Vote now: Who should be SBLive’s Iowa high school athlete of the week? (Oct. 17-23)
By CJ Short
Here are the candidates for SBLive’s Iowa high school athlete of the week for Oct. 17-23. Read through the nominees and cast your vote. Voting will conclude Sunday at 11:59 p.m. If you would like to make a nomination in a future week, email athleteof theweek@scorebooklive.com.
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 who receive votes generated by script, macro or other automated means will be disqualified.
Kaden Amigon, Columbus
Columbus, making just its second playoff appearance in the past 25 years, opened the Class A playoffs with a 62-14 rout of Maquoketa Valley. Amigon, a junior, rushed for 246 yards and four touchdowns.
Caden Anderson, Atlantic football
The senior passed for 239 yards and three touchdowns (all to Carter Pellett) as the Trojans pulled off a 26-21 upset over Creston to finish the season with a winning record.
Sophie Badding, Kuemper Catholic volleyball
The senior has been dominant at the net for the Knights (36-4), with a state-best 124 solo blocks and 286 kills.
Graham Beckman, Iowa City Liberty
A week after leaving a game against Burlington because of an injury, the junior quarterback returned to star for the Lightning in a 42-7 win over Clinton. Beckman completed 14 of 18 passes for 268 yards and four touchdowns.
Marcus Blount, Clinton Prince of Peace boys cross country
Blount’s second victory of the season was his most important to date, as he qualified for the Class 1A state meet, timed in 17:11.20 during a qualifier at Cascade. The 13th-ranked senior is a three-time 1A state qualifier whose top effort in Fort Dodge came as sophomore when he was 19th (17:17.4).
Grace Boleyn, Pleasant Valley girls cross country
Third-ranked in Class 4A, the sophomore followed her victory at the Mississippi Athletic Conference meet with her fourth triumph of the season, timed in 18:45 during a 4A state qualifying meet her team hosted. Boleyn’s goal is now to better last year’s second-place finish in the final 4A state team standings.
Keaton Bonderson, Le Mars Gehlen football
Three of the senior’s four receptions (90 yards) went for touchdowns as the Jays opened Class A playoff action with a 40-22 win over Tri-Center. Bonderson also had five tackles on defense.
Ryan Brosius, Dubuque Wahlert football
The senior running back put on quite a show in the Golden Eagles’ 62-0 win over West Liberty in a Class 2A first-round playoff game. Brosius rushed for three touchdowns, caught two scoring passes and returned an interception 106 yards for a touchdown.
Tadyn Brown, Clarinda football
The senior running back had a monster night with 325 yards and six touchdowns in the Cardinals’ 56-27 Class 2A playoff victory over Roland-Story.
Adrienne Buettner-Cable, Des Moines Roosevelt girls cross country
Some of Buettner-Cable’s best races as a senior have come at Marshalltown, including the Iowa Alliance Conference meet, which she won (17:52.5). A week later, Class 4A’s second-ranked runner qualified for the state meet for the second time in her career, timed in a first-place 17:43.01 at Marshalltown.
Max Burt, Newman Catholic football
The senior QB had a huge night, completing 22-of28 passes for 256 yards and three touchdowns, rushed for 120 and two TDs and caught a 10-yard TD pass in the Knights 49-42 triumph over Hudson in the Class A playoffs.
Jaxon Cherry, Webster City football
The junior running back hit paydirt four times with 163 yards rushing on 17 attempts as the Lynx crushed Denison-Schleswig 63-7.
Owen Cook, Montezuma football
The Braves held off Iowa Valley 44-42 as Owen Cook passed for 224 yards and a TD and ran for 129 yards and four scores in an 8-player playoff game.
Lance Coon, Humboldt football
The junior rambled for 206 yards and four touchdowns on 22 carries as the Wildcats finished the regular season 8-1 thanks to a 31-8 triumph over Algona.
Ty Cozad, Muscatine football
The junior had 234 rushing yards on 37 carries in the loss to Davenport West. Cozad finished his junior campaign with over 2,000 rushing yards and led Class 5A with 19 rushing touchdowns.
Michael Cunningham, Cedar Rapids Xavier football
The senior running back racked up 170 yards while playing just one half in the Saints’ 52-6 win over Oskaloosa in a regular season finale. Cunningham carried only seven times, but dashed for touchdowns of 63 and 86 yards as Xavier wrapped up an unbeaten regular season.
