Vote: Who should be SBLive’s Iowa Athlete of the Week? (9/11/2023)
Here are the candidates for SBLive’s Iowa high school athlete of the week for Sept. 4-10. Read through the nominees and cast your vote. Voting will conclude Sunday at 11:59 p.m. If you would like to make a nomination in a future week, email nate@scorebooklive.com.
Editor’s Note: Our Athlete of the Week feature and corresponding poll is intended to be fun, and we do not set limits on how many times a fan can vote during the competition. However, we do not allow votes that are generated by script, macro or other automated means. Athletes who receive votes generated by script, macro or other automated means will be disqualified.
Austin Baumhover, Van Meter football
Baumhover threw four touchdown passes for the Class 2A second-ranked Bulldogs in a 52-14 win over Humboldt.
Graham Beckham, Iowa City Liberty football
The Lightning lost to Pleasant Valley 56-39, but Beckham passed for a 518 yards and five touchdowns. Beckham, who leads the state with 1,072 yards in three games, completed 28 of 49.
Jaxon Cherry, Webster City football
The senior had 161 rushing yards and two touchdowns and led the Class 3A sixth-ranked Lynx with 10.5 tackles, including three for loss.
Bryson Childress, West Lyon football
The junior was 7-for-10 for 215 passing yards and four touchdowns as the Class 2A third-ranked Wildcats blanked OABCIG 49-0. Childress added 40 rushing yards on five carries.
Kale Clarahan, Sigourney-Keota football
Clarahan rushed for 259 yards and five touchdowns in a 41-35 triumph over Mid-Prairie. He tacked on a two-point conversion for 32 total points.
Blake Cronin, Waukee Northwest boys golf
The Wolves’ sophomore carded a 69 to edge Dowling’s Dewell Anderson by a stroke at Legacy Golf Club in the NW Invitational.
Ra’Shawd Davis, West Des Moines Dowling football
The junior busted loose for 236 rushing yards on 36 carries with three touchdowns, leading the Maroons past Ankeny 35-14.
Mackenzie Dean, West Des Moines Dowling volleyball
The Maroons’ senior leads Class 5A with 223 kills. She helped the Maroons to a 15-3 overall record and a 5-1 match record last week.
Gentry Dumont, Iowa City Regina football
Dumont completed 20 of 27 passes for 399 yards and three touchdowns. Two different receivers had six catches and over 100 yards and Dumont leads Class 1A with 858 passing yards.
Graham Eben, Central Lyon/George-Little Rock football
The University of Iowa recruit accounted for six touchdowns and 240 all-purpose yards as the defending Class 2A state champions pounded West Sioux 70-7. Eben rushed for 124 yards and four touchdowns and threw a pair of scoring passes for the top-rated Lions.
Aiden Flora, ADM football
The Tigers’ senior QB is on a roll. The speedster racked up 334 yards rushing, scoring three touchdowns, and completed 14 of 18 passes in a loss to Lewis Central. He leads Class 4A with 10 rushing touchdowns.
Kyler Gerardy, North Scott football
The senior QB has the Lancers off to a 3-0 start, including a 42-28 victory over Davenport Assumption. Gerardy completed 12 of 14 passes for 246 yards and two touchdowns and also ran for 162 yards and a TD. Angelo Jackson had 193 yards and two touchdowns for the Knights.
Vicenzo Gianforte, Cedar Rapids Kennedy football
Gianforte passed for 271 yards and three touchdowns and added a rushing score as Kennedy picked up its first win of the season, 34-0 over Linn-Mar.
Brennan Hayes, Creston football
Hayes had 101 yards and three rushing touchdowns and seven catches for 206 yards and two touchdowns in Class 3A No. 4 Creston’s 48-28 win over Ballard.
Claire Helmers, Ames girls cross country
Helmers broke the tape in 17:65.5 to beat the field of 127 at the Bobcat invite in Marshalltown.
Brady Hetzel, Council Bluffs Lewis Central football
Hetzel passed for 237 yards and three touchdowns for the defending Class 4A state champion Titans in a 38-31 victory over top-ranked ADM.
Grace Hoeper, Iowa City High girls swimming
The Little Hawk junior leads has the best times in the state in four events – 50 freestyle (23.44), 100 freestyle (52.08), 200 freestyle (1:53.09) and 100 butterfly (57.2).
