As the 2026 spring high school sports season ramps up, the Abilene Reporter-News will continue accepting nominations for City National Bank Athlete of the Week throughout the year.
Plenty outstanding performances and incredible achievements highlighted the past week of the spring high school sports season, as local track meets, golf and tennis tournaments heat up, baseball and softball teams gear up for district play and soccer squads compete for UIL state championships.
The Abilene Reporter-News will release a list of finalists for the High School Athlete of the Week each Monday, and several standouts were nominated for the most recent City National Bank Athlete of the Week award.
Our weekly Athlete of the Week polls will start Monday and close at 5 p.m. Thursday. The winners will be announced afterward.
After nearly a week of voting, Cross Plains softball’s Kenzie McLean was voted the ARN’s City National Bank Athlete of the Week for March 30-April 5 after garnering 2,738 votes, or 36.44% of the total votes cast.
McLean was nominated after she shined in the circle to power Cross Plains to a 10-4 win over Bangs by registering 16 strikeouts compared to three hits, three walks and two earned runs allowed through seven innings pitched.
She also went 2-for-3 at the plate with two RBIs and a double.
Here’s a closer look at the top five athletes who received the most votes in the ARN’s City National Bank Athlete of the Week poll for March 30-April 5:
Top five finishers
How to nominate for the ARN’s next Athlete of the Week award
Nominations for next week’s award are due by 7 p.m. Saturday and can be submitted through email at sports@reporternews.com or Andrew.McCulloch@reporternews.com.
Students participating in all varsity sports are eligible for nomination. Please include an athlete’s statistics/times from a single game/event in an email to the Abilene Reporter-News.
Athletes who win Athlete of the Week cannot win the award twice for the same sport. An athlete can be nominated in a different sport but can’t win the award more than three times in a school year.
VOTE HERE
This article originally appeared on Abilene Reporter-News: See who won Big Country Athlete of the Week for March 30-April 5, presented by City National Bank
Reporting by Andrew McCulloch, Abilene Reporter-News / Abilene Reporter-News
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
