 9-14)

SBLive Sports Athlete of the Week graphic

Here are the candidates for SBLive’s Illinois High School Athlete of the Week for Jan. 9-14 as nominated by fans, readers and SBLive’s staff.

Read through the nominees and cast your vote at the bottom of the page. Voting will conclude on Sunday at 11:59 p.m. and the winner will be announced the following week. If you would like to nominate an athlete in the future, please email athleteoftheweek@scorebooklive.com.

THIS WEEK’S SBLIVE ILLINOIS ATHLETE OF THE WEEK NOMINEES:

Editor’s Note: Our Athlete of the Week feature and corresponding poll is intended to be fun, and we do not set limits on how many times a fan can vote during the competition. However, we do not allow votes that are generated by script, macro or other automated means. Athletes that receive votes generated by script, macro or other automated means will be disqualified.

Niko Abusara, Benet Academy boys basketball

The senior guard had a solid all-around performance against Joliet Catholic on Friday. The 6-5 Dartmouth recruit totaled 22 points to go along with 7 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 steals, and a block in a 70-41 win.

Jack Ambrose, Batavia boys basketball

Ambrose came through in clutch situations for Batavia during their Wednesday matchup with St. Charles North. The senior guard scored all 11 of his points in the second half including the game-sealing 3-pointer with 5 seconds left to play to give the Bulldogs a 50-47 victory.

Julia Benjamin, Glenbard West girls basketball

A sophomore starter for Glenbard West, Benjamin had the hot hand behind the arc on Thursday as she hit four 3-pointers and finished with 14 points to lead the Hilltoppers to a 48-26 win over St. Francis.

Jakob Blakely, Larkin boys basketball

The standout junior guard continued a great season for Larkin during their 67-38 conference victory over Elgin on Friday night. Blakely sparked a 25-3 run down the stretch to secure the game for Larkin. He scored a game-high 24 points.

Jalen Brown, Glenbard South boys basketball

Brown, who was the Raiders’ standout running back in the Fall, had a dominant performance against Glenbard East on Friday as he senior scored 22 points and grabbed 18 rebounds in a 62-41 victory.

Brooke Carlson, Batavia girls basketball

Carlson was the leading scorer during the Bulldogs’ Tuesday victory over Lake Park. The junior guard scored an impressive 29 points to give the Bulldogs a 57-46 win.

Lilly Dockemeyer, Lincoln-Way East girls basketball

The junior had an impressive shooting performance at the DeKalb MLK Showdown on Saturday. Over two games, Dockemeyer scored 32 points and hit an impressive seven out of 10 shots from 3-point range.

Kaden Fetterolf, Batavia wrestling

A standout senior for the Bulldogs, Fetterolf had an impressive effort at the Clint Arlis Invite on Saturday. Fetterolf capped off the day with a gritty 6-4 win by decision to secure the 152-pound title and improve his record to 36-0 on the season.

Emily Fisher, Libertyville girls basketball

During a matchup against a very good Stevenson team on Friday, Fisher took charge and scored the Wildcats final six points including a buzzer beater to secure a 40-38 North Suburban Conference win. The senior finished with a team-high 14 points.

Rini Harris, O’Fallon boys basketball

At the Southern Illinois Classic on Saturday, Harris scored 22 points and grabbed six rebounds to help lead O’Fallon to a 63-41 victory over University City. The junior was named the MVP of the contest.

Zach Hawkinson, Sacred Heart-Griffin boys basketball

Hawkinson earned MVP honors of the final game of the Southern Illinois Classic thanks to his double-double with 21 points and 11 rebounds in leading the Cyclones to a 65-51 win over Chaminade.

David Marshall Jr., Belleville West boys basketball

A 6-3 junior guard, Marshall was the MVP of the Maroons’ Southern Illinois Classic game on Saturday with a 22-point, eight-rebound performance in their 66-59 victory over MICDS (Mo.).

Victoria Matulevicius, Montini girls basketball

In a Saturday matchup against Geneva, Matulevicius scored a team-high 16 points including the game-winning basket with less than 5 seconds to play. The junior guard sealed a 44-42 victory after trailing by eight points going into the second half.

Connor May, Palatine boys basketball

May had one of his best performances to date during Palatine’s 57-52 overtime victory over Barrington on Friday. The junior dominated the boards by pulling down 16 rebounds while scoring a career-high 28 points during the Pirates’ winning effort.

Mia Moore, East Aurora girls basketball

A senior guard, Moore helped East Aurora to it’s 10th straight conference victory on Friday night with a 55-31 win over West Chicago. Moore tallied 17 points, 7 rebounds, 5 assists, and 4 steals to cap off an impressive all-around effort.

Jordan Pickett, Belleville East boys basketball

Pickett led the Lancers to a victory in Game 5 of the Southern Illinois Classic. The senior scored 14 points and grabbed five rebounds during the 50-47 decision over Westminster and took home MVP honors for the contest.

Annalise Pietrzyk, Providence Catholic girls basketball

Pietrzyk turned in two solid performances last week. In the Celtics’ Thursday matchup with De La Salle, the senior scored 27 points en route to a 53-25 victory. In their Saturday 59-46 win over Joliet Catholic, she scored 14 points.

Jaclyn Riedl, Maine West girls basketball

A senior, Riedl earned player of the game honors on Saturday when she scored 12 points and grabbed seven rebounds during the Warriors 52-33 victory over Mother McAuley.

Reagan Sipla, St. Charles North girls basketball

Sipla had an impressive effort at both ends of the floor during the North Stars’ Thursday DuKane Conference matchup against Batavia. The junior posted a solid stat line of 15 points, 6 steals, 5 rebounds and 3 assists to help St. Charles North to a 46-39 victory.

Tylon Toliver, Lincoln-Way East boys basketball

Toliver was hard to stop during the Griffins’ Wednesday matchup against Bloom. The senior guard scored a team-high 29 points to help Lincoln-Way East to a 79-75 come-from-behind victory in double overtime.

Kaden White, Marist boys basketball

White, a senior guard, had a strong shooting performance on Friday as he scored 19 points (including four 3-pointers) and grabbed seven rebounds during the RedHawks’ 62-56 conference victory over Marian Catholic.

Previous winners: Libertyville’s Will Buchert (Dec. 26-31), Rich Township’s Diondre Henry (Dec. 19-24), Montini Catholic’s Shannon Blacher (Dec. 12-17), East St. Louis’ Macaleab Rich (Dec. 5-10), Butler’s Xamiya Walton (Nov. 21-26), East St. Louis’ TaRyan Martin (Nov. 14-20), Lake Zurich’s Tyler Erkman (No. 7-12), St. Rita’s DJ Stewart (Oct. 31-Nov. 5), Stevenson’s Matt Projansky (Oct. 17-22), Prospect’s Brad Vierneisel (Oct. 10-15), Brother Rice’s Owen Lyons (Oct. 3-8), Bolingbrook’s Jonas Williams (Sept. 19-24), Benet Academy’s Aniya Warren (Sept. 12-17), Bolingbrook’s I’Marion Stewart (Sept. 4-10), Lemont’s Nate Wrublik (Aug. 29-Sept. 3) and Highland’s Travis Porter (Aug. 22-28).

Source link

Tyisha Guillemette