Vote now: Who should be SBLive's Missouri High School Athlete of the Week (Oct. 3-8)?

By Cody Thorn

Here are the candidates for SBLive's Missouri High School Athlete of the Week for Oct. 3-8 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 MISSOURI 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.

Isabella Barbagallo, St. Pius X (Festus) girls tennis

Won a marathon match in singles in the Class 2 District 1 finals against Notre Dame Cape Girardeau. Her 14-12 win gave the Lancers a 5-4 win to claim the district title.

Tegan Bishop, Perryville girls cross country

The senior won her second straight race when she captured first in the Woodland Invitational on Oct. 6. She won in 19:45.40, nearly 40 seconds faster than her showing at the Perry Invitational on Sept. 27.

Deion Brown, Kirkwood football

The Eastern Michigan pledge broke a pair of school records in the Pioneers’ 49-7 win over Lindbergh on Friday. Brown ran for 352 yards and scored seven times. Kirkwood improved to 3-3 with the victory.

Chase Carter, East Carter baseball

For those small schools that don’t play football, some play fall baseball. Carter threw 5 2/3 innings and struck out 13, while giving up two hits and two runs in a 10-3 win over Naylor.

Isabel Day, Park Hill South girls volleyball

Recorded her 1,000th dig in a loss to Liberty, which she had 36 in the contest. The next game, Day had 39 digs in a 3-2 win against Park Hill.

Allison Ding, Thomas Jefferson girls tennis

Ding helped the Cavaliers beat Mount Vernon, 5-2, to claim the Class 1 District 10 tournament title. She then punched a ticket to the state tournament with a 6-2, 6-2 win over Harrisonville’s Kayleigh Norris in the individual district meet.

Nevaeh Dodson, McDonald County softball

Tossed a 1-hitter and struck out 14-0 in 11-0 win over Boonville on Oct. 7. A few days earlier, she was 2-for-3 with a home run and fanned 12 in a 3-1 win over Webb City.

Morgan Dumm, Francis Howell girls volleyball

The sophomore reached the 1,000th assist mark this week, as the Vikings picked up wins against Wentzville Timberland (3-0) and St. Francis Borgia (3-1). Dumm has over 400 assists this season.

Gabe Fields, St. Joseph Central football

The Indians improved to 4-3 on the year with a come-from-behind win against Excelsior Springs. Fields scored five of his six rushing touchdowns in the second half and finished with 331 yards rushing on 24 carries.

Cydney Fullerton, Rock Bridge softball

The junior went 3-for-4 with 5 RBIs and scored three runs in a 16-1 win Springfield Kickapoo. She had a home run and double in the win in Springfield.

Peyton Garr, Cameron football

The junior did a little bit of everything, scoring on offense, defense and special teams in a 50-6 win over St. Joseph Lafayette. He ran the ball six times for 100 yards and two touchdowns. After the Irish scored the first points to take an early lead, he returned a kickoff 92 yards for a score. He had a pick-six late in the second quarter to make it 30-6 at the break.

Ben Gippner, Raytown boys swimming & diving

The senior took first place in two individual events – the 200 and 500 freestyle – and was on the winning 200 medley relay and 200 freestyle relay during the Platte County Invitational.

Ella Green, Platte County girls golf

The Pirates took first place in the Suburban Conference White Division, the first league title in the new division for Platte County. Green shot an 81 at the conference meet at Hoots Hollow to capture the individual title.

Taryn Hagardt, Kickapoo softball

Went 4-for-4 with 4 RBIs and scored four runs in a 15-5 win against Logan-Rogersville on Oct. 5. The next day, she went 4-for-5 with 2 RBIs and scored three runs in a 12-1 win over Branson.

Cali Hatcher, Smithville girls golf

She shot a 97 to win the Suburban Conference Blue Division championship by two shots on her home course at Paradise Pointe in Smithville. The Warriors had 1-4 in the individual scores and won the team title as well.

Abby Hay, Rock Bridge softball

In a 16-1 win against Springfield Kickapoo, Hay was 3-for-4 with two home runs and a double. The Louisville signee drove in three runs in the victory.

