Vote now: Who should be the WaFd Bank Washington High School Athlete of the Week (2/26/24)?
Here are the candidates for the WaFd Bank Washington High School Athlete of the Week for Feb. 19-Feb. 24 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, March 4th. 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
Jayleen "Jaylo" Bello, Tonasket girls basketball: School's career 1,000-point scorer made sure Tigers' season didn't end Friday. The senior was unstoppable with 38 points, nine steals and four assists in team's loser-out 2B regional-round win over Friday Harbor.
Karsyn Freeman, Adna girls basketball: West or East, doesn't matter - this scorer just piles up points. The junior totaled a game-high 33 points on 13-for-20 shooting, and the Pirates pulled off the road stunner in 2A regional-round win.
Dennis Johnson III, Renton boys basketball: Smooth shooter for the Red Hawks poured in team-high 23 points, including key fourth-quarter 3-pointer and 5-for-6 free-throw shooting in final minute of 2A regional-round win over Anacortes.
Lyla Kahrimanovic, Woodinville girls basketball: Senior forward erupted for career-high 27 points, including four 3-pointers, with four assists as Falcons handled Tahoma in 4A regional-round victory over Tahoma.
Leyton Martin, Arlington boys basketball: What a postseason for this junior, who carried the Eagles past Marysville Getchell in a loser-out 3A regional-round game with a school-record 43 points (eclipsing older brother, Ethan, previous mark of 42 points), eight rebounds and five assists.
Nic Navarre, Zillah boys basketball: Leopards center scored a game-high 27 points, and shook the earth with a thunderous dunk in the third quarter in 1A regional-round win over Tenino.
Ailina Rabang, Lummi Nation girls basketball: Transfer from Ferndale could not miss while going off for a game-high 34 points - 23 coming in the second quarter in which she sank five 3-pointers in a loser-out 1B regional-round win over Taholah.
Ari Richardson, Columbia River boys basketball: Not often do you get a shot to send your team to Tacoma - but the junior did, canning a game-winning 3-pointer with two seconds to go in Rapid's loser-out 2A regional-round win over White River. Richardson finished with team-high 18 points.
Ashley Uusitalo, Lake Washington girls basketball: In a must-win situation against the team that defeated the Kangs on the final day of districts, sophomore put up a career-high 30 points in their 3A regional-round win over Eastside Catholic.
Nicole Wertenberger, Kamiakin girls basketball: It's been a great February for the Braves' standout, going over 1,000 points two weeks ago - and scored a game-high 23 points in state contender's 4A regional-round win over Bothell.
Eli Williams, North Central boys basketball: Got it done on both ends for the No. 8 seeds, including a dagger, beat-the-shotclock-buzzer 3-pointer that upended No. 1 seed Auburn in 3A regional-round game. Williams led all scorers with 21 points.
Alana Zavala, Mabton girls basketball: Avenging an earlier-season loss, the Vikings topped the No. 1 seeds as Zavala had a game-high 20 points and eight rebounds, and iced it with a late 3-pointer in a 2B regional-round win.
