The week of Aug. 31-Sept. 6 was another busy one of high school female sports featuring teams from the Des Moines metro area.
There were several key volleyball matchups featuring metro teams, highlighted by Class 5A No. 1 Waukee Northwest’s 3-2 win over No. 2 Ankeny Centennial on Sept. 2 in Waukee. It was also the first full week of girls high school cross country and swimming and diving, and girls tennis also had another busy week of competition.
There were several outstanding individual performances from high school female athletes during the week.
Here are the Des Moines Register’s female Athlete of the Week candidates from the Des Moines metro area for the week of Aug. 31-Sept. 6. DesMoinesRegister.com readers vote to determine the winners, who will be announced at the end of the week.
Piper Ladwig, Waukee Northwest
Ladwig came up big at the net for 5A No. 1 Waukee Northwest during its five-set victory over No. 2 Ankeny Centennial (25-17, 25-21, 23-25, 22-25, 16-14) on Sept. 2 in Waukee.
Ladwig powered down 18 kills on 43% efficiency for the Wolves. She also produced four blocks on defense.
Makenna Madetzke, Ankeny
Madetzke placed first individually in the varsity girls race at the Kirk Schmaltz Invitational cross country meet on Sept. 4 at the Iowa State cross country course in Ames.
Madetzke won the race with a 5-kilometer time of 17 minutes, 56.8 seconds. That was just fast enough to edge the 17:58.6 effort by Centennial’s Rebecca Flick for first.
Charlotte Qualley, Dowling Catholic
Qualley swam the fastest 500-yard freestyle time in the state during the Dowling Catholic girls swimming and diving team’s 131-55 dual meet victory over Southeast Polk on Sept. 2 at Pleasant Hill.
Qualley completed the longest event of the meet in five minutes, 16.60 seconds. She won the race by nearly 30 seconds.
Kierdyn Stockwell, Norwalk
Stockwell scored two individual victories from the No. 2 position for the Norwalk girls tennis team during the week.
On Sept. 2 Stockwell defeated Pella’s Addison Van Wyk — 3-6, 6-4, 1-0 (10-4) during the Warriors’ 9-2 loss to the Dutch at Norwalk. On Sept. 5 Stockwell swept Indianola’s Chloe Chaplin in straight sets with a pair of 6-1 victories as part of Norwalk’s 8-3 victory over the Indians at Indianola.
Malia Rogers, Waukee
Rogers had a strong night at the net for the 5A No. 4 Waukee volleyball team during a four-set win over No. 13 Johnston (22-25, 25-21, 25-12, 25-10) on Sept. 4 at Johnston.
Rogers slammed home 20 kills on 37% efficiency for the Warriors. She also went 24 of 25 serving and contributed nine digs and two blocks.
Joe Randleman covers high school sports for the Ames Tribune. Contact him at jrandleman@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter at @JoeRandleman
This article originally appeared on Ames Tribune: Vote: Des Moines Register metro-area female Athlete of the Week for Aug. 31-Sept. 6
Reporting by Joe Randleman, Des Moines Register / Ames Tribune
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