The votes have been counted for the week of April 6-12, and readers of the Observer-Dispatch and Times Telegram have selected a softball player as their athlete of the week in online balloting.
Sophomore Lexi Mungari got her season off to a hot start and helped the New Hartford Spartans win their first three games of 2026. Mungari went 6-for-11 with five doubles in wins over Baldwinsville, Saratoga Springs and Rome Free Academy, and drove in six runs in the Saratoga Springs game in which she doubled three times and scored two runs. She scored five runs, drove in eight, and walked twice in the three victories.
Mungari received 4,570 of 10,026 votes vast through the weekend – 45.6% – and topped a field of eight candidates. New Hartford baseball player Ashton Palmer finished second with 35% of the vote, followed by Central Valley Academy baseball player Frankie Hanninan with 13.3%.
Mungari follows Rome Free Academy baseball player Donte Sparace who won the first week of spring Athlete of the Week voting.
A new poll for the week of April 13-19 will be posted soon.
The full results appear below.
The Observer-Dispatch and Times Telegram have a fresh slate of nominees for online readers to consider for Mohawk Valley Athlete of the Week voting for the week of April 6-12, the second week of interscholastic spring athletic competition.
Rome Free Academy baseball player Donte Sparace won the first week of spring balloting.
The new ballot includes eight athletes from area baseball, softball and lacrosse teams, and the poll will be open until noon Tuesday, April 28.
A weekly list of nominees is compiled by the sports department with information provided to the Times Telegram and the Observer-Dispatch by coaches and athletic directors through emails and other contacts.
If a top performer’s name doesn’t appear on the list, encourage their coach or athletic director to email submissions to sports@timestelegram.com or sports@uticaod.com.
Voting closes Tuesday, and a winner is scheduled to be announced later that day on the TimesTelegram.com and UticaOD.com websites.
The nominees for the period ending April 12 are as follows:
GEOVANNI FRATTASIO, New Hartford lacrosse: Senior scored four goals and assisted on two others in 12-8 win over Skaneateles two days after contributing two goals and one assists in a 10-9 triple-overtime loss to Westhill.
FRANKIE HANNIGAN, Central Valley Academy baseball: Junior went 4-for-4 with a run and an RBI in the Thunder’s 4-3 season-opening win over Watertown at the Ripken Experience in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, and pitched a five-inning complete game with six strikeouts and a two-run single in a 14-3 win in the rematch two days later.
ADRIANA IZZO, Little Falls softball: Junior struck out 10 batters and drove in three runs against Oriskany in Mounties’ first win of the season.
COLTON LARSEN, Sauquoit Valley baseball: Sophomore pitched a five-hit shutout with 10 strikeouts and three walks in the Red Hawks’ first victory of the season, a 1-0 walk-off win over Dolgeville. He also had an infield hit to load the bases ahead of the walk that pushed the winning run home.
LEXI MUNGARI, New Hartford softball: Sophomore singled, doubled and scored two runs in a 13-1 opening win over Baldwinsville, then hit three doubles, drove in six runs and scored twice in 15-13 slugfest against Saratoga Springs the following day.
ASHTON PALMER, New Hartford baseball: Junior struck out 11 batters, walked one and allowed one run on one hit while combining with Joseph Perrotta and Garrett McFarland on a two-hitter in the Spartans’ 6-1 win over Central Square to start the season.
AMIRA SHEEHAN, Whitesboro softball: Junior went 4-for-4 with three doubles and a home run, scoring four runs and driving home four, in 13-6 win over Saratoga Springs to start the season.
DYLAN SIEGRIST, Rome Free Academy lacrosse: Junior matched one career high with four goals and set another with six assists in a 20-1 victory over Proctor. Classmate Jonathan Barone also scored four goals, while senior Aaron Coleman and sophomore Brendan Curtis each scored three.
This article originally appeared on Times Telegram: Readers pick softball player as MV Athlete of the Week
Reporting by Jon Rathbun, Herkimer Times Telegram / Times Telegram
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