Beckett DeJean, OABCIG football
The senior QB passed for 223 yards and two touchdowns and rushed for 113 yards and two scores. He also had eight tackles on the defensive side of the football as the Falcons finished the season pulled out a 29-23 first-round playoff victory over Unity Christian.
Kooper Ebel, Hartley-Melvin-Sanborn football
The Iowa State recruit had 32 carries for 307 yards and five touchdowns and also threw for a score as the Hawks outscored North Union 46-31 in a first-round Class A playoff game.
Isabelle Elliott, Sumner-Fredericksburg volleyball
The junior racked up 7.7 kills, seven digs and a block in the Cougars three-set sweep over East Buchanan. Elliott leads the state with 597 kills.
Kenson Fuller, Pella football
The senior running back ended his career running for 276 yards and five touchdowns as the Dutch picked up their second win of the season, 47-14, over Cedar Rapids Washington.
Drake Gelhaus, Cedar Falls football
The junior running back ripped off 219 yards and scored a touchdown on 29 carries as the Tigers beat Dubuque Senior 24-14.
Kyler Gerardy, Davenport Assumption football
The junior quarterback passed for three touchdowns and ran for two more in the first half of a 49-10 win over Mount Pleasant. The Lancers (7-2) reached seven wins for the sixth consecutive season.
Grant Glausser, Western Dubuque football
Glausser rushed for a school-record 339 yards and three touchdowns on 24 carries, leading Western Dubuque to a 36-26 win over Mason City in a regular season finale. Glausser went over 200 yards for the fourth time this season and Western Dubuque reached the playoffs for the first time since winning a state championship in 2019.
Ben Gordon, Van Meter football
The junior running back hit paydirt four times, running for 168 yards on 26 carries as the Bulldogs coasted to a 49-0 Class 1A playoff win over Pleasantville.
Ben Gonzalez, West Marshall football
The sophomore running back came up big with six rushing touchdowns as the Trojans stayed unbeaten with an impressive 63-14 victory over Clarke (Osceola). Gonzalez ran for 211 yards on 24 carries.
McCrae Hagerty, Waverly-Shell Rock football
The Go-Hawks completed their first unbeaten regular season since 1990 with a 32-13 win over Decorah. Hagerty had 227 rushing yards on 27 carries, scoring on runs of 71, 19 and 11 yards.
Noah Hatlan, Waukon football
The senior QB passed for 256 yards and three TDs, completing 11 of 17 to lead the Indians to a 24-22 playoff victory over New Hampton.
Braden Heiss, Lawton-Bronson football
The junior gunslinger passed for 439 yards and five touchdowns and ran for a TD as the Eagles pulled out a 47-40 win over MMCRU (Marcus).
Kara Hohertz, Earlham volleyball
The senior hitter has eclipsed the 500-kill and 100-block career milestones. She averaged 4.3 kills and had two blocks in a three-set postseason victory over Diagonal.
Anthony Isley, Mediapolis football
The senior running back ran for 200 yards and scored two TDs on 16 carries as the Bulldogs cruised to a 52-7 win over Central Decatur in a 1A playoff game.
Javion Jondle, Fort Dodge football
Although the Dodgers lost to Le Mars 44-7 in their regular season finale, Jondle eclipsed 2,000 receiving yards for his career. He caught scoring passes of 63 and 55 yards and had 12 catches for 155 yards in the game.
Teagon Kasperbauer, Harlan football
Kasperbauer completed 11-of-14 passes for 286 yards and five touchdowns as the defending Class 3A state champion Cyclones closed the regular season with a 49-0 shutout of Knoxville. Harlan (8-1) won its last eight games after a season-opening setback to Lewis Central, and Kasperbauer finished on top of Class 3A with 31 TD passes – nine more than the next QB.
Clare Kelly, Van Meter girls cross country
Third-ranked in Class 2A, Kelly was timed in 19:24.12 while posting her fourth triumph during a qualifier at Shenandoah where she and her sister, No. 10 Mary Kelly (3rd, 19:46.93) led the Bulldogs to a first-place 37 points. The Kellys are three-time state qualifiers who competed in 1A in 2019 and 2020.
