Vote: Who should be SBLive's Missouri High School Athlete of the Week (1/22/2024)?
Here are the candidates for SBLive's Missouri High School Athlete of the Week as nominated by fans, readers and SBLive’s staff.
Read through the nominees and cast your vote at the bottom of the page. Voting will conclude on Sunday at 11:59 p.m. and the winner will be announced the following week. If you would like to nominate an athlete in the future, please email athleteoftheweek@scorebooklive.com.
THIS WEEK’S SBLIVE MISSOURI ATHLETE OF THE WEEK NOMINEES:
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 that receive votes generated by script, macro or other automated means will be disqualified.
Charlee Bailey, Tipton girls basketball
She surpassed the 1,000-point mark in a game against Northwest Hughesville on Tuesday and added 16 points in a 65-48 win against Jefferson City on Jan. 17.
Kailey Benson, Francis Howell Central girls wrestling
The junior improved to 33-0 on the season with a 3-0 run at the Hickman Invitational on Saturday and secured her 100th win as well.
Max Bextermueller, Orchard Farm JV boys basketball
A sophomore shooting guard, Bextermueller sank two 3-pointers in the final seconds, including at the buzzer, to lift the Eagles to a 58-55 win at St. Charles West.
Logan Bishop, Lee’s Summit West boys basketball
The senior combo guard earned game MVP honors with 24 points in a 73-55 win over Chicago Simeon at the Quincy Shootout on Friday.
Jaden Breeden, Liberty girls wrestling
The Blue Jays standout picked up career win No. 150 and went 5-0 to take first place at the Southside Slam held Saturday in Olathe, Kansas.
Austin Brown, Hannibal boys wrestling
A 5-0 run at the 52nd Annual Platte County Invitational ended with a title in the 113-pound division, helping the Pirates take first place in the 25-team tournament.
Jobe Bryant, Park Hills Central boys basketball
Bryant recorded a double-double with 31 points and 10 assists in an 89-85 win over visiting Farmington on Friday. The standout senior, who helped Park Hills Central win a state football championship, is averaging 26.4 points and 8.0 assists per game.
Fisher Butler, Neosho boys wrestling
He secured his 100th career win for the Wildcats in a win against Carthage on Jan. 16.
Brenya Crahan, Nixa girls wrestling
She posted a 3-0 mark to take first place in the 145-pound bracket at the Lady Cardinals Invitational in Clinton on Friday. Those wins made her 38-0 on the year and she now has 169 wins — third all-time in Nixa history overall between boys and girls wrestlers.
Brady Creech, Winfield boys basketball
The senior had 21 points in a 69-49 loss to Duchesne on Wednesday and surpassed the 1,000-point mark in his career. He added a team-high 17 in a 46-39 win over Wentzville North Point on Friday.
Renzlee Davidson, Winfield girls basketball
The senior surpassed the 1,000th point mark in her career in a game against Warrenton, the first of two basketball players in the school to hit that mark in the same week.
Kole Deck, Jackson boys basketball
His 22 points against Cape Girardeau Central helped the Indians pick up a road win at Cape Central for the first time since 2014.
Max Dietrich, Orchard Farm boys basketball
The junior had nine points but the last points came on a 3-pointer at the buzzer to pick up a 49-47 win over St. Charles West on Tuesday.
Dillon Duff, De Smet boys basketball
One of the top quarterback prospects in Missouri in the Class of 2025, Duff sank nine 3-pointers and scored a career-high 29 points in the Spartans' 85-48 Metro Catholic Conference win over visiting Vianney on Friday.
Owen Duff, De Smet boys basketball
He had double-figure points in wins against Confluence Prep (10) and Vianney (28) for the Spartans and also picked up an offer from Missouri Southern.
Natalie Dunaway, Park Hill South girls swimming
She helped the Lady Panthers set a new meet record in the 200-yard freestyle relay with a time of 1:37.75 at the COMO Invitational on Saturday. She also won the 50-yard freestyle and was second in the 100-yard freestyle.
Camryn Elliott, Marshfield girls wrestling
She posted a 4-0 mark with to win the Big 8 Conference championship in the 130-pound bracket. She helped the Lady Blue Jays win a fourth straight league title.
Jeric Gumahin, Fort Zumwalt South boys wrestling
The 150-pounder went 4-0 to win the bracket at the Fort Zumwalt South Invitational on Saturday. He moved into third place all-time in school history in wins
Brooklyn Hays, Platte County girls swimming
In a dual against Smithville on Jan. 16, she won the 50- and 100-yard freestyle races and was on winning teams in the 200-yard medley and 400-yard freestyle relays.
Logan Hite, Poplar Bluff boys wrestling
The senior picked up a 3-2 win over Jackson’s Hayden Wessell to win the 190-pound bracket at the SEMO Conference Championship on Saturday in Sikeston. He became the first three-peat champion in Mules’ history in the sport.
