Vote: CSM Spring Athletes of the Week, April 13-19, 2026

There were no midseason slumps to speak of for the latest batch of nominees for Clutch Sports Media’s Spring Athletes of the Week, who led their teams to several wins with dominant performances.

This week’s nominees include three of Central Illinois’ top two-way threats in softball, a trio of big time baseball players from the Bloomington/Normal area, a pair of Normal U-High track and field standouts and a new record-holder from Dunlap track and field.

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UPDATE: Normal West's Ty Bachman and Peoria Christian's Addy Lovell won CSM Spring Athletes of the Week after receiving the most votes in their respective polls. Voting closed Friday night.

CSM Boys Athlete of the Week nominees

Boston Katz, Heyworth baseball

Katz capped off his week with a monster effort to lead Heyworth in a big comeback win over Roanoke-Benson/Lowpoint-Washburn on April 18. Katz went 4-for-5 with 6 RBIs and hit a walk-off three-run homer to help the Hornets come back from a 12-0 deficit against the Rockets and win 14-12. He also went 2-3 with an RBI and struck out seven in three scoreless innings on the mound in an 11-1 win over Ridgeview on April 13 and drove in a run in an 8-7 loss to Argenta-Oreana on April 14. 

Patrick Peterson, Dunlap boys track and field

Peterson rewrote the history books on Saturday as his throw of 195 feet and eight inches in the discus at the Ottawa Invite on April 18 set a new Dunlap school record by over 20 feet. His mark also broke what is believed to be a Peoria-area record by five feet. He also finished second in the shot put at Ottawa, throwing 54 feet and won the shot put and discus in a dual meet with East Peoria on April 14. 

Gavin Michaels, Normal Community baseball

Michaels strung together several solid games to help Normal Community win five times. His best efforts came in a 2-for-4, 4-RBI performance in a 19-9 win over Bradley-Bourbonnais on April 18 and a 2-for-3, 3-RBI game with a home run in a 16-3 win over Danville on April 13. He drove in multiple runs in wins over Morton and Champaign Central and finished the week with a combined stat line of nine hits in 16 at-bats, 11 RBIs, a triple and a home run.

Xander Scray, Normal U-High boys track and field

Scray proved why he’s one of the top high jumpers in Illinois, clearing six feet, 8.25 inches, which stands as the No. 4 height in Illinois this season, to win at the Bloomington Central Catholic Mini-Meet on April 15. There, he also took second in the triple jump and competed in the long jump and sprint medley relay to help the Pioneers take second place. Scray later won the high jump and set a new PR in the triple jump (43’4) to win at the Capital City Classic on April 18. 

Ty Bachman, Normal West baseball

Bachman came up big in a hot streak for Normal West and dealt 5.1 innings of scoreless ball with nine strikeouts, two walks and four hits allowed in a 6-1 win over Class 4A power Rockton Hononegah on April 18. Bachman also went 6-13 at the plate during the week, going 3-3 with a triple and RBI in a 10-1 win over Bloomington on April 17 and 2-4 with a triple and two RBIs in a 12-1 win over Urbana on April 15. 

CSM Girls Athlete of the Week nominees

Sawyer Drury, Brimfield/Elmwood softball

Drury put up two dominant performances for Brimfield/Elmwood, led by her outing in a 14-0 win over Knoxville on April 13. The Creighton commit went 3-5 with two doubles, a home run and six RBIs and capitalized further with a complete game one-hit shutout with 12 strikeouts and a walk in the circle. She also went 3-4 with a double, home run and four RBIs in a 17-1 win over Dee-Mack on April 16. In that game, she pitched four innings and recorded every one of her outs via strikeout, giving up just one hit.

Cora Ellison, Illini Bluffs softball

Ellison continued a strong senior year with two big games, starting with a 10-strikeout effort in four innings in a 17-1 win over Delavan on April 13 where she gave up one hit and no walks. Ellison added a double and three RBIs in the win and also went 2-3 with four RBIs, a home run and a double in a 16-1 win over Athens on April 17. 

Isabella Thurston, Normal U-High girls track and field

Thurston won several events, including three at the Bloomington Central Catholic Mini-Meet on April 15. The Pioneers’ junior won the shot put (35’10.5), discus (133’0) and was part of the winning 4x100 throwers relay to boost Normal U-High to a meet win. She put up two podium finishes at the Bloomington Lady Raider Invitational on April 17, winning the discus (130’7) and taking third in the shot put. 

Addy Lovell, Peoria Christian girls soccer

Lovell powered Peoria Christian to two wins and a draw, scoring four goals and assisting on another in a 6-1 win over Urbana Uni-High on April 13. She scored a goal and notched four assists in a 9-0 win over Manual the next day and scored the Chargers’ lone goal in a 1-1 draw with Limestone on April 16. 

Sutton Centoni, Dunlap softball

Centoni pitched in all three of Dunlap’s victories last week to help keep the Eagles on top of the Mid-Illini. She threw a seven-inning no-hitter with 13 strikeouts and a walk in a 3-0 win over Galesburg on April 18. Her first complete game of the week came in a 1-0 win over East Peoria on April 14 where she fanned 11, giving up two walks and four hits. She also threw two scoreless frames with three strikeouts in a 1-0 win over Canton on April 16