JJ Kohl, Ankeny football
The Iowa State recruit had a short, but effective night, completing seven of nine passes for 184 yards and four touchdowns in a 54-6 rout of Des Moines Lincoln.
Aiden Klostermann, Central City football
The junior ran for 244 yards and five touchdowns on 36 carries as the Wildcats clawed their way to a 46-26 win over Tripoli in 8-player playoff action.
Avery Knoop, Union volleyball
The sophomore leads the state with 1087 assists and the Knights with 254 digs. She combined for 72 assists in three-set victories over Eagle Grove and Forest City last week.
Ethan Loutzenheiser, Madrid boys cross country
Loutzenheiser collected his fifth victory of the season, timed in 16:39.37 as he won a Class 1A state qualifier hosted by Central Decatur. Currently ranked second in the state’s smallest class, Loutzenheiser was part of Madrid’s 1A state title team of 2020. He also placed seventh, individually in 1A, a year ago as a sophomore.
Tate Mayberry, Glenwood football
The Rams’ senior back ran for 235 yards and two touchdowns in a 44-14 victory over Dallas Center-Grimes.
Max McGill, Woodbury Central football
The unbeaten Wildcats had plenty of stars in their 42-0 rout of South O’Brien in the Class A playoffs, but none shined brighter than the senior running back. McGill had 213 yards and three touchdowns on 36 carries. QB Drew Kluender passed for 326 yards and three scores and receiver Eric McGill caught six passes for 146 yards and two TDs.
Braden McShane, New Hampton football
The junior running back ran for 209 yards and three touchdowns on 39 carries in a heartbreaking 24-22 playoff loss to Waukon.
Monica Morales, West Liberty volleyball
The senior leads the state with 622 digs. She helped the 30-7 Comets to postseason three-set victories over PCM and Grinnell last week with 27 digs.
Mason Neighbor, Alburnett football
The senior quarterback passed for 278 yards and four touchdowns to lead the Pirates to a 38-27 win over Bellevue in a Class A playoff tilt.
Carder Noun Harder, Lynnville-Sulley football
The junior running back scored four touchdowns, including three rushing to go with 205 yards as the Hawks won the battle of the birds, 49-16, over the Earlham Cardinals in a Class A playoff game.
Aidan O’Neill, Iowa City Regina boys cross country
Second-ranked Iowa City Regina outscored No. 5 Bellevue 30-60 while winning the Class 1A qualifier it hosted, led by the No. 3 O’Neill, who finished second (16:53.7), 4.5 seconds behind Payton Griebel (Bellevue).
Reed Pfaltzgraff, Bondurant-Farrar football
The junior was a big part of the Bluejays’ three-headed attack with seven catches for 133 yards and two touchdowns from QB Colby Collison, who was 13 of 16 with a TD and 212 yards. Running back Titus Cram had 118 yards and two touchdowns.
Jaxson Plumb, Johnston boys cross country
The last time Plumb won a race this season came during Week 1 at the Johnston Invite. Ranked eighth in Class 4A and the leader of a team which is ranked third, the senior was clocked in 15:41.1 while winning a 4A qualifier at Indianola. Plumb, a two-time state qualifier, finished sixth and the Dragons took fourth.
Reggie Postel, North Polk football
The junior QB was uber-efficient as the Comets beat Nevada 35-14 to claim a share of the District 2-3A title. Postel completed 11 of 13 passes for 139 yards and two touchdown strikes and also ran 11 times for 65 yards and a TD.
Bryer Prochniak, North Union football
The senior ended his career with a big night on the ground with 335 yards and four rushing touchdowns on 37 carries, but the Warriors fell short 46-31 to Hartley-Melvin-Sanborn in a Class A playoff tilt.
Preston Ries, Monticello football
Monticello’s junior quarterback accounted for seven touchdowns during a 42-0 win over Central Lee in a first-round Class 2A playoff game. Ries ran nine times for 118 yards for four TDs and passed for three more, completing 10 of 14 for 152 yards.
Cole Ritchie, Sioux City East football
Ritchie, East’s senior quarterback, threw eight touchdown passes in a game for the second consecutive week. Ritchie completed 17 of 20 for 295 yards and eight scores in a 62-14 win over Sioux City West in a regular season finale and the Black Raiders secured a Class 5A playoff berth.
