PND’s Chaddock, Normal Community’s Heineman win CSM Spring Athletes of the Week

The final CSM Spring Athletes of the Week were a pair of juniors who led their Big 12 squads to the best finish in their team’s respective histories to close out the season.

Peoria Notre Dame’s Abigail Chaddock and Normal Community’s Max Heineman won the honors as Chaddock lifted the Irish girls soccer team into their first Class 2A state championship appearance with a huge late goal. Heineman’s big hitting performance led the Ironmen baseball team to winning a sectional title before eventually going on to finish third in Class 4A.

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

Chaddock won CSM Girls Athlete of the Week after receiving 54 percent of the votes in the girls poll. The PND junior midfielder scored arguably the biggest goal of the Irish’s season late in their Class 2A state semifinal. In a 2-2 tie against Springfield in double overtime, Chaddock, a Missouri-Kansas City commit, scored the go-ahead goal on an assist from Maddie Stickelmaier, which was the difference-maker in PND advancing to the state championship game for the first time in program history. Chaddock finished the season with 22 goals and 20 assists for the Irish, who were the Class 2A state runner-ups after a 1-0 loss to Chicago St. Ignatius in the title game. 

Get to know Chaddock in a Q and A here: 

What’s been your favorite memory of the season?

“My favorite memory of the season was our trip to the Tournament of Champions in Bettendorf Iowa because we had so much fun and definitely bonded as a team over the course of the weekend!”

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

“If I had to be stranded on a desert island with one teammate it would be Delaney Driscoll because I know that she would fight off anyone or anything for me.”

Favorite music artist?

“My favorite music artist is Taylor Swift.”

Favorite food?

“My favorite food is ice cream.”

Do you have any pregame routines/rituals?

“Before games I like to listen to hype music, sometimes visualize certain aspects of the upcoming game, and then when we get to the field I like to juggle the ball in a circle with my teammates.”

Who’s your favorite college or professional athlete?

“My favorite professional athlete is Rose Lavelle.”

Do you have any hidden talents?

“I don’t have any hidden talents that I can think of.”

Who’s your role model and why?

“My role is my dad because he has taught me the value of hard work and relentlessness.”

Heineman won CSM Boys Athlete of the Week after receiving 60 percent of the votes in the boys poll. The Normal Community junior slugger tore the cover off the ball in the Ironmen’s 10-8 win over O’Fallon to win the Class 4A Illinois Wesleyan Sectional title, going 3-for-4 with five RBIs and a home run. Heineman and Normal Community later advanced to the Class 4A State Finals and finished third, the highest placement in team history. Heineman, who was recently named the Big 12 Conference Offensive Player of the Year, doubled in a 2-1 loss to Libertyville in the state semifinals and singled in the Ironmen’s 7-2 win over Chicago Brother Rice in the third place game. 

Get to know Heineman in a Q and A here: 

What’s been your favorite memory of the season?

“My favorite memory was when we were down 4-0 against O’fallon and made a comeback to win the game.”

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

“My teammate of choice would be Beckett Weber because he’s pretty smart.”

Favorite music artist?

“Daniel Caesar.”

Favorite food?

“Steak.”

Do you have any pregame routines/rituals?

“I just usually listen to music to calm me down before games.”

Who’s your favorite college or professional athlete?

“My favorite professional athlete is Caleb Williams.”

Do you have any hidden talents?

“I am very good at Madden Ultimate Team.”

Who’s your role model and why?

“My role model is my Dad because I’m around him every day and he’s great at everything he does and does everything 100% full effort. I aspire to be like him.”