Vote: Who should be SBLive's Texas High School Athlete of the Week? (11/6/2023)
Who was the top high school athlete in Texas last week?
Throughout the year, SBLive takes a look at the top high school athletes across the Lone Star State each week, gathering the top performers and putting the best of the best up for reader vote.
We're splitting our Athlete of the Week process up in order to spotlight more of the scores of tremendous performances across Texas at the beginning of each week.
In addition to this non-football athlete of the week poll, read up on our statewide offensive and defensive football player of the week posts, and top football player posts in Southeast and Central Texas.
>> Texas high school cross country: 2023 UIL state meet results, every winner
Here are SBLive's Texas Athlete of the Week nominees for October 30-November 4, 2023. Now, we want to hear from you. Scroll down to read about this week's nominees and cast your vote in the poll below.
Know of a performance worthy of recognition we may have missed? Let us know who we missed. Drop a note to andy@scorebooklive.com or @SBLiveTX on Twitter and Instagram and back it up with stats.
SBLIVE TEXAS ATHLETE OF THE WEEK CANDIDATES
Anthony Abeyta, Fort Worth Temple Christian boys cross country
The TAPPS 3A championship was won by the sophomore with a comfortable margin of 24 seconds on Monday. He ran a personal best of 17:09.72 in the 5K.
Karime Alvarez, El Paso Del Valle volleyball
The senior setter had 28 assists, 15 digs and 3 aces in a 3-1 win over Chapin on Tuesday.
Sophia Bendet, Randolph girls cross country
The junior went 8-for-8 this year in terms of wins after claiming the UIL Class 3A championship and ran a personal best 11:13 on Saturday.
Addyson Bristow, Canyon girls cross country
The sophomore capped off her year with 7 wins in 7 races and won the Class 4 title with a time of 11:08.50 on Saturday.
Brooke Cerny, Shiner St. Paul girls cross country
The senior picked up a championship with a time of 13:23.73 winning the TAPPS 2A title on Monday.
McKinley Cole, Pearland Shadow Creek volleyball
The Sharks beat Clear Creek in a 6A bi-district playoff game on Tuesday and Cole contributed 25 assists and 19 digs.
Hallie Collins, Azle Christian School girls cross country
Her only win of the year came in the TAPPS 1A finals, running 13:32.05, winning by four-tenths of a second.
Renne Cooper, Austin Brentwood Christian Academy boys cross country
The senior dominated the TAPPS 4A finals by winning by more than a minute on Monday – a year after finishing second.
Genna Gandara, El Paso Eastlake volleyball
In a 3-1 win over Midland Legacy in the Class 6A playoffs, the freshman had 56 assists, 27 digs, 4 kills and 2 aces.
Kaylin Ginsburg, Lewisville Hebron volleyball
She had 25 digs and two aces in a 3-2 win over Plano in a play-in game to be the fourth seed in District 6-6A on Tuesday.
Emma Goetz, Tyler Grace Community girls cross country
The freshman closed out the season with a first-place showing in the TAPPS 5A championship on Monday. She won in 12:07.10 – her eighth win in 8 races.
Ethan Gonzalez, North Richland Hills Richland boys cross country
The senior dominated the UIL Class 5A title with a time of 14:55.80 – winning by 25 seconds. He won all four of his races this fall.
Taytum Goodman, Springlake-Earth girls cross country
She posted a state championship win by 39 seconds on Saturday in the Class 1A finals. The senior capped off a perfect run at state going 4-for-4 in titles.
Destiny Guerrero, El Paso Irvin volleyball
The senior provided 13 kills, had 22 digs and served four aces in a 3-0 win over Clint on Tuesday.
Amaya Langellier, Houston Dobie volleyball
The freshman contributed 18 kills, 11 digs, 3 blocks and 2 aces as the Longhorns beat Kingwood on Tuesday in a bi-district match.
Elizabeth Leachman, Boerne-Champion girls cross country
The sophomore broke the UIL state record on a 5K course on Friday running a 16:25.5. She won the 5A title by 1:08.
Caden Leonard, Southlake Carroll boys cross country
He helped the Dragons claim the UIL 6A title by winning the 5K crown in 15:00.10. The win was the fifth of the year for the sophomore.
Ethan Locke, Waco Valor Prep Academy boys cross country
The sophomore won the TAPPS 2A title by 13 seconds on Monday in Waco.
Kammi Maddox, Dalhart volleyball
She had 10 kills and seven blocks as the Lady Wolves got a 3-2 win over Shallowater in a playoff game on Tuesday.
Gabriella Martinez, Katy Cinco Ranch volleyball
The junior outside hitter, a Cal Baptist pledge, had 15 kills in a 3-0 win over Fort Bend Travis on Tuesday.
Marcelo Parra, San Antonio TMI Episcopal boys cross country
The senior and Princeton pledged secured the TAPPS 5A title – a year after finishing as the runner-up on Monday by running 16:09.53.
Landry Perkin, Weatherford Christian girls cross country
The senior claimed the TAPPS Class 3A cross country championship on Monday, running the two-mile course in Waco in 12:31.64. She was all-state all four years in high school.
Emily Pharris, Shelbyville girls cross country
She picked up wins in six of seven races and won her last four, including the UIL 2A title on Saturday. She posted a winning margin of 16 seconds.
David Salas, San Angelo Cornerstone Christian boys cross country
The junior beat his teammate, Charlie Glass, to win the TAPPS 1A title on Monday.
Angel Sanchez, Fort Worth Diamond Hill-Jarvis boys cross country
In his final race for the Eagles, he won the UIL Class 4A title for the second year in a row. He ran 15:09.90 and won by eight seconds.
Noah Strohman, Holliday boys cross country
The sophomore capped off his season with wins every race and he claimed the UIL Class 3A title with a time of 15:31.20 on Saturday – clinching the win by 27 seconds.
Emily Smith, Colleyville Covenant Christian girls cross country
The senior won the TAPPS 4A championship on Monday with a 50-second margin of victory. The Tulsa pledge had seven top-5 finishes this year.
Sebastian Talamantez, Comstock boys cross country
The sophomore took first place at the Class 1A UIL Championship on Saturday, running 16:25.10.
Caden Thurman, Wolfe City boys cross country
The Houston commit won his third race of the year and it came in the Class 2A finals on Saturday, winning by 22 seconds.
Micaela Villarreal, San Antonio Antonian Prep girls cross country
She helped Apaches sweep the TAPPS 6A titles when she won the championship running the 2-mile course in just under 12 minutes on Monday.
Macy Wingard, Denton Braswell girls cross country
The UIL 6A champion won a close race with San Juanita Leal of Edinburg North by six-tenths of a second.
Todd Worth, San Antonio Antonian Prep boys cross country
The TAPPS 6A title was won by the senior in 16:25.67 on Monday in Waco. It was his third all-state showing.
-- Cody Thorn | @sblivetx
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.
