Vote: CSM Spring Athletes of the Week, May 5-10, 2025
- Clutch Sports Staff
- 1 day ago
- 4 min read
More Central Illinois area high school standouts flexed their muscles with several strong performances down the stretch of the regular season, earning nominations for CSM Spring Athletes of the Week.
This week’s nominees include a pair of Mid-Illini stars in softball, baseball players who delivered marquee wins for their teams, track and field athletes who won conference championships and big-time performers in soccer, lacrosse and tennis.
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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 Thursday at 11:59 PM!
Girls Athlete of the Week nominees
Kaidance Till, Metamora softball
Metamora’s all-state shortstop went a perfect 8-for-8 in three games in the batter’s box last week, with five of those hits going for extra bases and driving in five runs. Till went 2-for-2 with a home run in a 3-2 loss to Washington on May 5 before going 2-for-2 with another home run and three RBIs in a 12-2 win over Morton the next day. She saved her biggest performance of the week for last, going 4-for-4 with a homer, two doubles and an RBI in a 14-0 win over Canton on May 8.
Karlee Pettit, Washington girls lacrosse
Pettit surpassed 100 career goals in a 14-6 win over Dunlap on May 5, leading the Panthers with five goals and an assist in the rivalry win. She scored two of Washington’s three goals in a loss to O’Fallon on May 9 and added two more in a loss to Naperville Neuqua Valley on May 10.
Elyse Eimer, Olympia girls soccer
Eimer stepped up in a big final week of the regular season for Olympia, scoring seven goals over the course of five games and helping the Spartans go 4-1 in those contests. She scored a hat trick in a 9-0 win over Bloomington on May 9 and found the back of the net twice in a 3-0 win over Decatur Unity Christian on May 5. She added a goal in a 3-0 victory over Champaign St. Thomas More on May 8, as well as one in a loss to Athens on May 10.
Aubrey Phillips, El Paso-Gridley girls track and field
Phillips won conference titles in multiple events at the Heart of Illinois Conference Meet on May 5, taking gold in the 100 meter hurdles (16.52 seconds), high jump (1.55 meters) and shot put with a season-best throw of 11.99 meters. Her efforts, which included a runner-up finish in the 400, helped the Titans win the conference title as a team as well. She added three wins in EPG’s Post-HOIC meet in the 45-meter dash (6.37), shot put (11.57 meters), high jump (1.58 meters) and helped the Titans to a win in the 4x200 relay in 1:46.02.
Jenna Flessner, Washington softball
Flessner was at the center of a huge week for Washington, who won seven games in six days, including its Swinging for a Cure tournament. Flessner hit a homer and pitched a complete game victory with eight strikeouts in a 3-2 win over Metamora on May 5. She threw a three-hit shutout and added two RBIs at the plate in a 6-0 win over Limestone on May 8. At the three-game round robin event on May 10, she went a combined 4-for-6 with four RBIs and two home runs and added another win in the circle with five strikeouts against Illini Bluffs.
Vote here!
CSM Girls Athlete of the Week poll
Kaidance Till, Metamora softball
Karlee Pettit, Washington girls lacrosse
Elyse Eimer, Olympia girls soccer
Aubrey Phillips, El Paso-Gridley girls track and field
Boys Athlete of the Week nominees
RJ Duncheon, East Peoria baseball
Duncheon performed at a high level on the mound and at the plate again in four games for the Raiders last week, including an impressive complete game shutout with 16 strikeouts and three hits allowed in a 1-0 win over Morton on May 5. He added RBIs in a loss to Morton and a win over LaSalle-Peru later in the week before leading the Raiders with a triple, home run and two RBIs in a big 7-2 non-conference win over Normal U-High on May 10.
Mark Cook II, Richwoods boys track
Cook II won a total of four events last week, including first-place finishes in the 100 meters at a dual meet with Pekin on May 6 in a personal-best 11.01 seconds and at Geneseo’s McCormick ABC Invite on May 9 in 11.04 seconds. He was part of the Knights’ winning 4x200 relay in Geneseo that posted a time of 1:29.74 and ran on the 4x100 relay that won in Pekin in 43.68 and placed fourth in Geneseo with a mark of 43.55.
Nikkash Senthil, Dunlap boys tennis
Senthil was an underrated part of Dunlap’s success last week, helping the Eagles win a 5-4 barnburner of a Mid-Illini match against previously undefeated Metamora on May 6. Teaming with Reyan Sanghvi at No. 3 doubles, the tandem won the deciding point in a 6-3, 2-6, 10-4 match. The next day, he won 6-0, 6-1 in singles and 6-2, 6-1 in doubles with Sanghvi in a 9-0 win against Peoria Christian. He and Sanghvi added three more doubles wins at Metamora’s Pitchford Invite on May 9-10 to help Dunlap come away with the team title.
Lane Wheelwright, Farmington baseball
Wheelwright delivered in the clutch, pitched and had an offensive explosion for the Farmers in five games. Most notably, the senior hit a walk-off RBI single to beat Heart of Illinois Conference champion Eureka 4-3 on May 9, finishing the game with three hits and two RBIs. The following day, he ripped two singles, a double, a triple and an astounding eight RBIs in a 23-6 thumping of Bushnell-Prairie City. Wheelwright drove in two runs in a 16-4 win over Canton on May 6 and struck out 11 in a complete game against Macomb on May 5, where Farmington suffered a 3-2 loss.
Reed Florey, Elmwood/Brimfield boys track and field
Florey earned three Prairieland Conference championships to lead Elmwood/Brimfield in winning the team title as well on May 9. He won the 800 meters by clocking in at 2:01.99 and the 3200 meters in 10;16.52. Florey was additionally part of the Trojans’ 4x400 relay that crossed the line in 3:36.25 to take first place.
Vote here!
CSM Boys Athlete of the Week poll
RJ Duncheon, East Peoria baseball
Mark Cook II, Richwoods boys track and field
Nikkash Senthil, Dunlap boys tennis
Lane Wheelwright, Farmington baseball