Vote: Who should be SBLive’s Nebraska high school athlete of the week? (2/12/2024)

Here are the candidates for SBLive’s Nebraska high school athlete of the week for Feb. 5-11. 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 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. 

John Alden – O’Neill Boys Wrestling

Third, fifth and runner-up are how Alden has ended three previous trips to the state tournament. That second-place finish came last season against four-time champ Kael Lauridsen of Bennington in a controversial finish that Lauridsen earned in overtime with a sudden victory. Alden will head back to the CHI Health Center with a perfect record looking to complete his story. The O’Neill senior is 38-0 and won Saturday’s district title in Broken Bow by dominating the field at 138 pounds. Alden pinned all three opponents and now has 29 wins by pinfall so far this season.

Treyson Anderson – Lincoln Pius X Boys Basketball

Anderson has been an absolute force for the Thunderbolts recently. The 6-foot-10 senior started a stretch of three straight games with more than 20 points on Feb. 2 and amassed an eye-popping 99 points during that span. His best, and likely the most memorable performance of his career, was a Feb. 3 win over Omaha Northwest that included 46 points, 20 of 24 shooting and 25 rebounds – yes, you read that correctly. And how does he follow that up? How about with 30 points and 12 of 16 shooting in a Feb. 6 win over Lincoln High?

Brennan Heck – Papillion-La Vista Boys Bowling

Heck nearly started the season in perfect fashion when he rolled a 298 on Dec. 1. Just over two months later, he was more than a few pins away from 300 but finished perfect nonetheless. On a two-game total of 469, Heck won the Boys Class A state bowling title on Thursday in Lincoln. Heck transferred from Ralston, which did not have a bowling program, to chase his dream. He earned the No. 1 seed for the eight-man bracket by putting together a four-game total of 949 then won the title with five straight strikes to end the championship match.

Turner Heiss – O’Neill Boys Basketball

Heiss scored from every part of the floor and put together a new career-high during a Feb. 5 win over Creighton. The O’Neill sophomore was 10 of 15 shooting overall, hit two threes on four attempts and was 11 of 12 at the free throw line. Most importantly, Heiss’ efforts helped O’Neill end a four-game losing skid and climb back above .500. Heiss also added seven rebounds and three assists while earning his 12th double-digit scoring game of the season.

Drew Moser – Waverly Boys Wrestling

Moser is looking for his third straight state medal while qualifying for his fourth straight state tournament. The Waverly senior is the defending Class B state champion at 182 pounds and won his first championship with a record of 44-1. Moser was beaten just once by a wrestler from Kansas at the Council Bluffs Wrestling Classic but came back for 33 wins in a row and state gold. This year he can make it two in a row and do it as an undefeated champ thanks to dominating Saturday’s district tournament at York. Moser ran through the 175-pound bracket with three pinfalls and was on the mat for a total of just 3 minutes and 11 seconds. Moser is now 42-0 and has earned 27 of those by pin.

Mukadi Mukoma – Grand Island Boys Basketball

Mukoma has eight games with 20 or more points this season but had been held below that for six games in a row when he stepped on the court Feb. 6 against Fremont. With his team skidding to three straight losses, Mukoma found his form again, scored 25 points and led the Islanders to victory. The Islander senior was 9 of 15 shooting, was 5 of 10 from downtown and also added six rebounds and four assists. Mukoma has made 55 threes this season and is shooting 41% from the perimeter.

Hunter Nepple – Adams Central Boys Basketball

Nepple was already in the middle of a strong rookie campaign when he took it to another level in a Feb. 6 win over Minden. The Patriot freshman hasn’t needed much time to catch up to the varsity learning curve. In 21 games he’s averaging about 15 points and has scored double digits in all of those but three. The win over Lexington was his best yet, included 32 points and pushed his total for the season over 300. At this rate, Nepple will almost certainly be a 1,000-point scorer in his career and could challenge for 2,000-plus.

Andon Olson – Valentine Boys Basketball

Olson started the year with nine straight games of 11 points or more and has been on fire ever since, averaging 15 points and five rebounds per game. As good as he’s been, his best shooting performance of the season came during a blowout win over North Central. Olson was the major factor in that blowout, scoring 26 points while shooting 11 of 14. Four of those makes came on a 4 of 6 night from three-point range. Olson also added seven rebounds and three steals. He’s shooting 48% this season and has six games with 20 or more points including 30 in a win over Broken Bow.

Zaiyahn Ornelas – Wilber-Clatonia Boys Wrestling

Ornelas heads to the state tournament as one of the favorites in Class B at 113 pounds. Last year’s Class C state champ at 106 pounds is looking to make it two perfect seasons in a row after rolling to three wins at Saturday’s district meet at Boone Central. Ornelas won a title as a freshman with an unbeaten record and goes back to Omaha unbeaten again at 25-0. At the district meet he pinned his first two opponents before defeating 37-2 Maverick Heine of Cedar Catholic.

Nick Pappas – Skutt Catholic Boys Bowling

The Skyhawks couldn’t find a way to state as a team, but Pappas represented the green and silver well by winning the school’s first individual state bowling title on Monday in Lincoln. Pappas was the second-hottest bowler of the day in both qualifying and the championship tournament. Of the 10 games he rolled, six of those scored over 200. Two came during qualifying and earned him the second seed on a total of 797. He then had two more in the quarterfinals and one each in the semis and championship round. After rolling 279 then 225 in the semis, he kept that momentum going for a 259 in the opening game of the title match and built a 66-pin lead.

