Welcome to the Bay Area News Group (Mercury News & East Bay Times) girls Athlete of the Week poll.
For the entire academic year, we will provide a list of candidates who stood out over the previous week and allow you, the reader, to vote for the winner.
This week, we consider performances from April 14-19.
Polls close at 5 p.m. Wednesday.
Vote as many times as you’d like until then without using bots or any other artificial methods of voting.
Votes by email and after 5 p.m. Wednesday are not counted.
Scroll to the bottom for the poll.
Winners are announced each Friday online and in the print edition of the Mercury News and East Bay Times sports sections.
Candidates for future Athlete of the Week polls can be nominated at [email protected].
We accept nominations until 11 a.m. each Monday.
We also review stats submitted to MaxPreps by coaches/team statisticians.
On to the nominees:
Avery Boyse, Burlingame track and field: The senior easily cleared the field in the pole vault at the CCS Top 8 Invite, making it over a mark of 12 feet, 6 inches to win the competition by a full foot.
Angela Gates, Carondelet softball: The sophomore went 3 for 4 with a home run, a double, three RBI and two runs scored in a 16-15 win over Dublin.
Nevaeh Hall-Flores, James Logan softball: Hall-Flores hit an inside-the-park home run and added two singles as No. 16 Logan upset No. 14 Alameda 7-1. She added two hits and an RBI in a 15-0 win over American and a pair of hits, including a double, with three RBI in a 14-0 win over Kennedy.
Ellie McCuskey-Hay, St. Ignatius track and field: McCuskey-Hay was named the CCS Top 8 Invite Girls Athlete of the Meet on Saturday on April 19 after a meet at Los Gatos High School. She placed first in the 100 meters in 11.55 seconds, first in the 200 meters in a school record 23.96 seconds, first in the long jump with a mark of 18 feet, 9.5 inches, and second by 0.07 seconds in the 4×100-meter relay in 48.39 seconds. The St. Ignatius girls tied Mitty with 54 points and were named CCS Top 8 Girls Team Co-Champions.
Julianna Morales, San Leandro softball: Morales had a strong game in the circle as San Leandro beat Encinal 2-0, striking out four hitters and allowing just three hits.
Sara Nordlund, Menlo-Atherton track and field: The senior recorded a personal record in the 300-meter hurdles, clocking a time of 44.38 seconds to top San Lorenzo Valley’s Naomi Seastrom by 0.66 seconds at the CCS Top 8 Invite.
Avery Motroni, Capuchino softball: Motroni had a strong week, featuring in big wins over Aragon and Carlmont. The senior committed to Arizona State went 3 for 4 with a home run and two RBI in an 11-4 win over Aragon, then went 3 for 3 with another homer and two more RBI, plus an intentional walk, in an 11-1 win over Carlmont.
Katia Nesper, King’s Academy softball: Nesper pitched a strong game in the circle against Hillsdale, striking out 16 batters in seven innings to securing a key 3-0 league win in a tough Peninsula Athletic League Bay Division matchup.
Hannah Rutherford, Mountain View track and field: The senior topped the field at the CCS Top 8 meet, winning the 400 meters in 54.82 seconds and edging out Los Gatos sophomore Madison Kohli by 1.11 seconds.
Hailey Pedroza, Mills softball: The Vikings junior pitched a no-hitter in a 10-0 win over Gunn, striking out five batters and walking just one. She added another shutout in an 11-0 win over Mercy, allowing four hits and striking out six.
Alejandra Solano Solis, Emery softball: The San Jose State commit pitched two complete games as the Spartans swept a pair of matchups against San Domenico (13-4) and Vallejo (5-2).
