The week of Nov. 30-Dec. 6 was the first full week of winter sports for high school male athletes.
Boys basketball, wrestling and swimming all got fully underway during the week.
The Dan Gable Donny Brook Invitational wrestling tournament featuring several top boys wrestlers from Iowa, including the Des Moines metro area, and surrounding states took place on Dec. 5-6 at the Xtream Arena Coralville. The Keith Young Invitational in Cedar Falls and the Joe Fitch Invitational in Humboldt also took place during the week.
In high school boys basketball, the 2025 Class 5A state runner-up Waukee Northwest defeated Urbandale (81-69) and Ankeny Centennial (64-21) during the week and defending champion West Des Moines Valley came up short against both Southeast Polk (68-62) and Ankeny (58-52).
There were several standout performances from boys high school athletes from the metro area during the week.
Here are the Des Moines Register’s male Athlete of the Week candidates from the Des Moines metro area for the week of Nov. 30-Dec. 1. DesMoinesRegister.com readers vote to determine the winners, who will be announced at the end of the week.
Noah Martens, Dowling Catholic
Martens led the Dowling Catholic boys basketball team to home victories over Urbandale (67-54) on Dec. 2 and Des Moines Lincoln (78-45) on Dec. 5.
Martens went for 31 points, six rebounds, four assists and three steals in the victory over Urbandale. He put up 18 points, nine assists and five steals in the win over Lincoln.
Gage Moreno, Saydel
Moreno had a huge night for the Saydel boys basketball team during its 87-40 rout over South Tama County on Dec. 2 at Tama.
Moreno tallied 35 points, eight assists and three steals for the Eagles. He also had 17 points, five rebounds and five assists during a 68-59 home win over Prairie City-Monroe on Dec. 5.
Will Van Zee, Valley
Van Zee had a strong showing in the 500-freestyle during the Valley boys swimming team’s 85-85 tie with Waukee Northwest on Dec. 4 at West Des Moines.
Van Zee won the race in four minutes, 47.88 seconds, which is the fastest time in the state so far. He also won the 200 freestyle in 1:44.99.
Carew Christensen, Waukee Northwest
Christensen turned in an impressive runner-up performance at 113 pounds during the Dan Gable Donnybrook Invitational on Dec. 6 at Coralville.
Christensen finished the prestigious tournament at 4-1 as he went up against some of the best competition in the Midwest. Christensen scored a fall, technical fall and two victories by decision before falling to Erik Klichurov of Montini (Ill.) by an 8-3 decision in the finals.
Dylan Williamson, Van Meter
Williamson placed first at 120 pounds during the Joe Fitch Invitational wrestling tournament in Humboldt on Dec. 6.
Williamson went 4-0 during the tournament with two wins by technical fall and two by fall. He earned a 19-4 technical fall over Colt Key of Creston in the finals.
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 male Athlete of the Week for Nov. 30-Dec. 6
Reporting by Joe Randleman, Des Moines Register / Ames Tribune
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