Vote now: Who should be SBLive's Illinois High School Athlete of the Week (Oct. 10-15)?
By Max Baker
Here are the candidates for SBLive's Illinois High School Athlete of the Week for Oct. 10-15 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.
Bria Bennis, York (Elmhurst) girls cross country
A senior, Bennis turned in one of the top times in Illinois this season when she recorded a personal-best time of 16:56.4 to win the West Suburban Silver Conference XC Championship meet on Saturday.
Nicholas Deloach Jr, Cahokia football
Deloach did a little bit of everything in the Comanches’ 56-6 win at Althoff. The defensive back and wide receiver had a four-touchdown day that included two touchdown receptions, a 90-yard interception return for a score and a 65-yard punt return TD. The University of Missouri commit notched nine tackles and two interceptions as well.
Darion Dupree, Mount Carmel football
The running back had four touchdowns in the 70-0 blowout win, setting up a date with Loyola next week. A big game from Dupree in the battle of unbeatens could lead to a massive win against Loyola.
Mako Grant, Kenwood football
A junior running back, Grant rushed nine times for 167 yards and three touchdowns in the Broncos’ 44-0 win over Curie on Thursday.
Ethan Hogan, Columbia boys cross country
A junior, Hogan ran a personal-best time of 14.35.4 to win the Cahokia Conference Meet at Salem High School on Saturday.
Tre Jones, Oswego East football
A Navy commit, Jones ran for 262 yards and four touchdowns in a 35-21 come-from-behind victory against rival Oswego.
Brett Kersemeier, Hersey football
The senior running back ran for a career-high 178 yards and a touchdown in Hersey’s 42-0 win over Elk Grove.
Matt Kuczaj, Wheaton North football
The junior wide receiver and defensive back made two key plays again in the 20-13 win. He caught a 64-yard TD pass with 5:06 to go ahead by a touchdown. Later in the game, he had a pass breakup in the end zone to secure the win for the Falcons.
James Kwiecinski, Lincoln-Way East football
Running back James Kwiecinski ran for 287 yards and 4 TDs as Lincoln-Way East cruised past Lockport 37-10.
Keshawn Lewis-Hunt, Bremen football
A junior, Lewis-Hunt had 28 carries for 164 yards and three touchdowns as the Braves defeated Oak Forest 29-7.
Max Lynch, Pana football
Lynch, a quarterback, accounted for 455 total yards and five touchdowns to lead the Panthers to a 42-21 win over visiting Virden North Mac. He passed for 250 yards and two touchdowns and ran for 205 yards and three scores.
TaRyan Martin, East St. Louis football
The running back had three touchdowns and rushed for 97 yards as the Flyers defeated Southwestern Conference rival Edwardsville 26-7 in a closer game than many expected.
Marquise Palmer, East St. Louis football
Palmer recorded 10 tackles and three sacks as the stingy Flyers’ defense allowed just one touchdown to Edwardsville. The defense kept the Flyers to a comfortable advantage despite the Tigers hanging around for most of the game.
Sofia Olaru, Naperville Central girls golf
Olaru was the singles champion in the Dupage Valley Conference.
Jesse Ramirez, Guilford boys soccer
Ramirez scored the game-winning goal for Guilford in a 3-2 win over Boylan.
Cory Stennis, Crete-Monee football
The senior quarterback accounted for seven first-half touchdowns in his team's 61-6 win over Bloom, throwing for 261 yards and five touchdowns and running for two scores.
Scout Storms, Barrington girls cross country
Storms, a sophomore, won the Mid Suburban League XC Championships meet on Saturday with a season-best time of 17:01.6. She finished eighth at the Illinois Class 3A championships as a freshman a year ago.
Tyler Vasey, Prairie Ridge football
The quarterback threw for 301 yards and five touchdowns in the second half as Prairie Ridge defeated Crystal Lake South 48-41.
Brad Vierneisel, Prospect football
The Knights’ senior quarterback only played one half on Friday but completed 13 of 14 passes for 165 yards and three touchdowns as Prospect rolled to a 44-12 win at Wheeling.
Dominic Voegele, Columbia football
Voegele rushed 23 times for 385 yards and four touchdowns in the Eagles’ 28-27 win at Breese Central. He ripped off TD runs of 60, 82, 63 and 88 yards. He also added 11 tackles at his defensive back position.
Dan Watke, Hinsdale Central boys cross country
Watke turned in one of the top times of the season in Illinois when the senior ran a personal-best 14:34.5 to win the West Suburban Silver XC championship on Saturday.
Brent Wuebbels, Highland football
Wuebbels completed 16 of 21 passes for 182 yards and four touchdowns as the Bulldogs ran away with a 56-0 win over visiting Mascoutah.
Congratulations to Owen Lyons of Brother Rice football who was voted the SBLive's Illinois High School Athlete of the Week for Oct. 3-8. Owens received more than 42 percent of the votes.
The senior wide receiver caught five passes for 97 yards including a game-winning one handed touchdown grab in double overtime in a 31-24 upset victory over No. 14 Joliet Catholic.
Washington football's Kainon McQueary was second in the voting with more than 38 percent of the votes.
Previous winners: Bolingbrook quarterback Jonas Williams (Sept. 19-24), Benet Academy libero Aniya Warren (Sept. 12-17), Bolingbrook wide receiver I'Marion Stewart (Sept. 4-10), Lemont running back Nate Wrublik (Aug. 29-Sept. 3) and Highland running back Travis Porter (Aug. 22-28).
