Vote: Who should be SBLive's Texas High School Athlete of the Week? (9/18/2023)
Texas fall high school sports seasons roll on in 2023-24.
Each week throughout the year, SBLive will take a look at the top high school athletes across the Lone Star State by researching the entire state, gathering the top performers and putting the best of the best up for reader vote.
We're splitting our Athlete of the Week process into two polls: a football player of the week and non-football athlete of the week. Those will publish on www.highschool.si.com/texas every Monday.
Here are SBLive's Texas Athlete of the Week nominees for Sept. 4-11. 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 Sunday, September 24, 2023 at 11:59 p.m. Central time.
Know of a performance worthy of recognition we may have missed? Let us know. Drop a note to andy@scorebooklive.com or @SBLiveTX on Twitter and Instagram and back it up with stats.
WHO SHOULD BE SBLIVE'S TEXAS ATHLETE OF THE WEEK?
Aleksandr Acuna, Denton Braswell boys cross country
He helped the Tigers sweep both the boys and girls races at the Lovejoy XC Fall Festival on Saturday in McKinney. The junior ran 14:50.60, his personal best, and win No. 2 on the season.
Brock Alvey, Hebron boys water polo
Scored six of his team’s 9 goals in a loss to Southlake Carroll on Friday. It was the fourth time this year he had six or more goals in a game for the Hawks.
Alex Arrington, Glen Rose volleyball
The sophomore outside hitter/setter had 21 kills, 11 assists, 14 digs and 5 aces in a 3-2 win over Class 1 champion Blum on Sept. 12.
Adriana Avalos, Houston Lamar girls water polo
The sophomore had three goals and added an assist in a 17-1 win over Houston Waltrip on Saturday.
Lauren Baek, Bridgeland volleyball
The setter/defensive specialist recorded career assist No. 1,000 in a sweep over Cypress Falls on Sept. 15. She had 14 assists in the contest for the Bears.
Cameron Brenton, Houston Memorial boys water polo
In a pair of wins this week, Brenton scored a total of 5 goals and had 4 assists in a 10-1 win over Bridgeland and then a 14-4 triumph over Friendswood.
Sophia Hamdani, Houston Bellaire girls cross country
The sophomore took first place at the Spring Branch ISD Invitational on Saturday in Houston. She traversed the 5K course in 18:17.45, winning by 21 seconds — after finishing second in the race last year.
Reagan Hamm, Cornith Lake Dallas volleyball
The Northwestern State pledge helped the Falcons beat Denton Ryan, 3-1, on Tuesday behind a 17-kill, 22-dig, 12-assist showing.
Joseph Hernandez, Houston Sheldon King boys cross country
In his first 5K of the season, the junior ran 16:15.99 — a personal best — and took first place at the La Porte Bulldog Invitational on Sept. 15.
Hayden Long, Ponder boys cross country
The sophomore won his second race of the year — he’s been in the top 10 in everyone — and set a new personal best with a 16:00.01 during the 16th Annual Lipan Indian Invitational on Sept. 13.
Azia Marshall, Keller Central volleyball
In a District 4-6A win over Haslet V.R. Easton, Marshall had 30 digs in the 3-2 victory for the Chargers. She surpassed 600 digs this season and now has more than 1,000 in her career. It was the sixth time with 30 or more this season.
Benjamin Montgomery, Bridgeland boys cross country
In a race with five runners under 16 minutes, the junior had the fastest time at the Texas A&M High School Invitational on Sept. 15. He ran a 15:29.40 on the Dale Watts Cross Country Course in his first race of 2023.
Jahnae Nickerson, New Caney Porter girls cross country
The sophomore won her first cross country meet in high school by running 21:44.35 to on Sept. 14 during the race held in Conroe.
Reagan Pitcock, Fort Worth Paschal volleyball
The senior outside hitter recorded 500th career kill in a 3-1 loss to Euless Trinity on Tuesday. She has 144 kills this season.
Temi Sam-Olibale, Katy Seven Lakes volleyball
She had 18 kills, one off a season-high, during a 3-0 win over Katy Jordan. She had 8 of those in the first set in the win on Tuesday. She now has 290 kills on the season.
Monica Sanchez, Mansfield Legacy girls cross country
Posted a winning margin of more than a minute at the Waxahachie Invitational on Sept. 15 and was the first high school win for the senior.
Grace Sweeney, Midlothian Heritage volleyball
The 5-foot-10 senior continues to rack up milestones this season. After passing 1,000 digs last month, she recorded career kill No. 1,500 and also broke the school record for kills in a career this week in a 3-0 win over Mansfield Timberview.
Alice Volpe, Cypress Bridgeland volleyball
The senior and TCU pledge had 14 digs in a win against Cypress Park and 10 against Cypress Falls, pushing her over 2,000 career digs this past week.
Kaci Wade, Fort Worth Chisholm Trail volleyball
The junior setter passed the 1,000th career assist mark in a 3-0 win over Crowley on Sept. 12.
Sophia Wei, Plano West volleyball
In a 3-0 win over Plano, the junior had 21 assists, 12 digs and 7 service points and eclipsed 1,000 career assists in the process on Sept. 12.
Miles Westbrook, El Paso boys cross country
The junior ran 15:44.87 to take first place at the El Paso ISD Invitational on Sept. 16, winning by more than 6 seconds. It was his second straight victory this season.
Danielle Whitmire, Propser Walnut Grove volleyball
In a 3-1 loss to Frisco Centennial on Tuesday, the sophomore had a triple-double with 24 kills, 16 digs and 20 assists for the first-year program.
Kenzi Williamson, Grandview volleyball
The senior setter recorded her 2,500th career assist in the Zebras’ 3-0 win over Waco Harmony Science Academy on Sept. 15.
Macy Wingard, Denton Braswell girls cross country
The sophomore won the Elite 5K race at the Lovejoy XC Fall Festival on Sept. 16 in McKinney. She ran 17:02.10, a winning marine of more than 21 seconds.
Cora Wolford, Pearland volleyball
The junior handed out 26 assists in a 3-0 win over Alief Elsik on Tuesday and surpassed the 1,500-assist mark in her career. The next milestone will be digs, sitting at 398 after 11 in a 3-0 win over Alvin on Friday.
Delaney Wright, Montgomery volleyball
The 5-foot-10 freshman had 17 kills and 7 digs, while adding 2 blocks and one ace in a 3-2 loss to Lake Creek 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.