Joey Rhomberg, Mount Vernon football
The junior quarterback completed 23 of 28 passes for 248 yards and three touchdowns as the Mustangs finished off an unbeaten regular season with their ninth win, 55-6 over Vinton-Shellsburg.
Walker Rife, West Harrison football
Rife scored two touchdowns and had a key interception as the Hawkeyes clipped Bedford 29-27 in an 8-man playoff game for the school’s first-ever playoff victory.
Jade Roghair, Iowa City West girls swimming
The senior is an elite distance freestyle swimmer, posting the top times in Iowa in the 200 (1:53.66) and 500 (5:04.99) freestyles. She claimed two golds in the 10-team Cedar Rapids Kennedy meet.
Titan Schmidt, Clear Lake football
The sophomore running back rushed for 142 yards and three touchdowns to lead the Lions to a thrilling 28-27 victory over Prairie City-Monroe in the Class 2A playoffs as neither team scored in the fourth quarter.
Charlie Simpson, Easton Valley football
The senior ran for 278 yards and five touchdowns to lead the River Hawks to a 40-34 eight-player playoff win over BGM.
Jaxon Smolik, W.D.M. Dowling football
The Penn State recruit played only three quarters, but threw touchdown passes to three different receivers as the top-ranked Maroons beat Waukee 43-7 in their final regular season game.
Luke Sternberg, AHSTW football
The sophomore running back rushed for 220 yards and four touchdowns on only four carries in the Vikings 46-21 Class A victory over Westwood.
Olivia Swalley, Johnston girls swimming
The University of Iowa commit is ranked second overall in the state. She has the top times in the state in the 50 Freestyle (24.06). 100 Butterfly (57.42) and 200 Individual Medley (2:05.23), second best in the 100 Breaststroke (1:05.55) and fourth best in both the 200 freestyle (1:54.72) and 500 freestyle (5:06.79).
Geneva Timmerman, ADM (Adel) girls cross country
Timmerman scored a runaway victory during a Class 3A state qualifier at Glenwood, clocked in 17:59.60, almost a minute faster than runner-up and No. 4 Lindsey Sonderman (Harlan). The third-ranked Timmerman was last year’s 3A state runner-up and will mark her fourth straight 3A state appearance.
Brody Tuttle, Centerville football
The senior quarterback accounted for six touchdowns as the Big Reds won a 50-42 Class 2A playoff shootout over Des Moines Christian. Tuttle ran for 185 yards and hit paydirt four times, and he completed nine of 13 passes for 156 yards and two scores.
DJ Vonnahme, Kuemper Catholic football
The junior dual-threat QB leads Class 1A with 30 touchdowns. He added to that total with three rushing and one passing in the Knights’ 35-8 playoff win over Emmetsburg.
Micah Walston, Dike-New Hartford football
The junior running back rushed 30 times for 219 yards and three touchdowns in the Wolverines’ 48-14 Class 1A playoff win over Cascade.
Will Ward, West Delaware football
The senior carried 27 times for 251 yards and two touchdowns and added a receiving touchdown in a 35-0 victory over Charles City to close out the regular season.
Ford Washburn, Iowa City City High boys cross country
It may not have been under 15 minutes, but the No. 2-ranked senior won a 4A state qualifier (15:25) at Pleasant Valley as No. 4 City High outscored the meet hosts 35-54 for the title. Washburn finished fourth at the 4A state meet last year.
Megan Wheatley, North Lynn girls cross country
Make that seven wins on the season for the third-ranked junior, her most important triumph to date coming at the 1A qualifier hosted by South Hardin where she was clocked in 20:26.79, winning by 77 seconds. Wheatley finished sixth in last year’s 1A state meet.
Dylan Wiggins, West Sioux football
Wiggins was 10-for-11 for 166 passing yards and four touchdowns as the Falcons began Class 1A playoff action with a 58-0 win over East Sac County. West Sioux is 8-1 with its only loss to Central Lyon/George-Little Rock.
Miles Wilson, Cedar Rapids Kennedy boys cross country
Third at the MVC (Valley Division) meet, the senior ran a 5-minute mile pace while winning (15:31) a 4A qualifier at Dubuque. The fifth-ranked Wilson, who helped No. 7 Kennedy tie for the team title with No. 7 Cedar Falls, qualified individually for last year’s 4A state meet and won six races as a senior.
