The week of May 31-June 6 saw the field set for the 2026 IGHSAU girls state soccer tournament.
The metro area will be well represented at the state tournament, which takes place June 8-13 in Ames. Ankeny, Ankeny Centennial, Valley, Waukee Northwest and Waukee will compete in Class 3A; Dallas Center-Grimes, North Polk and Norwalk will vie for the title in 2A, and Des Moines Christian is playing in the 1A tournament.
There were several outstanding individual performances from the metro area during the week. It was also another busy week of high school softball featuring teams from the metro area.
Here are the Des Moines Register’s female Athlete of the Week candidates from the Des Moines metro area for the week of May 31-June 6. DesMoinesRegister.com readers vote to determine the winners, who will be announced at the end of the week.
Olivia Rotich, Valley
Rotich helped No. 2 West Des Moines Valley take down Southeast Polk, 3-1, in a 3A regional championship game on June 4.
She fired off four shots, putting two of them into the net to help the Tigers advance to the state tournament.
Natalie Elliott, Waukee Northwest
Elliott helped No. 1 Waukee Northwest blow past Dowling Catholic, 4-0, in the soccer regional final on June 4.
She found the back of the net twice to help the Wolves return to state.
Paisley Heidgerken, DCG
Heidgerken came up huge for defending 2A soccer state champion Dallas Center-Grimes during the regional championship game on June 4.
The Mustang sophomore scored twice, and she also dished out one assist in an 8-0 victory over Clear Creek-Amana.
Olivia Welch, Norwalk
Welch helped No. 1 Norwalk roll into the state soccer tournament with a 6-1 win over Carlisle in a regional title game on June 4.
She fired off eight shots and scored twice to help the Warriors cruise into the state tournament with a 16-1-2 record.
Colbie Tenborg, Saydel
Tenborg put on an impressive power display for the Saydel softball team during a 9-8 victory over Greene County on June 3.
She homered twice in the victory, going 2-for-4 with four RBIs to help the Eagles prevail.
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 for the Register female Athlete of the Week for May 31-June 6
Reporting by Joe Randleman, Des Moines Register / Ames Tribune
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By Joe Randleman, Des Moines Register | USA TODAY Network