Jayna Hedgpath, Fulton softball

The junior was 3-for-4 with three runs scored and drove in three runs with a double and a home run in a 9-1 win over Boonville on Oct. 4.

Hailey Herman, Staley softball

The South Dakota State closed out her final home game with a 46-pitch perfect game against Lee’s Summit North. She struck out seven in the four-inning game on Oct. 4.

Logan ‘Lo’ Jones, Carl Junction girls volleyball

For the second week in a row, the Arkansas commit broke a school record. She started the Lebanon Tournament with 144 aces in her career and had 10 in the tournament, to break the school record of 148. Jones had 113 assists, 20 digs, four blocks and 12 kills for the Bulldogs.

Palmer Keith, Platte County boys swimming & diving

Keith, a sophomore, won the 100-yard butterfly and 200-yard individual medley, while being part of the winning 400-yard freestyle relay. He also took second as part of the 200-yard freestyle relay at the Platte County Invitational, helping his team to win the meet.

Autumn Kinnaird, Neosho softball

The freshman went 3-for-5 at the plate and drove in three runs, including the game winner in the 12th inning in a Central Ozark Conference victory against Carthage.

Quin Renfro, Joplin football

The junior made an impact early and set the tone for the Eagles in a 35-7 win over Carl Junction. He ran for 161 of his 171 yards in the first half and had three touchdowns. His longest was a 96-yard score after the Eagles forced a turnover on downs inside the 10-yard line. Renfro added a two-point conversion pass as well in the win.

Avrey Reynolds, Jefferson City softball

She did a little bit of everything in a 13-0 win over Sedalia Smith-Cotton. She struck out nine and gave up three hits in six innings on the mound and then went 4-for-4 with a double and 3 RBIs at the plate.

Isaac Rivera, Lincoln College Prep boys cross country

The junior picked up his third win of the season when he broke the 16-minute mark again (15:57.50) to take first at the Kearney Invitational on Oct. 8 at Jesse James Park.

Bryce Ruder, Kickapoo boys swimming & diving

The sophomore was part of two relay team victories (400 freestyle and 200 medley) and won the 100-yard butterfly in the Dual at the Nat in Springfield on Oct. 4.

Olivia Slaughter, Grain Valley softball

Provided three RBIs in a 4-3 victory over Platte County on Oct. 3, which included a triple.

Faith Tessman, Staley softball

Went 2-for-2 with two home runs and 7 RBIs, which included a grand slam, in a 15-0 victory over Lee’s Summit North.

Asende Welongo, Rockhurst boys soccer

The freshman posted a hat trick in a 5-2 win against Pembroke Hill on Oct. 4, moving the team to 9-1-2 after the decision.

Savannah Whitcraft, Cass-Midway girls cross country

The freshman won the Matt Gannon Invitational on Oct. 4 at Barstow High School and then ran a personal best and took fifth at the Pleasanton (Kan.) Invitational two days later (22:19.38) to take fifth place.

Emily Willman, Sullivan girls cross country

The senior ran a school record 19:34.14 at the Hermann Invitational meet on Oct. 4. It was also her personal best and gave her second place in the race.

Noah Wilt, South Shelby boys cross country

The sophomore won two meets last week, the Clarence Cannon Conference title on Oct. 3 in Kahoka and then took first in the Brian T. Simpson Invitational on Oct. 8 at Gans Creek in Columbia.

Congratulations to Parkway North's Zyan Royal, who was voted SBLive's Missouri High School Athlete of the Week for Sept. 26-Oct. 1 after receiving more than 35% of the votes. Smithville football player Sam Wornson finished second in the voting. 

Royal, a junior running back, had 224 yards rushing and scored five touchdowns in a 40-35 come-from-behind victory over Parkway West. 

Previous winners: Liberty North's Ella Hayes (Sept. 19-24), North Platte's Colton Kirkham (Sept. 12-17), Truman's Freddie Sheppard (Sept. 4-10), Hannibal's Aneyas Williams (Aug. 29-Sept. 3), Truman's Cecilia Mora (Aug. 22-28).