As the 2025-2026 school year, and thus the spring sports season, winds down, it’s time once again for you to choose from these stars as you vote on the Rockford Register Star high school Athlete of the Week poll.
Go and vote on your choice of the best from the week of May 11-16 now. We ask that you vote only once per day, to keep the polls fair.
To nominate an athlete for our AOTW poll, send an email to jtaft@rrstar.com by 10 a.m. Monday mornings, with information and stats on why you think they deserve to be nominated.
Almost every week for the rest of the school year, we will compile a list of athletes from the Rockford area who had standout weeks and let you, the reader, vote on who you think deserves the AOTW award. Every week, you will be able to find the nominees as well as the poll at rrstar.com.
The AOTW poll will stay open until noon on Friday.
This week’s nominees are:
Judah Binger, Belvidere North track and field
Binger won both the 3,200 run (9:50.56) and the 1,600 run (4:33.19) at last week’s NIC-10 boys track and field meet, leading the Blue Thunder to the team title.
Angelo Cassata, Hononegah baseball
Cassata went 2-for-4 with two RBIs and two runs scored as Hononegah pulled off the 6-5 win over Harlem on Friday to move into a tie with the Huskies for first in the NIC-10. The two teams were slated to meet again at 4:30 p.m. Monday in Rockton, in what could turn into the game for the conference title.
Sara Dorsey, Boylan track and field
Dorsey threw the shot 36-feet-2 and won the sectional title to soar to state, and she took second in the discus with a 110-3, and she heads to state in that event as well.
KayKay Hudson, Auburn softball
Hudson went 3-for-4 with two RBIs and a run with a home run last Thursday, and she then went 2-for-4 with four RBIs after a walkoff grand slam to end the game in the bottom of the fifth inning.
Koby Kearns, Lena-Winslow baseball
The Panthers’ leadoff hitter went 6-for-6 with five RBIs, and he also pitched two innings of Le-Win’s 19-10 win over Milledgeville on Friday. Le-Win accumulated 25 hits in the victory.
Braden Monson, Hononegah tennis
Monson won the No. 1 singles championship at the NIC-10 tennis tournament for the fourth year in a row over the weekend, losing only one game the entire tournament ― the entire season. Monson now sets his sights on an IHSA state bid at next week’s sectionals.
Cam Jones, Polo softball
Jones stayed hot-headed into the playoffs, which may not last long for a Polo team that was 4-16 headed into the postseason. Jones went 3-for-4 with three runs scored, two RBIs, and a double during Polo’s regular-season finale: a 12-2 win over Pecatonica on Saturday.
Nick Patel, Auburn tennis
Patel rallied past Hononegah’s Carter Plesic to win the No. 2 singles title at last week’s NIC-10 boys tennis tournament, sparking Auburn to the team title. Patel won 4-6, 7-5, 7-5.
Bree Schneiderman, Forreston track and field
The Forreston junior qualified for state after winning the 100, 200, and 400 runs at last week’s Winnebago Sectional girls track and field meet. The state meet is in Charleston from Thursday to Saturday.
Janardie Turner, Jefferson track and field
Turner tore through the competition and won all four of his events at the NIC-10 boys track and field meet, including with a school-record and meet-record time of 13.91 in the 110-meter high hurdles. Next up for Turner and the best of the Rockford area? This week’s sectional meets.
Jay Taft is a Rockford Register Star sports reporter. Email him at jtaft@rrstar.com and sign up for the Rockford High School Sports Newsletter here at rrstar.com. Jay has covered a variety of sports, from the Chicago Bears and Blackhawks to local youth sports, since the turn of the century at the Register Star.
This article originally appeared on Rockford Register Star: VOTE for Rockford-area athlete of the week for the week of May 11-16
Reporting by Jay Taft, Rockford Register Star / Rockford Register Star
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