Vote now: Who should be SBLive's Indiana High School Athlete of the Week (Oct. 24-29)?

Here are the candidates for SBLive's Indiana High School Athlete of the Week for Oct. 24-29 as nominated by fans, readers and SBLive’s staff

Kevin Messenger | Oct 31, 2022

By Kevin Messenger

Here are the candidates for SBLive's Indiana High School Athlete of the Week for Oct. 24-29 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 INDIANA 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.

Evan Barker, Kokomo football

Barker fueled the Wildkats offense with 20 carries for 150 yards and three of Kokomo’s four touchdowns in a 28-8 sectional win over Western.

Ava Bramblett, Noblesville girls soccer

A senior Ohio State commit, Bramblett got the goal when she needed it most. She scored the decisive goal in a 1-0 state championship victory, lifting Noblesville past Carmel for its third title in the last four years. It was the 47th and final goal of her career while leading the Millers to a 70-2-5 record over four seasons.

Clay Conner, Boonville football

Conner helped orchestrate one of the week’s biggest upsets as Boonville controlled the ball and knocked off previously unbeaten Evansville Reitz. Besides 157 passing yards and a 60-yard touchdown strike, Conner racked up 172 rushing yards on 26 carries. He scored twice on the ground, including a 57-yard score.

Chloe Cook, Wapahani volleyball

In a five-set semistate match against Andrean, Cook made use of 23 kills to help the Raiders reach this week’s 2A state championship match against Linton-Stockton. Cook had just three attack errors in 41 swings, producing a .488 hit percentage.

Lily Cridge, Bishop Chatard girls cross country

Cridge defended her state championship successfully on Saturday, adding a second state crown with a 5K time of 17:14.6. Cridge was six seconds off the course record for an Indiana girl, and three seconds ahead of her nearest challenger, Delta’s Nicki Southerland.

Tyler Dollar, Lapel football

The senior running back posted 191 rushing yards in the first half, 256 total, to lead the Bulldogs past Eastern Hancock 41-13 in Friday’s sectional tournament. After spotting the Royals a 6-0 lead on the game’s first possession, Dollar took Lapel’s first snap for a 71-yard jaunt and the first of his four touchdowns.

Gretchen Farley, Park Tudor girls cross country/soccer

Farley’s day began with a fifth-place individual finish (17:58.4) at the IHSAA cross country championships. It ended with scoring the final goal in a 3-0 win over Fort Wayne Canterbury, helping Park Tudor secure the Class A girls soccer championship. The senior will join Notre Dame’s track and cross country programs next year.

Kendall Garnett, Westfield football

Garnett finished with 143 rushing yards and two TDs as the Shamrocks beat Carmel on the gridiron for the first time since 1956! He averaged 5.7 yards over 25 carries.

Avery Hobson, Hamilton Southeastern volleyball

Hobson led the top-ranked Royals past Lake Central in semistate competition last week, tallying 15 kills with five blocks and seven digs. HSE battles Yorktown for the 4A state title next Saturday.

Zac Horn, Columbus North football

Horn was an efficient 14 of 19 passing for 158 yards and three TDs while leading Columbus North past Jeffersonville, 41-14.

Grant Irwin, Plainfield football

Irwin’s receiving exploits helped spark Plainfield’s sectional upset of highly regarded Lafayette Harrison. Irwin grabbed just four receptions – but three of the four ended in the end zone from distances of 48, 39 and 38 yards.

Jake Johns, Noblesville boys soccer

The only returning starter from last year’s championship team, it was fitting that the senior scored the only goal in this year’s state title game, sending the Millers past Columbus North for their second straight crown.

Carson Johnson, Cathedral football

Johnson helped Cathedral into the sectional championship with 226 rushing yards and two touchdowns as part of 33 carries. His 25-yard scamper just before halftime was the go-ahead TD for the Irish.

JJ Johnson, Crown Point football

The Bulldogs’ offense was slow to get started, but Johnson scored on four TD runs in the second half and finished with 184 yards on the ground to send No. 10 Crown Point to the sectional final.

Marshall Kmiecik, New Prairie football

A junior quarterback, Kmiecik threw five touchdown passes among his six completions in New Prairie’s sectional win over Lowell. He finished 6 of 7 passing for 189 yards.

Kyler Kropp, New Palestine football

Replacing injured starter Grayson Thomas, Kropp ran for 149 yards on 24 carries. He rushed for 104 yards in the first half, asserting the Dragons’ power run game even in Thomas’ absence. His 7-yard TD put the Dragons up 19-6 before halftime.

