Schools are out, and there are only three sports still going in the Rockford area for the 2025-2026 school year, but there were plenty of stars that stepped up last week as we get ready to vote on the Rockford Register Star’s Athlete of the Week for the week of May 25-30.
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 AOTW poll will stay open until noon on Friday.
This week’s nominees are:
Austin Altangerel, Auburn tennis
Altangerel came out of the blocks firing, winning his first two matches at last week’s IHSA boys state tennis tournament in the suburbs of Chicago. He eventually bowed out on Friday, but was the area’s second-best player this postseason. The first is Braden Monson, below.
Avery Malcolm, Rockford Christian soccer
The Rockford Christian goalie racked up 25 saves as she was one of several stars that helped spark the Royal Lions to their first super-sectional since 2016.
Braden Monson, Hononegah tennis
Monson, who became a four-time NIC-10 champion just a couple of weeks ago, went 3-2 at the IHSA boys state tennis tourney and finished as one of the state’s top-16 players.
Sydney Musial, Stillman Valley softball
Musial hit two home runs, and Stillman Valley had four as a team, as the Cardinals beat North Boone 11-5 to win a sectional softball title on Friday. Musial went 3-for-3 with two RBIs.
Andrew Nuyen, Rochelle track and field
Nuyen was on his game when he took second place at state, for the second year in a row, in the Class 2A pole vault. He was one of three nationally ranked pole vaulters at the 2A state meet last weekend, and one of three clearing over 17-feet, and he was right there for the title until the end.
Diego Robles-Sanchez, Freeport tennis
Robles-Sanchez had another solid season on the tennis court, and enjoyed his second state berth in a row, but he had to go in for emergency surgery to remove his appendix the day before the IHSA boys state tennis tournament started. He is recovering and should be 100 percent, but he had to miss state tennis after his senior season.
Ava Reese, Rockford Christian soccer
Reese scored her 22nd goal of the season in the second half to seal a 2-0 win for Rockford Christian (15-8) in Friday night’s Class 1A Hinckley-Big Rock Sectional final, and now they will take on undefeated Johnsburg in Monday’s 4:30 p.m. Woodstock Marian Super-Sectional.
Rockford Christian 4×800 relay team
The Royal Lions’ distance relay team of Evan White, Joel White, Julian Honeyville and Blake Lindberg won the Rockford area’s only state championship at the IHSA boys state track and field meet, and they did so in record-setting fashion. They not only set the school record, but they set the Class 1A state record.
Brynlee Sickles, Dakota softball
During an 8-2 win over Fulton for the Class 1A Eastland Sectional title, Sickles smacked a three-run home run and keyed the offense in the big win. Dakota now takes on Biggsville West Central in the Sterling Super-Sectional at 4:30 p.m. Monday.
Courtney Troutt, North Boone softball
Troutt had another solid season for the Vikings, just not as long. Troutt threw a three-hit shutout as North Boone, which took third at state last year after finishing second the year before, hammered Oregon 9-0 in last Wednesday’s sectional semi. But the Vikings fell to Stillman Valley in the next round.
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 your top Rockford-area athlete of the week for May 25-30
Reporting by Jay Taft, Rockford Register Star / Rockford Register Star
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