Vote: CSM Winter Athletes of the Week, Jan. 4-Jan. 11, 2026

Central Illinois athletes put on rare performances during the first full week of January, leading to a loaded group of CSM Winter Athlete of the Week nominees.

This week’s nominees include a pair of Olympia sharpshooters who scored well over 30 points in a game, a new Normal Community record-holder in boys swimming, an IVC sophomore standout who put up a triple-double in basketball and more.

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UPDATE: Olympia's Lucy Prestegaard and Normal Community's Wade Pyle won CSM Winter Athletes of the Week after receiving the most votes in their polls. Voting closed at 11:59 PM Friday.

Girls Athlete of the Week nominees

Alayah Nelton, IVC girls basketball

Nelton accomplished one of the rarest feats in basketball with a triple-double in a 50-45 win over Knoxville on Jan. 5, pouring in 15 points, 10 rebounds and 10 steals. The star sophomore added 13 points, six rebounds and five steals in a 52-24 Illini Prairie Conference win on Jan. 9 that helped keep the Grey Ghosts’ win streak going.

Paige Selke, Morton girls basketball

Selke had three strong performances that all helped Morton to wins, starting with a 19-point output in a 75-19 win over East Peoria on Jan. 6. She matched that total in a 51-36 Potters win over Dunlap on Jan. 9 and poured in another 15 points in a 61-33 drubbing of Taylorville at the Taylorville Shootout on Jan. 10. 

Emma Ziegler, Washington girls wrestling

Ziegler won the 135-pound championship at the Erie-Prophetstown Invite on Jan. 10, pinning all three of her opponents in the process. She took down Olympia’s Piper Jones, East Peoria’s Kyah Kaonohi and Westville’s Jasmyn Bennett all in 1:55 or less, helping Washington finish 8th out of 32 teams. 

Lucy Prestegaard, Olympia girls basketball

Olympia’s star freshman had the best performance of her young high school career so far, putting up a whopping 38 points in a 70-64 win over LeRoy on Jan. 8. She added a team-high 15 points in a 46-38 loss to Tri-Valley on Jan. 5 as well. 

Bri Harms, Roanoke-Benson girls basketball

Harms continued her consistently strong play with a trio of 20-point performances to lead Roanoke-Benson to three wins. Her highest scoring output of the week came in a 24-point outing in a 65-38 Tri-County Conference win over Seneca on Jan. 8. She racked up 22 points in a 60-18 win over Peoria Christian on Jan. 5 and put up 20 more in a 60-37 win over Ridgeview on Jan. 10.

CSM Boys Athlete of the Week nominees

Anfernee Moore, Richwoods boys basketball 

Moore stepped up with two huge performances that kept Richwoods rolling. He put in 22 points to help the Knights beat Limestone 79-64 on Jan. 9 before scoring a game-high 27 points in a thrilling 59-58 win over Chicago Kenwood on Jan. 10. 

Wade Pyle, Normal Community boys swimming

Pyle set a pair of pool and meet records at Normal Community’s Iron Invite on Jan. 10 and won a total of four races. His record-setting swims came in the 50 free (20.79) and 100 free (45.68) and he helped his team win the 200 free relay and 200 medley relay. Pyle’s efforts helped Normal Community finish second overall.

Dylan Nowaskie, Olympia boys basketball

Nowaskie filled up the score sheet and then some, putting the Spartans on his back with 42 points in an 86-85 buzzer-beating loss in overtime to Midwest Central on Jan. 6. His efforts against Moweaqua Central A&M on Jan. 10 didn’t go all for naught though as he scored 27 to lead the Spartans to a 70-58 victory.

Kole Petta, El Paso-Gridley boys wrestling

Petta had a masterful week on the mats, going 8-0 and winning the 106-pound bracket at the Prairie Central Hawk Classic. Petta picked up wins in dual matches during the week against East Peoria, Clinton and Rochester with two of them coming by pins and one by tech fall. He pinned four of his five opponents at Prairie Central, including Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley’s Julian Rodriguez in the title bout. His performance helped El Paso-Gridley finish 4th out of 21 teams.

Quinton Kitt, East Peoria boys basketball

Kitt had a trio of 20-point performances against three strong opponents, two of which were victories. The Illinois commit tallied 24 points in a 71-45 beating of Chicago Morgan Park on Jan. 10, 20 points in a 69-54 win over Metamora on Jan. 9 and 22 points in a 60-55 loss against Morton on Jan. 6.