It’s time to choose another Pocial Athlete of the Week

Once again, the Pocial Athlete of the Week is dressed in purple, as a Shadow Hills High School athlete is last week’s winner.

Cross country runner Sebastian Martinez received the most votes in our Athlete of the Week voting brought to you by Pocial.

Martinez was the top Shadow Hills finisher and ran a personal-best time of 16 minutes, 39.1 seconds at the Woodbridge Classic in Irvine. He earned a medal for his effort and thanks to your votes, he earned Athlete of the Week honors as well.

Who will the Pocial Athlete of the Week be this week? That’s up to you. Vote in the online poll at the bottom of this article. First, read about each candidate and their accomplishments, then vote for your favorite. Voting ends at noon on Friday.

Here are this week’s candidates in alphabetical order. Happy voting!

Ruby Avila

Shadow Hills cross country

What she did: Avila finished second in the first DEL race only six seconds behind teammate Miranda Salcedo, who was a Pocial Athlete of the Week earlier this season. Avila’s time was 18:28.1, and she helped the Knights win the team title.

Hannah Bagnell

Xavier Prep golf

What she did: In the match between the top two teams in the DEL, freshman Hannah Bagnell of Xavier Prep was medalist in the competition against Palm Desert. Despite a triple bogey in the middle of her round, Bagnell fired a 5-over 41 on the Palm Course at Marriott’s Desert Springs, posting the low score in the match by two shots.

Joselin Martinez

Indio volleyball

What she did: The Rajahs’ star came up big in the biggest game, lifting the Rajahs past Coachella Valley and ending the Arabs’ 36-match winning streak. Whenever they needed a point, Martinez seemed to find a way whether it was via the kill, a perfectly placed dink shot, or keeping a ball alive. She had 17 kills in the win.

Caleb Rocha

Palm Desert water polo

What he did: Rocha had one of the best three minutes in water polo goalie history during double overtime of the Aztecs’ 8-7 win over rival Xavier Prep. Rocha made three unbelievable saves and scored the game-winning goal with a full-court heave.

Martin Torres-Sandoval

La Quinta cross country

What he did: Torres-Sandoval picked up where he left off, defending his 2022 DEL championship by winning the first race of 2023 by 30 seconds. He finished in a time of 15:48.7, around 17 seconds faster than any of his DEL race times last year.