Haylee Bates – Fremont Girls Bowling

Bates would be the first to say she didn’t have a great season overall, and before it all began, she wasn’t completely sure she’d compete this winter. Yet, despite the indecision and the struggles, Bates walked away from Thursday’s state tournament as the first back-to-back Class A champ in state history. Bates earned the three-seed for the final eight-girl bracket by scoring a four-game total of 714, her highest of which was a 193 game to open qualifying. Back on the championship bracket, she won 440-246 in the quarterfinals, 458-355 in the semifinals and 411 to 317 in the state final.

Emma Hall – Hershey Girls Basketball

Hall put together the first back-to-back 20-point games of her career last week during a pair of wins over Paxton North Platte St. Pat’s. The Hershey senior started it with 21 on 8 of 13 shooting, two three-pointers and seven rebounds. Two nights later she reached a new career-high with 25 points on 10 of 17 from the floor while also grabbing six rebounds and handing out three assists. Hall is averaging 12 points and six rebounds per game, has earned over 100 foul shots and has pulled down 126 rebounds.

Ani Leu – Lincoln North Star Girls Basketball

Leu had scored in the double digits nine games in a row when Lincoln East held her to nine in a win on Feb. 6. Although her scoring was limited, Leu always finds other ways to affect the game, such as nine rebounds and three steals in the victory over East. Two nights later she was back on the scoresheet in a big way, dropping a career-high 25 points. Leu hit on an efficient 11 of 16 and added eight rebounds, seven steals and three assists. Leu is nearing 300 points, 150 rebounds and 100 steals for the season.

Jersi Jensen – Wayne Girls Bowling

Championship matches and Jensen just seem to go together. The Wayne senior made it to her third in a row on Feb. 5 in Lincoln and won her second straight gold medal. Jensen was the best bowler during the qualifying round, distancing herself from the field of 29 by scoring a 218 in her third game. She dominated the championship bracket 352-284 in the quarterfinals, 406-267 in the semis and won the title on a head-to-head score of 392-325. Jensen then kept the dynasty going in the team race the next day when she helped lead the Blue Devils to their third straight Class B championship.

Dylen Ritchey – Ralston Girls Wrestling

There’s only a few matches left for Ritchey in her varsity career, and only a few matches left for the opposition to knock her off a path toward another unbeaten championship. The Ralston senior won the 2023 girls 135-pound championship at a perfect 42-0, dominated the regular season but needed an ultimate tiebreaker in Omaha to win gold. She’s been just as dominant this season, winning 24 times by pin, once by technical fall and three times by major decision. She’s back at state looking for back-to-back at 35-0 thanks to two more pins and a 12-2 major at the district meet Saturday in Aurora.

Anyia Roberts – Grand Island Girls Wrestling

Roberts was one win away from competing for a state title last season when her dreams came to an end in the semifinals. Roberts quickly recovered, came back for a win and found her way to the third-place match. She’ll be back at Omaha again looking for more thanks to a dominant district title win on Saturday at Broken Bow. Roberts defeated three foes by pin and was never on the mat for longer than a minute and 28 seconds. She now has 41 wins and 37 of those by pinfall.

Callie Squiers – Kearney Catholic Girls Basketball

Squiers almost couldn’t miss while putting up her highest total of the season and snapping a three-game Kearney Catholic losing skid. The Stars’ senior, whose previous best was 22 earlier this year in a win over Ord, missed just twice on 11 shots and was 6 of 7 at the line while putting together the second-highest total of her career. Squiers has scored 10 or more in 10 of the last 11 games, has earned 104 foul shots and is averaging over 13 points per game to go with eight rebounds.

Makayla Vasser – Nebraska City Girls Wrestling

Vasser had a late start but hasn’t had a problem making up for lost time since first stepping on the mat in early January. The freshman might be new to varsity competition but she’s not new to winning. A stellar youth career that includes an AAU state championship and a USA Wrestling championship now heads to the state tournament a perfect 20-0. Vasser went to York for the district meet 17-0 and walked away 20-0 behind three pins, two of which came in the first period. Vasser’s season includes 17 pins and a technical fall. She has yet to face an opponent who has forced her into a full six-minute match.

Naomi White – Bellevue West Girls Basketball

White is among the top scorers in the state and has yet to be held to single digits this season. This past week she had her fifth 20-point game of the season when she scored 23 and shot 10 of 20 from the floor in a win over rival Bellevue East. White’s efforts pushed the T-Birds to a sixth win in a row and continued her recent run of hot shooting and high scoring. White has had three of her five 20-point games during the winning streak and has a total of 121 points in those six games while shooting 48% and 49% from three.

Piper Zatechka – Westside Girls Wrestling

Zatechka will be back in Omaha for the third straight year but still looking to capture the ultimate prize following a did-not-place as a freshman and third a year ago as a sophomore. She looks like one of the favorites this next week at 155 pounds thanks to a 38-5 record and a district championship on Saturday in Battle Creek. Zatcheka earned her 36th, 37th and 38th wins of the year on two pins and a dramatic 3-2 title win over a foe who had handed her a defeat the last time the two met for the conference title in mid-January.

Lillie Kriz -East Butler girls basketball

Kriz from scored 17 points in a 39-37 win against Shelby-Rising City. 

--Nathan Charles I @SBLiveNeb