Vote: Who should be SBLive’s Nebraska high school athlete of the week? (1/2/2024)

Here are the candidates for SBLive’s Nebraska high school athlete of the week for Dec. 25-31. 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. 

Samryn Dick, Bancroft-Rosalie Girls Basketball

Dick scored more than 20 points for the first time in her career last year in a holiday tournament then hit another milestone this past week when she did it in back-to-back games again during the Tekamah-Herman Holiday Tournament. The Bancroft-Rosalie senior scored 27 points with three assists and five steals in the semifinal win over Tekamah-Herman then had 23 more with six assists, four rebounds and three steals in the championship win over Omaha Nation.

Ann Marie Meiman, Omaha North Girls Wrestling

Meiman is in the middle of another big season and heads into the New Year unbeaten and coming off another tournament championship. The Omaha North senior is 16-0 and picked up five of those at Millard West on Saturday. Her wins included three pins in the preliminary rounds, another in the semifinals then an 8-3 decision for the title. Meiman is already a two-time state medalist who now has four tournament titles this season.

Jayline McNealy, Humboldt-Table Rock-Steinauer Girls Basketball

McNealy was unstoppable in a Dec. 29 win over Conestoga that saw her fill up the stat sheet from all over the court. The HTRS senior was one point away from 30, shot 63% for the game, hit five three-pointers and grabbed five rebounds to go with two assists and two steals. After a couple of tough shooting games, McNealy came back after the Christmas break with a 12 for 29 effort and 5 for 10 from long range. McNealy has hit 25 threes and is shooting 35% from long range.

Kenzie Melcher, Bellevue West Girls Basketball

Melcher was deadly from long range during the Metro Holiday Tournament. The Bellevue West senior scored 20 against Omaha North and 27 against Westside and hit a combined 11 three-pointers in those two performances. Melcher went 5 for 7 one night then was 6 for 8 the next night. She’s hit 19 threes in nine games and is shooting 39% from the perimeter.

Ellie Morgan, Wood River Girls Basketball

Morgan has filled up the stat sheet every time she’s taken the court through the first part of the season. The Wood River junior is averaging over 14 points per game, more than two assists, two steals and two rebounds. She was a stats monster once again and had her fingerprints all over a Runza Holiday Tournament Championship when Morgan had 20 points, four rebounds, three assists and two steals in a win over Cozad then added 18 more points with two rebounds, five assists and six steals in the title game victory over Wilber-Clatonia.

Jocelyn Prado, Johnson County Central Girls Wrestling

Already a state runner-up and a 2023 state champion, Prado rolls into 2024 with a perfect record and looks unbeatable. She’s been that way through the first 17 matches of the season and had four tournament championships before the end of 2023. Her fourth was Friday at Winnebago when she pinned three opponents and beat another by technical fall. All three pins were in the first period and increased her total to 13 on the season. Only three foes have made it out of the first period against Prado.

Jordyn Ratzlaff, Howells-Dodge Girls Basetkball

Ratzlaff had the best game of her career and secured Howells-Dodge the Blizzard Battle Holiday Tournament Title in Sandy Creek on Saturday. The HD junior set a new career-high point total when she scored 23 in a 51-40 win over Centura. She hit three three-pointers and also had five steals in the win. Ratzlaff had 34 total points in the two holiday tourney games, shot 50% from three and had seven rebounds.

Angelina Schademann, Fillmore Central Girls Wrestling

Schademann will head into the New Year with a perfect record through the first 21 matches of her junior year thanks to a fifth tournament title on Saturday at her home tournament. The Panther junior is 22-0 with 12 wins by pin and claimed her fifth gold medal of the season with two pins, a tech fall and a 10-5 decision. Schademann also has titles at York, Wood River, Wahoo and Wisner-Pilger.

Mara Vanderpool, Westside Girls Wrestling

Vanderpool tasted defeat in her first match of the year. She hasn’t had to deal with that again while rolling through 28 wins in a row and winning the Winnebago Lady Indian Invite on Dec. 29. Vanderpool was beaten by a girl from Iowa who was a state runner-up last season then responded by winning the next five at that tournament and heads into the second half of the season with four tournament titles and 17 pinfalls. She pinned all four opponents at Winnebago and never spent more than one minute and five seconds on the mat.

Doneelah Washington, Lincoln Northeast Girls Basketball

Washington has been one of the premiere scorers in Nebraska this season and that extended into the HAC Tournament this week. After being held to her lowest total of the season in a win over Columbus, Washington responded with 20 against Pius X and 28 against Southwest. She also had her seventh and eighth double-doubles of the year with 17 rebounds against Pius and 10 against Southwest.

