The Athlete of the Week nominees for Sept. 20-26. Voting closes at midnight Sunday. The winner will be announced with next week’s poll and in Tuesday, Oct. 5’s paper. Each weekly winner will be included in an Athlete of the Month poll.
Last week’s winner
Kamiak’s Sophia Ryu competes in the 100-yard butterfly at Kamiak High School in Mukilteo on Sept. 21. (Kevin Clark / The Herald)
Sophia Ryu | Kamiak | Girls swim and dive
Ryu, a senior, swam first-place times of 2 minutes, 16.89 seconds in 200-yard individual medley and 1:08.39 in the 100 breaststroke in a three-team meet with Snohomish and Glacier Peak on Sept. 16. She also was a member of Kamiak’s victorious 200 medley and 400 freestyle relay teams. On Sept. 14, she the swam a winning time of 1:02.24 in the 100 butterfly and helped lead the Knights’ 200 medley relay team to victory against Mead. She won last week’s poll by claiming 563 (26.7%) of 2,109 votes.
This week’s nominees
Drew Carter | Lake Stevens | Football
Carter, a senior, hauled in nine passes for 175 yards and three touchdowns in the Vikings’ 49-14 victory over Archbishop Murphy on Sept. 24.
Mary Clarke | Snohomish | Girls swim and dive
Clarke, a sophomore, won the 50- and 100-yard freestyle races with times of 24.34 seconds and 53.09 seconds, respectively, at the Mukilteo Invite on Sept. 25. Clarke also helped the Panthers’ 200 freestyle relay team to a fourth-place finish.
Gaylan Gray | Marysville Pilchuck | Football
Gray, a junior, need just four carries to rack up 104 yards and two touchdowns in the Tomahawks’ 49-14 win over Glacier Peak on Sept. 24. He also returned an interception 39 yards for a score.
Will MacDonald | Snohomish | Boys tennis
MacDonald, a senior, won all three of his No. 1 singles matches to help the Panthers to a perfect 3-0 mark on the week.
Emily Mekelberg | Arlington | Volleyball
Mekelberg, a senior, had 12 kills, five digs and one ace in a 3-0 victory over Lynnwood on Sept. 20 and 16 kills, four aces and two digs in a 3-0 win over Edmonds Woodway on Sept. 22. She was also named the most valuable player of the Reach the Peak Tournament on Sept. 25 while helping the Eagles to a team title.
Brandon Moore | Arlington | Boys cross country
Moore, a senior, finished first in the 4,000-meter race with a time of 13 minutes, 34.2 seconds in a three-team meet on Sept. 23 at Ballinger Park. He also posted the top 5,000-meter time among Wesco competitors at the Bellevue Cross Country Invitational on Sept. 25, finishing the race in 15:46.3.
Adisen Stratton | Glacier Peak | Girls cross country
Stratton, a senior, recorded the top 5,000-meter time this season in all of Wesco with a personal-best time of 19 minutes, 7.0 seconds at the Bellevue Cross Country Invitational on Sept. 25.
Josh Vandergriend | Snohomish | Football
Vandergriend, a senior, piled up five touchdowns and 316 yards on 26 carries in the Panthers’ 49-28 win over Shorecrest on Sept. 24.
Payton Wotipka | Kamiak | Girls soccer
Wotipka, a junior, netted a hat trick in the Knights’ 6-0 win over Mariner on Sept 23.
Note: The Herald’s Athlete of the Week nominees are chosen based off stats reported to the newspaper, recommendations from coaches and first-hand observations. Stats from games and recommendations for nominees can be sent to sports@heraldnet.com.
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