Vote: Who should be SBLive's Illinois High School Athlete of the Week (11/6/2023)?

Here are the candidates for SBLive's Illinois High School Athlete of the Week as nominated by fans, readers and SBLive’s staff

Here are the candidates for SBLive's Illinois High School Athlete of the Week 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 the following week. If you would like to nominate an athlete in the future, please email athleteoftheweek@scorebooklive.com.

THIS WEEK’S SBLIVE ILLINOIS 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.

AJ Abrams, Blue Island Eisenhower football

The senior had nine catches for 285 yards and four TDs in a 49-35 Class 6A second-round loss to Kankakee.

Aden Bandukwala, Hinsdale Central boys cross country

The senior won the Class 3A state title, running 14:13.56.

Robert Battle, East St. Louis football

The Lindenwood commit threw for 243 yards and four touchdowns in a 54-7 Class 6A second-round win against Normal West. Two of his receivers – Rico Bond and Christopher Bennett Jr. – were over 100 yards receiving.

Nico Bertolino, Belvidere North football

In a 28-21 Class 6A second-round victory over Wauconda, the senior had a 98-yard touchdown run and a pick-six.

Charleston Coldon, Althoff football

In a 56-20 Class 1A second-round victory over LeRoy, the junior caught seven passes for 207 yards and three touchdowns.

Jake Curry, Edwardsville football

The Southern Illinois commit had four total touchdowns, two passing and two rushing, in a 48-14 Class 8A second-round win over Glenbard West.

Michael Dellumo, Maine South football

The junior had three touchdowns, including two in the fourth quarter, during a 33-21 Class 8A second-round win against Belleville East.

Donovan Dey, Carmel football

In a 50-7 Class 5A second-round win over Antioch, the junior ran for 229 yards and three touchdowns.

Jack Elliott, Mount Carmel football

The junior threw for four touchdowns and rushed for another in less than a half as the Caravan beat Prospect 49-15 in a Class 7A second-round game.

Gavin Genisio, Benton boys cross country

The senior won the Class 1A state title by more than 16 seconds with a time of 14:12.56.

Damian Glodz, York football

The senior kicked a 30-yard field goal as time expired to give the Dukes a 17-14 Class 8A second-round win over Lyons.

Becca Heitzig, Lincoln girls cross country

The senior was the Class 2A state champ, running 16:34.75 to edge St. Ignatius' Annika Swan by five-hundredths of a second.

Dierre Hill Jr., Althoff football

The junior ran nine for 177 yards and three touchdowns in a 56-20 Class 1A second-round win against LeRoy.

Addy Horner, St. Francis girls volleyball

The Wisconsin commit had six kills and 12 assists in a 25-8, 25-20 Class 3A Antioch Supersectional win over Belvidere North.

Calyx Hoover, New Trier boys soccer

The sophomore had a goal and an assist as the Trevians beat Glenbrook North and Lyons to win the Class 3A state championship.

Isabella Keller, Effingham St. Anthony girls cross country

The freshman won the Class 1A state title with a time of 16:26.13.

Calli Kenny, Willowbrook girls volleyball

The senior had eight kills to help the Warriors beat Joliet West 25-18, 25-14 in the Class 4A Bolingbrook Supersectional.

Matt Larson, Glenbard East football

The senior ran 28 times for 296 yards and four touchdowns in a 28-13 Class 7A second-round win over Addison Trail.

Keshawn Lewis-Hunt, Morgan Park football

The senior rushed 18 times for 81 yards and two touchdowns, including the eventual game-winner with 6:29 left, in a 27-21 Class 5A second-round win against Sycamore.

Carter Murphy, Breese Mater Dei football

The junior caught two touchdown passes from quarterback Trenton Zeeb and returned a fourth-quarter interception 38 yards for another score in a 27-18 Class 2A second-round win over Johnston City.

Dylan Nalley, Marion boys cross country

The senior won the Class 2A state title by more than 16 seconds, running 14:05.20.

Caden O’Rourke, Lincoln-Way East football

The junior had three sacks and helped the Griffins' defense hold Minooka to 49 total yards in a 28-0 Class 8A second-round win over Minooka.

Justin Scott, St. Ignatius football

The five-star Ohio State commit as a defensive lineman contributed several key stops on defense and ran eight times for 68 yards and a touchdown as a fullback in a 35-23 Class 8A second-round win over Huntley.

Kaleb Stanford, Marian Catholic football

The junior had a 16-yard scoop-and-score in a 14-7 win over St. Patrick in the quarterfinals of the CCL/ESCC Playoffs.

Nate Stempowski, Geneva football

The senior ran for 115 yards and threw for 164 yards and two touchdowns in a 42-7 Class 6A second-round win over Lake Forest.

Aaron Stewart, Warren football

The sophomore ran 27 times for 194 yards and had a career-best four touchdowns in a 51-21 Class 8A second-round win over South Elgin.

Scout Storms, Barrington girls cross country

The junior won the Class 3A state title in 16:38.46.

Nico Velasco, Crystal Lake South boys soccer

The senior midfielder had a goal in a 2-1 win over Peoria Notre Dame for the Class 2A state final. He also had the game-winning goal in a 1-0 semifinal win against Rochester.

Larevious Woods, East St. Louis football

The junior had 17 carries for 184 yards and three first-half touchdowns in a 54-7 Class 6A second-round victory against Normal West.

Trenton Zeeb, Breese Mater Dei football

The senior passed for 195 yards and three touchdowns in a Class 2A second-round win against Johnston City. 

- Mike Carpinelli, Mike Clark and Nate Latsch contributed to this list. 

Althoff's Antwan Strong voted SBLive’s Illinois High School Athlete of the Week (11/6/2023)

For live updates and complete statewide results, bookmark our Illinois high school football scoreboard: STATEWIDE ILLINOIS FOOTBALL SCOREBOARD

Illinois high school football: Top standouts, best performances in Week 11 (11/4/2023)

You can also watch dozens of Illinois high school football games live on the NFHS Network: WATCH LIVE ON NFHS NETWORK

To get live updates on your phone - as well as follow your favorite teams and top games - you can download the SBLive Sports app: Download iPhone App | Download Android App

- Mike Clark | latsch@scorebooklive.com | @SBLiveIL


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Mike Clark
MIKE CLARK

Mike Clark has covered Illinois and Indiana high school sports for decades with a focus on football, basketball, wrestling, track and field and baseball. He has covered high school sports for SBLive Sports since 2022.