Jontae Lambert, Fort Wayne North football

North beat Anderson 49-9 behind 200 rushing yards and three TDs from Lambert. One of the state’s top ball carriers, he went over the 2,000-yard mark for the season.

Delaney Lawson, Bellmont volleyball

Lawson had 24 kills in a 3-set match to help Bellmont beat Northwood in last week’s semistate. The junior outside hitter had just four errors in 38 swings to record an impressive .526 attack percentage.

Kole Mathison, Carmel boys cross country

Mathison paced Carmel to a team title in the IHSAA cross country championships in Terre Haute last Saturday, clocking a 15:02.8 in the 5K race to also claim the individual title. Mathison finished 1-2 with teammate Tony Provenzano. He finished in the top five for the third straight year after finishing fourth last year and third in 2020.

Arik Moyers, Roncalli football

He only threw four times. His longest completion was for 45 yards. But all four of Moyers’ passes ended in the endzone as he completed his night 4 of 4 passing for 84 yards and four TDs.

Josh Ringer, East Central football

Ringer and the Trojans led 42-0 by halftime, with the versatile running back accounting for 4 of 6 TDs in the first two quarters. By halftime, Ringer totaled 92 rushing yards and three scores on 7 carries. He caught two passes for 52 yards and another score. By halftime, alone.

Becca Robbins, Linton-Stockton volleyball

Robbins showed her dominance at the net last weekend, using 10 blocks and 5 kills to help the Miners defeat Indianapolis Scecina in 2A semistate action. Linton-Stockton advanced to this week’s state title match against Wapahani.

Logan Shoffner, Noblesville football

Netted 149 yards on just 10 carries but scored on TDs from 66 and 49 yards out. He was one of 11 ball carriers for the Millers, who attempted just one pass in the game. Noblesville beat Zionsville to advance to next week’s sectional final against Westfield.

Conner Soper, Danville football

In one of the best games of the sectional semis, Soper led Danville to an overtime win over Western Boone. His 1-yard keeper knotted the score at 28 to send the game to OT. Soper completed 11 of 14 passes for a whopping 277 yards, including passing scores of 64, 37 and 65 yards.

NiTareon Tuggle, NorthWood football

Tuggle had 80 yards rushing and two touchdowns, one on a 44-yard run and the other on a 91-yard kickoff return to help the unbeaten Panthers advance to next week’s sectional championship. Just for good measure, he added some trickery with a 44-yard touchdown pass on a sweep play.

Charlotte Vinson, Yorktown volleyball

Vinson had 20 kills, 14 digs and a pair of aces while leading the Tigers to a 3-1 victory over Floyd Central in semistate competition last weekend. Yorktown faces Hamilton Southeastern for the 4A state championship match on Saturday.

Makenzie Wagner, Providence volleyball

Wagner led the Pioneers with 17 kills and 6 blocks last weekend to help Providence get past Western Boone in a five-set semistate match. Providence meets Bellmont in this week’s state championship match.

Justin Zdobylak, Guerin Catholic football

For the second straight week, Zdobylak was the workhorse that helped Guerin Catholic advance in the sectional tournament. After 209 yards on 40 carries last week, he produced 241 yards on 23 carries this week, including touchdowns of 40 and 84 yards. Guerin Catholic got past Tippecanoe Valley 34-14.

Congratulations to Hamilton Southeastern's Lauren Harden for being voted the SBLive Indiana High School Athlete of the Week for Oct. 17-22 after receiving more than 60 percent of the votes.

Harden and the Royals dispatched Fishers in three sets and got past top contender McCutcheon 3-1 to reach semistate. The junior blocker was a key in defending against the Mavericks. Harden totaled 21 kills over the regional weekend with 11 against McCutcheon. Perhaps more important were her 11 total blocks though, with six against McCutcheon.

Western Boone's Alayna Christner finished second in the voting with more than 38 percent of the votes.

Previous winners: Brebeuf Jesuit's Sydney Robinson (Oct. 10-15), Franklin's John Shepard (Oct. 3-8), Carmel golfer Claire Swathwood (Sept. 26-Oct. 1), Greenfield-Central golfer Sydney Wherry (Sept. 19-24), East Central (St. Leon) running back Josh Ringer (Sept. 12-17), North Putnam running back Noah Claycomb (Sept. 4-10), Chatard soccer goalkeeper Olivia Hill, (Aug. 29-Sept. 3) and Terre Haute South Vigo outside hitter Lilly Merk (Aug. 22-28).

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Published Oct 31, 2022

KEVIN MESSENGER