Teagan Kasel, Lemars football
The senior has the Bulldogs off to a 3-0 start after throwing for 102 yards and three touchdowns and running for 165 yards and a TD in a wild 49-42 shootout over Boyden-Hull/Rock Valley, which got 249 yards and two TD passes from Carter Kleinwolterink.
Kaylee Koudelka, North Polk volleyball
The Comets are off to a 16-4 start, thanks in part to Class 4A’s top spiker in Kaylee Koudelka and her 193 kills.
EJ Miller, Independence football
The junior had 157 yards passing with two TDs and 152 yards rushing and a touchdown in a 14-12 loss to Waukon.
Anika Mohrhauser, Ankeny Centennial girls cross country
The Jaguars’ junior held off PV’s Grace Boleyn with a time of 18:18.84 to win the Cedar Rapids Invitational where 112 runners participated in the varsity race.
Connor Moberly, Southeast Polk football
The senior and Iowa State commit was 17 of 21 for 215 yards and five touchdowns as SBLive’s top-ranked Rams beat Cedar Rapids Prairie 42-7.
Lannon Montgomery, Lynnville-Sully football
The junior rushed for 200 yards on 23 carries, scoring two touchdowns in a 36-27 victory over Pleasantville.
Reese Naeve, Iowa City Regina volleyball
The sophomore leads the Regals in three different categories – kills, digs and aces. Her 217 kills leads the state in all classes.
Quentin Nauman, Western Dubuque boys cross country
Nauman won the 112-runner Monticello Invite with a time of 16:91.1
Haley Nissen, Estherville Lincoln Central volleyball
The Midgets are off to a fantastic 15-4 start as the junior leads Class 2A with 185 kills.
Jaxon Paulsrud, Cherokee football
The Braves’ sophomore quarterback had 239 rushing yards on 18 carries with three touchdowns and completed 8 of 12 passes for 114 yards and two scores in a 42-21 win over Ridge View.
Kellor Rodman, Norwalk football
The Warriors’ senior hauled in 10 catches for 152 yards and two touchdowns from QB Aidan Harder, who threw for 226 yards, in a 32-15 win over Newton.
AJ Schermerhorn, Ankeny Centennial boys cross country
The senior ran away with the title with a blistering time of 15:13.48 in the field of 126 runners at the Cedar Rapids Invitational at Seminole Valley Park.
Jake Schulz, Bettendorf football
The senior had five catches for 135 yards and two touchdowns, helping Class 5A fifth-ranked Bettendorf beat Urbandale 48-10.
Trenton Smith, Ankeny Centennial football
The senior completed 18 of 21 passes for 287 yards and six touchdowns in the Jaguars’ 42-13 victory over Cedar Falls.
Baylor Speidel, Lisbon football
The senior rushed for 277 yards on 22 carries, scoring four touchdowns in a 34-28 win over Columbus. Speidel went over 1,000 yards for his career and Lisbon moved to 3-0.
Perrin Sulzle, Baxter football
The junior passed for 297 yards and four touchdowns as the Bolts clipped Fort Dodge St. Edmond 36-34. Sulzle, who has 930 yards this season, completed 29 of 43.
Tanner Thurn, East Buchanan football
Thurn rushed for 196 yards and three touchdowns in a 39-21 win over Maquoketa Valley.
Jack Wallace, Iowa City West football
Wallace passed for 251 yards and three touchdowns in a 42-20 victory over Muscatine. The junior completed 18 of 25 and added a rushing touchdown.
Meghan Wheatley, North Linn girls cross country
Wheatley turned in a sizzling time of 18:27.1 to win the Monticello Invite by 1:09 against 84 other runners in the 14-team meet.
Brianna Wittrock, Kuemper Catholic volleyball
The sophomore leads the state in all classes with 37 solo blocks (tied with East Sac’s Kate Vondrak). The Knights capped off an undefeated week by winning the SCC Master Blaster invitational. She also leads the Knights with 32 aces.
Carter Yurgae, Dowling boys golf
The senior posted a low round of 68, besting SE Polk’s Landen Van Erem by a stroke to claim medalist honors at the Ankeny Invitational at Otter Creek.
Ethan Zuber, Ankeny boys cross country
Zuber edged Cedar Falls’ Jaden Merric by almost 3 seconds, crossing the finish line in 15:07.7 to claim the Marshalltown Bobcat Invite, besting 147 runners.
--Chris
