Vote: Who should be SBLive’s Nebraska high school athlete of the week (12/4/2023)?
Here are the candidates for SBLive’s Nebraska high school athlete of the week for Nov. 27-Dec. 3. 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 athleteoftheweek@scorebooklive.com.
Editor’s Note: Our Athlete of the Week feature and corresponding poll are 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.
Brooklyn Heineman – South Sioux City Basketball
Heineman did damage from the free throw line and, for that matter, all over the floor in a win Saturday. The South Sioux senior scored 30 points and needed just 18 shots to reach that total thanks to going 11 for 13 from the free throw line. But it wasn’t just scoring the basketball that made Heineman special. She had an all-around game that also included eight rebounds, five steals and four assists. Two nights earlier she had 18 points, went 4 for 4 on three-pointers and had six assists with five steals.
Matthea Dalton – Fremont Basketball
Dalton had a breakout season as a scorer and a rebounder last winter when she barely missed out on averaging a double-double on 9.9 points and 11.1 rebounds per game. Two games into the new season and Dalton is again a force in the paint. The 5-10 Fremont forward scored 11 points and had 10 rebounds in a loss to Papio then scored 13 with 16 boards in a win over Lincoln High. She’s equally as effective on both ends of the court – totaling nine offensive rebounds and 17 defensive. Last year she had 218 points and 245 rebounds, 124 of those on offense.
Haley Johnson – Gordon-Rushville Basketball
Johnson has been really good for the Mustangs ever since she became a regular starter as a sophomore. But she’s never been better than last week and looks poised for a monster season. The Gordon-Rushville senior scored 16 then 28 in a pair of wins that allowed the Mustangs to cruise to a 2-0 start. Her best performance was against Ainsworth when she nearly scored 30, shot 11 of 17, hit four threes and handed out five assists. Johnson had five assists in both games and has made 18 of 34 shots in the early going.
Gracie Kelley – Saint Paul Basketball
Kelley had eight double-doubles last season and is already on pace to easily surpass that figure following a strong start to the new basketball year. The Saint Paul senior was two boards away from her first in the opening game of the season then achieved the ninth double-double of her career two nights later when she scored 17 points and grabbed 15 rebounds, nine on the offensive end. She already has 23 rebounds in two games, five blocks and 28 total points. She’s shooting 52% and has earned eight trips to the line. Kelley averaged almost 10 points and a little over eight rebounds as a junior.
Morgan Maschmann – Beatrice Wrestling
Maschmann had her first taste of the big stage last winter when she won twice in Omaha and advanced to the semifinals. Her hopes for a state championship ended there and Maschmann had to settle for fourth after a loss in the bronze medal match. With the kind of start she’s had to her junior year, she looks like a good bet to get back to the big stage again in a few months. Maschmann pinned four opponents on Saturday at the Bennington Invite and won the 120-pound bracket in dominant fashion. She pinned her first three opponents all in the first period then eventually put her gold-medal foe to the mat midway through the third. Maschmann is already 7-0 thanks to three more pins and another title two nights earlier at the Standing Bear Invite.
Lake McClure – Ogallala Wrestling
McClure is off and running in a new season and building momentum toward a big finish. The Ogallala senior has started 6-0 and has claimed four of her victories by pinfall. Following a pin in under a minute at a triangular then a forfeit, McClure pinned her way to the title match at the Southwest Girls Invite on Saturday. She needed less than a minute to win her first two matches, earned another win late in the first period then finished off the final match of round-robin competition with a 13-9 win. McClure saw a 9-4 lead trimmed to 9-6 then responded with a reversal and back points.
Jasmine Morales – Grand Island Wrestling
Morales is familiar with success. The Grand Island senior was 27-5 last season and earned a trip to Omaha while winning four tournaments. A loss in the heartbreak round of state consolations denied her a state medal. She looks poised for another successful year with perhaps more ahead following a hot start to her senior season. Morales capped that hot start with three pinfall victories and the 110-pound championship at the O’Neill Invite. She pinned her first opponent in 30 seconds, won in the semifinals in the middle of the second period and took the title with 28 seconds remaining in the gold medal match. Morales trailed 5-0 to start the match in the semifinals before a reversal and back points got her back in the match. She was down 22-12 in the title match when a reversal turned the match around. The night before she was 5-0 and won the Southwest Girls Invite with four pinfalls.
Mikah O’Neill – Sumner-Eddyville-Miller Basketball
O’Neill put together the 14th game of her career with 20 or more points on Saturday when she dropped 23 in a win over Loomis while also shooting 69% at 9 of 13. She was 3 of 5 from long range and also had a double-double thanks to two boards on offense and 11 on defense. Add that to three assists, two steals and a block and O’Neill affects every aspect of the game. She started the season with 14 points, seven rebounds and four assists the day before in a win over Wilcox-Hildreth.
Julia Russell – Hay Springs Basketball
Russell had more rebounds than points last winter and was an instant contributor for the Hawks during her rookie season. Her scoring was inconsistent, but there was clearly a star emerging for Hay Springs. That star is already shining bright in her sophomore year following 13 points and 21 rebounds in the season-opening win over Cody-Kilgore. Russell hit six shots and a free throw while collecting nine rebounds on the offensive end and 12 more on defense.
