After plenty of solid postseason spring sports performances over the last week, here are the Journal Star high school athlete of the week nominees for April 8-13.
Head to pjstar.com/sports to vote. The poll closes at noon Friday. Information about the nominees is below.
If you have a nominee for the honor, email us at sports@pjstar.com or tag us on Twitter @pjstarsports. Last week, Sydney Fitch of the Limestone girls soccer team was named JS athlete of the week.
Lawson Alwan, Peoria Notre Dame baseball
Alwan hit .533 (8-for-15) as the Irish went 4-0 last week and extended their win streak to five in a row. The junior catcher posted a pair of doubles and a home run, while driving in eight runs and throwing out a potential base stealer. He capped his week by going 3-for-5 with his fourth homer this season in beating Pekin on Saturday. PND outscored its four opponents last week, 51-9.
Braden Vanderheydt, Washington baseball
Vanderheydt went .625 (5-for-8) last week as the Panthers won all four of their games. The senior hit three doubles, smacked a homer with 8 RBIs and drew four walks. He also pitched five innings, scattering two hits and gave up just one run with three strikeouts in beating Pekin this past Wednesday.
Maia Lorengo, Tremont softball
Lorengo's no-hitter in last Monday's rivalry victory highlighted a big week. The senior pitcher struck out 16 on 84 pitches in beating Deer Creek-Mackinaw, 6-0, in the Route 9 Rivalry. She was a hit-by-pitch away from a perfect game. Lorengo helped her cause by hitting a double. In Friday's 15-5 sixth-inning win over Downs Tri-Valley, she went 3-for-4 with two home runs and three RBIs, while striking out 12 in the Heart of Illinois Conference contest. Lorengo gave up just one hit and struck out 13 in six innings, while driving in a pair of runs in an 8-2 win against Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley on Saturday.
Sierra Sitter, Pekin softball
Sitter came up big from the plate in two Mid-Illini Conference wins last week. The outfielder hit a three-run homer last Tuesday as the Dragons pounded out 17 hits in an 18-3 four-inning win over Morton. She then scored the go-ahead run in a 2-1 win over Washington on Saturday. Sitter got the offense going with an RBI-triple in the top of the fifth to remain unbeaten in Mid-Illini play.
Samantha Yeh, Dunlap girls track & field
Yeh broker her own high jump school record at last Tuesday's triangular meet with Limestone and East Peoria. Her jump of 5 feet, 8 inches is the top girls leap in Illinois, regardless of class. The sophomore also set personal bests in three other events — the 200-meter dash (27.48), the shot put (26 feet, 7 inches) and pole vault (8 feet, 6 inches) — as the Eagles won the Mid-Illini Conference meet.
Isaiah Hill, Elmwood/Brimfield boys track & field
The senior won six events over two meets last week, including three conference victories. Last Tuesday, the reigning boys runner of the year won three events at the Inter-County Athletic Conference meet on his home track, taking the top times in the 800-meter run (1:57.2), 3200-meter run (9:54.7) and the 4x400-meter relay (3:52.4) with CJ Ramirez, Layne Durst and Matthew Glenn. Two days later, Hill won another trio of events at the John Levingston Invitational in Havana. He won the 800-meter run (1:59.2), the 1600-meter run (4:23.4) and teamed with Reed Florey, Aiden Faulkner and LJ Higgs in the 4x800-meter relay (8:24.8) victory.
Addie Dea, Morton girls soccer
Dea's lone goal guided Morton to a key nonconference victory on Saturday. Her first-half tally lifted the Potters to a 1-0 win over Richwoods, which had opened its season with 11 successive matches without a loss. Morton is 6-1-1 on the season.
Adam Duvall is a Journal Star sports reporter. Email him at aduvall@pjstar.com. Follow him on Twitter @AdamDuvall.
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