Eureka’s Otto, Peoria Christian’s Miller win CSM Fall Athletes of the Week

Both of the latest Clutch Sports Media Fall Athletes of the Week were at their best in the postseason and came away with regional titles to show for it.

Eureka’s Ava Otto won CSM Girls Athlete of the Week after her personal-best performance helped the Hornets girls cross country win a Class 1A regional title and Peoria Christian’s Payton Miller won CSM Boys Athlete of the Week after his heroics in goal boosted the Chargers’ soccer team to a Class 1A regional title as well.

Read more about our winners and their big performances and get to know them in Q and A’s below:

Otto won CSM Girls Athlete of the Week after receiving 39 percent of the votes in the girls poll. The senior won the Class 1A Eureka Regional title on Oct. 24, which boosted Eureka to a team title as well. Otto clocked in with a personal-best time of 17:27.0 to win by seven seconds and shattered her previous season-best 3-mile time of 18:08.0. Otto has notched eight top-10 finishes this season, including winning the Heart of Illinois Conference Meet, and placed fifth at the Class 1A Elmwood Sectional on Oct. 31. That performance helped the Hornets win the sectional title and advance to the IHSA State Finals.

Get to know Otto in a Q and A here:

Favorite memory of your high school career so far? 

“This season, I had a major PR at the [Heart of Illinois] Conference race, and it was my second time winning a race in XC. It was special to see our team work together, as we scored first as a team.”

If you had to be stranded on an island with a teammate, who would it be and why? 

“I would choose my teammate Sierra Hermann. Sierra has always been by my side at every race since eighth grade, and I could not imagine running without her. She is an amazing friend and always brings excitement and adventure wherever she goes.”

Favorite music artist?

“Ellie Holcomb.”

Favorite food? 

“Ice cream with honey on top.”

Do you have any pre-race routines or rituals? 

“The night before a race, I drink a cup of tea. In the morning, I eat plain sourdough toast.”

What’s one thing that’s on your bucket list? 

“Ride the Glacier Express Train through the Swiss Alps.”

Who’s your role model and why? 

“My mom. She encourages me to do everything I do to the best of my ability.”

Miller won CSM Boys Athlete of the Week after receiving 44 percent of the votes in the boys poll. The Peoria Christian goalkeeper came up big to help the Chargers win the Class 1A Peoria Christian Regional in a penalty kick shootout. He started the week by making 12 saves in a 2-1 win over Bloomington Central Catholic in the regional semifinals on Oct. 20. He then made eight saves in the regional championship game against Roanoke-Benson/Eureka, which went to a penalty kick shootout. With the shootout lasting 10 rounds, Miller made multiple saves with the Chargers’ season on the line and helped them prevail in their sixth straight regional championship.

Get to know Miller in a Q and A here:

What’s been your favorite memory of your high school career so far? 

“My favorite memory of my high school career was definitely the regional finals this year. This team has been so fun to play with, and I feel like we've all connected well on the field. There's nothing like the moment when I saw the team all cheering running towards me.”

If you had to be stranded on an island with a teammate, who would it be and why?

“If I were stuck on an island, I would choose my captain Nico [Edwards] since he's good with outdoor things and if something needs to get done, he gets it done.”

Favorite music artist?

“My favorite music artist is JMC, I first listened to them over the summer and they sounded good.”

Favorite food?

“My favorite food is a good burger or steak.”

Do you have any pregame routines/rituals?

“Before every game this season, I would ask a friend to wish me luck, and they would always text back and cheer me on.”

What’s one thing that’s on your bucket list?

“One thing that is on my bucket list is going to Greece sometime and seeing everything there.”

Who’s your role model and why?

“My role model has always been my dad. Not because of normal father-son reasons, but because of his attitude towards most things. He always seems to remain relatively calm in situations where the outlook isn't in his favor, and he's positive even in the small things.”