Briann Stutzman – McCool Junction Basketball
Stutzman already has her range homed in as the hoops season gets underway. The McCool Junction senior hit five three-pointers on seven attempts and scored 20 points in a dominant win over Hampton on Saturday. Stutzman had 44 threes last season and 27 as a senior. Five in a game is the most in her career. It was the eighth time in Stutzman’s career that she has had three or more threes in a game.
Bryson Bahl – Papillion-La Vista South Basketball
Papio South has big expectations for the new season. Bahl got those big expectations off to a good start when he scored 25 then 18 in a pair of wins for the Titans. Bahl scored 25 in a win over Grand Island and hit on 10 of 17, sank two from deep, grabbed six rebounds, four steals and had two blocks to go with two assists. Two nights later, Bahl had a tougher shooting performance but hit 8 of 10 from the line and had nine boards.
Marcus Glock – Wahoo Basketball
The Warriors may rely on Glock heavily early in the season while the rest of the lineup grows into its roles and responsibilities. Glock showed he was comfortable with that on Nov. 30 when the Wahoo senior scored 27 points then followed it up with 29 more two nights later. Overall, Glock is shooting 20 of 36 to start the season, is 12 of 19 from long range and has 10 rebounds, five assists and five steals. His 37 points set a new career-high and was the first time he scored over 37.
Trinell Parker – Creighton Prep Basketball
Parker was a contributor for the Junior Jays last season but not to the level he showed in the season-opening win over Lincoln High. The 6-foot-7 junior was an efficient 11 for 16 shooting the ball, went 5 for 8 from the line and pulled down eight rebounds. His previous career-best scoring effort was 18. Parker easily passed that with 27 in the win over the Links.
Micah Perdew – Nebraska Christian Basketball
It’s just a few games into the season but Perdew has thus far earned the title of best scorer in Nebraska. The Nebraska Christian senior scored 34 then 30 while hitting 25 shots and shooting 52%. Perdew started with 34 points on 12 of 27 shooting and six three-pointers in a game against Twin River then followed it up with 30 points on 13 of 21. Perdew also totaled 17 rebounds and four steals in the two games.
Terance Pittman – Parkview Christian
Pittman was simply unstoppable in a Nov. 30 win over Lincoln Christian. The Patriot senior wasn’t just memorable, he was historic while scoring 53 points and putting together a double-double that included 10 rebounds. Perhaps most impressive was how Pittman went over half a hundred. He hit just two three-pointers on six attempts, shot 15 of 29 from inside the arc and earned 23 free throws with 17 makes. Overall, he needed just 35 shots to reach 53 points because of his ability to get to the foul line.
Jayden Reed – Stanton Wrestling
Reed keeps getting better each season. From failing to qualify for state as a freshman to making it to Omaha a year ago, the Stanton junior started his third year of varsity competition with more momentum to build on. Saturday at the Howells-Dodge Invite, Reed won all four of his matches by pinfall and took the 157-pound championship. Reed won all four of his matches in the first period and spent a total of just 4 minutes, 27 seconds on the mat including two pins in 35 seconds or less.
Noah Shoemaker – Cozad Basketball
Shoemaker didn’t need any time to ease into the new season. In a win over Chase County, the Cozad junior guard hit on 9 of 17 and scored a career-high 27 points. He was 2 of 5 from beyond the arc and earned eight shots at the free throw line where he made seven. Shoemaker also had four steals and beat his previous single-game best by a point.
Ashton Simmons – Shelton Basketball
Simmons is no stranger to high-scoring totals. The senior came into the new season with over 1,100 points and looks well on his way to another year with more than 500 points. Simmons started with 34 on 15 of 22 shooting in a win over Elm Creek then hit 11 of 20 to lead a victory against Franklin. Through the first two games, Simmons is hitting 50% from the free throw line and already has 13 steals. It was the fourth time in his career Simmons scored 30 or more points in a game.
Tristan Sisco – Conestoga Wrestling
Conestoga has high hopes for Sisco. Last year as an eighth grader, Sisco capped off his junior high career by putting together a tournament-winning streak of seven in a row. He stepped on the varsity mat for the first time last week in his home gym and showed why those hopes are so high. Sisco won three matches, his first two by pin and took the 120-pound tournament championship by 11-2 final score over a sophomore from Louisville. Sisco pinned his first two opponents in less than a minute then built a 6-0 lead on his way to the gold medal win.
Collin Vrbka – Shelby-Rising City Wrestling
Vrbka has had a taste of the state tournament each of the past two years but has failed to place in both appearances. He’s looking for more in his junior season and began to satisfy that hunger with a championship at the Lakeview Invite. Vrbka won four matches, three by pin, and took the heavyweight title with his third pin of the day. He pinned one opponent in 1:09, another in 19 seconds and took the championship in 1:12 after turning an early takedown into a pin. His lone decision was a 9-0 major against an opponent who must have sensed he was outmatched – Vrbka earned four points on stalling.
