Vote now: Who should be the WaFd Bank Washington High School Athlete of the Week (1/8/24)?
Here are the candidates for the WaFd Bank Washington High School Athlete of the Week for Jan. 1-Jan. 6 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 Monday, Jan. 15th. If you would like to make a nomination in a future week, please email athleteoftheweek@scorebooklive.com or tag us on Twitter or Instagram at @sblivewa.
THIS WEEK’S WAFD BANK WASHINGTON 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.
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WASHINGTON NOMINEES
Ray Adams, North Thurston boys basketball: Rams' rangy big man posted his sixth consecutive double-double - 22 points, 12 rebounds - in a 3A SSC win over perennial playoff contender Gig Harbor. He also registered a season-high five blocked shots.
Kacen Bach, Stevenson boys basketball: School's starting quarterback was delivering darts in a 1A Trico loss to La Center - game-high 32 points, including seven 3-pointers, to go along with nine rebounds, five assists and five steals.
Siena Brown, Hockinson girls basketball: Senior guard set the school's single-game scoring mark - 39 points - to go along with 10 rebounds and five steals in a 2A GSHL loss to Mark Morris.
Jacob Christianson and Koen Mattern, Lake Stevens wrestling: Teammates made it to the finals at arguably the top tournament in the Northwest - the Rollie Lane in Idaho. Christianson lost to Caldwell's Draven Johns, 3-1, at 120 pounds while Mattern was pinned by Minico's Garrett Vail (4:21) at 220.
Devin Coppinger, Nooksack Valley girls basketball: It is pretty evident that the UW signee gets up for playing rival Lynden Christian. The guard poured in a game-high 29 points, including seven 3-pointers, in a 61-46 win over the Lyncs. The 1A Northwest Conference rivals have played in the past two WIAA title games.
Julia Dalan, W.F. West girls basketball: On pace to become the school's all-time leading scorer, the junior post player eclipsed the 1,000-point mark for her career with a game-high 24 points in a 2A EvCo rivalry win over Centralia.
Zoe Galbreath, Lind-Ritzville-Sprague girls basketball: Posted her second 40-point effort of the season with 40 points (on 16-of-28 shooting) in a 2B Northeast win over Kettle Falls, then had 25 points in a close loss to No. 19 Reardan.
Noah Holman, Gonzaga Prep wrestling: Senior made it to the finals at arguably the top tournament in the Northwest - the Rollie Lane in Idaho - losing to McCall's Matthew Daniels, 4-2, in the 160-pound championship match. It tied for the highest finish among Washington wrestlers.
Lars Michaelson, Bremerton wrestling: Stanford signee placed fifth at the prestigious Doc Buchanan Invitational in Calfiornai, reaching the semifinals in the 193-pound weight class before falling to Canyon Springs standout Sonny King, 6-2. He won four of his six matches in the tournament.
Lynnea Moran, Hanford girls basketball: Broke the school's 30-year-old single-game scoring mark in an Mid-Columbia Conference game against Hermiston with 36 points on 14-of-19 shooting from the floor. Also had five steals.
Gia Powell, Meadowdale girls basketball: Twice, the Mavericks hit the 90-point mark - and their standout guard was in the middle of it. She tallied 33 points, including nine 3-pointers, in a win over Glacier Peak, had 24 points in win over Shorecrest and 30 points in record-setting 96-89 win over Mercer Island.
Buddy Smeenk, Sunnyside Christian boys basketball: The senior can fill up 30-point games in a hurry for the Knights. He scored a game-high 39 points in his team's loss at Moses Lake Christian, and had 28 points in a win over Waitsburg.
Eli Williams, North Central boys basketball: Senior scored a game-high 28 points as Wolfpack beat Gonzaga Prep for first time in 17 years. Williams had 11 of his points in the two overtime periods, including a game-tying bucket late in first extra sessions - and two big free throws in second OT to seal win.