Jayce Hitt, McDonald County boys wrestling
He won a second straight Big 8 Conference title on Friday, finishing with a 3-0 mark in the 285-pound bracket.
Isaia Howard, Plattsburg boys basketball
The North Dakota State signee scored 33 points in a game against Lexington and surpassed the 2,500-point mark in his career.
Bre Hurd, Waynesville girls basketball
In a game against Battle on Tuesday, the Virginia signee surpassed the 2,000-point mark in her career.
Kayla Jensen, St. Joseph’s Academy girls basketball
She grabbed her 1,000th career rebound this week and became only the fourth player in school history with 1,000 rebounds and 1,000 points.
Allyssa Joyner, West Plains girls basketball
She tallied 20 points in a 44-33 win over Bolivar on Jan. 18 and scored 31 points against Parkview in a 74-17 win over Jan. 17 in the 31st Gary Keeling/Bolivar Tournament.
Faith Mitchell, Orchard Farm girls basketball
She hit the first of two varsity buzzer beaters for Orchard Farm, hitting ga 3-pointer at the buzzer on Jan. 16 to beat St. Charles West, 35-32.
Caleb New, Worth County boys basketball
The freshman drained the go-ahead 3-pointer with less than a minute left to help the Tigers secure a 57-51 win over Princeton on Tuesday in a Grand River Conference West Division clash. New scored 17 points, seven more than his average.
Casey Olszowka, Washington boys wrestling
He picked up career win No. 150 on Jan. 17 and added a fourth straight Pacific Invitational title on Jan. 20.
Lanicia Parker, Winnetonka girls basketball
In a 58-49 win over North Platte, the junior had 31 points on Jan. 17. She followed up with 19 points and 21 rebounds in a loss against Platte County on Jan. 18.
Kendall Puryear, Blue Springs South girls basketball
The Purdue signee secured her 777 rebound — in the same month she surpassed 1,000 points — to become the Lady Jaguars' all-time leader, breaking a mark that stood since 1994.
Aaron Rowe, Father Tolton boys basketball
The Missouri pledge scored 30 points in a 71-59 win over Battle on Jan. 17.
Tony Stewart, Carl Junction boys wrestling
The junior posted a 5-0 mark and won the 175-pound championship for the Bulldogs at the Pacific Tournament on Saturday. He was one of three first-place finishers for the Bulldogs, who won the tournament.
Gracie Straatmann, Union girls wrestling
She picked up wins against Pacific, Lebanon, Windsor Imperial and Sullivan in duals and surpassed the 100-win mark for the Wildcats.
Ashlan Thompson, Willard girls wrestling
She helped the Lady Tigers win their first-ever tournament championship in the program’s young history at the Lady Panther Invitational on Saturday in Knob Noster. She also picked up her 100th career win.
Michael Wilson, Grandview boys wrestling
At the Alan Isom Invitational held at Center High School, he posted a 4-0 mark and won the 113-pound bracket — a second straight tournament title in two weeks.
Aubrey Yancey, Lutheran South girls swimming
She tied the school record in the 100-yard butterfly, set a new record of 1:02.24 in the 100-yard backstroke and was part of a school record time in the 200-yard medley relay.
Vote for the SBLive Sports Athlete of the Week
• Check out our Missouri Athlete of the Week page
PREVIOUS WINNERS: Smithville's Noellie Parrott (Jan. 1-7), Blue Springs' Jayla Cornelius (Dec. 25-31), Laquey's Alexis Shelton (Dec. 11-17), Pembroke Hill's Holly Woods (Dec. 4-10), Raytown South's Jayla McClinton (Nov. 27-Dec. 3), Kearney's Casey Rooney (Nov. 20-26), Hillsboro's Payton Brown (Nov. 13-19), Logan-Rogersville's Stewart McDonald (Nov. 6-12), Marquette's Robert Williams (Oct. 30-Nov. 5), St. Pius X's Justin Lehn (Oct. 23-29), Portageville's Jamarion Smith (Oct. 16-22), Lutheran North's James Bryant (Oct. 9-Oct. 15), Incarnate Word Academy's Sammi Bergjans (Oct. 2-Oct. 8), St. Joseph’s Academy's Paige Jackson (Sept. 25-Oct. 1), Oakville's Nina Cillo (Sept. 18-24), Grain Valley's Ty Williams (Sept. 11-17), Oakville's Amelia Wiesler (Sept. 4-10), Christian Brothers' Cole McKey (August 28-Sept. 3), St. Pius X's Elena Ruble (August 21-27).
To get live updates on your phone - as well as follow your favorite teams and top games - you can download the SBLive Sports app: Download iPhone App | Download Android App
- Cody Thorn | latsch@scorebooklive.com | @SBLiveMiz