Tristan Burbach, Central City Wrestling

Burbach, the reigning Class C state champion at 132 pounds, looks like he’s on his way to more state hardware based on a dominant start that includes 15 wins in 15 matches. The Central City senior closed the first half of the season with two wins at a triangular then three more plus two forfeits while helping the Bison to a team title the Ord Holiday Duals. Only two opponents have forced Burbach to a full six-minute match, and each of those wins have been by major decision.

Josh Eakins, Paxton Boys Basketball

Eakins has scored at least 11 points in every game this season, is averaging more than 17 points per game and posted his third total of more than 20 on Dec. 30 in a win over Cambridge. The senior put up a season-high 24 points, shot 8 of 17 and earned 11 free throws with eight makes during the win. Eakins also grabbed a season-high five rebounds and tied his season-high for steals with five. Eakins is shooting 45% for the season and has made 31 trips to the foul line.

Zach Held, Twin River Boys Wrestling

Freshmen always have big hopes and large expectations when they begin their varsity career. Held is no different, but did he expect to win all of his matches through Christmas? That’s exactly what the Twin River rookie has done while starting 15-0 with four tournament titles including the Fillmore Central Invite on Dec. 30. Held was, as he has been through the first month of the season, untouchable in three pinfall wins that he secured in the first period. Thirteen of his wins are by pin and all but two of those have been finished in the first period.

Jake Hilkemann, Lincoln Southeast Boys Basketball

Hilkemann chose a great time to put together the highest-scoring game of his career during the HAC final on Dec. 30. The Southeast senior scored over 20 points for the first time in 35 games, scored 25, shot 50% and helped lead the Knights to the conference title. Hilkemann shot 9 of 18, hit four three-pointers, grabbed seven rebounds and dished out two assists. For the tournament, Hilkeman scored 43 total points and hit on 17 of 35.

Scottie Meier Jr., Lincoln East Boys Wrestling

Meier has been nearly perfect thus far and was that way again at the Bennington Duals on Saturday. The Lincoln East junior will wrap up the calendar year 28-1 and with 15 wins in a row since a loss in the semifinals of the Council Bluffs Wrestling Classic to a state champion from Kansas. Meier was 5-0 at Bennington, won four matches by pin, one by forfeit and earned three of those four pins in the first period. Meier, who now has 23 wins by pinfall, helped the Spartans rise to the team title at Bennington.

Cale Nelson, Loomis Boys Basketball

Nelson had three games in double digits during the first seven contests of the year then exploded for more than 20 in two of the last three. His best effort through the first seven was a pair of 14-point performances during a three-game losing skid. Loomis came back for a three-game winning streak and had a combined 50 points from Nelson, 20 in a win over Hi-Line and 24 on Dec. 30 against Hitchcock County. Nelson was 9 of 17 shooting in that one and is hitting at 48% overall in 10 games.

Jack Poppe, Doniphan-Trumbull Boys Basketball

Doniphan-Trumbull won the Hershey Holiday Tournament behind a two-game effort from Poppe that included 41 points and 25 in the championship during a win over Gothenburg. Poppe scored 16 and shot 7 of 11 with eight rebounds, seven steals and six assists against Hershey then scored 25 on 8 of 12 shooting with four three-pointers in the win over Gothenburg. Poppe has scored 22 or more points three times this season and is shooting 61%.

Daleron Thomas, Omaha Central Boys Basketball

Thomas finds himself on this list for the second time this season following 32 points in a win over Millard North that gave the Mustangs their first loss of the season. His big game sent the Eagles to the Metro Holiday Tournament Championship game and gives Central an argument to be the top-ranked team in Nebraska. He started the conference tournament slowly with just nine points and shot 4 of 11 against Omaha North. Thomas bounced back with 32 points on 11 of 16 shooting and eight three-pointers.

Wyatt Urkoski, High Plains Boys Wrestling

Urkoski has one of the highest win totals of any boy in Nebraska through the first half of the season. The High Plains senior is 22-0 and most recently won four in a row while taking the 175-pound title at Pleasanton. Urkoski pinned all four of those opponents and increased his season pinfall total to 17. He’s also won championships at Ravenna, Osceola and Platteview. Urkoski is a two-time state medalist who was the Class D runner-up at 160 pounds last year.

Layne Warrior, Bloomfield Boys Basketball

The Bees had lost back-to-back games, one leading into the Christmas break and another coming out in the first round of the Creighton Holiday Tournament. Sensing his team needed a big performance, Warrior scored more than 20 points for the fifth time this season and led his team to a skid-snapping win over Creighton. Warrior had 23 points and made it two games out of the last three with more than 20. The senior is averaging 19 points per game and shooting 53%.