Vote now: Who should be SBLive's Texas High school Athlete of the Week? (Aug. 14-20)
Texas high school sports are officially underway for the 2023-24 school year.
Each week throughout the year, SBLive will take a look at the top high school athletes across the Lone Star by researching the entire state, gathering the top performers and putting the best of the best up for reader vote.
>> LIVE: Texas high school scoreboard
We're splitting our Athlete of the Week process into two polls: While the football season begins this week, many other fall sports across Texas — water polo, cross country and volleyball — are already playing games.
Here are SBLive's Texas Non-Football Athlete of the Week nominees for Aug. 14-20. Now, we want to hear from you. Scroll down to read about this week's nominees and cast your vote in the poll below. Voting remains open until August 27, 2023 at 11:59 p.m. Central time.
WHO SHOULD BE SBLIVE'S TEXAS NON-FOOTBALL ATHLETE OF THE WEEK?
Caroline Adams, so., Friendswood, volleyball
She helped the Mustangs pick up a three-set sweep over Clear Creek on Tuesday with 35 assists — 11.7 per set — for a team that had 39 kills in the win.
Ethan Andrews, sr., Cypress Springs, boys water polo
He has six goals and three assists in a game against Cypress Falls on Thursday. Earlier in the week, he had five assists in a 10-9 win over Tomball Memorial.
Miguel Arce, sr., Canton, boys cross country
A returning 4A all-stater last year, Acre dominated the field at the Clay Minton Invitational on Saturday, winning in 16:15.27 — nearly a minute faster than the runner-up.
McKinley Chase, sr., Fort Worth Paschal, volleyball
The 5-foot-4 senior has more than 400 assists this season and filled up the stat sheet in 10 games from Aug. 15-19 — with 233 coming in that span. She posted a season-high 43 in a 3-2 win over Keller Timber Creek on Aug. 15. She’s had 20 or more assists in 10 of the Panthers’ 20 games.
Jack Collins, sr., Uvalde, boys cross country
A 4A state qualifier last year, Collins opened this season with a win in the Antler Rust Buster 5K held in Kerrville on Friday, running 17:05.40.
Grant Currier, jr., Richmond Foster, boys cross country
In the Clear Falls Invitational, he won the 4K race in 12:44.02, a 13-second margin of victory to open the season.
Lesly DeJesus, sr., Baytown Lee, girls cross country
She picked up her first varsity win at the SoHo Opener on Friday in Houston, running 21:25.71 in the 5K.
Are we missing someone? Nominate an athlete by emailing the editor at andy@scorebooklive.com, or tag us on Twitter or Instagram at @sblivetx.
Morgen Durgens, sr., League City Clear Springs, volleyball
She had 23 assists in a four-set win over Tompkins on Tuesday and that put her over 2,000 career assists.
Mia Espinoza, sr., El Paso Ysleta, volleyball
The senior setter recorded 28 assists while adding 13 digs and eight kills in a 3-0 win over El Paso Riverside on Tuesday.
Jack Fink, jr., Aledo, boys cross country
Fink won the Cowtown Challenge on Saturday in Fort Worth, running the 5K in 16:31.88, nearly a 40-second margin of victory. He was 32nd at state last year.
Hannah Finn, jr., El Paso Franklin, volleyball
The Cougars got big contributions from Finn in four games last week — including three wins. She had 33 assists against Hanks in a victory while adding 31 in a loss against San Antonio Reagan. She finished with 107 assists and 44 digs.
Kaitlyn Gale, sr., League City Clear Falls, girls cross country
Coming off a 31st-place finish at state last year, the senior opened her season with a win at the 4K Clear Falls Invitational on Friday.
Genna Gandara, fr., El Paso Eastlake, volleyball
The ninth-grader had 17 kills and 14 assists in a 3-0 win over El Paso on Tuesday.
Addy Hale, sr., Hooks, volleyball
The Hornets are off to a 10-2 start this season following wins against Sulphur Bluff, Dodd City and North Lamar, part of a 3-1 week. Hale had 15 service points and 13 assists against Dodd City and added 16 assists in a match against Paris Chisum.
Lola Isaeff, jr., San Antonio Brandeis, volleyball
The 5-foot-9 junior had 81 kills — 14 each against Austin Westlake and Arlington Martin — and recorded 73 digs — 11 in three different games — this past week for the Broncos.
Mira Klem, sr., Coppell, volleyball
The 5-foot-11 senior had 19 kills and 12 digs in a 2-1 loss against McKinney Boyd on Tuesday. She’s had 10 or more kills in 9 of the Cowgirls’ 13 games.
Madison Larsen, so., Aledo, girls cross country
She made it 2-for-2 in wins this year with a victory in the Cowtown Challenge 5K on Saturday, running 18:54.95.
Ella Lewis, jr., The Woodlands, volleyball
The 5-foot-11 junior outside hitter put up 84 kills and 63 digs in seven games for the Highlanders. She had a season-high 20 kills in a 2-1 win over Weatherford on Friday.
Jackson Lovvorn, sr., Corpus Christ King, boys cross country
He won the Floresville XC Invitational 5K in a time of 15:45.93. Lovvorn was a 24th-place finisher at the 5A state meet last year.
Mary Jane ‘MJ’ McCurdy, sr., Frisco Liberty, volleyball
The Texas State pledge has 250 kills on the season and 129 of those came since Aug. 15. She notched a season-best 20 kills in a 3-0 win over Rockwall Heath on Tuesday.
Sara Randall, sr., Pflugerville Weiss, volleyball
The 5-foot-11 senior had 100 kills this past week, including 20 in a win over Leander Glenn on Tuesday, while adding 40 digs. The Wolves went 6-1 this past week.
McCall Sims, sr., Canyon West Plains, volleyball
In the team’s home opener against Lubbock-Cooper Liberty on Tuesday, Sims had 22 digs in the 3-0 sweep.
Alina Strickler, sr., El Paso Coronado, volleyball
The senior outside hitter had 11 kills, 21 digs and two aces in a two-game match sweep on Friday against Frisco Liberty and Colleyville Heritage.
Owen Wittrock, sr., Houston Westside, boys water polo
In a 21-5 win over Langham Creek on Thursday, he has 10 goals and two assists. In a 22-4 win over Cypress Park on Monday, he recorded three goals and three assists.
Delaney Wright, fr., Montgomery, volleyball
The ninth-grade outside hitter had 16 kills, 14 digs and three blocks in a five-set victory over Willis on Tuesday.
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.
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Andy Buhler | andy@scorebooklive.com | @sblivetx
