As the spring sports seasons head down the backstretch of the regular season, we have another impressive batch of stars for you to vote on for the Rockford Register Star high school Athlete of the Week for the week of April 20-25.
Go to our poll and vote 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 AOW poll will stay open until noon on Friday.
This week’s nominees are:
Mary Bielefeldt, Guilford softball
This junior third baseman smacked a single and chased in two runs in the top of the seventh to spark the Vikings to a 2-1 win over then-first-place Hononegah in a NIC-10 softball showdown last Friday.
Lilly Binger, Belvidere North track and field
Binger, just a freshman, has had a huge year already, and she just dropped almost 20 seconds off her personal-best time with a strong showing in the 3,200 run on Saturday at Distance Night in Palatine. That moved her into the top 30 in Class 3A times in the event so far this year.
Angela Cassato, Hononegah baseball
Cassato not only went 2-for-3 with a walk, a run, and an RBI from the lead-off spot, but he also pitched Hononegah to the 5-3 victory over Palatine on Saturday, going the distance while allowing four hits and three walks while striking out four. Hononegah (15-5, 6-0 NIC-10) was in first place in the conference, headed into the busy backstretch of the season.
Isaiah Clark, Belvidere North volleyball
This outside hitter had 40 kills, 33 digs, nine aces, and he passed a 2.45 on 95 attempts to help Belvidere North to two wins on the volleyball court last week.
Chase Cutler, Hononegah track and field
Cutler’s 47.16 in the 400 run at the Red Grange Invitational last Friday was the fastest 400-run time in the entire state this outdoor season, and his 21.27 was the third fastest 200-dash time in the state this year.
Alexis Eich, Hononegah softball
Eich went 6-for-9 with nine RBIs and a .727 on-base percentage to go along with a 1.949 OPS during three games for Hononegah last week.
Miles Mahon, Lena-Winslow baseball
Mahon went 3-for-4 with a run and a ribbie to help the Panthers beat Forreston 3-2 last Tuesday.
Braden Monson, Hononegah tennis
Monson, the area’s top tennis player, belted Diego Robles Sanchez 6-0, 6-0 to spark Hononegah to a 3-2 win over defending NIC-10 champion Freeport over the weekend.
Connor Politsch, Forreston baseball
Politsch went 3-for-4 with two RBIs and a run scored, and he also threw a complete-game, seven-inning gem, giving up just two runs in a 7-2 win over Lena-Winslow on Wednesday.
Christine Ramirez, Oregon soccer
This sophomore had her first varsity hat trick when she scored three goals during a 5-2 win over Rochelle last Friday. Oregon (9-2-1) was scheduled to hit the road for a big matchup against Byron (9-3-2) on Tuesday.
Janardie Turner Jefferson track and field
Turner ran 13.56 in 110-meter high hurdles at Saturday’s Rockford Christian Invitational, which puts him at No. 10 in the nation in that event, according to maxpreps.com. He’s also No. 1 in the state in the high hurdles, and No. 4 in the 300 hurdles.
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 Register Star’s Athlete of the Week for April 20-25
Reporting by Jay Taft, Rockford Register Star / Rockford Register Star
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