Vote: CSM Fall Athletes of the Week, Oct. 12-18, 2026
Between conference titles being won, state berths being clinched and the regular season wrapping up, the week of Oct. 12-18 was a big one for Central Illinois high school sports.
This week’s Clutch Sports Media Fall Athletes of the Week nominees include three football stars that helped their teams clinch conference titles in Week 9, two sectional title winners in girls tennis, a pair of conference champions in cross country and other standouts from volleyball and boys soccer.
Interested in growing your business? Reach out to inbox@clutchsportsil.com to learn how you can sponsor our Fall Athletes of the Week stories and social media posts which are seen by thousands of loyal high school sports fans in Central Illinois each week!
Check out all of our nominees with information on their standout performances below, vote for who you think should win and spread the word to vote before polls close on Friday at 11:59 PM!
CSM Boys Athlete of the Week nominees
Lucas Beaty, Normal Community football
Beaty took over Normal Community’s Big 12 title-clinching win over Normal West with his legs. The Ironmen quarterback ran 24 times for 239 yards and four touchdowns with scoring runs of nine, 50, 36 and 13 yards. He also threw a touchdown pass to Luke Potts and made five tackles to help Normal Community finish the regular season at 9-0.
Braydon Laesch, Heyworth football
Laesch was highly efficient in Heyworth’s 53-0 rout of Tuscola, which gave the Hornets their first 9-0 regular season in program history. Laesch ran three times for 73 yards and a touchdown and caught two passes for 109 yards and a touchdown on offense. Defensively, he returned an interception for a touchdown and made six tackles.
Andrew Scheirer, IVC boys soccer
Scheirer led IVC in making the turn from the regular season into the postseason, scoring both of IVC’s goals from long distance in a 2-2 draw against Kewanee on Oct. 13. In the Grey Ghost’s Class 1A regional quarterfinal game, he had a goal and an assist in a 7-1 win over Farmer City Blue Ridge.
Isaac Davis, Morton football
Davis helped spark Morton’s 35-7 win over Metamora at Dozer Park where the Potters clinched their first outright Mid-Illini title in program history. The senior Swiss Army knife ran for a team-high three touchdowns and added a tackle for loss defensively.
Adam Perry, Eureka boys cross country
Perry spearheaded a standout performance from Eureka at the Heart of Illinois Conference Meet on Oct. 17. Perry won the boys race in 14:57.0, which marked a new personal best 3-mile time for the sophomore, and led the Hornets to the team title.
Vote here!
CSM Boys Athlete of the Week poll
Lucas Beaty, Normal Community football
Braydon Laesch, Heyworth football
Andrew Scheirer, IVC boys soccer
Isaac Davis, Morton football
CSM Girls Athlete of the Week nominees
Reese Yount, IVC volleyball
Yount put up 182 assists over eight matches, helping the Grey Ghosts go 7-1 in those games, which included a trip to the Limestone Fall Classic. The IVC setter put up 28 assists, including the 1,000th of her career in a win over Pontiac on Oct. 13 and added 17 assists in a win over Farmington the next day and 33 assists in a three-set win over Bloomington Central Catholic on Oct. 15. At Limestone’s tournament, she had a 23-assist, 11-dig double-double in a win over Geneseo and had at least 19 assists in each match.
Morgan Coker, Pekin girls cross country
Coker was the star of the Mid-Illini Conference Meet, winning the conference title as an individual and leading her team to a narrow victory as well. Coker ran a season-best 17:56.4 at Detweiller Park to take first place and help Pekin win the team title by one point over Morton.
Madelyn Couri, Peoria Notre Dame girls tennis
Couri won the singles title at the Class 1A Geneseo Sectional to punch her ticket to state and power PND to a third-place finish. Couri defended her No. 1 seed by beating Macomb’s Scarlett Brooks 6-0, 6-0, Galesburg’s Addison McCurry 6-1, 6-1, Brimfield’s Bianca Cisel 6-2, 6-1 and defeated Rock Island Alleman’s Kate Walsh 6-1, 6-0 in the championship match.
Payge Ryan, Elmwood volleyball
Ryan was a double-double machine for Elmwood in a trio of matches, highlighted by a 19-assist, 18-dig outing with two additional aces in a win over Macomb on Oct. 15. She added 29 assists and nine digs in an Inter-County Conference win over Delavan on Oct. 14 and once again had a double-double with 17 assists and 11 digs in a loss to Peoria Christian on Oct. 13.
Chloe Kendall, Morton girls tennis
Kendall took home the Class 1A Metamora Sectional singles title to advance to this week’s IHSA State Finals. The Potters’ ace handily won all four of her matches and beat Lincoln’s Ellie Wrage 6-1, 6-0, Limestone’s Alexa Badorek 6-0, 6-1, Bloomington Central Catholic’s Reagan Power 6-1, 6-2 and defeated Metamora’s Alexis Mogul 6-1, 6-0 in the championship match.
Vote here!
CSM Girls Athlete of the Week poll
Reese Yount, IVC volleyball
Morgan Coker, Pekin girls cross country
Madelyn Couri, Peoria Notre Dame tennis
Payge Ryan, Elmwood volleyball
Comments