Vote: CSM Spring Athletes of the Week, April 14-20, 2025

High school athletes across all sports in Central Illinois continued to impress as the spring sports season hits the midway point of the regular season. Ten of them have the chance to become one of the latest CSM Spring Athletes of the Week after several sublime performances.

This week’s nominees include players who can deliver in the batter’s box and while pitching in baseball and softball, goal magnets in soccer and lacrosse, multi-event winners in track and field and more.

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UPDATE: Washington's Liam Nussbaum and Eureka's Rylee Dare won CSM Spring Athletes of the Week after receiving the most votes in their polls. Voting closed at 11:59 PM Thursday.

Boys Athlete of the Week nominees

Bronson Atchley, Farmington baseball

Atchley and the Farmers are on a heater, now at 15-3 on the season. The junior catcher and pitcher had three hits apiece in wins over ROWVA/Williamsfield, Midwest Central and Havana, driving a combined eight runs with two doubles. He earned a pair of wins on the mound, first striking out seven in three hitless innings of relief in an 8-6 win over LVC on April 14 and fanned seven in 4.2 innings out of the bullpen in a 5-4 win over Havana on April 19. 

Alex Fei, Dunlap boys tennis

Fei became the second Dunlap boys tennis player in two weeks to join the revered 100-win club, accomplishing the feat at the Moline Invite on Saturday. Fei’s week included an 8-2 doubles win with Ethan McRaven, Dunlap’s other member of the 100-win club, against Normal U-High on April 14. 

Liam Nussbaum, Washington boys lacrosse

Nussbaum led a big week for the Panthers’ lacrosse team, scoring six goals to lead his team to an 8-4 win over Dunlap on April 15. He helped Washington rebound from a 5-3 loss to Tinley Park Andrew the next day in a 16-9 win over Chicago St. Rita on April 19. 

Jeremy Yoss, El Paso-Gridley boys track and field

Yoss consistently found himself in the top spot last week, winning six times across four events. At the Dee-Mack Co-Ed Invite on April 15, the Titans’ senior won the 110 meter hurdles in a personal-best 16.34 seconds, the 300 hurdles in 44.59 and was part of EPG’s first-place 4x100 relay group, while also finishing second in the high jump. He won both hurdles events, as well as the long jump, to lead El Paso-Gridley to a team title at the Seneca Irish Invite on April 18.

Chuck Hathaway, Dee-Mack baseball

Hathaway did a bit of everything for the Chiefs in five games last week, including pitching five scoreless innings with eight strikeouts and one walk in a 3-0 win over Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley on April 16. At the plate, he racked up five RBIs and nine hits, including a home run in a 5-3 loss to Delavan on April 19 and doubles in games against Fieldcrest, Limestone and GCMS.

Girls Athlete of the Week nominees

Rylee Dare, Eureka softball

Dare had a large impact on a strong week for the Hornets, who won four out of five games. She went 3-for-5 with a homer, double and three RBIs while additionally striking out 12 in eight innings in a 9-8 win over Fisher on April 14. She went 4-for-4 with two RBIs —  which tied the game — in a 6-5 win over Lexington/Ridgeview on April 16, adding 10 strikeouts in another eight-inning outing in the circle. After driving in a run and holding Olympia to just four hits and one run in a 3-1 win on April 18, she had a three-hit game with another RBI in a 10-5 win over Putnam County the next day. 

Caty Minton, Normal U-High girls track and field

Minton won multiple events for Normal U-High, which won the Bloomington Purple Raiders Invitational and the Bloomington Central Catholic Mini-Meet last week. The Pioneers’ sophomore won the 400 meters at Bloomington on April 18, setting the second-best time in Class 2A this season of 58.26. She also ran on U-High’s 4x400 relay that won and set the best time in Class 2A so far this season at 4:04.33. She placed third in the 200 and ran on the Pioneers’ 4x200 relay that took third at BCC on April 16. 

Addi Pacha, Metamora softball

Pacha tore the cover off the softball last week, ripping a total of six homers across six Metamora wins. She went 11-for-19 throughout that stretch, driving in a total of 12 runs and adding three doubles. Her best performances came in a two-homer showing, including a solo shot that ended up being the difference-maker in a 4-3 win over Pekin on April 17 and another game with two round trippers in a 13-3 win against IVC on April 18.

Alycyn Callear, Canton girls soccer

Callear led the Little Giants to a pair of non-conference wins, scoring five of her team’s 15 total goals in wins against Manual and Peoria High. The sophomore netted a hat trick in a 6-0 win over the Rams on April 14 and struck twice in a 9-0 win over the Lions on April 16. Three of her goals were scored via penalty kicks and she added one assist as well.

Cora Ellison, Illini Bluffs softball

Few pitchers and batters stood a chance against Ellison, who led Illini Bluffs to three wide-margin victories. She held Delavan to one hit in five innings, striking out eight and driving in two runs in a 10-0 win on April 14. Ellison smacked a three-run homer in a 19-4 triumph over Eureka the next day and gave up three hits in a shutout win over Athens on April 18, fanning 12 batters and hitting a two-run homer.