
As January wrapped up, some of Central Illinois’ best high school athletes left it all on the hardwood, mats or in the pool and earned nominations for CSM Winter Athletes of the Week.
This week’s nominees include basketball players who put up game-changing performances in key wins, a pair of wrestlers who placed first over the weekend – including one that’s chasing an IHSA record – and a swimmer with multiple top-3 finishes.
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UPDATE: Morton's Karen Canchola and Wes Gudeman won CSM Winter Athletes of the Week after receiving the most votes in their respective polls. Voting closed at 12 PM Thursday.
Girls Athlete of the Week nominees
Emme Hurie, Bloomington Central Catholic girls basketball
Hurie made an impact in all facets of the game by averaging a double-double in BCC’s trio of wins last week. She had 13 points and 10 rebounds in a dominating 66-16 win over Paxton-Buckley-Loda on Jan. 27 and followed it up with 14 points, seven rebounds, seven assists and seven steals in a 57-35 win over St. Joseph-Ogden on Jan. 31. Her 24 points and 13 rebounds against a strong Maroa-Forsyth team gave her player of the game honors in a 60-51 win over Maroa-Forsyth at the Illini Prairie/Sangamo Shootout on Feb. 1.
Karen Canchola, Morton girls wrestling
Canchola won a regional championship at 140 in the Metamora Regional to punch her ticket to sectionals. The Potters’ standout, who has only lost two matches this year and has more than 20 wins, won the title over Dunlap’s Olivia Curtis with a 20-4 technical fall in 4:11.
Cally DeSutter, Midwest Central/Delavan girls basketball
DeSutter was unleashed in a 52-46 Inter-County Conference win over ROWVA/Williamsfield that went to overtime on Jan. 30. She finished with a double-double of 23 points and 14 rebounds, including eight clutch points in the overtime period.
Dani Guedet, Washington girls basketball
Guedet helped No. 1-ranked Washington continue its win streak with a pair of conference wins over Limestone and East Peoria. The junior forward accounted for nearly half of the Panthers’ offense with 25 points in a 53-41 win over the Rockets on Jan. 29. Three days later, Guedet had 15 points in a 67-41 victory over the Raiders.
Lexi Baer, Peoria Notre Dame girls basketball
Baer was on fire all week as the Irish continued to win big against two strong teams in Abingdon-Avon and Paris. The junior connected on multiple threes, finishing with 14 points and seven rebounds in a 72-39 win over the Tornadoes on Jan. 30 before ramping it up with 26 points and nine rebounds in a 70-32 win over Paris.
Boys Athlete of the Week nominees
Braden Hayes, El Paso-Gridley boys basketball
Hayes continued to shoot the lights out with three big points hauls, averaging out to 25 points per contest. He scored a game-high 31 in a 68-42 win over Fisher on Jan. 28, followed by a 23-point outing in a 67-56 win over rival Fieldcrest on Jan. 31. The next day, he led the Titans with 21 points and six rebounds in a close 53-49 loss to Normal West.
Wes Gudeman, Morton boys basketball
Morton’s star forward was on a different level, helping the Potters win multiple key games to continue their win streak. He electrified the Potterdome with a team-high 21 points in a 59-47 win over Metamora on Jan. 28. He scored 18 and added multiple big plays down the stretch to help Morton beat Manual 53-51 on Feb. 1 and tied for a team-high with nine tallies in a 70-46 win over Pekin the previous night.
Paxton Dickson, Richwoods boys swimming
Dickson had a pair of runner-up finishes to lead Richwoods at Urbana’s Tiger Invite on Feb. 1. He finished second in the 50-yard freestyle in a personal-best time of 22.58 and placed second in the 100-yard backstroke in 59.14. He also swam on the Knight’s 200 free relay team that finished in fourth.
Chase Ruppert, Heyworth boys basketball
Ruppert helped the Hornets pick up some late-season momentum with two strong performances in Heyworth victories. He finished with 19 points in a 69-51 win over conference foe Eureka on Jan. 28 and increased that total with a team-high 24 points in a 68-58 win over Flanagan-Cornell on Jan. 31.
Bowden Delaney, Tremont boys wrestling
Delaney took a step atop the podium at the Heart of Illinois Conference Tournament and another step onto an all-time IHSA podium as well. The Turks wrestler won the 165-pound bracket at the HOIC Tournament via three pins, which moved him to third in IHSA history with 129 career pins. Earlier in the week, Delaney picked up a pin against Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley and a technical fall against LeRoy in dual matches against the two schools.
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