Vote: CSM Spring Athletes of the Week, June 1-7, 2026

After a long 2025-26 high school sports season, just two more athletes will be crowned Clutch Sports Media Athletes of the Week before the summer starts. 

This week’s nominees include state standouts from Morton girls soccer and Dunlap softball, plus four Central Illinois baseball players that helped their teams win sectional titles.

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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 Saturday at 11:59 PM!

CSM Girls Athlete of the Week nominees

Izzy Ripka, Morton girls soccer

Ripka had a strong finish to her junior year, scoring three of Morton’s five goals over the weekend at the IHSA Class 2A State Finals. The junior scored the first goal in the first half of the Potters’ 4-1 semifinal win over Wheaton St. Francis and netted another one in the second half. She scored a game-tying goal straight from a corner kick in the 64th minute of Morton’s 3-1 loss to Crystal Lake Central in the state title game. 

Sutton Centoni, Dunlap softball

Centoni sent Dunlap to state for the first time since 1992 with a walk-off hit in the Eagles’ Class 3A super-sectional win over New Lenox Providence Catholic. With the bases loaded and two outs in the bottom of the seventh of a 0-0 game, Centoni hit an RBI single to right field to score Hannah Parker and give Dunlap the dramatic victory. Centoni drove in Dunlap’s lone run in its 6-1 state semifinal loss to Antioch and combined to throw 21 strikeouts with one walk and eight hits allowed in both of the games at state for the Eagles, who finished fourth place in Class 3A.

Vote here!

CSM Girls Athlete of the Week poll

• Izzy Ripka, Morton girls soccer
• Sutton Centoni, Dunlap softball

CSM Boys Athlete of the Week nominees

Noah Malone, Brimfield/Elmwood baseball

Malone delivered Brimfield/Elmwood’s second walk-off hit of the week that gave the Indians a Class 2A sectional title. Malone had a team-high four hits and drove in two runs, including the game-winning one in the bottom of the seventh of a 7-6 win over Carthage Illini West in the Class 2A IVC Sectional title game. Malone also had a hit and an RBI in Brimfield/Elmwood’s 7-6 sectional semifinal win over Taylor Ridge Rockridge. 

Eli Martin, East Peoria baseball

Martin, a freshman for East Peoria, played like a postseason veteran while helping the Raiders win the Class 3A Washington Sectional title. He went 1-3 and drove in the lone run of the game in East Peoria’s 1-0 sectional semifinal win over Metamora. He also got called on to finish the Raiders’ sectional title game against Dunlap on the mound and secured the save with the bases loaded in the seventh to make East Peoria hang on for a 5-3 victory.

Griffin Meeker, Tremont baseball 

Meeker helped keep Tremont’s well-oiled offensive machine running in both of the Turks’ victories at the Class 1A Illinois Wesleyan Sectional. The senior went 3-3 with two triples and two RBIs in a 7-1 sectional semifinal win over Athens and went 2-4 with a double and two RBIs 

Isaac Schroeder, Normal U-High baseball

Schroeder’s dominant pitching helped give Normal U-High the Class 3A Mt. Zion Sectional title. The Pioneers’ southpaw threw a complete game shutout with seven strikeouts, two walks and three hits allowed in Normal U-High’s 2-0 sectional championship win over Champaign Central. He also closed out the game with a scoreless one and one-third innings and two strikeouts in a 4-2 sectional semifinal win over Springfield Sacred Heart-Griffin.

Vote here!

CSM Boys Athlete of the Week poll

• Noah Malone, Brimfield/Elmwood baseball
• Eli Martin, East Peoria baseball
• Griffin Meeker, Tremont baseball
• Isaac Schroeder, Normal U-High baseball