Vote: CSM Spring Athletes of the Week, May 26-31, 2025

The 2024-25 high school sports season in Illinois is winding down but that doesn’t mean that several athletes in Central Illinois were done making waves.

This week’s nominees for CSM Spring Athletes of the Week include state champions in boys track and field, clutch performers in postseason baseball and softball, plus some of the best soccer and tennis players in the area.

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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 at 11:59 PM on Friday!

Boys Athlete of the Week nominees

Isaiah Whitaker, Bloomington Central Catholic boys track and field

Whitaker three-peated as the Class 1A state champion in pole vault at the IHSA state meet on May 31. The Saints junior set a state meet record of 17 feet, 6.5 inches on his second attempt, beating out his mark from last year’s state title by six and a half inches. 

Carter Prina, Washington baseball

Prina continued to churn out big outings with his arm and his bat, leading Washington to a Class 3A regional title on its home turf. The senior threw a complete game shutout with seven strikeouts, allowing three hits and adding an RBI double of his own in a 6-0 win over Metamora in the regional semifinals on May 28. He blasted a three-run home run to power Washington offense in its 5-2 win over Geneseo in the regional title game on May 31.

Alex Fei/Ethan McRaven, Dunlap boys tennis

Fei and McRaven capped off their incredible careers with a fifth-place finish at the IHSA State Finals. The Eagles senior duo cruised to three straight victories in two sets before falling 6-4, 7-6 (8) in the championship quarterfinals of the Class 1A doubles bracket. They fought back to the fifth-place match after two more wins, including a 6-3, 6-4 win over Metamora’s Tommy Sopko and Adam Culp before beating Crystal Lake Prairie Ridge’s Tim Jones and Cole Palese 6-2, 7-5 in their final match. Fei and McRaven’s contributions helped Dunlap to a third-place team finish for its first back-to-back state trophies in program history. 

Trae Brickner, Peoria Christian boys track and field

Brickner won the state title in the Class 1A 300 meter hurdles on May 31, becoming the first Chargers athlete to win a state championship in boys track and field since 2015. After winning the prelims with a time of 40.21, Brickner ran a personal-best 39.08 in the finals to beat out Sullivan’s Mason Booker by four-hundredths of a second. 

Davis Weeks, Dunlap baseball

Weeks turned in a masterful performance in the Class 3A East Peoria Regional title game, recording 17 strikeouts with just two hits allowed in seven innings in a 1-0 win over Limestone. Before the regional championship, which was Dunlap’s second in as many years, the Michigan State commit singled and scored the go-ahead run in the Eagles’ 2-1 win over Richwoods in their regional semifinal on May 28. 

Corie Green, Delavan boys track and field

Green became the first boys individual athlete from Delavan to win a state title in 106 years after winning the Class 1A state title in the 800 meters. The Panthers’ sophomore ran a 1:55.86, which was the fastest time in the prelims, before living up to his billing with a personal-best 1:55.46 in the finals to win the event by 1.01 seconds over Rockford Christian’s Evan White. 

Vote here!

CSM Boys Athlete of the Week poll

• Isaiah Whitaker, BCC boys track and field
• Carter Prina, Washington baseball
• Alex Fei/Ethan McRaven, Dunlap boys tennis
• Trae Brickner, Peoria Christian boys track and field

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Girls Athlete of the Week nominees

Reese Legaspi, Brimfield/Elmwood softball

Legaspi was the hero for Brimfield/Elmwood in a sectional semifinal win over Canton on May 27, hitting a two-run home run to break a scoreless tie in the ninth inning. She added a game-tying sacrifice fly in the sixth inning of the Indians’ Class 2A IVC Sectional title game on May 30, which they went on to win 4-1. 

Rylie Bare, Peoria Notre Dame girls soccer

Bare kept it clean in between the pipes for Peoria Notre Dame, who won its third straight Class 2A sectional title. The Irish goalkeeper didn’t allow goals in a 2-0 sectional semifinal win over Normal U-High on May 28 and in a 1-0 victory over Morton in the sectional title game on May 30. Thanks in part to Bare, PND has posted 20 shutouts this season.

Nora Johnson, Metamora softball

Johnson helped give Metamora a Class 3A Lincoln Regional title over East Peoria, throwing a strong game in the circle and adding multiple hits at the plate. The Redbirds senior threw a complete game with six strikeouts and one walk in a 10-1 victory and collected two hits, driving in a run as well. 

Claire Ceresa, Morton girls soccer

Ceresa’s performance in the Class 2A LaSalle-Peru Sectional semifinals helped the Potters continue a long win streak and earn a sectional title berth. The sophomore forward scored twice in a 4-0 win over Dunlap on May 28 for the Potters’ 20th straight win before they fell to PND in the sectional title game. 

Addison Duncheon, East Peoria softball

Duncheon provided a top-notch outing and walk-off heroics in East Peoria’s Class 3A regional semifinal win over Lincoln. The Raiders’ freshman hit a walk-off single to left field in the ninth inning to secure the win after she pitched all nine innings with 12 strikeouts, no walks and one run allowed in a 2-1 victory on May 28. She added a single and three strikeouts in four innings of work in East Peoria’s loss to Metamora in the regional title game.

Vote here!

CSM Girls Athlete of the Week poll

• Reese Legaspi, Brimfield/Elmwood softball
• Rylie Bare, Peoria Notre Dame girls soccer
• Nora Johnson, Metamora softball
• Claire Ceresa, Morton girls soccer

See All Options