Help us select our high school Athletes of the Week
Welcome to the Bay Area News Group (Mercury News and East Bay Times) girls and boys Athlete of the Week poll.
For the entire academic year, we will provide a list of candidates who stood out over the previous week and allow you, the reader, to vote for the winner. This week, we consider performances from April 1-6.
Polls can be found on our websites — mercurynews.com/sports/highschool-sports/ or eastbaytimes.com/ sports/high-school-sports/ Voting closes at 5p.m. Wednesday.
Vote as many times as you'd like until then without using bots or any other artificial methods of voting. Winners are announced each Friday online and in the print edition of the sports sections. Candidates for future Athlete of the Week polls can be nominated at highschools@bayareanewsgroup.com. We accept nominations until 11a.m. each Monday. We also review stats submitted to MaxPreps by coaches/ team statisticians.
On to the nominees:
GIRLS
Kensington Abrew, Dublin softball: Abrew, a junior, gave Dublin a 1-0walkoff win when against Gregori when she hit the first home run of her career in the bottom of the seventh inning. The Dublin catcher ended the week with a .417 batting average on the season. Alexis Bojorquez-Nava, Branham softball: Bojorquez-Nava, a senior, was 7 for 10 with one home run, one triple, a double, seven RBIs and five runs scored last week. Branham went 3-0. Elia Choe, Menlo School lacrosse: Choe, a sophomore, scored 11goals last week. She put in seven in a 24-15victory over Sequoia, and four in a loss to Redwood. Her first goal against Sequoia gave her 100 for her high school career. Kylie Hoornaert, Prospect track and field: Hoornaert, a junior, set the school record in the 800-meter race when she ran it in 2:09.91 at the Arcadia Invitational, good for fifth overall. Prospect coach Kevin Breit said she is ranked first in the CCS, eighth in California and 15th in the country in that event. Ava Horrocks, San Ramon Valley lacrosse: Horrocks, a junior, scored four goals in a 9-7victory over Torrey Pines. That gave her 13goals and seven assists on the season for SRV, which improved to 10-0 this year. Ava Norquist, Los Gatos softball: Norquist, a freshman, had a hit in all five games played last week. She also struck out 33in four games pitched, including a 15-strikeout performance in a victory over Milpitas. Tatum Olesen, Menlo-Atherton track and field: Olesen, a senior, finished first in the seeded 1-mile race at the Arcadia Invitation when she ran it in 4:49.75. That was also a school record for M-A. Giselle Taylor, De Anza softball: Taylor, a senior, had a day to remember against Hercules. She hit two home runs and one triple while driving in nine RBIs in a wild 25-13victory over the Titans. She's hitting .462on the season. Jasmine Whorley, Alameda
softball: Whorley, a senior, struck out 11 in a complete-game shutout over Oakdale. Whorley is 6-1 and has 1.14ERA. She also has a .400batting average and 17RBIs at the plate. Anjali Yella, Harker track and field: Yella, a senior set a school record and finished third at the Arcadia Invitational in the 400-meter seeded race when she ran it in 56.42.
BOYS
Joshua Arevalo, Dublin track and field: Arevalo took first place in the 100- and 200-meter at the Amador Valley Spring Fling.
Ian Armstrong, Serra baseball: Armstrong had two hits, including a home run, and two RBIs in the Padres 10-1win over St. Mary's-Stockton. Serra is 13-2,4-0 and will have two crucial league games against Valley Christian this week.
Brad Ballard, Monte Vista baseball: The senior won MVP of the Gator Classic at Sacred Heart Prep, going 7 for 7 at the plate and totaling three RBIs across the Mustangs' three tournament games. Monte Vista returns to league play this week and is 8-6.
Ben Bouie, Crystal Springs Uplands track and field: The junior won his race in the 3,200at the Arcadia Invitational with a time of 9:02.82. Jacob Horne, Santa Clara baseball: Horne struck out nine and allowed just on-hit in a complete-game shutout against Lynbrook. The senior has a 1.21 ERA this season.
Angus Olaes, Encinal baseball: Olaes batted 3for 3and had three RBIs in the Jets' 25-0 win over Mission-San Francisco. After starting the year on a five-game losing streak, Encinal has won seven of its last eight games. Landon Pretre, Menlo cross country: Pretre ran a 8:48.11 in the 3,200 at the Arcadia Invitational, breaking the Central Coast Section record previously set at 8:48.74 by Nathan Topper of Bellarmine High School in 2021. JJ Robinson, Pittsburg baseball: Robinson went 2 for 3 at the plate and had four RBIs in a 13-0 win against Oakland Tech. The sophomore is batting .435and has nine RBIs this season. Logan Thompson, Homestead baseball: The Central Washington commit threw a complete game in a 5-1 win over Lincoln-San Jose, striking out six and allowing three hits and a run. Homestead is 8-52 this season. Roman Zuanich, Granada lacrosse: Zuanich had five goals and six assists in the Matadors' 21-2victory over Dougherty Valley. Granada is 6-5 this season.