The spring sports season is continuing to march along and local high school athletes in Central Illinois are hitting their groove, if they weren’t already.
This week’s nominees for CSM Spring Athletes of the Week, presented by Dominos, featured track and field athletes that won multiple events, clutch performances in baseball and softball, and a hat trick in soccer.
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The following athletes are our nominees for CSM Spring Athletes of the Week, presented by Dominos, with information on their standout performances below. There are polls for CSM Boys Athlete of the Week and Girls Athlete of the Week.
UPDATE: Tremont's Cassidee Bauer and Metamora's Nick Walker on CSM Girls and Boys Athletes of the Week, respectively. Voting close at 7 PM on Wednesday.
Girls Athlete of the Week nominees
Malone McKinley, Washington softball
McKinley shined for the Panthers in a busy week of five games, going 7-for-14 at the plate with four RBIs and two home runs combined throughout the week. She keyed a 3-2 win for the Panthers over Geneseo on Friday by going 3-for-4 with a pair of RBIs and drove in two against Kaneland on Saturday at the Washington Panther Classic. McKinley earned all-tournament honors there for the third year in a row.
Kylie Black, Peoria Christian softball
Black was simply in another dimension last week for the Chargers, helping them win three games. She began the week by striking out 16, and allowing two hits while adding two RBIs in a win over Princeville on Monday, then struck out a mind-blowing 25 batters while allowing just one hit and one walk in an 11-inning marathon win over Midland. Black’s final act was hitting a walk-off two-run double to beat Alleman 4-3 on Friday, a game where she also threw a no-hitter and struck out 18 batters.
Tori Brown, Illini Bluffs girls track and field
Brown continued a stellar spring season with the Tigers at a meet in Princeville on Wednesday, winning three events. The Illini Bluffs junior won her first 200-meter title of the year in 29.16 seconds, won the long jump with a 15-foot, 10-inch mark, and took her fifth triple jump title of the season with a leap of 34 feet, 5 inches. She also ran on the Tigers’ 4x200 meter relay team that took second with a time of 1:59.90.
Cassidee Bauer, Tremont softball
Bauer continued to do nothing but put together big games for the Turks, who won a pair of games last week and currently carry a 10-game win streak. The Tremont catcher went a perfect 3-for-3 with three RBIs and a triple in a 14-3 win over El Paso-Gridley on Monday and went 3-for-4 with a double, triple, three RBIs and three runs scored in a 7-3 win over Fieldcrest on Wednesday.
Ella Merritt-Ahanda, Richwoods girls soccer
Merritt-Ahanda came up huge for the Knights in one of their biggest games of the year, scoring three goals in a 4-0 win over Normal Community on Wednesday. She currently leads a 12-2-1 RIchwoods team with nine goals on the season.
Boys Athlete of the Week nominees
Davis Weeks, Dunlap baseball
It was a huge week for Dunlap baseball as the Eagles beat East Peoria twice and Pekin once to stay unbeaten in Mid-Illini action and Weeks was a key contributor. The Dunlap shortstop went 2-for-5 with two RBIs in an 8-0 win over the Raiders on Monday and hit a big two-run double as the Eagles took a narrow 4-3 win in the teams’ rematch on Wednesday. He threw five quality innings in a 10-2 win over Pekin on Thursday, striking out six, walking one and allowing just three hits.
Nick Walker, Metamora boys track and field
Walker’s contributions helped Metamora take the team title at the Redbirds’ host ABC Meet on Friday with four podium finishes. Walker set a personal best in winning the high jump by clearing the bar at 6 feet, 4.75 inches and threw down a season best mark of 20 feet, 11.5 inches to win the triple jump. The Metamora senior, alongside Eden Cote, Jaeden Duhon and Evan Keil, won the 4x200 meter relay in 1:33.74 and finished second in the 4x100 meter relay.
Hunter Fogle, Dee-Mack baseball
Fogle and the Chiefs were busy on the diamond and the Dee-Mack catcher put up big numbers all week, going 9-for-19 with eight RBIs combined. His best games came in a loss to Lexington on Wednesday, where he went 3-for-4 with three RBIs and a 6-5 win against Peoria Notre Dame on Saturday, where he went 3-for-3 with two RBIs. He drove home two on two hits in a 9-7 victory over Fisher on Friday.
Brady Monk, Eureka boys track and field
Monk and the Hornets were in action at two meets and the Eureka senior found the top three in multiple events on both days. Monk and the Hornets 4x400 relay team won at the Eureka Quad, while he himself finished second in the 800 meters with a personal best 2:03.17. He added a 1600 meters title at the Metamora ABC Meet in a PR of 4:32.53 and ran on Eureka’s winning 4x800 meter relay team, helping the Hornets finish second overall at the event.
Owen Cavanaugh, Normal Community baseball
A big week for Cavanaugh was propelled by driving in five runs in two hits, including a double in a 9-4 win over Normal West on Wednesday. The Ironmen utility player scored three runs in the win. In a 1-0 win over Richwoods on Friday that went 11 innings, Cavanaugh limited the Knights by not allowing a hit and striking out four in 4.1 innings out of the bullpen.